sjhacker

Some greens spotty with fungus issues. Sand traps in very poor condition with plastic liners protruding through the sand.

Fairways were in very rough shape. Greens had dead spots and lots of bumps - difficult to get a putt to roll true. Not likely to visit this course again.

We teed off on schedule, but pace of play was 43 minutes for the par 5 first hole. When we finished the first hole, we could see that the tee boxes for the second and third hole were backed up, which was not encouraging.

My partner and I did not have time for a 9 hour round, so we went back to the clubhouse, got a refund of our money, and left. We took a chance and drove out to The Reserve, where we were able to walk on, and finish in a little over 4.5 hours.

Green fees at Manteca included range balls. The number of range stalls is limited and many of the mats were so torn up as to be unusable for practicing irons off the deck, but shots off the tees worked fine.

"Cart path only" was in effect on the first hole, making for a slow start. Fairways were in poor shape, with the ball coming to rest on bare dirt just as often as on grass. Granted, the drought makes fairway upkeep challenging. Bunkers were generally in poor shape - mostly a thin veneer of sand over hard clay, with some weed growth. Greens were in good shape overall, with some in excellent shape. Most putts rolled true, with little or no bounce or zig-zag. Weekend green fees of $42 including cart is a good value for the Bay Area.

The course layout is plain vanilla, especially holes #8 through #16 on the east side of Hwy 580. The greens were in top notch condition. However, the fairways were below average, and the rough was absolute trash. The course managers are clearly taking the California drought mantra "Brown is the new green" very seriously.

Normal weekend prices appear to be $61 per player including cart. This is too pricey for a course in this condition, especially when comparable prices can be found at neighboring courses that may be in better shape, such as The Reserve, Las Positas or Diablo Grande.

Excellent pace of play for a Sunday - finished in about 3.5 hours.

Course was in great shape. Surprisingly few golfers for a Sunday. Very enjoyable experience. One suggestion (seconded by everyone I have ever talked to about the course) is that a sign should be erected on the 12th hole that discloses the yardage from each tee box to the edge of the fairway at the ravine. Since the tee shot is sort a blind shot to towards the ravine, a sign would make things a little more fair. Either that, or make the hole a par 6.

Have played this course many times. Always in good shape. A fair and fun course for average players like me.

From tee box to greens, course was in great shape. Weekday rate of $35 is excellent value. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Overall a very nice course, but the greens were HORRIBLE. There were large areas of bare dirt and so many areas of small dead and lumpy spots that that the ball rarely rolled true. They have no business charging $80 per round while the most crucial aspects of the course are in such poor shape. Until the greens are vastly improved, this course is no better than your average San Joaquin Valley muni course, and the green fees should be adjusted accordingly.

I've played this course several times over the last couple of years, and although it remains a reasonable bargain - especially for families as there is a significant green fee discount for juniors - the course seems to be in a slow steady decline. Last time out the fairways were full of dead spots and ground under repair, the bunkers were rock hard, with weeds encroaching around the edges and taking hold in the bunker itself, and the greens were lumpy and slow. Most of the ball washers near the tee boxes were dry, and the ones that did have water smelled like rotten eggs. There are three other competing courses within a mile of Shadow Lakes, so some improvement is needed if they want to retain customers.