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The Course at Wente Vineyards
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20 reviews for The Course at Wente Vineyards
Livermore typically conjures up images of windmills and nuclear labs. That's too bad, because a little off the beaten path, nestled in suprisingly lush vineyards, is a resort-quality course that's open to the public.
Even if you're not much of a golfer, you'll fall in love with the carts-only course as it loops around lakes, vineyards, and oak groves. There are very few courses (especially public ones) where you can find varied terrain like this. Can't wait to go back!!!
Gotta give Wente a 5-star rating. I play a lot of golf, and like to play at different courses - so I've been around the block. I'm gonna go ahead and call Wente one of my three favorite public courses around. Only Pasatiempo and Cinnabar Hills can compete. And for $65 at twilight? That's a sweet deal!!
The course is in magnificent condition, is quite challenging and is beautiful. The course wraps around vineyards, oak trees, lakes and mountains.
They also have a winery, spa, concert venue, grill and fancy restaurant on the property. A true gem that all serious golfers should give a whirl.
I recently moved to California from Seattle area and playing golf every week enjoying the sun but this course was the best one so far in south bay area. I had a great lunch then play twilight $65 life in California not so bad !
One of Greg Norman's first design's and wow did he hit the nail on the head with this gem! Courtesy of my old boss he got us a comped foursome here, it's a little expensive over $125 on the weekends. You do get the private club feel and service, and I do have to admit it feels pretty good!
I'm a big fan of making golf course's on vineyard properties. Along with Ruby Hill, Poppy Ridge, and Bushwood there's some great tracks here and not far from Man Jose. Livermore is also very underrated in terms of good wine. Wente Vineyards can easily hold their own with Napa.
The front nine was my favorite and defies the myth that a course doesn't have to be long to be a challenge. Many great skinny holes with terrific views of the surrounding valley. Our group even encountered wild turkeys. Probably a course you want to get a cart for, the climb up to the 11th hole is a heart attack maker with 10 or 11 switchbacks. More like Lomabard street east.
Great wines, and golf get your ass out here.
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This truly is a nice golf course. It offers all the elements I look for...a challenging layout, great vista views of surrounding mountains and vineyards, a nice practice facility (driving range is located above the course and requires a cart or bus ride to get their), and a comfortable clubhouse.
This course is plenty challenging and helps if you have course knowledge for shot placement. The breathtaking views from some of the holes make me forget I'm on a golf course, then I come back to my senses and continue playing on. The driving range is so removed from the course you may have to get on a bus to get there. It is a nice set up with range balls stacked in pyramids and ready to hit. There is a chipping area and a putting area back by the clubhouse, which is a nice place for lunch or a drink after golf.
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One of the best courses I have ever played.
Fantastic "resort" quality golf experience in the San Francisco Bay Area. The staff is very friendly - from the moment you arrive and they take your clubs out of your car until after the round where they clean up all the mess you made.
Difficult course, but offers many great risk/reward opportunities.
Outstanding views (for the area it's in).
I felt like it was a steal at $110 on the weekend, with free range balls and a cart.
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Did the revisit after almost 2 years and the place still blows me away. I believe the course itself is going on 10 years and the conditions are still quite prime. Tee boxes still offer great views, fairways and rough are very fair and make use of your whole bag and the greens are plush and true.
An awesome value for weekday twilight ($55) includes cart + driving range session. Perfect for an after "half day" at work and escape to the course. Plus the lighting from this time of the day changes and evolves and offers spectacular glances from hole to hole. Playing the back 9 during sunset is quite the experience. Go do it!
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/25/2007
One of the best public courses here in the bay area. Every hole has its own unique character, from… Read more »
This place is the mack-daddy of public high end courses in the Bay Area. Great views and atmosphere and no gaudy McMansions on the course--(take note Bridges!) It's also a very fair course, with about only one blind T-shot. The place realizes that people are spending more to golf here and they give you that experience. Staff is overly ass-kissy and will be on you like bees to honey trying to clean your clubs and other stuff hustling for tips.
I have played here about three times and never had to wait on any group or had a group coming up to us. The starting times likely get evenly spread out.
This is a high-end place and if you can get the mid-week twilight of $55 it's worth it. Every hole is significantly different and the greens are true but not all that fast.
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This is where I discovered my appreciation for the game of golf. One morning with a 5:45am t-time, I chased after my ball down the first fairway and I had a epiphany. I became very aware of my surrounding. The air was dead calm with sound of a bird echo in the hill. Surrounded by rolling hills, expansive landscape, and the crisp morning air, it was magestic...I was overcomed with a sense of serenity and peacefulness. Meditation!!!
I like the elevated t-boxes and the challenging layout. The course is an integral part of the landscape and not the other way around. Of all of the public courses in the Bay Area, I love this the most. The numerous visitors I brought here felt the same way.
Decent restaurant and wine.
Cheers!!!
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Simply a great course. If you're a newbie or high-handicapper, this course will eat you alive. (Slope of 124 from the front and a crushing 145 from the tips.) Oddly enough, the scenery is so stunning and the course so interesting that even the most challenged of golfers will most likely enjoy themselves here. The course demands that you "Go Big or Go Home."
Now, some courses are weird in a bad way. (i.e. the pathethic Ranch Golf Course in San Jose) Wente is weird in a good way. There are three incredible elevated tee boxes and huge changes in elevation throughout the course of play. Many holes are surrounded by vineyards. #6 is perched along the edge of a hillside, #13 offers no chance to see the hole until your second shot and then there's #18. The 18th hole tee shot requires a decent carry shot to a fairway that is split UP THE MIDDLE by a creek. Pick either side, but don't go up the middle. If you chose the right side, your second shot is all water.
This is the closest you can get to country club service without paying $100k to $350k to join a private club. When you arrive, someone will usually bring a cart out to your car and arrange to have your clubs put on a cart. You simply go in, pay for the round, and when you walk out, everything is ready to go. When you're finished, someone is there to clean and take care of your clubs. They have a great little restaurant with a patio overlooking the 18th green for drinks after your round. All this for $100 at the peak rate makes it too good to be true.
If you want to feel like a big, important person for a reasonable price and play a great round of golf, you simply can't miss at Wente.
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Absolutely great golf course. There are no boring holes here, some may frustrate you and feel tricked up, but that is why you play courses like this. The hills and vineyards provide a great backdrop.
#'s 10, 11 and 12 are brutal, up on top of the hill, but if you hit a nice shot you will be rewarded. Driver is often not the best play on this course, something I find very interesting. Course knowledge is very helpful here with many elevation drops, if you have a rangefinder or a skycaddie, bring it with you.
This course is pricey, but it's not your typical muni. I don't play here often but if I can think of an excuse to play a round on a higher end course, this is one of my first options.
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The best course for the broke young professional!
Beautiful course. When I got there, the staff treated me like a member. When your done with your round, a guy comes over and cleans your clubs. First class service.
That first hole is fascinating, and for the longer hitter hints at a good day on a course that can favor the brave, and punish the hesitant. I will go as often as I can afford!
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Played last Sunday, and it was windy... the greens were almost completely healed from aeration and sanding, and in very good condition. now add that to a mountain style course that the nationwide tour use to play on and your in for a long day...
upon getting there the staff pampers you with service, carrying your clubs and attending to your every needs, everyone was great. the driving range was awesome, with new taloymade balls to hit, and the practice area was great too, the grill has a great breakfast, lunch, and drinks for afterwards or before your round.. PS, the cart girl rocks too... the course would be hard to walk for sure as it is very hilly with huge elevation changes. the fairways and landing areas are narrow and require good club mgmt for sure. add a 20+ mph wind to this and you have a Trouble with a capital T... the views from almost every hole were spectacular for sure, and don't forget to bring your camera. if you have never played here buy a yardage book for sure or have your skycaddie. I couldn't have guessed the yardages as the course with its angles makes them seem longer or shorter. if you just play the course and try not to be fancy you should be ok, but cutting corners or trying something you might not normally do will hurt you for the most part. the vineyard lines at least 1/2 the holes and look great but will cost you strokes if you land in them. if you have not played a mountain style course you will be in for a surprise. there are very few fairways that you can be right or left on and get away with playing your shots from. the course is truly a test of ones golf game. the overall experience will last you a lifetime, good or bad.... this is a must play course for sure when your in the area of Livermore,ca. also allow yourself some time to visit the winery too. add to that some great friends to play golf with and you have a memory that will last you a lifetime.
Wente Vineyards,
Smilin Steve
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One of my favorite courses in the bay area....B-E-A-U-TIFUL views and challenging course...
Just a note...
sign up ONLINE.... to the website ... and you get a free round of golf with another paid golfer...
WOW MOM!!!!
enough said...
Wente is one of the worst-designed courses I've ever played--Norman should be ashamed of taking a great piece of property and ruining it. Most of the tees are about 100 feet above the fairways, with O.B. or hazards on both sides. Fine in the morning, but not in the prevailing 25+mph afternoon wind. I'm fully convinced #10 is the single worst hole built in the last 20 years (and I made par on it). You'll know why if you play it in ANY kind of firm conditions. The service is o.k., but you'll get the same at a number of high-end daily fee courses.
Play Callippe Preserve or even Poppy Ridge or The Bridges if you're in the Livermore area; head down to San Juan Oaks in Hollister or up to Roddy Ranch in Antioch if you're up for a little drive.
while working for wente vineyards years ago i stumbled upon an opportunity to cook a special business luncheon. to my surprise i would be cooking for greg norman while they work out plans to build a golf course on the premises. it was a great time and the man is a really nice guy but not the luckiest when it comes to championships. at the end of the meal while cleaning up i found the plans for the golf course and i looked them over and left them but now i wish i had took it. oh well bad karma can really suck.
well over 10 years later the course is popular and considered one of the great courses around. a day outside on this course is truly magical and the exercise is well needed. make sure you wear a collared shirt because it's all that is accepted and denim is a definite no.
luckily it's a darn good thing to still know people because golf, wine and great food doesn't come cheap.
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One of my absolute favorite courses. Challenging but you don't have to stripe 280 yard drives to enjoy it. Courteous staff, great amenities. The food in the cafe is great. My one tiny complaint is that the Wente wine they serve could be cheaper. I'm assuming they get a deal on the stuff~
This course is breath-taking. The views are amazing. The course is long and unforgiving for beginners. However, as a beginner, I still had a great time. If you are a slow player (like me), remember to be courteous and let others play through, or speed up your play. They have good afternoon rates ($65 - includes cart). Watch out for the wind! And, be sure to stop in at the restaurant post-game for a truly DIE-licious meal!
Best public course in the Bay Area. I think the best part is no houses on the course (nice to not have to worry about hitting a house or passing car), and the incredible setting/views.
The staff is all top notch, and the 19th hole has great food and drinks (nice selection of scotch).
The mid-week twilight rate is a steal.
12 is a tough hole, but 13 is fun to hole to try to drive the green from the forward tees. I love the number of elevated tee boxes.
My new husband and I just got married here on 9/27/08. Everything went wonderfully!! The weather was perfect and the trees we full of fall color. Our ceremony was at 5:00 on Saturday. We faced the hillside. It turned out great because the sun had set behind the guests and the bridesmaids had some sun in their faces, yet only half the ceremony. We had 113 guests. The food at Wente is fantastic. You need to try their famous smoked pork chop..it's huge and delicious. We got so many comments that it was the best food they had ever eaten at a wedding.We had a such a great officiant named Hank who was referred to us by Wente. I can't tell you enough about the compliments we got on his positive words and genuine nature. Our photographer was Eli, also referred to us my Wente. He is a great guy and very dedicated to his work. He stayed with us from 10 in the morning while we were getting ready to 11:00 that night. One thing I just love is that he takes a birds eye shot of the whole bridal party after the ceremony..soo cool!! I can't wait to see it when i get it back. We used a DJ named Alex from AMS entertainment in Santa Rosa. He ws great and very accommodating during the ceremony, yet at times in the process was hard to reach through emails. Georgine was the woman in charge of wedding operations and she is great with her prompt responses through emails..she makes the bride feel very calm and relaxed which is huge!! We had a coordinator the night of the wedding, Lori, who was great at making sure everything was moving smoothly. Overall wonderful site. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a winery style setting with great food and ambiance. It is very popular so make sure to book way ahead..usually a year and a half wait. It is on the pricey side yet worth it overall!!!
