Josmac

The Sea Ranch Links is a wonderful coastal California course that winds its way along the bluff above the Pacific Ocean. Several holes offer significant challenges with long forced carries or specific landing zones. I played it (again, I have visited multiple times) in mid-September and found the conditions about what we would expect for late in the season in drought-struck California. The fairways were green if not lush and the greens were in decent condition apart from several that need additional attention. The weather at Sea Ranch is coastal, so always a combination of sun, wind, fog, and clouds--which for me add to the allure. Not a ton of on course amenities, but nearby Gualala has all you need. This is definitely a course you should play on a California coast trip and if you are sweltering in some hot place, it is a great stop to cool off!

Bodega is the prettiest course in Wine Country. Stunning views out over the ocean and up and down the coast. It is a round to savor. The course is relatively short and has a unique routing up and down the coastal hills. It gives you a chance to use most every shot in your bag. Feature holes cross a coastal marsh and require walking—well worth it.

On this particular day, pace of play was poor. Not sure why. That has not been my experience in the past.

Definitely a course to play. Recommended.

The elevation changes at Alta Sierra will really fool you. You must be prepared to club up and down for the fairly steep routing the course takes. Conditions were excellent and pace of play was 4 hr 15 min. I think this course is the best value for challenge and scenery I play. Recommended.

Of the two courses at Foxtail, the South Course is definitely the more humble. Although their course ratings are about the same, the South course is not as well maintained and offers the opportunity to loose balls in big cracks in the ground and mud holes liberally sprinkled about. That said, it is also the least expensive and easiest to book course in the County. If you have a golf Jones and other places are booked, you can usually get a round and a cart at Foxtail South. Today's round was fast (a little more than 3 hours) and with some of the first winter weather of the year a good test. I got the chance to work on a few things with my swing. The greens are quite decent, BTW. It can be an adventure to get there, but once on, the rolls are true. Overall this is an average to slightly below average course that I do return to a few times of year. Worth a shot.

Bennett Valley is a classic muni course. The layout is fairly pedestrian, particularly the back 9 which is essentiallly a series of back and forth par 4s. That said, they do a good job of maintenance, particularly this year with all the extra use.

Today's round was played on late fall, hard and fast conditions. Lot's of roll out. You felt like a much bigger hitter than perhaps you are. The greens were a bit faster than you might expect at a muni. The pace of play was great (4 hrs 15 min). COVID precautions were well in place and it seemed like a safe experience.

The setting in Bennett Valley itself is beautiful, with a nice backdrop of mountains behind you. All in all a very pleasant round.