This is great - thanks for sending along!
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Good morning. I just signed up on the Google Sheet. Is there anything else, I need to do? Sounds like a blast.
You’re set - we’ll send payment requests by feb 20th.
Curious if anyone has any thoughts on Seascape down in Aptos. Considering playing a tournament there in a few weeks and wondering if it’s worth the drive. I’ve heard it’s tight with small greens, but wondering about condition.
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I love it, probably played it a dozen times as we go to the beach near there frequently. Great bones.
Tiny, slopey greens, usually in pretty good shape. Better be sharp and disciplined with your wedges or you’ll shortside yourself unnecessarily a few times. I always make a handful of birdies and some terrible, terrible bogeys.
Pace of play can get a bit dicey, fairways sometimes hold some moisture but not too bad.
3 tiered green!
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Good stuff. It looks like one of those courses that seems gettable by looking at the scorecard (short par 5s!) but in reality big numbers are lurking around ever corner.
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It’s a ballstrikers course for sure. Angles are important on a couple par 5s if you want to reach in 2 and the greens are tiny.
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Hey everybody! Finally getting around to checking in, here.
I live down the street from Bennett Valley Golf Course in Santa Rosa. Have traditionally played a couple rounds a year, but really only started playing last year. My pal Shane and I get out once or twice a week here in Sonoma County, but will be branching out sometime in the near future. Look forward to playing with y’all!
Also, speaking of Bennett Valley- the Santa Rosa City Council will be holding a study session today (in a few hours) on what direction the property should take. Proposed options are: find a new golf/restaurant operator and continue as is, shut down the driving range and turn the land into housing, transition to a 6, 9, or 12 hole course and redevelop the rest of the land as housing or something else that generates revenue. Comments from the public are welcome, so chime in if you feel inclined. I’m terrified that the council will make some stupid decisions. 
http://santa-rosa.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=23002415-d426-4a8c-b63a-ccce3f70d327.pdf
(click on the Presentation link within that pdf for an overview of the report)
Yikes, I don’t love those options aside from the first one. I really like Bennett Valley, though I will say there are a few months every winter where the drainage is so bad it becomes hard to play. I think last winter they literally shut down for a few months because of the heavy rain. Any golf course solution eventually has to deal with that.
(Of course, as my friend @marklemcd said while we were playing in the slog, “There’s a reason it’s called Bennett VALLEY, I guess.”) It’s a really fun, affordable course and I hope that it won’t go away.
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Welcome! If you’re looking to get involved you could do a lot worse than the NiT Qualifier 3/7. Great chance to meet a ton of good peeps.
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I think @bw72 gave a good summary. I love Seascape as well and try to get over there a few times a year. I don’t claim it to be a great course, but it is a FUN course. I have a sentimental attachment there though as its where I learned to play golf during summers at the beach as a kid (in addition to the Aptos Par 3 - RIP).
I would not expect to fair well in a tournament there without having played it before though. As noted, its a bit quirky and experience is very helpful. Most of the course plays even shorter, as a lot of yardage is tied up in three long par 3s. I think playing for conservative fairways and greens is a key to success.
Conditions are totally hit or miss. Fairways can be a bit sloppy, and the greens get soft, but usually roll true. If its dry, I think they generally do a nice job with the course.
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Thanks @fullbodyfix, definitely considering it! Not particularly confident in my mediocre game and keeping up with y’all, though. 
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Well it’s a stableford event using handicaps - so the more strokes you get the better (sort of). haha
BTW - most of us are firmly in the mediocre territory. And the couple of sticks we have always whine about handicaps. It’s great 
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The good news is that SR staff and council are too incompetent to change anything even if doing so might be the “good” business decision. Although they may pay for the $150k study just to ignore its findings.
Sadly, the City won’t ever bring in an operator who would make the investment necessary to make the course shine because the City would never allow market greens fees to be charged. And I think that course could really shine.
So, it will almost certainly limp along as it has. Mostly, I’d hate to see the range go as it less than 1.5 miles from my abode.
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I heard on a podcast - maybe the Shotgun Start, but I can’t say for sure - that many courses, even with the COVID tee sheets so full, are still losing money. Seems like BV is in that same bucket, but that’s just crazy. I know folks might object if greens fees get raised but it would it be better than it just going away, especially if a smart course owner can create a yearly pass, including for junior golfers, etc., to encourage play.
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My moon launch with the driver was not rewarded that day.
Hey Guys heading down to Monterey in may for my birthday weekend first time playing in Monterey but grew up in the bay area (I know its a shame I have never played at the mecca) Looking to play two rounds while I am down there and looking for some advice on where to play. Looking at one nicer round and one budget friendly round (thinking pacific grove and maybe bayonet) but open to advice or insight!
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if you’re an NCGA member Poppy Hills is around $100 and phenomenal. Would highly recommend it. Bayonet and Black Horse are great, but a little less interesting and very tough.
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I think we may have different definitions of mediocre. 
BV is moderately profitable, currently, they are just paying back a bunch of 15 year old bond debt for building construction and are nervous about needed maintenance/improvements.
The council is going to vote to approve the $150k study contract at the next meeting. Sounded like 5 were for and 2 were against (Mayor Rogers, CM Schwedhelm). In the end I’d say it will be 50-50 that they leave the course as is, or chop it down to 9 holes and make a bunch of money off the rest of the land.
A few council members were discussing the issue as “what can we do with this empty plot of land” and not thinking about the amazing 50 year old golf course that is already there. Some would definitely like to turn it into a sports complex with more soccer and baseball fields for families to use and to make the property more equitable. I get where they are coming from, but the lack of consideration hurts my heart.
One of the council members (Tibbets) mentioned he recently visited Bandon and sung the praises of the Punchbowl and the Preserve. There was also quite a lot of talk about Top Golf. The expert the city managers/parks hired filled me with rage with his pessimism. So if the course does get chopped down, I wouldn’t be surprised if they added a fancy, high-volume range and/or social putting course, to try to get more people out to the property and generate more revenue. Sigh.
In lieu of better options, I sure hope you’re right!
Sorry, done venting! (for now)
Listen, you’re talking to a long time member of the Mediocre Golf Association (and recent winner by shooting 90 in the tournament) who dipped to a 13.5 HCP but is now firmly back in his happy place at 15.
Speaking of which, if you are someone who is happy when you break 90, check out the mgatour.com - it’s a lot of fun (I’m in the Oakland chapter, and if you join, mention that I referred you) and a good way to schedule a tournament a month from March - October. The better you are, the more strokes get ADDED to your score, so if you (like me) get a good round in and break 90 or thereabouts, you can walk away with a trophy.
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