SF Bay Area GCAers to "Play Callippe" Saturday morning, March 4!

[David_Tepper]

Dan -

You will be missed! Thanks for letting us know. That leaves one spot now available.

DT

[ed_getka]

David,
  I spoke with my friend Ron Muszalski and he would like to join us at Callippe.

[Tom Zeni]

Since I'm new to the board, I can't make it. But, it's good to see Tom Huckaby is still getting a game together.

Even though I'm in the frozen Northeast, I hope to contribute from time to time.

[Matt_Cohn]

I officially have the day off of work, and I have a ride too. Good stuff! If anyone wants to play golf on a Tuesday or Thursday between now and then (my days) off, message me!

[David_Tepper]

As of Sunday afternoon, February 26, our 2 four-somes this coming Saturday morning at Callippe Preserve will be comprised of:

Tom Huckaby (with hickories in hand!)
Matt Cohn
Sean Tully
Ed Getka & guest
Tim Leahy & guest
DT

Our teetimes are 7:25am and 7:35am and are under the names of Tepper and Getka. PLEASE make every effort to arrive and check-in by 7:00am. Go to the course's website (www.playcallippe.com) if you have any questions about directions, green fees, etc.

If anyone has a digital camera to bring along for a getting a picture or three of this august group and the course, that would be great.

It looks like we are in for a difficult week weather-wise. I have heard that Callippe drains really well, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

If you have any questions or are not going to be able to make it, PLEASE contact me ASAP via IM, e-mail (tcmnav@aol.com) or call me at my office (415-956-5593).

DT  
 
     

[Tom Huckaby]

FANTASTIC!

Oh yes, I am there. Might have to scoot pretty quickly post-golf, but I am there.  And I shall be wielding hickories.  Hopefully at least someone else will use old sticks, so we can have a match.  For reference, note I fired a smooth 92 this morning in the rain at Seascape GC in Aptos - black tees, 6000 yards or so.  Long shots aren't the problem with these... chipping and putting is!

You guys are in trouble if I procure a Tom Steward niblick... but until then, I am ready to be trounced.

 

[ed_getka]

Looking forward to it. I don't have any hickories but would love to try Tom's out if my fat shots won't induce heart failure. Gauging by David Moriarty's reaction to a broken hickory there seems to be a period of mourning for losing a beloved hickory.

[Mike Benham]

I visited Callippe yesterday afternoon.  The course is situated in a nice little valley, the horse country of Pleasanton.  

I did notice the cart paths and newly planted trees and the practice putting green had the distinctive thud that most newly built greens have.

[Tim Leahy]

For reference, note I fired a smooth 92 this morning in the rain at Seascape GC in Aptos - black tees, 6000 yards or so.  Long shots aren't the problem with these... chipping and putting is!

Tom, I thought you didn't play Seascape anymore! I recall a scathing review awhile back. Anyway, I have another course for your hickories. Deer Ridge in Antioch, 6300 from the back tees. Nice greens, very challenging. Changes in elevation and brutal rough if you miss it bad, Love Grass. Look forward to seeing you Saturday, I shot 92 Wed. at Bayonet with my Pings and a 460 driver. Toughest greens on the west coast.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tim:

Re Seascape, a friend on mine had a tee-time, at a reduced rate.  Hell I'll play anywhere.  But let's just say it continues to NOT be my first choice if there is any rain... horrible drainage continues there.  That was always my main complaint - drainage.  The course when dry is very fun.  Thankully we got the round in the other day before it got too saturated.

Bayonet does have some brutal greens!  Picture those up to maximum speed... They're never goofy golf/infinite putting but they sure do make you think.

And I have heard good things about Deer Ridge - I'll get out there someday.  Man Seascape was perfect for the hickories also.

See ya Saturday!  Current report shows not too bad rain chances for that day... keep fingers crossed.  One thing's for sure - hickories and their slick leather grips do not mix well with water.  

[Tim Leahy]

See ya Saturday!  Current report shows not too bad rain chances for that day... keep fingers crossed.  One thing's for sure - hickories and their slick leather grips do not mix well with water.  

How's the rain in the Bay Area? Has been spotty here in Sacto but hopefully will be dry in Pleasanton Sat. morning.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tim - off and on all week, particularly hard Sun night/Monday.  Forecast is for more tonight/part of tomorrow, but a dry Saturday.  Hope for the best.  New course ought to have good drainage... but we shall see!

TH

[David_Tepper]

Tim -

At the moment, the current forecast for Saturday is cloudy with a slight chance of rain. Today in SF it has hardly rained at all, despite a forecast 24 hours ago that it was going to rain all today.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow (Friday).

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

DT

[Tom Zeni]

Play golf. Be Happy.

Here in Western PA, it's currently 26* with an inch of snow on the ground. Saturday's high is expected to be 32*. Very difficult to compress even a Flying Lady in those conditions.

[ed_getka]

Tom,
  We're spoiled out here and like our sun.

[Tom Zeni]

I not only understand, I'm envious !

[Matt_Cohn]

You should all come to the Golfsmith store in SF, where I work, and buy a full Gore-Tex rainsuit, just in case it rains Saturday.

(It just so happens that my commission on those rainsuits is particularly high. What a coincidence!)    

Ha! I will see you all Saturday. It will be golf weather!!!

[Matt_Cohn]

Thanks for the good time everyone. I'm just bumping this post up right now but I'll write more later, probably after a short nap.

[ed_getka]

Thanks again to David Tepper for setting up our get together. Unfortunately, we had a frost delay and Tom H couldn't finish his round with us. It was quite and eye opener seeing Tom hit those hickories so well. Sean Tully also was driving with a hickory and when he hit the sweet spot it was something to behold. It was a pleasure to meet Matt Cohn and Tim Leahy for the first time.
   I'll post my thoughts on the course tomorrow. Overall, I would say it is a 4-5 on the Doak scale. I was pretty disappointed with the short par 4's, as I felt there were limited options, other than to lay back or hit as far as you could. I felt like the penalty for going for it wasn't severe enough to ever keep a long hitter from going for it. I think they missed a golden opportunity on #8 a 310 yd par 4 that basically played straightaway and had two bunkers just right of center, with short rough on the right side of the bunkers. If the right side was fairway you could have an option for getting to a left side pin more readily while still having to challenge the bunkers. As is you either go left off the tee if you can't make the carry over the bunkers, and then are left with a pretty tough approach for anything on the green left of center.
   My favorite green was #13 which was a dropshot par 3. The front 1/3-1/2 was tilted towards you and to the right, and then it worked up and over to a green that started to go away and the right back area actually sloped back to the left a bit. #10 also had a cool green, with the front half being a usual green tilted towards you, but then it rose up to another tier, and the right side of the upper tier sloped down and back towards the right. It seemed like most greens had at least one position that could be really testing, but overall there was moderate contour and I would say in general that these greens were in the middle of the range of a 1-10 scale.
    There were certainly a lot of dogleg lefts of the holes that turned.
    One thing I didn't care for were the number of trees that have been planted on land that is typical NoCal rolling hills dotted with a variety of oaks. They planted a bunch of Buckeyes, apparently for the indigenous Callippe butterfly, but as Sean Tully so astutely pointed out there weren't any Buckeyes there before and the butterflies had been living there, so why the need for trees. In 20 years, or less depending on how fast Buckeyes grow, there will an annoying amount of tree impingement on the course.
    Just some quick thoughts, more on each hole tomorrow.

[Tom Huckaby]

Oh yes many thanks once again to David for setting this up.  It was great to see some old friends again and for the first time!  Yes, that sentence does make sense in this crazy internet world in which we live.

As for the course, well as Ed says I did have to bag early so I only got to see 1-9, 10, 18.  Based on those I'd agree with Ed's assessment as a Doak 4-5 - it's a pretty cool course and good fun, but nothing really special.  I sure as heck will go back and see the rest of the course though - hppefully soon.

The tree plantings were indeed VERY irksome.

Pretty damn tough walk to - some irksome green to tee jaunts.

But most irksome was having to leave early from a round to which one was looking forward for weeks.    Oh well.

Oh yeah, course works very well for hickory play.  

[ed_getka]

I forgot about the green to tee walks, Tom is right, very irksome. We must have walked an additional 800 yards in the course of the round.

[John Keenan]

Gentleman might we see some pictures?

[Tom Huckaby]

JK - sorry man, I don't think any were taken.  At least there were none in my group...

 

[David_Tepper]

Glad everyone could make it to Callippe!

In general, I liked the course. Considering the time of year, the recent rains and the newness of the course, I thought it was in very good shape and played on the firm side, which was a pleasant surprise.

Compared to courses on similar terrain in the same region (i.e. Roddy Ranch, Oakhurst & Poppy Ridge), I thought the course had fewer sharp edges and might be a little more playable for the mid-handicap golfer. While there were a few green-to-tee hikes, I thought the course was eminently walkable, certainly compared to Poppy Ridge.

Routing a course these days and having to incorporate all the arroyos and environmentally sensitive areas is not an easy thing to do. Except for just a few holes, I thought Callippe was pretty well done and it seemed like there was a place to play safe or bail out on just about every hole. A few of the holes felt a bit "shoe-horned in" on the back nine, but nothing approached being  offensive.

I like par-3's from elevated tees, so I enjoyed #4 and #13. The short par-4's (5 under 350 yards from the blues) gave you some options with your choice of club on the tee.

The back-9 finished surprisingly strong, with #16, #17 & #18  possibly being the 3 toughest holes on the course. #16 (a 200 yd. par 3) with lateral hazards left, right and behind the green will see a lot of lost balls, as will #18, with the arroyo in play on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd shot.

The only negative I can think of is what the course will look and feel like several years out, once the houses on the lots along the entry road are built.


 



   

[ed_getka]

 I think Callippe is a good entry to Bay Area golf in that it is fairly affordable. I did enjoy being able to bump my ball along into the greens I missed. The views out towards Mt Diablo and Pleasanton Ridge are nice. If I had to choose between Metropolitan and Callippe, I'm going to Metropolitan. Even though Metropolitan has a couple of dreadful holes, it has some real gems. On the other hand, Callippe doesn't really have any "bad" holes, it is also lacking in really good holes. I liked #13, and in spite of the fact that I hacked up #18, I thought it was a pretty good finisher in that it is very demanding.
   For public access golf Stevinson and Pasa are still the benchmarks in the affordable and high end arena in my neck of the woods.