Rhaegar

My first time playing La Contenta, and I thought that it was well worth the drive out into the country. The yardage is not exceptionally long, but this is a course more for the tactical player than the long bomber. You don't always need your driver, but you do need to know the yardages and where to lay up to. Its a hard course the first time around. There are a fair number of blind shots with severe doglegs, and there are certain areas of the fairway that you need to lay up to, which you wouldn't really know the first time around the track. I found the holes varied and memorable. The conditions were good especially considering the drought. They are definitely conserving water, though they are doing it intelligently. The greens are watered as are the fairways, although they probably drier than normal. The tees and rough areas are not watered as much. Some of the bunkers also tend to be dried out and hard. The main complaint about the conditioning is actually the cart path! I've never driven a cart path that had so many potholes and areas of broken concrete. It made for a teeth rattling ride. For people who like to walk, I suppose that technically it is walkable, although there is a lot of elevation change. You will need to be above average in fitness to really be able to walk this. Aside from the cart path and the long drive to get there, I thought that the course was great, and well worth a trip.

I rated this course 3 stars, but I would probably give it 3.5 stars if there was the option. The course had quite a few positives, but also a few negatives. First off the positives, the conditions were very good in light of the drought going on. The fairways were green, and the greens themselves were well manicured and rolling fast. The layout was relatively flat, which is good for walking, but there is some variety in the length of the holes, and with doglegs and water on a few holes. The staff was good overall, and they even gave us a free drink with the round. Now the negatives. The pace of play was terribly slow. Part of this was due to too many tee times, but a large part of this was also poor golfers playing off the wrong tees. The other problem is that this course is like a shooting gallery. The holes are too close together, particularly the tee boxes and greens. There are many parallel fairways, and with the scattershot golfers out there we had several instances of balls landing near us. I don't know that I've ever heard so many calls of "Fore" in one round in my life. Aside from those problems, I really enjoyed playing the course. I'll just have to remember to wear a hard hat the next time I'm out there.

I seldom give a course a bad review, but I'm afraid that I can't really recommend this course. Its a shame because there does seem to be potential here. The holes are varied and interesting for the most part, although I did not like the consecutive blind par 3 holes on the back nine. The main problem with this course was the conditions. I had not played this course before, so I'm not sure if the conditions are ordinarily like this, and they may have recently undergone some over seeding, but it really was not good. Some of the greens were 90% dirt, the only "grass" were some weeds poking through the dirt, seriously. Most of the greens were still mostly grass, but all of them had significant areas which were just dirt. On the other hand, the fairways were overgrown in places, making it difficult to push your cart. There were also large clumps of grass clippings in the fairways which made it hard to find your ball at times. I'm hoping that I just caught the course on a bad day, but I can't recommend it at this time, particularly when other courses in the area are better for a similar price.

Given the reviews of this course, I had some trepidation coming here to play, but the location near the freeway was convenient for me, and so I decided to risk it. I was pleasantly surprised for the most part. Now, this course isn't anything like a country club, but then the greens fees aren't that high either. The fairways are shaggy and there are some hard pan and brown spots, but less than most of the other local muni courses in the Central Valley area. In fact they probably over watered in some places which created areas of mud. The greens were in decent shape but they were very slow, you really had to give your ball a good rap sometimes. As for the layout, it is pretty flat which made it a breeze to walk. There is some variety to the holes so that it is not freeway golf. There are some forced carries over a small canal in a few places. Overall, I think as long as you are not expecting too much, this course was a pleasant surprise, and I'll likely play it again.

A new course to add to my favorites list. I like courses that are set in a forest like setting with good maintenance, and this course definitely fits the bill. Despite the drought, the conditions are still very good. There are some brown spots, particularly in the rough off the fairway, but the fairways and greens are in good shape. The fairways are narrow, and some of the holes play long, but not impossibly so. There is a nice variety to the layout. If I were to nitpick about anything it would be that the pace of play was kind of slow, and the weather was a bit muggy in the afternoon. I would try for a morning tee time if possible in the summer. It was also surprising for a course this nice that the patrons would not fix their ball marks on the green. I repaired as many as I could, but I don't know that I have ever seen a nice course in which the ball marks were so seldom repaired. Overall, a great course and a great experience. I only wish that I lived closer to Sacramento so that I could play it more often.

Relatively good course given that it is a muni, and California is in the middle of a drought. In comparison to similar courses in the area, I would rate this course behind Creekside, but ahead of Dryden Park in Modesto. The greens and fairways were in decent shape despite the drought, but there are definitely some brown areas. The layout is relatively flat, although it has to have the bumpiest fairways I have ever driven over. I was a bit worried that the golf cart would come apart. Probably a few too many Ground Squirrel holes.

Roddy ranch is an interesting course, they cultivate a "cowboy" vibe which is a bit different. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, they were even able to get me out earlier than my reserved tee time. The course itself has an interesting layout with many different types of holes set in a links like style. I would say that it is too hilly to walk comfortably, and a warning to those planning on only playing 9 holes, the 9th hole does NOT go back to the clubhouse, you have to play all 18 to return to the clubhouse. The predominant weather condition was a two club wind the entire time. This was in some ways good in that it helped keep things from getting too hot, but it was a bear to play through the wind and score well. The course conditions were definitely affected by the drought. There was a fair amount of hard pan and dried out areas. Although the greens were in great shape, I found dried out hard pan lies even close to the greens. A tip for golfers with multiple wedges, go with the low bounce wedges on this course. I used the "two dot" bounce on my Cleveland wedges, and I had a few bladed chips due to the tight lies. I had one wedge with "one dot" and it worked much better. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and I would play it again..

My first time playing this course, and overall I enjoyed it. The course has a kind of tree lined, park land feel to it. It is not overly long, but the trees really come into play, creating some narrow fairways, which place a premium on hitting accurate drives. Hitting out from under the trees is no fun at all. The maintenance was good, the grass is still mostly green even on the fairways despite the drought. My one complaint about the maintenance would be that the grass on the tee box was unusually lush and tall. I had to really tee my ball up high. The greens had a fair amount of grain to them as well. As a first timer on the course, I found the hole routing and lack of signage confusing enough to actually get lost twice, which has never happened to me before. The course is quite flat, and walking it was a breeze. Overall, a nice course which is a good change from some of the other courses in the area.

Poppyridge is a links like course, that is actually no where near the ocean. Despite that short coming, I found the course enjoyable although a challenge to play when the wind is up, which is probably most of the time. The Merlot 9 was very hilly and the yardages were tough to figure out with the wind. The wind was able to alter driving distances by as much as 50 yards in some cases. Be prepared to practice your low, boring drives. There are multiple forced carries, and despite being a links course, the fairways are fairly narrow. The fairways and the greens both have a fair amount of undulation. Not a course for the beginning golfer. I also can not recommend it for the walker, unless they are quite fit. There are quite a few hills and some of the holes are quite a ways from each other. Overall an enjoyable round, but be prepared to play in windy conditions, particularly in the afternoons.

My first time playing this course, and I really liked it. Despite the drought, the fairways were still green! Something which I seldom see anymore. The greens were also in good shape. The lay out of the course is interesting with many dog legs and elevation changes. Some forced carries over bush filled gorge areas. Definitely not a course for the beginner. Course also not for walkers, very long, and hilly. Lots of distance between the holes at times. I usually play from the blue tees, but I was relegated to the whites d/t the length. Stretched to something like 6900 yards from the blues. Value was great, especially playing twilight. My only complaint with the course is the location. It is a pain to drive that far to get there. If it was located closer to me, I would play it every weekend. Even so, it is still worth the drive every now and then.

This course is relatively inexpensive to play. Having said that, you get what you pay for. The fairways were in pretty bad shape. It was probably 50% hardpan and 50% scraggly yellow grass. Probably was better before the drought set in. The greens and a 10 yard area around the greens are still green, which is probably the best aspect of the course. The layout is pretty flat and straightforward, makes it a great course to walk.

My first time playing the course, and I was impressed. I think that it is probably the best of the public courses in Modesto that I have played. The fairways are a bit hit or miss. There are many dry spots and hardpan, but that is to be expected during the drought. I was most impressed that they were able to maintain the quality of the greens despite everything. The layout was fairly long from the tips, but playable and not penal. Overall great deal for the price, and I'm sure that I will play again.

A great value as a private course. Even as a private course the "rules" are not that strict. Players are allowed to wear jeans, and often five somes are allowed. The facilities are in good shape. The course itself is mostly green even with the latest water restrictions. It is of course not as lush as before due to the drought. The course can play long depending on which tees you use. The length on some holes, along with the elevation changes and tree lined fairways make the course challenging enough to play regularly. The par 5 17th with its peninsula green is just a bear to play. Overall a good course and good value for its location.