EclecticTaste

I've recently made a commitment to walk whenever the temperatures are less than 75 or so. As my fitness improves I might move that up, but the idea of walking a hilly course in 100+ Sacramento summer sounds insane. And for the record, I prefer to carry rather than use a push cart. Easier to get through thick grass, IMO.

Living in a Sacramento suburb, I'm blessed to have 3 courses I play regularly: Turkey Creek in Lincoln, Whitney Oaks in Rocklin, and Morgan Creek in Roseville.

Agree with what others are saying. I just had a CC fitting on Monday, and he wanted to fit me into a Titleist TSi2 driver HEAD only for $549, PLUS $350 for a custom Oban shaft. Similar pricing for the 3 wood and irons. The hard sell for the shaft upgrades was a big turn off. I decided to get just the irons with OEM shafts & necessary lie/loft/length adjustments, and I'll buy woods on my own later.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. We're booked for Quail, hopefully it won't be too much of a let down after PB.

Going to Monterey for a few days this week, need a recommendation for Friday. We're already confirmed for Pebble (Weds) and Spanish Bay (Thurs), but need something for Friday. Looking at: Del Monte, Poppy Hills, Quail Lodge, Bayonet or Black Horse. Driving back to Sacramento, so any others on the way would be appreciated. If I had planned it better, Pasatiempo would have been it, but currently they're sold out for Friday. Before anyone asks, we're not staying on property, but I was able to switch my Spyglass tee time for Pebble when I called to add a player to our group (the agent liked me, I guess).

As a beginner, I always played twilight golf. Course was cheaper, and I'd usually get paired with other, less experienced golfers. I find early morning golfers to be more serious, and the course management is also a little more eager to push things along, because a slow early-morning group can/will ruin the entire day for dozens of other groups. Also, as a beginner, don't be shy about improving your lie a little, especially in thick rough or behind trees, etc. You're primarily there to have fun and improve your swing. The high degree of difficulty shots can wait until you can consistently make contact with the ball from the fairway. Regarding the instruction, that's great you take your kids out, but please, for the love of all that is holy, teach them to let others play through. I've been stuck behind dads or coaches teaching kids several times, and damned if they act like they never ever saw me, then stare daggers at me when I skip past them after being behind them for several holes. My preferred method for playing through is to have everyone tee off, then the person playing through goes to their ball and goes ahead.

Trip report. We arrived Friday afternoon (Sept 18), greeted with tons of rain. Concerned with forecast for the rest of the weekend, and potential conditions at the courses. Day 1, Saturday - The Home Course. Very nice course, excellent condition considering the amount of rain they received the day before. Only managed 1 1/2 rounds due to late start time (10:30). Staff was really friendly and helpful, apologized for not having open clubhouse due to COVID. My rank: 7/10 Day 2 - Gold Mountain, Cascade and Olympic courses. Fabulous courses. Up in the mountains, surrounded by tall pines, very scenic and beautiful layout. Very similar to courses in Lake Tahoe area. We played Cascade then Olympic, and I think that was the proper order. Front 9 is relatively easy, a good warmup to the back 9, and then Olympic, which is very challenging. We all agreed Olympic was worth playing again and again. Greens were very quick, much faster than the Home Course's, which were slowed due to the heavy rain the day before. Rank: 8/10 (Cascade) and 9/10 (Olympic). Days 3 (2 rounds), & 4 (1 round) - Chambers Bay. What can I say, a fantastic course, great condition. The greens had been punched the week before, but were still in really good shape, but a little slower than normal, according to the player's assistant and a couple people we talked to who had played there many times before. The layout is spectacular, the elevation changes makes for a tough walk, but seeing the entire course from pretty much every hole was cool. Definitely need to work on your bunker game, those massive sand areas are no joke. Personally, I wouldn't call it a true links course, but a great facsimile. I've played in Scotland & Bandon, and CB is not quite the same as those. The lack of any wind might be clouding my judgement, we had absolutely perfect weather, barely any wind. I understand this is a debatable opinion, not looking to start a fight. Also, need to point out that the staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful, gave our entire group discounts for state residency, and first responder discount as well (1 guy's son lives in Seattle, and 2 guys are in medical field). Rank: 10/10. Overall, I'd say you guys nailed it on course recommendations, all the locals we talked to recommended these courses as well as a few others like Trophy Club and Salish Cliffs.

Thanks, I'll look at all these and make some decisions.

Coming to Tacoma Friday Sept 18, to play Chambers Bay Sept 21 & 22 (Mon & Tues). Looking for courses near SeaTac/Tacoma for Saturday and Sunday. Preferably not too far from Tacoma, don't want to drive more than about 45 minutes each way. Ideally somewhere with 2 courses, so we can play morning and afternoon.

Many, many good options. In Roseville/Rocklin/Lincoln, Morgan Creek, Whitney Oaks, Turkey Creek are all good tracks, in very good to excellent condition. Whitney and Turkey are definitely challenging. Tree lined fairways and places to lose your balls, so if you're not driving straight scores are going to skyrocket. Auburn has The Ridge and Darkhorse, both excellent courses. I haven't played Ancil or Haggin in years. Haggin was overpriced for what it is relative to the others in the area, and Ancil takes forever to play. Its also far from my house, so another strike against it. Feel free to ask if you want any more detailed info.

That's a great 1 & 2 combo. Highly recommend taking a caddie. I played as a single a couple years ago, and the guys in my group had one, and he was extremely helpful in pointing the way, showing where to aim and where to miss. For the most part the course is in front of you, but there are more than a couple blind shots, and local knowledge is very helpful.

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to give my experience. Went on a buddy's trip to Inverness area of Scotland in Sept. In Scotland for 6 days, we played a total of 9 (yes NINE) rounds of golf - Castle Stuart 2x, Brora, Golspie, Royal Dornoch 2x, Nairn 2x, and Moray. We stayed in combination of inexpensive hotels (Premier Inns), and an AirBnb, moving to be closer to the various golf courses. Rented 2 cars (I've been to UK many times, don't mind driving there). Total cost for golf, hotels, food, cars & drinks = 2200. Airfare from San Francisco to Inverness = $600. We got good deals on replays, which is why we played 2-a-day. In hindsight, we would have either only played 1 round a day every day, or 2x/day and skip a day in between. We were pretty beat up by the end. Not used to walking so much. Hope this helps with budgeting and planning. PS. The experience of playing in Scotland was remarkably similar to Bandon Dunes. The wind, grasses, bunkers, rough, etc. very similar in feel to Scotland. In 2018 golf alone in peak summer was about $1500 for 5 rounds over 3 days. $325 & $175 replay, if I recall correctly. We rented an airBnB for 14 of us that went on this trip, about a mile from the resort, cooked our own food for breakfast & dinner, saved a lot of money.

Hey, I'm Minesh and live in the Sacramento Area in Northern California, but come to Medford every 2-3 weeks for work. Been playing for about 24 years. I play quite often. In normal times, around once a week from March-October, sometimes twice. In "winter" months it slows down a bit, just due to lack of daylight and rainy days. Sometimes hard to line up free time with breaks in the weather. Still much better than being in snow country where courses completely shut down. How long have you been playing golf? 24 years. Bought my first clubs at age 29. What’s your handicap or normal score? GHIN=18-20 What do you love about golf? Relaxing, challenging, and a time to spend with the guys at times. Love going on golf trips with the guys, we've been to Cabo (2x), San Diego, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Bandon, and Scotland (just 4 of us). What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I'd read their reviews on various products I was looking to buy. Where are you from? What is your home course? Grew up in Burbank, currently live in Sacramento area, but spend a lot of time in Medford, OR on business. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? The rounds can be a little slow at times. The weather allows to be able to play almost year round. Golf in Medford is really nice, only 3 public courses but in good/great condition, and afternoon rounds are easily played in 3 hours.

Hey, I'm Minesh and live in the Sacramento Area in Northern California. Been playing for about 24 years. I play quite often. In normal times, around once a week from March-October, sometimes twice. In "winter" months it slows down a bit, just due to lack of daylight and rainy days. Sometimes hard to line up free time with breaks in the weather. Still much better than being in snow country where courses completely shut down. How long have you been playing golf? 24 years. Bought my first clubs at age 29. What’s your handicap or normal score? GHIN=18-20 What do you love about golf? Relaxing, challenging, and a time to spend with the guys at times. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I'd read their reviews on various products I was looking to buy. Where are you from? What is your home course? Grew up in Burbank, currently live in Sacramento area, but spend a lot of time in Medford, OR on business. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? The rounds can be a little slow at times. The weather allows to be able to play almost year round. Golf in Medford is really nice, only 3 courses but in good/great condition, and afternoon rounds are easily played in 3 hours. I'm in the hotel business - own & manage a couple places. Describes my taste in music, film, art, life.