The immortal Bobby Jones once said, “The first purpose of any course should be to give pleasure.” Over the last decade the Sacramento region has seen most of the pleasure built along the Interstate 80 corridor. Not to be ignored, however, is the access to public golf courses along Highway 50 stretching from Sacramento to South Tahoe.
First stop along the pioneer trail is WildHawk Golf Club. Located off Gerber Road in the South area, it qualifies because you can get there from here. WildHawk derives character from uniquely shaped bunkers and interesting water features. The par 5 finishing hole is a double dogleg that crosses a creek and has a lake lining the right side and fronting the green. It’s as fun a finishing hole as you’ll find.
Exiting at Sunrise Boulevard and again heading south, Mather Golf Course, located on the former Air Force Base, offers wide tree lined fairways and medium sized greens. The classically designed course, built in 1952, remains aesthetically pleasing. The terrain is mostly flat offering more variation on the back nine. Even though you won’t likely be intimidated in a tee box, the course plays long at 6,734 yards from the Blue tees. In fact, number 17 plays about as long as Madonna’s career. The par 4 plays 467 yards from the tips, or 427 yards from the white tees. Robert Smith, Director of Instruction at Mather, says that the best strategy is to, “favor the right side with your tee shot, because the fairway on that side is usually dryer and the ball rolls more.”
From the Folsom exit, it’s a quick jaunt to Empire Ranch. Opened in 2002, this club became Folsom’s first golf course and quickly added to the city’s recreational allure. Empire is a par 71 with a unique par 3 finishing hole. The front nine wraps nicely around protected marshes while the back nine begins to climb into the foothills. The finishing hole embodies the essence of this Brad Bell design. The elevated tee box makes nice use of mountain-meeting-marshland.
Apple Mountain Golf Resort in Camino was originally conceived, in part, to offer Tahoe travelers a golf destination. Today it offers a golf course carved through rugged mountains and acres of pine trees, cedars and madrones. The streams that cut through the course still offer an occasional gold nugget, but the real nuggets, however, are the spectacular views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. This is a mountain course with steep terrain that challenges club selection with every shot.
Sacramento
Area Courses
Apple Mountain
Golf Resort
3455 Carson Road, Camino
530-647-7400
applemounaingolfresort.net
Empire Ranch Golf Club
1620 East Natoma, Folsom
916-817-8100
empireranchgolfclub.com
Granite Bay Golf Club
9600 Golf Club Drive,
Granite Bay, 916-791-7578
granitebayclub.com
Mather Golf Course
4103 Eagles Nest Road,
Mather, 916-364-4354
mathergolfcourse.com
The Ridge Golf Club
2020 Golf Course Road
Auburn, 530-888-7888
ridgegc.com
Wildhawk Golf Club
7713 Vineyard Road
Sacramento
916-688-4653
wildhawkgolf.com
Whitney Oaks Golf Club
2305 Clubhouse Drive,
Rocklin, 916-632-8333
whitneyoaksgolf.com
