I played here on 05/13/12 from the blue tees at 72.0/131/6559. In the past the course was private, but because of the economy it was sold. The owners, who have done a great job with the course, now allow public play. At first glance this course reminded me of nearby Swenson Park with its tree lined fairways and its routing through an older housing community. After playing both courses I would say that Elkhorn is the better choice but still not as good as The Reserve at Spanos Park. The value is good as I paid $28 to walk on a weekend afternoon and made it around in less than 3 hours as no one else was out. This is a flat course, but the greens are raised so approaches and chips have to be well controlled. There are a good mix of short and long holes and the short holes require precision approaches to the well guarded greens which have a lot slope. The course played firm and fast and with the two club wind was as much challenge as I wanted. Putting on the greens was a delight because they were in outstanding condition. I would say that the greens have to be some of the best greens in the Central Valley. Off the tee the course is not terribly difficult as the fairways are wide compared to most tree lined courses. On a couple occasions I ended up behind some trees which resulted in a pitch out so it is not a place where someone cannot completely check out off the tee. The fairways and rough were in good shape, but could use some work in spots. My favorite holes were the par 3 9th and the par 3 13th. Both holes were visually intimidating, but because it was only a mid iron it still was possible to end up with a par. If I had to pick a couple things that I did not like about the course it would be that the bunkers were inconsistent and did not have adequate sand. In addition, in some places the road noise was very noticeable. In short, Elkhorn offers a charming classic layout with great greens.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):