As my reviews from this come to an end, I get to the best two courses I played on this particular visit to Northern California. One was Orinda Country Club, which I will review last because I played it last. The other was Napa Valley Country Club. The tease of playing this private club has... Continue Reading →
Course Review: Marin Country Club
As I mentioned in my North Bay Short Course Blitz, this was a unique trip that was mainly centered around rounds at four different private clubs in Northern California. Everything else was just checklist filler and playing it by ear, which is why I ended up playing so many short courses along the way. The... Continue Reading →
Short Course Blitz: North Bay Area
I spent another very busy three days in Northern California last week. In total, I ended up playing 11 new courses. It was an interesting mix this time as four of them were private clubs, one was a normal public 18 and six were 9-hole short courses. Obviously, I have a lot of reviews and... Continue Reading →
North Bay Trip, Part 4: From the Hills to the Plains
If my Part 3 reviews were a study of contrast in terms of playing conditions, the final two stops on my recent North Bay Area trip also represent quite a contrast. This time, the playing conditions at both courses were very good. However, the layouts and settings couldn't be more different from one another. After... Continue Reading →
North Bay Trip, Part 3: Contrasting Conditions
After playing Indian Valley on Tuesday morning, my friend and I ventured up the 101 for our second and third rounds of the day. Let's just say there was quite a contrast between the two courses we played... Bennett Valley Golf Course • Santa Rosa, CA • 4/9/19 Between massive wildfires and wet winters, Santa... Continue Reading →
North Bay Trip, Part 2: By Dawn’s Early Light
I'm going to mix up the order of my remaining North Bay Area reviews a little bit, mainly so I can keep them paired up in better geographical fashion. Today's post will feature my early morning rounds played last Tuesday and Wednesday, which both happened to be in Marin County (the upper peninsula on the... Continue Reading →
North Bay Trip, Part 1: Dramatic Settings and Tough Rough
Earlier this week, a travel buddy and I spent three days in the North Bay Area working on our golf checklists in the region. We ended up playing 8 courses over the course of the trip, so I will review them two at a time here. We drove up early on Monday morning (technically I... Continue Reading →
2018 Christmas Trip, Part 4: Getting Wet in Wine Country
The final stops of my Christmas trip were in the North Bay Area (Wine Country, if you will) last Thursday morning before heading the rest of the way home that night. I was continuing my north-to-south checklist along Highway 101, visiting the remaining public courses on my list in geographic order. I stayed the night... Continue Reading →
February in the Bay Area, Part 4: A Bit Nippy in Napa
After two days in the East Bay Area, we headed north for the third day. We stayed the night in Vallejo and then were ready to go early on Friday morning in the Napa Valley... Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park • Napa, CA • 2/23/18 Our early morning round was at Napa Golf Course.... Continue Reading →
Norcal in September, Day 2: Miller Time in the Napa Valley
Day 2 of my recent trip took me to the Napa Valley area for two rounds with some fellow course collecting friends. The first course we visited was one of the the centerpieces for this trip, so it’s a round that I’ve been really looking forward to… Silverado Resort & Spa (North Course) • Napa,... Continue Reading →