Del Paso Country Club Sacramento CA

[mega]

I signed up for the Sacramento First Tee annual fund raiser and get to play Del Paso CC tomorrow. Really looking forward to it.

 

This will be my first time out there. A couple of years ago I was set-up to play it through the NCGA Member's Outing tournament series but work got in the way. This one is running me quite a bit more coin than the NCGA option but at least it's for a good cause.

 

I'll come back later and share my thoughts on the course.

 

One thing I will say is there is not a lot of information available. Couldn't find much in the way of reviews, scorecards, etc. The DPCC website does not provide a lot of golf info, they seem to play it close to the vest.

 

I would say I'd be looking forward to bidding on a twosome or foursome donated to play there but I have to be realistic about how much those will go for assuming there's an auction and any are donated. I'm already playing above my pay grade.

 

As an aside, I volunteered for the 2015 Senior US Open being held there so I'm looking forward to getting a preview of the course from what will be inside the ropes...

[GolfSpy Dave]

Have fun!

I drive by that course almost daily and have yet to get out and play.

[fozcycle]

Have fun!

I drive by that course almost daily and have yet to get out and play.

 

Dave,  you should play in the Sacramento First Tee annual fund raiser....

[GolfSpy Dave]

Dave,  you should play in the Sacramento First Tee annual fund raiser....

I agree, but these events are always during the week and work gets in the way of fun

A few of us did bid on a foursome there once during a charity auction. We could't compete though when it passed $800.

I keep working "the connections" though

[mega]

I'm on the road this week but will try and have something up by end of weekend...

[mega]

Though not a destination course, I thought I would share my thoughts on Del Paso Country Club considering the US Senior Open will be played there in June 2015. It is also Kevin Sutherland's home course. Kevin was onsite to perform a clinic and to take pictures with and meet all the groups as they made their way around the course.

USGA Championships at Del Paso:

1957 U.S. Women's Amateur

1960 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur

1976 U.S. Women's Amateur

1982 U.S. Women's Open

2015 U.S. Senior Open

Amenities
Del Paso CC has been around since 1916. The club house has more of an old school feel to it, both in it exterior architecture and in its interior décor. Don't get me wrong the facility is very very nice, locker room was large, oak paneling and wainscot throughout, security guard at entrance.

The carts didn't have GPS but this is pretty common for the Country Clubs I've played in the area.

Since this was a charity tournament there was no need for a beer cart, drinks were plentiful, a box lunch and boxed snack pack was provided. There were many stocked ice chest, including beer, throughout the course as well as a couple of stronger drink stations. My only complaint is there wasn't just plain bottled water in the ice chests, Sacramento can still be pretty hot in September. I can only handle so much Powerade.

The Proshop wasn't anything special though I'm sure they serve their members very well. I was a little disappointed because I was considering getting a logo'd shirt but they have already changed over to their US Sr. Open logo which I will get as part of my volunteer package next year. I wanted to get more of a pre Open logo item. As an aside, the Sacramento airport is already filled with ads for next year's US Sr. Open.

 

Beauty/Scenery
As far as Sacramento area courses go, particularly the ones down in the valley and not in the foothills I was surprised that the course had as many elevation changes and uneven lies as it did without looking artificial (the proverbial buried elephant look). The elevation changes weren't drastic but enough to keep it interesting and influence club choice. The course has a large number of scrub oaks mixed in with evergreens and some smaller very nice looking trees. During the restoration completed in 2006, they removed 1000 trees.

 

Course Conditions
Overall conditions were very uniform throughout the course with one exception mentioned below.

The fairways and tee boxes were impeccable. I loved the fairways, tight enough but not so tight that your sort game shots near the green would be limited. Because they are getting the course ready for the US Sr. Open, there were several areas on the fairways and tee boxes that had been sprayed (bermuda eradication program which is the exception I refer to above) to be replanted as part of the US Sr. Open prep so I give them a pass for these.

They had graduated rough with 3 levels, the 1^st cut was very playable but not very wide, however, you started to pay the price the further you got off the fairway. It will be interesting to see once the US Open comes to town if they go with 2 or 3 cuts. Bunkers had that nice white soft sand that likes to give you plugged lies.

Greens were very smooth and rolled true but the green color was a little uneven, since the greens were cut so short I'm not sure if the color variation is due to the Sacramento heat or the Poa some of our area courses have, particularly the older courses.

Also, looking at the yardage guide and talking to one of the members, you could see how the rough is already being grown in to tighten the fairways and change how certain holes play. There's at least 2 holes, maybe 3, that used to be double fairways that have now had rough grown in separating the fairways.

Practice Facilities
The driving range is as good as I've ever seen rivaling the quality I saw at TPC Stonebrae and TPC Valencia. The range was identical in quality and cut to the same height of the fairways. It had 4 large greens with contours and large bunkers, some with raised greenside lips to give you a really good depth perception. Callaway den caddies full of Callaway Range Balls. There were many cleaning stations complete with fresh soapy water, two towels per stations, as well as a nylon brush for cleaning grooves.

The practice green located right next to the first tee box was extremely large and as it turns out very consistent with the green speeds on the course.

I did not see a short game practice area but didn't ask if there was one.

Accessibility to All Levels
In general, there are three tee boxes, with the back two being double sized tee boxes, to service a total of 5 tees on the card. Given the separation between the three boxes I believe the course would be playable for all levels with the course under normal non US Open conditions. In addition to the standard scorecard, they also have a combination score card that has two choices that combines the two shortest tees and the next two longer tees. From the tips the card lists the course at 7121. Remember Sacramento is essentially at sea level.

Difficulty/Fairness
Overall I felt like it was a good test, some tough angles, but fair. You will have to layup on some holes to not hit through the doglegs or get blocked by trees but there are many holes where you can just bomb away (or it at least felt that way since we were playing a scramble). There's a mixture of blind tee shots and tee shots that are right in front of you.

Several holes that run along the property line definitely has OB in play. Lateral hazards were in play on many holes but it didn't feel like it was in play too much.

The difficulty for the US Open will all be based on how much they grow the rough in and how fast they can get the greens (what else is new) without losing them in the Sacramento Heat. June's average temperatures are still very nice but in Sacramento, you can have a triple digit heat wave anytime over a four month period. Heck, I came home to 100 degree weather in mid-September just this past Friday.

Variety
Off the tee, there was a nice mixtures of wholes that played right to left and left to right.

The Par 3's were a mixture of water carry shots, well bunkered greens, and an open shot to a severely tiered green. It did seem like most of the approaches were to slightly or moderately elevated greens. In fact I can't remember any downhill shots to a green. The downhill tee shots were often to the valley of a fairway which then required an uphill approach.

There's a mixture of risk/reward holes with holes that you just need to plod along on.

Customer Service/Guest Experience
Everything was top notch for the tournament, lots of manpower to help at the bag drop. Shuttle driver for the range, pro shop was extremely friendly. They provided forecaddies for the tournament which really helped on those blind tee shots. Many of the forecaddies had their own laser and would have a yardage for you when you showed up. They were also cleaning your clubs.

Value
For tee prizes, we got a sleeve of First Tee Pro V1's and a $75 gift certificate to spend at the Callaway Store. The store was set-up in room next to pro shop and had everything from balls, clubs, bags, apparel, and accessories. If you wanted to spend more than $75 and didn't have cash, they walked you over to the Proshop for them to handle the transaction. I did not ask what the guest fees were.

Memorability
The risk/reward nature of the 1^st, 9^th, and 10^th are definitely holes I will remember long term as well as the challenging 18^th with its green being much wider than deep with a steep bank back into the hazard fronting it. The par 3 back into the wind with a severe tiered green also stands out.

 

As far as the fundraiser goes, several First Tee participants spoke at the ceremony afterwards, contributors were thanked, and several individuals were honored. Sacramento's First Tee program is definitely making a difference.

 

In summary, I really enjoyed playing here and I am glad I did it supporting a worthy cause. I look forward to going back next summer to walk the course, even if it's outside the ropes, and may sign up for the tournament again next year.

 

I will come back later and add the scorecards once I scan them as well as some course pictures. I didn't take many pictures as I felt more like a guest then someone at a resort course. The good news is that their website says they will be adding a course tour this fall. Hope it's well done and gives us more than what we can already get from Google Earth.