After seeing Ron's review of Sterling Hills, I decided to give it a try and beat the heat of the SF Valley. Had a 8:45 am tee time. We finished in exactly 4 hours. The weather was cool and foggy at fi... Continue »

After seeing Ron's review of Sterling Hills, I decided to give it a try and beat the heat of the SF Valley. Had a 8:45 am tee time. We finished in exactly 4 hours. The weather was cool and foggy at first, but cleared up to sunny and breezy within 30 minutes or so. I enjoy the layout of this course. Although some holes are a bit repetitive, there is enough variety to make it interesting.

The course is in decent shape. I would rate it 6/10. The tee boxes are a bit inconsistent, with some shaggy boxes and very hard pan dirt. The fairways are quite playable. I wouldn't call them lush, but they are fairly green and generally provide nice lies. The rough is inconsistent, as stated by the previous review. The greens were medium speed and smooth. They were fairly firm but held shots quite nicely.

My one complaint is that quite a few areas around the greens and most of the greenside bunkers were VERY wet. I was in one bunker, and I had to move my ball because it was standing in 3 inches of water. Where I placed it was firm and damp. I was able to get the ball out OK but it was a challenge. I had a couple of short pitch shots near the green that were too wet. If you didn't hit ball perfectly, you could end up with a severe chunk or bladed shot. If the wetness was not an issue, it would have been a better golf experience. But, still it was enjoyable, and the weather can't be beat.