-Lots of environmentally sensitive areas
-Steep hills on the back nine
-A couple of roads
-Four houses spread around the couple hundred acres
-Residential development yet to be done
Having had the thrill of being part of Huckaby's entourage to Callippe Preserve, I want to echo some of Matt's comments ...
- No straight holes, other than the straight uphill #11 …
- 3 out of the 4 par-5s are uphill …
- 2 out of the 4 par-3s are drop shots …
- As noted by Ed Getka, the shortish par-4s lack appropriate options for risk-reward play. The 322 yard 12th suffers greatly as it has a huge ESA to the right of the fairway 220 yards from the tee. I believe all of the short par-4s will play into the prevailing wind, further reducing the options.
- There are not many flat putts on these greens with many having severe slope to the point where there may be many unpinnable locations if the green speeds increase (#15 is an example).
- Yes, many of the greens have back to front slope for the first half with a ridge and slope falling off the back, but that’s OK, it is not that common of a design feature in NorCal.
- The definition of an ESA needs to be changed … a creek in horse/cattle country is a creek. The ESAs at Callippe have more marking flags and newly planted plant material that prove that they aren’t existing naturally in nature but are being manufactured.
- The clubhouse is at the top of the property (requiring #9 and #18 to finish uphill, while #1 and #10 are moderately downhill), perhaps compromising some of the potential of the property. Couple that with two parcels of private property that the course is routed around or through I wonder how the design/routing would have been different if they were able to acquire those parcels of land and have the clubhouse in a different location.
- There are many good holes, and hitting driver off the tee may not be the best option depending on the wind conditions and tee box location. #9, #17 come to mind that on days when the wind is behind you, even from the back tees, a driver would be too much club.
- Shamed my playing partners into playing from the back tee boxes, it wasn’t so bad was it?