SlicerB

Played late in the PM. Actually allowed to play either course because of heat and very few players out.
We chose the Hills course.

New clubhouse finally completed, and the course routing is back to normal.

This course is one of the easier courses in the area. Therefore, it is one of the busiest, and today there was a SIRS tournament ahead of me so the pace was very slow. However, the 3some I joined were about my same level of play and very entertaining since the play together all the time.
I usually try to play this course when I haven't been able to play for awhile, which was the case having not played in 6 weeks due to very poor air quality caused by all the wild fires.

Once on the course, all was fine.
However, the check-in process was hampered by having to walk approximately 200 yard to and from my vehicle to retrieve a mask. This in spite of the fact that there was no one else in the shop, and I was a prepaid patron. The attendant wouldn't even look up my information with me standing outside. Claimed there was a County ordinance. There's not, it's only a recommendation and if they're going to mandate masks they should have signs in the parking lot to notify patrons.

My original tee time was for the Orchard Course, but the starter let me go to the more favored Hills Course and join a twosome getting ready to tee off. Ahead of us were 2 foursomes and for the first 4 holes we thought that the lead group was slow. However, by the 5th hole they were pretty much out of sight. We waited almost every shot until we were finally let through on the 13th tee. We caught the original lead group on 17.
As noted, it was very windy, but that did not seem to be the cause of slow play. Just poor golf. I would estimate that no one in that group shot less than 100.
There are no longer "marshalls" on most courses in the area, and where there are, they really aren't allowed to deal with slow play.

This course is at an altitude that snow affects play part of the year. They opened the back 9 a few weeks ago, but just opened the front. They haven't been able to do much grooming of the fairways on the front and have done nothing to create an intermediate rough. Therefore anything off of the fairways or greens is into lost ball territory. Once properly groomed, it will be a very scenic mountain course.

Although the prices have been raised since reopening after the Covid shutdown, the course is in the best condition it's been in years.

This is a challenging course, especially if you're playing it for the first time and not playing with someone that knows the course. Many holes dogleg and have large stands of trees to carry if trying to cut the dogleg. A few holes have forced carries that aren't readily seen from the tees and are easily reachable if you don't play the proper club.

This course can be challenging if you don't drive the ball straight. There are also several forced carries so playing the correct tees for your ability is paramount.

The course currently has no houses or structures near it, but construction has been started bordering the east side of the course. I all likelyhood only back yards will border the course.

This is one of the busiest courses in the area, and also one of the least difficult, which means that many golfers play here because it is best suited for their skill level.

Played today with a couple of very novice golfers that had little knowledge of rules or playing procedures. Very nice gentlemen and took suggestions for proper play to heart. It would have been a shame for them to have been paired with a couple of hard-nosed, play by the rules golfers as it may have discouraged their enthusiasum for the game.

Played on the PM GolfNow teetime, and didn't expect as many golfers as there were. All was OK until catching a foursome on the 7th hole. They had let a couple of other singles play through, but didn't offer to let me. Not only did they play slow, looked for a ball long beyond 5 minutes, but had a little girl riding with them that insisted on playing in the sand traps even after they had all putted out. I finally picked up after my drive on the 9th and went around them.

The course is in great shape, although a few over-watered spots in the fairways.
Unexpectedly lost a couple of balls just off of the fairway, and the rough wasn't more than a inch long.
Most challenging were the greens which had a lot of contour, and some not that noticeable.
Also some holes had a creek running across the fairways that could not be seen from the tees.
The signature elevated par 3 required distance control, as there was water in front and bunkers behind.

I play this course several times each year, always on a mid-week afternoon. This is one of the most played courses in the area, but this round was unusually slow. 4.5 hours during a mid-week PM is very slow. There was a 4some two groups ahead that were at least 2 holes behind the entire round. At first there was a course marshal, but he was not seen after our third hole. A marshal on this course midweek is unusual, so I am guessing there was some type of large group outing earlier in the day. I was paired with 2 others that play this course regularly and they were also complaining about the slowness of play.

Got to the course and found out that the back 9 was closed for aeration. When I complained that there was no alert on GN, I was told that the employee would suggest that to the manager, and that I should have called before booking.
I wouldn't have driven 50 miles RT if I'd have known I had to play the front nine twice.
If courses are going to book with GN, I believe they should be responsible for notifying GN of aerations, temporary closures, etc.

I was happily surprised at the excellent condition of the entire course. The other courses I've played in the area recently aren't anywhere near this course's condition. I would guess that it's because it's not Bermuda like the other courses.

I thought that playing in the heat of the day would be a faster pace of play. It wasn't that there were a lot of people playing, but there was a 4some two groups ahead that must have been playing for "big bucks" as they were all very deliberate over every shot and had to view putts from all angles. I didn't see anyone ahead of them, but they didn't offer to let anyone play through.
My guess is that they are members, and felt they were entitled. Of course, in the PM there is no "marshal" as there aren't many on the course.

Unfortunetly, it was very windy. The worst wind I've played in in 50 years of playing golf. It was hard to keep the ball still enough on some of the greens to actually hit it before it started rolling.It may be that the wind had kept them from watering or properly maintaining the course, but it was not in prime condition.

Had the wind not been howling my evaluation of the course would probably be more positive. However, the course is difficult to find,

This is a good course to play when just getting back into the game due to an extended lay-off. Very flat, mostly par 3s, but target golf due to lakes and layout.

If this course was not 35 miles from my home, I would definitely play it more often. I normally play during the week and the commute across Sacramento at peak travel times is a nightmare. Having played on Sunday, the travel was not a problem.

The course has several holes that have blind tee shots, or somewhat hidden hazards.
Being paired with others that had never played the course was a disadvantage to all of us.