San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto Golf Course Recommendations

[JI3]

I'll be heading to Stanford for some executive education in July.

I believe Stanford University is in Palo Alto, and I wanted to stay there few more days after my program to hit some golf courses.

It seems like San Francisco is only 30-40 min away, and Santa Cruz is like 40 min away from Palo Alto.

So any beautiful courses and bang-for-the-buck courses recommendation is much appreciated.

Hopefully, I can get on to the Stanford Golf Course as a student.

Thanks in advance.

[timmy8151]

How many days are you going to be in the area? If you can get onto the Stanford course try to. I've played there a couple of times and enjoyed my rounds.

 

Some courses that I'd recommend:

Pasatiempo (Santa Cruz)

TPC Harding Park (San Francisco)

Presidio Golf Course (San Francisco)

Poppy Hills (Monterey)

Bayonet & Blackhorse (Seaside)

Poppy Ridge (Livermore)

Half Moon Bay Ocean (Half Moon Bay)

[poppyhillsguy]

I'd play Stanford over and over and over and over then make a quick trip to Pasatiempo.

 

Stanford is a fantastic course and the bay area traffic sucks the life out of me.

[JI3]

Thanks guys for your input.

I'll check those courses out.

It sounds like Stanford is hard to beat!

I'm pretty excited about this.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

If you have access to the Stanford course absolutely play it.

Pasatiempo is my favorite public in the area absolute Mackenzie gem. If you have access to other private clubs try and get out on Menlo CC about 15 min up the Alameda across from Woodside High. (Go Wildcats) recently renovated by the same guy who did Cal Club.

 

I used to work at Sharon Heights on the way to the 280 from Stanford. Been a long time and don't know what it's like now.

 

 

Also Dutch Goose is a must visit

[lefty88]

I could play that standford course everyday and never get sick of it. Always pure and only $25 for students. If you're around there I would likely head south and play in the Monterey/Carmel area

[SmoothStroker81]

Pasa

Harding Park

Stanford

Half Moon Bay - Ocean for the views, Old Course for the challenge

[llewol007]

If I were you Play Stanford, Awesome course. If you are looking elsewhere from your area, I would say hit up Harding Park, and Presidio. Those 3 are worth playing twice over. But like many have mentioned, if you can play Stanford for the student rate, you would be crazy not to take advantage of it.

[R-Kid]

How about Cinnabar? That's not too,far from the area he's asking about.

[hlca]

Does your program confer a degree or is it more like continuing education? The latter does not get golf privileges. Perhaps your instructor can help get you on the course. It's pretty fun (only played it once).

 

Here are some other ideas that I didn't see mentioned above:

 

TPC Stonebrae (private, but you can get on through the Masterpass program)

Wente (haven't played yet, but hear good things)

Poppy Hills / Bayonet in Monterey

Cordevalle (you can stay and play for $500ish)

[JI3]

Does your program confer a degree or is it more like continuing education? The latter does not get golf privileges. Perhaps your instructor can help get you on the course. It's pretty fun (only played it once).

 

Here are some other ideas that I didn't see mentioned above:

 

TPC Stonebrae (private, but you can get on through the Masterpass program)

Wente (haven't played yet, but hear good things)

Poppy Hills / Bayonet in Monterey

Cordevalle (you can stay and play for $500ish)

 

No, unfortunately, my program does not confer a degree, so it means I would have to rely on other avenues to getting on the Stanford course.

However, I might have someone who can help me book a tee time there. (crossing the finger)

[JI3]

So my trip to Stanford is nearing, and I've booked flights.

I've also come up with a general itinerary for this trip.

Thanks to everyone's input!

 

So here it is!

July 4th: Bayonet & Blackhorse

July 5th: Poppy Hills

July 6th: Half Moon Bay Ocean/Old course

July 7th: Pasatiempo

July 8th-10th: Stanford (one of those days)

 

I can book for everything except the Half Moon Bay and Stanford, and I might have someone willing to help me book for those courses.

That would be fantastic.

I'm very excited about this trip!

Thanks everyone!

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Really solid line up

[CobraKat]

Let us know the course you enjoyed most. My money is on Pasatiempo.

[knoe07]

yes, please let us know your thoughts on them. Only had a chance to play two of those (bayonet and pasatiempo), but looking to play more in the area.

[Jigga]

Poppy Hills is mega pure. I've never played Augusta, but I think some of the holes on PH's back 9 have an Augusta feel. The only hole I did not care for was the par 5 9th.

[hlca]

I just played Poppy on the 3rd. Really tough greens there! I was hitting driver and irons really well, but still blew up due to those greens. On the 3rd hole (I think?), I hit a really nice, high iron shot that hit the front left of the green and it ran all the way to the back right behind red stakes...

[JI3]

My brother and I had a fantastic 7 straight days of golf in this Northern California Golf Swing.

I'll try to give you guys my feedback to all the beautiful courses I've played in the past week.

Even though all the courses we've played were high end, we scheduled to maximize money savings through hot deals and what not.

We drove from LA to Monterey to kick off this golf trip.

 

1. Black Horse: The condition was immaculate. The weather was cool in the low 60s to low 70s. A little bit foggy in the morning, but not to a point where the visibility was compromised. The course was beautiful. The fairway was rather wide with little elevation changes. So it was rather easy off the tee box. On the other hand, the greens were fast and true rolling. Most of the greens had multiple tiers, and the hole location was rather difficult. The approach shots and chip shots were not holding on the green. The greens were firm, so most shots rolled off the green even if I hit the greens. Basically, you lose a stroke on almost every single hole due to the difficulty of the green. The pace was good. I neither felt the front group was slow nor the back group was rushing us. So we got to experience the rounding thoroughly. The green fee was very reasonable for such a well maintained course ($59.00 on GolfNow). Definitely bang-for-the-buck course. I enjoyed my rounding here, but there was no particular area that stood out in my memory other than the condition. Overall rating of this course for me was 3.5 stars out of 5.

 

2. Bayonet: After a light lunch, we went out to Bayonet in the afternoon. The fog had cleared up, and the temperature had risen up to high 60s to mid 70s, which was perfect. With the fog clearing up, we were able to fully enjoy the scenery. The replay rate was $55, which was fair for a great course. We lost a stroke on the green at Black Horse, where as we lost stroke from the tee box at Bayonet. The fairways were tight with tall and high trees lining up both sides of the fairway. If you miss the fairway, you will be penalized being under the tree or behind the tree, where you are forced to lay-up. The greens were equally true-rolling and fast, but it wasn't as difficult as the Black Horse. Once again, the greens were not receptive to approach shots. The pace was good until these two rude golfers drove up on us while teeing off. They were very impatient, so we let them go ahead of us even though there were groups in front of us. The scenery was beautiful. The course design was difficult and fun with some elevation changes and blind shots. I preferred the Bayonet course over the Black Horse, but they were equally well maintained and gem courses. I would rate this course 4.0 stars out of 5.




3. Poppy Hills: Now... This is one magical course. Teed off early in the morning, and it was foggy as usual in Monterey. The temperature was around low 60s. The fog subtly enveloping the course made the visual even more majestical. The green fee was on the high side ($105 on GolfNow), but it was worth every penny. The course was cart path only, so I walked the course, and it optimized my experience of the course. The pace was rather faster than I would like. The fairways were neither tight nor wide. Lots of dog-leg-rights and lefts. The greens were true-rolling and fast. It must be a Monterey course thing, but once again, the greens were not receptive. It was rather firm, so lots of shots weren't holding on the green. Impeccable condition. We were joined by another single, who was very pleasant. He acted as our yardage book because he had played the course numerous times before. I had a sand wedge shot from 96 yards for an eagle on hole 13, which probably added more to my experience of the course. Then I also had a unbelievable putt on hole 16 where I had to putt severe right to left break for a birdie. There was certainly something special about this course like the Augusta. All things considered, I shot pretty well, and I'm sure that adds to my biased review of the course. Overall, I immensely enjoyed the course, and by far, my favorite course of this trip. I give 5 stars out of 5 for this super course, and it's a must-play course if you are visiting Monterey area.




4. Half Moon Bay – The Old Course: The green fee was on a high side ($125). The temperature was about mid 60s to high 60s. The course condition was in great shape. The greens were more receptive than the courses in Monterey. More sticky greens which allowed for zipping chip shots and approach shots. Lot of holes were outlined by houses, so the course seemed very similar to Orlando courses. The course was a bit tight, so had to be on-point from the tee box. I was told that this course was on a harder side, but I didn't really think so. I shot pretty well here, and I didn't think nothing special about this course. The course was due to be at the bottom of my course ranking, but that was only until the last two holes. Now I have to say the last two holes of this course is one of the best. The 17th hole par 3 is hitting into the winds of ocean side, and even though you are hitting into the wind, you can hit as hard as you want because it literally feels like you are hitting into the vast ocean. It's actually very cool feeling. 18th hole... what more can I say... It's absolutely beautiful finishing hole. My all time favorite. No words can describe it until you see it. It's just magnificent. After these two holes, my rating for this course went up a lot. I rate this course 4.5 stars out of 5. Must play this course at least once in your life time for that scenery on the 18th hole...




5. Half Moon Bay - The Ocean Course - Replay rate ($75) was more affordable but still on a high side. It warmed up a little bit in the afternoon, but the wind picked up more. On top of that, since this course was a links style with no trees to block off the wind by the ocean side, the wind affected my game tremendously. I didn't shoot too well because of that, and every time the ball went into the fescue, it's impossible to find the ball. I usually do pretty well in links style courses, but this course owned me hard. lol It's certainly more scenic course than the Old Course, but I found it harder. The greens were very receptive and true rolling. The course was in outstanding shape. There were few drop off tee shots, and dog legs, which made the course more enticing. The design aspect was not lacking at all, but the wind condition made the experience less appealing. Between the Ocean and the Old Course, I preferred the Old Course due to two factors: the wind didn't influence my game to a point where it was not enjoyable and the 18th hole. I rate this course 4 stars out of 5.

 

6. Pasatiempo - I’ve heard lots of great stuff about this course. A course designed by Alister Mackenzie. The green fee ($250.00) was off the hook, so I had to book for a hot deal tee time that is available only once a day at 1:30 pm for $170.00. I applied all the promo codes I had to bring down the green fee. My brother did the same separately to maximize discounts. There was additional fee for cart, but my brother and I opted to walk it. Walking the course great! You get to appreciate the course more, see more, smell more, and feel more! Well I FELT MORE alright… More sun and more heat… It was unusually hot that day at about 85-90 degrees… Even the staffs were baffled by the unusual heat that day… I also picked up a black head cover for my ER6 mallet putter. The stock putter cover was white, and it was getting dirty quick, so I was in the market for a black cover. The pasatiempo head cover was absolutely perfect for my need, and it looked cool! The PGA pro at the shop was very helpful and friendly. We were feeling great until we got on the practice putting green and chipping green… The practice greens were very slick and quick, and if these were the indications of how fast the greens are going to be, the challenges were waiting for us in the actual course. The PGA pro also told us that there will always be an ocean break, advising us that the ball will gravitate towards the ocean side. The course was in tremendous shape, and the design is second to none. I mean it’s Alister Mackenzie course! He’s got all kinds of design aspects in it: dog leg right, dog leg left, elevation changes, blind shots, fescue, plateau greens with green side bunkers surrounding it, and etc. It certainly wasn’t lacking design aspect. However, it was one damn difficult course. I would have to say it was the most difficult course I’ve played in this trip. The greens were really fast, and on top of that there was the ocean break which I couldn’t get myself to register in my brain because it just doesn’t look like it’s going to break that way. I ended up 3 putting on many holes here. The fairways were very demanding of accuracy. If I didn’t hit the fairway, I lost strokes from punching out. I felt like I would have to play here more than 5 times to do well here. It’s one of the courses that you have to know in order to play well. I played horrendously, but I still appreciated Alister Mackenzie design. The usual hot weather didn’t help either. My brother and I were burnt from that day. It was a challenging walk too. Lots of elevation changes, so I was exhausted by the end of the round. Overall, I found this course to be too difficult for me. I believe it would take me couple of trips to this course to fully indulge and appreciate how beautiful and magnificent the course is. The pros were that there aren’t too many unique courses like this, and the condition was immaculate. The cons were the green fee was too steep, and the course was too hard to enjoy for a first timer. I rate this course 4.5 stars out of 5. (I could easily see this course being 5 out of 5 if I were a scratch or single handicap golfer.)

 

7. Stanford Golf Course – I hooked up with another GolfWRX member SmoothStroker81 to play on this course. Big shout out to him for accompanying us. He was super melo and cool guy. He knew the course inside out, so that added to the experience at the course. Once again, it was super hot that day… almost like 90-95 degrees in Palo Alto, which he said was a bit unusual. So two days in a row, my brother and I walked the courses in 90-95 degrees, and that was hard to cope with. The green fee was $125 for an accompanied guest to a member of Stanford. This is another fantastic course with cool design. It was crazy crowded, but the pace wasn’t that much of an issue. The condition of the course was pretty decent, but not as good as the ones I’ve been. The green was very receptive, and it was on a slower side. Throughout this golf trip, my putting stroke adapted to the faster true rolling greens. The Stanford green was a lot slower, so I kept leaving it short on all my putts. I really liked the course design, but once again, the weather didn’t help our experience here. It was so hot that I can’t remember much of the second half. I did enjoy my time with SmoothStroker81, and we got into some heavy golf gear talk being GolfWRX members, which is always fun! He also allowed us to hit some of his sweet clubs, which is always a bonus! By the end of the rounding, my brother and I were tanned black… I rate this course 4.5 out of 5 stars.

 

8. TPC Harding – Being in San Francisco, I had to try one of the TPC courses, TPC Harding. They held a PGA tournament there few years ago, and I recall seeing it on TV, saying “I would like to play there one day.” Well that one day came, and we got to play at TPC Harding. The green fee was $113.00. It was early in the morning, and the temperature was in the 60s since we were by the Bay Area. Yes, I did miss that cool weather after struggling with the heat exhaustion last two days at Pasatiempo and Stanford. We were matched with a single, and he was a pleasant gentleman! He was real talkative and being a SF resident, he gave us lots of advices on the course as well as places to eat. The course condition was super and probably the best we’ve played. Unfortunately, that’s about the only good thing I can say about the course. It was simply boring course… Every hole was relatively straight. The course was neither tight nor wide. There was nothing intriguing about the course layout… The only intriguing hole I can remember was the finishing hole, which had marsh land to the left, and the pin was tucked around and in to the left side as a slight dog leg left. But other than that… nothing fancy… I just didn’t think it was good at all. I would not bother playing here again. I guess it’s one of those you can say you’ve played it. I rate this course 3 out of 5 stars.

 

9. Sharp Park – After a less-than-stellar course at TPC Harding, we felt unsatisfied. We got done early enough that day to play another 18 in the afternoon. SmoothStroker81 recommended Sharp Park to us. It was another Alister Mackenzie municipal links course. This course is often called “The Poor Man’s Pebble Beach.” Now I’ve never played at Pebble Beach, but this course is a real gem in terms of layout and course design. I loved it! The front nine you are surrounded by headlands and mountains, and the back nine, you get a great view of the Pacific Ocean. Once again, Mr. Alister Mackenzie didn’t disappoint us with his design full of surprises. The green fee was very reasonable at $44. Walking the course will enhance your experience as well. The course was very fun, and I encourage everyone who makes a trip to SF to play this course. It’s a real gem. The only bad thing I have to say is the condition… It’s a real shame that such a great course is in such a horrible condition. There are dead patches everywhere on the fairway, and the tee boxes are just terrible. On the greens, all putts will not go straight as it will bounce right and left. It’s a real shame that they are not maintaining such a gem course. Despite the bad condition, the course was still very entertaining. We really got our money’s worth. I rate this course 3.5 out of 5 stars. (This course can easily be 4.5 out of 5 stars if the condition was immaculate like the others.)

 

10. The Presidio – Well, this course was not originally in our itinerary, but we had one more day to spare before our d.school at Stanford started, so we decided to check it out. I guess we saved the best for last!!! At first, I feared that the course was going to be similar to TPC Harding, which I didn’t enjoy, but oh boy, was I wrong. The green fee was on the high side at $125.00, which included the cart. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge from the course, but I couldn’t see it from anywhere on the course. It was not foggy, but it was very cold and WINDY (10-15 mph). The front nine, there was a slight overcast, so the course didn’t look as pretty as it actually did when the sun came out in the back nine. Top notch condition, and the course layout was one of my favorite. Every hole was absolutely stunning and challenging. Another magical course like Poppy Hills. The weather condition made the rounding more difficult than it really was. The only complain I have about this course was the lack of signs directing to the next hole. It was difficult to navigate through the course since there were paths leading in many different ways. Other than that and the weather, this was probably my favorite course along with the Poppy Hills. I rate this course 5 out of 5 stars.

 

I’m very thankful and blessed to be able to do this golf trip along with my brother. 7 consecutive days of golf at 10 golf courses in 4 different cities. It was surely exciting and entertaining trip. I know my review may not be as professional as you might had hoped for, but I’m just an avid golfer with average writing skills. If I can help few of you GolfWRX members to plan your own trip in the Bay Area, my goal is achieved. If you have more specific questions regarding any of the courses I’ve played, send me a message, and I’ll do my best to answer you. I would like to thank SmoothStroker81 for hooking us up at Stanford as well as recommending the Sharp Park Golf Course. I’m sure that he and I will connect again in the future when he makes his way to Orlando.

[knoe07]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

[aloha b.]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

If you join NCGA you can play Poppy for $75 during the week or $90 on weekends. You can join NCGA for the remainder of this year for $25.

[llewol007]

Wow awesome rounds. I love all those courses. Amazing to see how Harding received 3 stars but it is a muni course that offers enough of its own challenges. The Bayonet Blackhorse combo is always a treat and you are right with the double triple tiers with pin positions right at the break. I always wonder especially on black horse where they do t just place the hole in the middle of each tier and make them more playable. No offense but it's not hosting a tournament or qualifying. Gotta love Pasatiempo always but that green fee is always daunting even for this local. Presidio is a hidden gem and if you just can't manage paying Olympic club prices but want a similar experience, that's probably pretty close. Now Stanford is always nice and I was able to play it more than several times. Amazing seeing Tigers tree on the end of the first hole. When you are about 30 yards back you wonder how hard he must swing. Great experience and wish I got to join you on a couple of those rounds.

[JI3]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I would definitely walk the Poppy Hills.

Even if you cart it, I think it's cart path only, which makes it kind of pointless to cart it.

Plus, by walking the course, it will enrich your experience in this amazing course.

 

At Bayonet, we played from the Blue, which was 6641.

I didn't really think it played longer than 6600 yard.

But I hear you on the fairways being narrow and how it can be challenging if you are not having the best day with your driver.

 

Let me know if you would like to anything else.

[JI3]

Wow awesome rounds. I love all those courses. Amazing to see how Harding received 3 stars but it is a muni course that offers enough of its own challenges. The Bayonet Blackhorse combo is always a treat and you are right with the double triple tiers with pin positions right at the break. I always wonder especially on black horse where they do t just place the hole in the middle of each tier and make them more playable. No offense but it's not hosting a tournament or qualifying. Gotta love Pasatiempo always but that green fee is always daunting even for this local. Presidio is a hidden gem and if you just can't manage paying Olympic club prices but want a similar experience, that's probably pretty close. Now Stanford is always nice and I was able to play it more than several times. Amazing seeing Tigers tree on the end of the first hole. When you are about 30 yards back you wonder how hard he must swing. Great experience and wish I got to join you on a couple of those rounds.

 

Assuming you are a local there, it would have been nice if we had communicated before. We've would have had a GolfWRX foursome! There's always next time, and I know I will go back out there some day in the future. I will make sure to include Olympic Club because SmoothStroker81 was also saying good things about the course. Perhaps, I can ask my clubhouse pro to book for me next time I visit there.

[aloha b.]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I would definitely walk the Poppy Hills.

Even if you cart it, I think it's cart path only, which makes it kind of pointless to cart it.

Plus, by walking the course, it will enrich your experience in this amazing course.

 

At Bayonet, we played from the Blue, which was 6641.

I didn't really think it played longer than 6600 yard.

But I hear you on the fairways being narrow and how it can be challenging if you are not having the best day with your driver.

 

Let me know if you would like to anything else.

 

I recently got an email from Poppy that starting this month they're removing cart path only rule but I don't know for how long.

[Southfield]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I would definitely walk the Poppy Hills.

Even if you cart it, I think it's cart path only, which makes it kind of pointless to cart it.

Plus, by walking the course, it will enrich your experience in this amazing course.

 

At Bayonet, we played from the Blue, which was 6641.

I didn't really think it played longer than 6600 yard.

But I hear you on the fairways being narrow and how it can be challenging if you are not having the best day with your driver.

 

Let me know if you would like to anything else.

 

I recently got an email from Poppy that starting this month they're removing cart path only rule but I don't know for how long.

 

I believe they are trying carts on the course for the month of August.

 

Great write up JI3 but giving Harding 3/5 and Presidio 5/5 doesn't make any sense to me. I guess we're all different as golfers but I regularly play both courses and Harding is in so much better shape than Presidio, where the latter doesn't seem to be able to handle the amount of people playing. Greens are pretty awful for the price one is paying. But glad you enjoyed it, the layout is nice even though I prefer a course like Harding.

[krtgolfing]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I would definitely walk the Poppy Hills.

Even if you cart it, I think it's cart path only, which makes it kind of pointless to cart it.

Plus, by walking the course, it will enrich your experience in this amazing course.

 

At Bayonet, we played from the Blue, which was 6641.

I didn't really think it played longer than 6600 yard.

But I hear you on the fairways being narrow and how it can be challenging if you are not having the best day with your driver.

 

Let me know if you would like to anything else.

 

I recently got an email from Poppy that starting this month they're removing cart path only rule but I don't know for how long.

 

I believe they are trying carts on the course for the month of August.

 

Great write up JI3 but giving Harding 3/5 and Presidio 5/5 doesn't make any sense to me. I guess we're all different as golfers but I regularly play both courses and Harding is in so much better shape than Presidio, where the latter doesn't seem to be able to handle the amount of people playing. Greens are pretty awful for the price one is paying. But glad you enjoyed it, the layout is nice even though I prefer a course like Harding.

 

Seems everyone agrees condition wise Harding is great but the layout is mediocre. From what I've seen and heard a lot of the holes look the same. Plus with non locals paying 180ish I would expect to be impressed.

[timmy8151]

Great write up. Looks like I'm going to move Poppy Hills up on my list. Heard good things about it, now just got to fork out some cash.

If you were to do it again would you walk or ride at Poppy?

Also, what tees did you play at Bayonet and do you feel they played a lot longer? I ended up moving up a tee box a couple holes in cause it was going to be a real long day for me with those narrow fairways and the way my driver was cooperating/not

 

Thanks for the review!

 

I would definitely walk the Poppy Hills.

Even if you cart it, I think it's cart path only, which makes it kind of pointless to cart it.

Plus, by walking the course, it will enrich your experience in this amazing course.

 

At Bayonet, we played from the Blue, which was 6641.

I didn't really think it played longer than 6600 yard.

But I hear you on the fairways being narrow and how it can be challenging if you are not having the best day with your driver.

 

Let me know if you would like to anything else.

 

I recently got an email from Poppy that starting this month they're removing cart path only rule but I don't know for how long.

 

I believe they are trying carts on the course for the month of August.

 

Great write up JI3 but giving Harding 3/5 and Presidio 5/5 doesn't make any sense to me. I guess we're all different as golfers but I regularly play both courses and Harding is in so much better shape than Presidio, where the latter doesn't seem to be able to handle the amount of people playing. Greens are pretty awful for the price one is paying. But glad you enjoyed it, the layout is nice even though I prefer a course like Harding.

 

Seems everyone agrees condition wise Harding is great but the layout is mediocre. From what I've seen and heard a lot of the holes look the same. Plus with non locals paying 180ish I would expect to be impressed.

 

Totally agree. As a SF resident I play Harding a couple of times of month but I prefer the layout at Presidio. I actually played Presidio last weekend and thought the course was in great shape. I actually thought the greens were in better shape than Harding's, which at times can be pretty beat up due to the volume of play.

[ebrasmus21]

I've played Poppy and Bayonet and enjoyed both very much. Thought both were pretty tough for the same reasons the OP cited. Would love to play Pasa at some point but it is expensive. I'm sure I would look back and appreciate playing there but $$$

[One_Putt_Blunder]

I've played Poppy and Bayonet and enjoyed both very much. Thought both were pretty tough for the same reasons the OP cited. Would love to play Pasa at some point but it is expensive. I'm sure I would look back and appreciate playing there but $$$

 

I generally do not get too excited about paying $250 for a round of golf especially on a course I used to play for free in High School. Pasatiempo is the exception to that rule. It is a tremendous course and an absolute Mackenzie masterpiece.

[hlca]

Thanks for the detailed report. I haven't played BH/Bayonet, Sharp, or Presidio yet. May have to give them a shot!