Lives
Santa Rosa, CA
Handicap
15-19
Age
45-54
Gender
Male
Skill
Intermediate
Plays
Once a week

Review Statistics

Average Rating

3.6
3.6
Total 8 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

8 Reviews
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
7
Not Recommended Courses
1
Helpful Votes Count
0
Not Helpful Votes Count
0
First Review
09/24/2012
Last Review
06/05/2022

Reviews Map

Reviews

3.6
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Recommended
Review has

Valley of the Moon Golf Club

Played On 06/04/2022
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Greens need a LOT of help

While the fairways, bunkers and rough seemed well maintained, the greens were in very bad shape. It looked like they had been punched about a month prior and should have recovered by this point but they were patchy and lumpy and did not roll true. Quite disappointing for a course that historically took great pride in their greens.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate

Rooster Run Golf Club

Played On 07/19/2021
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Perfect course, slow pace

A pretty slow pace of play but otherwise an excellent course. Interesting, varied layout with enough challenges to keep you engaged. The course was in very good condition with even fairways and fast but soft greens.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate

Valley of the Moon Golf Club

Played On 08/18/2019
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather

This used to be a high-quality course

The greens used to be the pride of the course, they'd boast about them on the website and post the Stimp rating for the greens. Now they greens have gotten mossy, patchy and uneven. They still roll mostly true but this is a far cry from the quality of the course just a few short years ago.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/19/2019

Hello gbuce. Thank you for taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass along your feedback to the staff so they can work to make changes to get back to the greens that you enjoy. Thanks for visiting us!

Sugarloaf Golf Club

Played On 03/15/2015
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

An interesting challenge

As an executive course, this is a mix of very manageable par 4's and very difficult par 3's. Most of the par 4's are a short iron or wedge in for your second shot and about half of the par 3's require a driver off the tee.

There's lots of variety between the holes; this isn't some out-and-back track. There's plenty of water, trees and elevation changes to keep you on your toes.

The greens are in good shape, running fast and true. The bunkers are about average for a public course and most times you're better off trying to wedge the ball out rather than splash the rather compacted sand.

Players on this course are always friendly. Most are locals who play the course regularly which makes for a pretty good day.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate

Valley of the Moon Golf Club

Played On 11/26/2014
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

In great shape right now

The course was a little dry during the summer but now that the autumn rains have started the conditions couldn't be better. Fairways are even and smooth, greens are a little slower than "Oakmont fast" and run true. I've played this course many times over the past few years and the course keeps getting better.

The course is challenging but nowhere near impossible. Most holes have some sort of interesting feature that keeps it from becoming "hit the ball, follow, hit the ball again" There are a good distribution of doglegs, bunkers and trees to keep it from being a cakewalk. The neighborhood surrounding the course is old and gives the course a somewhat dated feel but the surrounding hills and water features are beautiful.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate

Bennett Valley Golf Course

Played On 5/11/2013
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Very nice for a municipal course

The Bennett Valley Golf Course is one of the better maintained public courses in Sonoma County - made even more impressive by the fact that it's a city-owned municipal course. The layout is moderately challenging with enough variation to keep things interesting but there are quite a few "just hit it straight" par fours that look like a bowling alley on the tee. One thing to note: the course is laid out long (6,200 yds from the whites) so playing from the white tees here is almost as long as playing from the blues on other nearby courses.

The maintenance is just incredible - fairways are always in great shape, greens are well groomed and run true and, most surprising for a muni, the bunkers are well drained so they're soft and fluffy. Except for the deep of winter when it's been raining heavily, the course is well drained and playable nearly year round.

If there's one complaint, it's that BVGC isn't a secret. Everyone knows how good the course is (and how affordable) so the weekends are very busy. The pace is pretty slow on weekends as the course is full of inexperienced players weilding monster slices so heads-up when you're playing on an adjacent fairway!

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate

Northwood Golf Club

Played On 10/28/2012
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Justly deserves to be one of the top ten 9-hole courses in the US

Designed by Robert Trent Jones (think Augusta and The Masters). Surrounded by magnificent redwood trees. Very well maintained considering how popular the course is. Holes that are quite manageable if you can hit the ball straight. Holes that are quite punishing if you can't hit the ball straight. Tee shots that are both picturesque and daunting - the fifth tee in particular looks as if you're trying to hit into a ten yard wide gap between trees that are hundreds of feet tall. In reality it's a 40 yard gap, pretty much the standard fairway width but the second cut of rough really -is- a stand of giant redwoods. The golf is very good; the experience is amazing.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 11/04/2012

Alister MacKenzie designed this course, not Robert Trent Jones (who designed two other very nice courses nearby)

I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser

Cheap Rates, Poorly Maintained

Nothing more annoying than a poorly maintained golf course. The fairways are very under-watered; it's actually better to be hitting out of the short rough rather than the hardpan in the center of the fairway. Many of the fairways are so dry that there are large cracks in them where the ground has contracted. Oddly, a few holes have spots that go beyond damp, past soggy and near into swampy - too bad they can't redistribute that water!

The bunkers are generally like wet concrete - hard and damp. Most are better approached with the idea of putting or chipping out of the bunker rather than play a 'splash' sand shot.

Compared to the fairways and bunkers, the greens are in pretty good shape. There aren't any dead or weedy patches, they seem well watered and are well groomed. They roll true and while there aren't many ridges or odd breaks in the layout, the slopes make for generally interesting putts. Only one hole (the par 3 sixth) has a green that is too steeply sloped so that any downhill putt that misses the cup, no matter how softly hit, is likely to end up 12 feet past the hole. Make sure to leave the ball below the pin on that one!

Layout and architecture is pretty boring. Only one dogleg on the course and maybe two holes where water is likely to come into play. Most greens are designed to be approached straight on with bunkers left and right; no real strategy is needed to play the course, just keep hitting the ball straight and you'll be fine.

On the plus side, the rates are cheap. If you're just looking to go out and hit a golf ball around a course, this course will meet your needs and not drain your wallet in the process. The downside of being inexpensive is that on weekends it tends to be crowded with rank amateurs thinking they can play from the blue tees (and the neighboring fairways) On the last outing we heard "fore!" a half-dozen times before finishing the second hole.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Easy
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