“. . . an important book for those seeking great new golf experiences in Northern California . . . offers excellent insight on which courses are either the best in quality, or the best in value . . . what better way to find an outlet for the joy of the game than using (Dawson’s) advice to find new places to play.”

Robert Trent Jones, Jr.

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Sample Articles:

Below we give you three samples of the kind of articles found in Northern California's Best 100 Public Golf Courses. We tried to choose examples truly representative of the style and content you should expect to find in the book.

First comes a longer essay, like those in Chapter 2 ranking the Best 100 in descending order, from top to bottom. Next comes a shorter review from Chapter 3, typical of the next 119 unranked courses. Finally, you will see a chart taken from Chapter 5, showing the toughest 10 golf courses using the "Dawson formula" to make the calculations.

Is anyone looking for a get-away vacation with great boating, good fishing and wonderful golf . . . all at a reasonable cost? Consider Lake Almanor. It's situated two hours east of Red Bluff, two hours northwest of Lake Tahoe, or an hour from Graeagle. At 4500 feet, leave behind the heat of the Sacramento Valley and arrive at daytime summer temperatures usually in the high 70's. Unlike Lake Tahoe, its major competitor for mountain lakeside holidays, summer rain comes rarely; and the lake--actually a very large Feather River reservoir--offers good bass fishing and warm water-skiing and swimming.

As for golf, the area proffers a couple of 9-hole courses and a country club, but the best public venue comes at a beautiful Bailey Creek. It's situated on a large north shore peninsula, about four miles east of the area's primary town, Chester. The course opened only 10 years ago, in 1999, designed by Homer Flint, so it meets modern construction standards. Fairways see large conifers dotting strategic locations, but the sparseness of the local forests keep the trees from being too daunting. Large bunkers form the primary defense, giving the layout an open feel. Its airy environment allows scenic views of surrounding hills, including glimpses of local Mt. Dyer and distant Mt. Lassen.

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Outstanding features include deep emerald colored fairways, great weather, in addition to the abundant vistas. Hole designs, especially on par-threes, provide picturesque challenges; but just strolling along on plush blue/rye grasses, and hitting from their soft texture is a real treat. Wide landing zones come with most holes, and the layout flows gracefully around and through the broad property and light forest. Everything appears manicured like at a fine country club. Greens putt smoothly, though a little slow, about an eight on the StimpMeter. Surrounding bunkers, especially on shorter holes, form graceful protection from incoming shots, but are not so difficult to foil small errors. Longer par-fours offer more room than the short ones.

As is common on many modern courses, the second nine plays more interesting and challenging than the first. Most designers recognize tougher holes require more warm-up, therefore place them further into the round. At Bailey Creek, the heart of the course starts at number eleven and culminates on fourteen. Eleven and twelve both compete as long par-fours, bordered by up-slopes on either side of the fairway and Mt. Dyer in the background. Then, comes a killer par-three. It measures only 179-yards from the back tee, but heads into the prevailing western breeze. The slightly elevated tee, points golfers over heavy rough, brambles, a grassy ravine, and two large face bunkers protecting the hillside green. The trap closest to the green has a severe slope. Balls landing along its upper edge require an awkward stance, and usually lie in someone's footprint because no one can rake the trap well. The diagonal green makes shot distance tough to judge, because pin position placements can be easily disguised.

The next hole, number fourteen, makes the Best 100 list of toughest par-fours. To start, it measures a long 428-yards from the regular tees. A dogleg heads around a grassy hillside, but the wide fairway is easy to hit. Good length helps on the drive because the uphill second requires an extra club or two. A long green with the pin on an upper terrace, requires even more club. The real difficulty comes from a bank of deep bunkers that front the twenty-foot high green elevation. Hit short and plan on an odyssey of sandy shots to get back in play. Those landing in lower bunkers should probably hit out sideways, rather than try for the green or they will probably end up in the steeper bunkers near the top of the bank.

In fact, bunkers throughout the course create problems. Their lips, or top edges, may not be particularly elevated above the sand; but the steepness of soft sand causes unstable stances and footing. For instance, number-eighteen, a 400-yard par four, sharp dogleg left, finds a monster trap planted in the middle of the landing area. Big hitters can clear it with a draw, but lesser golfers must hit short, to the right, leaving a 220-yard shot to the elevated green. That hardly seems fair so most many people aim near the sand, and end up in it faced with a fluffy lie and uphill/side-hill stance. After blasting out of the bunker, they still need another 160-yards left to the green. It took me a one-put for a miracle par. Oh well, the big hitters win again on this hole, but the other seventeen are great to play. Review based on play and interviews in July '08.

(The) Reserve at Spanos Park:

Just north of Stockton, about a half mile west of Interstate-5's Eight Mile Road exit, lies a young course that gets good marks from players in the Central Valley. The topography is flat, flat, flat; so constructing a golf course with pizzazz was a challenge. Andy Raugust, a designer-gone-solo from the Jack Nicklaus organization, gave it a shot and came up with a nice links style look.

Played in late spring, the Reserve is in excellent condition. Consistent fairways match smooth roughs. Despite being constructed in wheat and alfalfa fields, contractors moved enough dirt to simulate a real links environment. Winds coming from the West off Mt. Diablo add to that feeling, especially in the afternoon.

The course can be stretched out to a hearty 7132-yards and 74.0 rating, so it has plenty of challenge. However, Raugust let the reigns loose for tee-shots. Most fairways have wide landing zones, and if bunkers or hazards sit ominously on one side, those on the other can be cleared or not be reached (except for 270+ yard hitters). Water hazards usually sit far enough from greens and landing areas that minor shot miss-directions usually stay safe.

The strong point of The Reserve is styling around the greens. Here the links moniker really shows because greens are consistently firm, fast and undulating. Their hills, valleys and breaks are not severe enough to be visually dramatic, but golfers need to understand where to miss or not miss. Surrounding dips, grass bunkers, mounds and bunkers, often hidden from fairway view, make balls careen to spots from which recoveries can be very difficult. Good chipping, and management of shots around the green, is critical. Newcomers cry "fowl" at the surprising bounces on a few holes. But the locals counter, "come back again, and bring some friends. Then you can take their money." Review based on play and interview in June '07.

". . . I have even gone one step further and created a Toughness Rating, which combines Rating and Slope together with a simple formula, giving equal importance to both (2 x Course Rating plus Course Slope). Take a look at the following lists and decide for yourself (whether Rating, Slope or Dawson's Formula) best measures the toughest courses:"