In early May my wife and I traveled to California and had the pleasure of golfing at Pacific Grove, Pasatiempo, San Juan Oaks, Monarch Dunes, Sandpiper, Oak Quarry, Desert Willow-Firecliff, and LaQuinta Mountain.
Oak Quarry was the 6th course played on our trip. From their website...
Oak Quarry is a thrilling, 18-hole, 72-par championship course, masterfully designed by Dr. Gil Morgan/Schmidt Curley Designs. The CGCOA’s 2011 Course of the Year winds through the picturesque jagged terrain of the historical Jensen Quarry. Since opening in 2000, this unparalleled course has received many awards including "Best Course Inland Southern California," "Hole #14 rated Best Par 3 in Southern California," and "Hole #4 Prettiest Par 4."
Oak Quarry features four sets of tee boxes to test every skill level. It offers the finest playing surfaces with greens in Pennlinks Bentgrass and fairways and roughs in 419 Hybrid Bermuda. The practice facility has an all grass driving range with chipping and putting greens.
This course turned out to be my wife's favorite of the trip, with Pasatiempo a close second. I had the order switched around myself. Numerous holes are a visual treat. My favorite hole on the entire trip was the par-4 9th. Water is in play but it's kept to a minimum. There's lots of interesting green complexes, and enough fairway width to provide different angles into the greens thus allowing for an enjoyable game. Course conditions were excellent. The weather was great, in the low 80's with a light breeze, etc. etc.
Yardages are 5,408/6,028/6,600/7,002. All yardages listed with the photos are from the 7,002 tees.
On to the course...
Notice the condition of the surrounding green around the flag.
1st hole, a short slightly uphill par-4 of 307 yards
After a long cart ride (I actually thought we'd missed a hole by the time we arrived at the 2nd teebox) ... hole #2, par-5 of 572 yards
Looking back up hole 2
3rd hole, 164 yards par-3
4th hole, 352 yards par-4 DON'T GO LEFT
Two level fairway on hole 4
Behind the 4th green. This was a neat area, I wish I'd taken more photos
Par-3 216 yards Hole #5
Zoomed in on hole 5. DON'T GO LEFT
From behind the 5th green
6th hole, 419 yards par-4
Hole 7, par-4 403 yards
Hole #8, 572 yards par-5
Approach at hole 8
9th hole, my favorite on the trip ... 440 yards par-4
A better look at hole 9, from the white tees. That line of bunkers forces you to make a decision on the tee, go left or go right? Going left produces a great angle to the green but requires a more accurate tee shot. We all opted (chickened out) for the right side.
Right side fairway view on hole 9
Looking back on hole 9
Overall, it was a wonderful day. We're from Canada, and our son took classes in L.A. for 3 years and is working in the Irvine area, so for us to visit with him is a gift. We booked a round here with him because it fit all of our schedules, forgetting about the fact that Sunday May 13th was Mothers Day, so it was a real treat to golf with him that day, especially for my wife. The two of them rode together for the afternoon while I attempted to grab an occasional photo of them together. The fact that he hasn't golfed in 3 years didn't deter him in the least. It was great to enjoy the course with him.
Back nine to follow in a day or two.
Cheers,
Jim