Green Hills CC - Millbrae, CA - How much MacKenzie still there?

[Chip Gaskins]

Has anyone played Green Hills CC in Millbrae, CA?  What is like, is there much of MacKenzie's work and design elements still left?

Thanks,
Chip

[Jon Spaulding]

I've played there a number of times.

Good golf course with some awful things that have occured, but enough AM there to make this a must play for any self-respecting MacKenzie whore

The routing has been altered slightly from the original; perhaps Mike Devries can shime in on this. The way I understand it is the perimeter of the property and the parking lot area are the primary busts; along with a silly pond and some ill-placed cartpaths.

[Bill_McBride]

The greens have shrunk inside their original pads into those insipid ovals, and yes, there are some nasty cart paths out there.

Just my observations from the photos.  I lived two miles away for 8 years and never got a sniff of it (or any of the other Peninsula privates for that matter).

[Billsteele]

Chip-I played there last year and Jon Spaulding is correct (as he usually is about Cali golf) about some of the alterations done to accomodate the parking lot and the outer reaches of the property. It is a fairly compact piece of property but features some cool elevation changes, three very strong par threes (the fourth is a result of the installation of the parking lot and is definitely not AM), pretty dynamic bunkering and neat green complexes. All you have to do is stand on the first tee and look down toward the first green and you know that there is some good stuff left on this golf course. It is worth the effort to play.

[John Keenan]

I played there a couple of years ago and fully agree with the comments above. The greens were in excellent shape when we played and yes there is a lot of elevation  change that I experienced as we walked it. It is a very walkable course IMHO.

My call is if you have the opportunity  play it a nice compact gourse.

John

[Kevin_Reilly]

Agree with the above.  I'll add that the course usually gets a lot of wind, especially in the afternoons.

The continuous cart paths are an eyesore.  But probably unavoidable (if the club wants to have carts) due to the elevation changes and tough drainage conditions with the clay soil...during parts of the year carts could do a lot of damage if they were not on paths. 

Still, given the compact area of the course, it would be far better without carts/paths at all.  I'd say the same thing about another course a short distance away.

[John Keenan]

My sense was the membership was older and having carts I suspect is mandatory given the elevation. Agree the paths could have been done better.

John

[Padraig Dooley]

I've played Green Hills a couple of times, the last time in january. I like it, as mentioned, it's quite a tight property, hilly and it's got some interesting views of the Bay and San Francisco International.

I think the bunkers were renovated in the last 10 years. Some shots require a good bit of judgement with the elevation changes.

[Jon Spaulding]

The greens have shrunk inside their original pads into those insipid ovals, and yes, there are some nasty cart paths out there.

Just my observations from the photos.  I lived two miles away for 8 years and never got a sniff of it (or any of the other Peninsula privates for that matter).

Bill, those are the good photos of the cart paths.....

You are correct on the shrinkage of the greens. Unfortunately, the club decided to recently redux the clubhouse instead of addressing restoration issues.

Mike Devries did some work out there years ago. Namely the 13th hole, where he did some great things with the green which I can only assume were restorative in nature and gave it the MacKenzie "look". For some reason additional work was not carried out.

Hopefully he can chime in.

[Sean_A]

I don't know anything about this course, but I was struck by the similarities it seems to have with Cal Club.  Are there anymore pix available?

Ciao

[Patrick Kiser]

... Unfortunately, the club decided to recently redux the clubhouse instead of addressing restoration issues.

Exactly.  I was inquiring about membership recently and the feedback was very much about the much improved clubhouse...

For those in NorCal, NCGA will have the occasional opportunity for an outing and that's another way to get a chance to experience the course.

Not sure if the club is struggling.  Hopefully not.

[David_Tepper]

Sean Arble -

Green Hills and the Cal Club are within 5-10 miles of each other. They are built on very similar terrain. I would also presume they were built within 10-20 years of each as well. That accounts for much of their similar look.

The Cal Club has the luxury of a surplus of land both within and surrounding the course. The Green Hills property is very tight in spots against it neighbors. You can stand on some tees and look into the adjacent homes to see what people are having for breakfast!    

The Peninsula GC, 10-15 miles further south of Green Hills, is a Donald Ross course (his only one in California, I believe), but is also similar in terms of terrain and age.

DT