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Franklin Canyon Golf Course
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- No
6 reviews for Franklin Canyon Golf Course
I have a hard time waking up early on the weekends, and the weather can quickly turn cloudy and foggy in the city later in the day so I try to golf as much as I can in the east and south bay. I tried out Franklin Canyon for the first time and had a fairly good time. The weather was relatively great with the exception of some strong gusts of wind here and there, but considering the city didn't see a ray of sunlight this day I'm not going to complain about a little wind.
I thought the course itself was a bit tricky to find, so make sure you have detailed directions. The staff was very friendly and helpful despite me being a little late for my tee time. The tee boxes were average, nothing special but not too bad either. With the exception of the green on the first hole that I found to be thick and bumpy, the other greens were fun and slightly challenging. On this particular day, the fairways and sand traps were extremely firm. I'm not proud to say, but the ground was firm enough that I rolled the ball for 30 yards, saw it go in the bunker, then it rolled out of the bunker, and continued to rolled for another 10 yards.
I thought the overall course was very playable, fun, and best of all fast paced on a Saturday afternoon. The rolling yellow hills and the random groups of turkeys also made for unique scenery.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
This is a good course I go to after work with my co-workers. It's suitable for walking or driving. The practice putting green is really nice and located right by the first tee. I don't like the driving range. It's slanted and in my opinion not well marked. It can get a little cold and windy in the evening but not too bad. The proshop guys are nice, they smile.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
Well over 5 hours to play. 30 minute wait on the 2nd hole. And this is with a 930am tee time.
Never again.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
When I read that this was the "jewel" of the east bay I figured that I couldn't go wrong. I got to the course for a late Sunday afternoon round and found out it was $40 for twilight. I'm thinking, "man, I could play Bridges club in San ramon for $30 or Boundary Oaks for $20". I paid my fees and stepped onto this "jewel". What a goat ranch....
The fairways: under watered and brown. The ball would run forever but i guess it should since it was like concrete with a thin layer of dirt on top.
The sand traps: I guess that's what you call them even though they didn't have sand in them. Some of the only traps that I've ever taken a divot out of. Amazing stuff.
The greens: Some of the worst that I have ever seen and I've played all over the bay area. The ball rarely rolled on the green and hopped back and forth and up and down. It would have been better to putt on the fairways.
Layout. Simple back and forth layout. Front nine encourages a right to left ball flight. Back nine doesn't matter. Draw, cut, it didn't matter. Nothing special here.
Scenery: This could be a great course. With as much as they charge for a round they should be able to pump some of that back in. The scenery is nice. Settled against a hillside it wasn't too bad even with Hwy 4 a couple hundred yards away. Oh yeah, be on the look out for ticks and a massive amount of poison oak.
Overall: Pretty bad experience. Course in bad shape. Driving range was a joke. Cost was too much compared to what you can play locally for the same amount. I can mark this course off my list and I'll guarantee that I'll never be back. However, if you're hacker with cash to burn this course may be your thing. Short par 4's (some drivable) short par 5's (driver, 9 iron). Save yourself the headache and play anything other than this.
The setting of the course
This is one of those golf courses that is sooooo far from civilization except for rapid flashbacks to escape scenes from the movie Deliverance, that I have never gone back. Add in the typical heat and somewhat muggy temps set for these hills, and I doubt any of you will make the trip here. (Only speaking of my experience here during the summer)
So, we had just finished lunch in Pinole at a bbq joint and seriously needed to work off at least an ounce of all that meat/fat/gristle within an hour or two, so my friend suggested the golf course in nearby Hercule and away we went. And away we went for a bit, into some winding hills with yellow dried grass. And did I mention warm? I had to flip on my air conditioning in my car, something I rarely do in the Bay Area.
Parking is strange here....in fact, I had to park in a strange derelict lot far away from the course. I felt like a bum dragging my golf bag with me as I trudged up the hill. Once there, my friend took care of the fees while I ran to the driving range. Hm. The driving range was exactly like my drive here........wide open spaces with yellow dried weeds and spiny looking trees along the back.
My drives were pretty bad, but I blame it on my incessant sweating, it was so hot that day. Plus, my black hair attracted the heat like a magnet. Since I am a wimp in the sun, I should have worn a white baseball cap that day to the course.
The fees here are reasonable, around $70 on weekends and cheaper if you catch the twilight fee of $42 including a cart if available. The greens here have bit of a rough feel, but I think its because the grass chosen needs to stand up to the climate and hotter temps here. The yardage here is pretty long, so with my pathetic drives, it took forever for us to finish the 18 holes.
My advice, is for practice and grueling coordination with the summer elements against you, this is a great course. But if you like cooler temps, stick with Tilden. The overall greening effect is much more of a welcome and stands as a stiffer encouragement to hackers such as myself.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (3)
As far as Bay Area courses go, Franklin Canyon did me a solid. Nothing fancy, just an interesting track with BOMB foods. Located out in East Bay (about 25-30 mins from SF) hills off of the 4, I was surprised at the moderate temps and above-average winds. Honestly I expected sweltering heat and no breeze in the middle of July, so maybe that was just an anomaly. We teed off early around 8, although the 63 riding price seemed a bit high for what you get.
The range is reminiscent of Boundary Oak, where you're pretty much hitting straight uphill and into a wall starting at around 200 yards. Not really sure why they have a 250 sign halfway up the mound.... pretty useless to be honest. At least the balls were above average, although still you'd find the scuffed rock here and there.
The layout started to take advantage of the valleys and landscape during the back 9 with some elevation changes and deep tee boxes, although the power lines and electric generator station were a little unsightly on the front Also note the three par 3s and three par 5s on the front.... something you don't see very often, although very helpful for scoring if you can spread it on. It was quite apparent that the front 9 was practically made for draws, while the back 9 was more forgiving to the occasional power fade. The greens definitely began to dry out as the morning went on, although the front set tended to be soggy here and there. Either way, no complaints as they produced pretty consistent rolls. I was disappointed with some of the spotty fairways and hard, dry landing zones... this is always dangerous if you swing steep and aren't prepared for a non-divot. The bunkers were also for shit -- wet and hard makes for lame sand play.
For the most part, a very playable course with reasonable greens and what seemed to be a quick pace at just over 4 hours.... although we may have gotten lucky with the early tee time, so I hear. Word also is that cars tend to get broken into in the parking lot, since it is right on the freeway... so just a heads up. To be honest, one of the highlights was the burger at the turn -- probably the best golf burger I've ever had, almost like in-n-out. A solid experience all around, but nothing you couldn't get for a bit better and a bit cheaper elsewhere.
