jdiamond7

I played Van Cortlandt after hearing some very nice things about the course, combined with its proximity to Manhattan. The location, in my opinion is the only plus. The course fails to deliver in almost every aspect of the golfing experience.

The pitfalls began with paid parking, something I cannot ever recall paying for at any other golf course. I don't care that it's just $3, I've played inner city golf courses before and none of the ones I've played had a pay parking lot. Checking in was a breeze, the pro in the clubhouse was quite nice.

Then it's a 10 minute walk from the clubhouse to the first tee. The funkiness of the layout is something that I really can't get past. The course is old, the holes are walkable, but there's 5-6 times where green to tee is far better done driving.

Course conditions were underwhelming, even for a muni. The tee boxes were hard as a rock and not well kept. Aprons were choppy on nearly every hole, but 17 was particularly a mess. Greens and fairways were both in good condition and were honest. Sand traps had many small rocks/pebbles. Greens rolled to about a 9 in my estimation.

Some of the holes were pretty interesting. 1 is a nice opening hole, 2 is a beast of a par 5, 6 is a very pretty hole with water, 13 is a weird par 3 with a blind tee shot from the tips. And 18 is a pretty fun closing hole - a reachable downhill par 4.

Also, no practice facility on site, and the practice putting green by 1 tee was punched and nothing like any of the other greens on the course.

The whole experience was a bit disappointing. Got paired up with a fun couple and had a nice time, but I'm not too thrilled to play this course again anytime soon.

Short course, in fairly decent shape. 4 hour round as a twosome on a 4660 yard course, so while pace was acceptable, it wasn’t like we were blazing around the course.

Bunkers were in very nice shape. Greens rolled a bit slow. Tee boxes were flat and well maintained. Roughs we’re lush and actually fairly penal.

Course isn’t particularly interesting. Not many noteworthy holes, though one mid length uphill par 3, I think 14 was actually quite pretty.

Not sure if I’ll ever be back again, but certainly don’t regret playing there, and would recommend to more novice golfers.

Look, the course layout is great. But the greens were punched a week ago and they charge $25 per bag on the cart on top of the greens fee. $50 for one cart is utter insanity. Full price 1 week post aeration too. Feel quite a bit ripped off on that front.

Fairways were in spectacular shape. Greens still quite bumpy. Will be back again and will probably walk the course like I usually do. Not my favorite course, but still quite decent.

Alister MacKenzie would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what disrepair this course was in. The bones of this course are fantastic. The location is equally great. And the good ends there.

The course needs about $20M pumped into it to bring it back to the proper conditions that it should be in. It's a poorly run dumpster fire right now. Even checking in sucked. I arrived at 3:10 for a 3:30 tee time and was rudely told not to check in because I was too early. Then 5 minutes later, they announce on an intercom that you can hear from 2 holes away that it's my time to check in. And then they don't take American Express.

Fairways and roughs have weeds growing in them. Greens were bumpy. Sand traps weren't taken care of. Tee boxes were a mess. Rough is gnarly. Dress codes are non existent. I was paired with three very nice people. The group in front of me had a cart that couldn't even get up the small hill heading into the first par three (the 5th hole, which could be absolutely fantastic). It's an uphill par three, 190 from the tips, trees on the right side, into a small green that feels secluded.

We played the first 8 holes in about two hours. 9-14 took about 1:40, and then I decided to leave after 14. I probably would have left after 9 if 9 went back to the clubhouse (which it doesn't), so 14 was a convenient jumping off point.

I know the course has been mired with political and legal issues, but I left today's round with such immense sadness for what this place could be and what it actually is. I hope it gets cleaned up. It obviously doesn't have the distance to host events like Harding or Olympic, but this course could be every bit as good. I'd love to come back after it's restored to its glory.

Mike Strantz redesigned this golf course in 2002 and the results are excellent. It doesn't get the kind of acclaim or press that Tobacco Road gets, but you can see the artistry that went into putting this course together.

The course meanders through the hills and valleys of San Jose, and seldom do you get a flat lie. Therefore, it's a very difficult, but not unfair course. Greens are in perfect condition and roll about an 11.5, maybe 12. The sand traps can be deep at times, and many of their traps have stairs to guide players up and down. The sand is silky, and I'm told it's the same kind of sand they use at Pebble Beach. One feature I particularly like is that the cart path blends into the sand traps on a couple holes (7 and 16).

Water comes into play on 9, 17 and 18. All of those are excellent holes.

Staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming. A hidden gem in San Jose.

I don’t think I’ve ever before written a review while still on the course. But, Chardonnay is going to be an exception. I write now while waiting 20 minutes to hit my tee shot on 5. I teed off 30 minutes after my scheduled time because of a lack of golf carts. The course doesn’t seem to be taking COVID seriously; while other courses removed ball washers and adapted their pins so the ball wouldn’t fall, Chardonnay has done neither. In fact, the kid in the golf shop wasn’t even wearing a mask.

As for the course itself, it’s in rough shape. Sand traps are dried out and it’s like hitting off hard pan. Fairways are patchy. Greens are pretty true so far.

I played Pasatiempo yesterday so maybe my review is harsh because the other course is so good, but a few holes in and I’m quite disappointed here for a multitude of reasons.

I drove 110 miles each way to get to Yocha Dehe and I liked it so much I did it again the following weekend. The course is excellent and starts with a very elevated tee shot into a perfectly manicured fairway. Greens were true, but not overly fast. Every hole presents a new challenge. Water comes into play on a few holes. Staff was friendly, range and practice area were very nice.

Only downside is that green to tee the holes are often pretty far apart, which makes walking the course pretty challenging.

I don't know if I'll be back again this season just because the distance is so far, but the course is an absolute gem.

9 hole executive course. In perfect shape, with a perfect setting, and nearly nobody was on it. I had a great time, and then had a burger dog afterwards. Can't beat it. Hope to be invited back real soon. Always a pleasure to play any of the courses at OC.

It's unconscionable to be that anyone would give this course less than a 5 star rating. The facility is spectacular. The landscaping around this course is colorful and very beautiful. The course itself is very challenging - the greens are especially tough. Each hole presents a different challenge. I thought the first 3 holes were the easiest and then the back 15 are a real challenge.

Staff was very friendly. If I lived closer, I'd consider becoming a member here.

Played Stanford this weekend and had a great experience. The layout is beautiful - tree lined holes on the front 9, great high-elevation views on the back 9. Course was in great shape, greens were pure, bunkers were perfect. Each hole is interesting. And the staff was awesome - I lost my rangefinder b/t 1 and 2 and they found it and brought it to me on the course. I hope to be back soon - really enjoyed it.

Fairways were overgrown, greens had recently been punched, tee boxes were in rough shape, and pace of play was dreadful. People in the pro shop were extremely nice and the course has some interesting holes. Hopefully in a couple weeks it will be in much better condition. For the conditions it was in on 3/16/19, 3 stars is generous.

If you live in the area and a fair test of your short game, Dublin Ranch does an adequate job providing that. Green complexes were interesting and varied, although very soft. And the par 3's were of different lengths and forced a variety of tee shots. Tee boxes were in good shape. Pro shop staff was friendly and helpful as was the starter.

My biggest complaint was pace of play. There was a group of 20 (5 foursomes) having some sort of outing and they took forever. We were told they were measuring out (literally with a tape measure) every putt that they had. It was insanity and the marshal didn't address this issue until well on to the back 9. The only other thing I take issue with was the condition of the sand traps. I was fortunate to have only been in the sand once in the round, but trap was full of rock, and the sand was really hard. It's not what I'd expect of an RTJ2 course. Also, the apron in front of the 16th green seems to be devoid of grass. That hole is a short par 4, playing 273 from the whites, and a good drive left a chip 15 yards in front of the green in what I think was intended to be fairway/apron and was only dirt.

On the whole, I wouldn't drive more than a few miles to play here, but if I lived nearby or happened to be back in the area, I would play here again.

At $28 for a twilight rate (walking), Sunnyvale can't be beat. That said, the course has its flaws, most notably the bunkers. There were rocks in the bunkers and the sand was really pretty hard. I don't know if there is a greenskeeper - they were pretty pelted with unrepaired divots. All in all, still a positive experience.

People in the pro shop were friendly. I'll be back again.

I think golf courses should be judged relative to other courses. San Jose Municipal is a fair course at an honest price point, and it serves its purpose well, but it's not a particularly interesting or well kept course. However, it's a 2 star course at best.

The course is extremely flat, the bunkers rarely come into play on tee shots for drives in the 280 yard range. The holes are all about similar lengths, so you don't very much club variety. The fairways aren't very well kept, and the greens are very slow. In contrast, I walked the US Amateur yesterday, and I'm fairly confident that the fairways at Pebble Beach were cut shorter than the greens at SJ Muni.

I won't be back to this course.

I have only glowing things to say about The Grand Golf Club. The course layout is very pleasant and very player friendly with Tom Fazio's signature big greens. The scenery is spectacular. Course conditions were perfect. Staff was extremely nice and helpful. Our fourcaddie was terrific. I even played played pretty well.

Overall an excellent experience. I hope to play again soon.

I'd feel more comfortable giving 4.5 stars, but it's definitely closer to 5 than to 4.

Staff was super friendly and great. Course is in terrific shape - fairways are great, greens were very soft, but pretty quick, traps were near perfect. Some of the holes were very memorable - I particularly liked both 4 and 5, an uphill par 4 with an elevated green and a long par 3 with water on the right.

The course is a moderately easy resort-style course that happens to be surrounded by beautiful scenery. Being in Carmel Valley, there's this tranquility on the golf course with mountains to one side and the ocean on the other. You can't see the ocean at all from the course though. I think the scenery is better than the actual course, but the golf layout is nice enough to still justify 5 stars. It has similar scenery to its neighbor, Carmel Valley Ranch, and I think this is the better course.

Only other downside is that the range is only about 200 yards. There weren't any irons only signs, but I certainly didn't feel comfortable taking driver there.

Looking forward to returning.

I wrote a review of this course in April 2016 and stayed away for two years, but after work on Monday I decided to play a twilight round at Santa Clara, and I'm very happy to write it's vastly improved. The course was pretty empty, and we played 18 in 3:40.

My biggest criticism is on the 1st hole - basically it's not clear from the first tee where you should be hitting the tee shot. That is to say that the shape of that hole isn't clearly defined. There still looked to be some repair going on, and it's just a messy opening hole. After the first, the course did get significantly better. Greens were in good shape. Tee boxes really aren't level - it's weird that you should ever be teeing off on an uphill or downhill lie.

My criticism of the scorecards from two years ago still stands - there's no GPS, it's unclear how each hole is shaped, and yet nowhere on the scorecard can you see the shape of the hole. Instead, they take space with ads - which is tacky.

Fair muni at a fair twilight price. I recommend, with reservations.

On an 88 degree day, all of the water coolers on the course were completely empty. After 9, I went in and told the staff that it would really be nice if they put the coolers out, they said they'd take care of it, and on the back 9, there was still no water.

Dehydration aside, the course was actually kind of nice. It's a weird layout and driving between holes takes you all over the place, but the course itself was in decent shape. Bunkers were lousy and hard. Greens were a tad slow but very playable. Fairways were in good shape. Lots of par 3's and a couple 5's. Very few 4's for a par 68 course. It's priced properly, and had a reasonable pace of play. Would consider returning.

There's not a whole lot I can add to what has already been said about this course. The first five holes are in fact spectacular. The last 13 sure aren't bad either.

I played Spyglass this weekend, the weather was perfect and the course was in great shape. I do recommend taking a caddie, particularly if it's your first time on Spyglass, since they'll know all the ins and outs of the course. The rough is thick, so getting out of there is a challenge. The traps are deep and are no joke either. Greens probably played to an 11, so very fair in that regard, though putts all break a little more than you might expect.

I think 1 is perhaps the best opening hole in golf, and 3 is the par 3 you see pictures of everywhere. However, some of the holes in the forest are really quite nice. The par 3 12th has a little bit of an Augusta feel to it with a lake on the left side of the green and some flowers behind. The par 5 14th is a nice double dogleg with another green protected by a lake. Visually a deceptive and stunning hole.

There were three things I didn't like:
1) Pace of play was very slow. I think we played to a 5:20 pace when the practice balls on the range say it should be 4:30.
2/3) Lack of a good locker room or restaurant near the 1st hole.

Will probably be back

Baylands is an almost completely redone version of what was previously Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course. I played a twilight round on opening day, and let me tell you, the greens were absolutely perfect. I've played some excellent courses and I don't think the ball has rolled this true anywhere.

The layout is interesting, and seems to follow a trend among newer courses - no rough, just running undulating fairways that lead into penal areas. The lack of a rough reminds me of Poppy Hills, although that's the only similarity. Poppy provides a much more complete golf experience. The 2nd hole is located awkwardly, you cross paths through the 5th hole to get from 1 to 2. And on the first day of the course, the sign fell down, so it was unclear where to go.

Old PA golf course had an awkward 10th hole that wrapped around the driving range. I'm very happy with the change that was made in this area. The awkward hole is now a fantastic short game area. The 10th now goes in a different direction. Really well done.

The bunkering is interesting. There's some pot bunkers that clearly have a European influence. The fairways rarely give you a flat lie, and the greens had multiple tiers. While the fairways are wavy, the course is relatively flat. By that, I mean, that there are very few elevation changes from tee to green, and the fairways almost have mogul-like undulations.

The course is still a muni, but it's now pricing itself like a mid-premium golf course. It's nice, but if the rack rate is going to be around $100, that's too expensive. When checking in, two senior citizens learned that there wouldn't be a 9 role rate until after 3pm (which is probably the right call if you're running a course), and that their 18 hole rate would be $90, which for a muni has to be among the most expensive in the country.

I believe they removed quite a few trees, and while that's nice on some holes, it leaves beautiful views of power lines on others. The electrical wires aren't particularly close to the course, but they're very much in view. Also, there's an occasional plane taking off and landing at the Palo Alto airport.

Store and restaurant were redone as well. Some new wood flooring, new logo, etc. No real clubhouse or locker room to speak of.

On the whole, I did like the course. Staff was very friendly. It would be a much better experience at 30% lower prices. For around the $100 range, there's many better options in NorCal.