Exellent new course in NoCal-Cache Creek-Yocha De He Golf Club

[Tim Leahy]

Sorry no pictures, but here's a link to their web site:

http://www.troongolf.com/courses/cache_creek_golf_course.php

I played it yesterday and it should be a nominee for Best New Golf Course for 2008. It is the best work so far for architect Brad Bell and he has done some good courses in NoCal already: Coyote Moon, Apple Mountain, and Turkey Creek to name a few.
I believe this course will be considered one of the top 10 public courses in No Cal once people discover it.
It is a great piece of property, set in a very picturesque valley with no houses or roads in site, not even a view of the casino that owns it.
Course is located about an hour north west of Sacramento and is owned by Cache Creek Casino which can make a great day and night of entertainment.

$85 including cart and unlimited range balls on an all grass range. Club house is still in construction, but free valet from the casino to the course. Free bottled water on the course.

Some great elevation changes, well trapped, lakes, creeks and immaculate conditioned fairways and greens. Most greens have an opening  to run up shots when it gets firm later in the year.

Some of my favorite holes: No. 1 starts from an elevated tee about a 100 ft drop to the fairway, long par 4.
No. 10, par 5 plays from a mildly elevated tee down into a vally and then back up the side of a hill to the green.
No. 11, long par four, elevated tee with a view of the whole course and down the secluded valley with no houses or roads in site, just a few cows in the distance. Played around or over an old oak tree on the left with traps on the right.
No. 14, short par four dogleg right that plays along a dry river bed on the left and old oaks on the right.
No. 15, long par four, fairway split down the middle by a creek which flows into a pond fronting the tee. Left of the creek is the shortest way to the green but right is safer.
No. 17, short par 5, but plays into the wind, green is a peninsula into a large lake similar to No. 18 at Bay Hill.
No. 18 is a great long par 4 which plays around a lake on the right with bunkers all down the left side to an elevated green. This may be the best 18th hole in No.Cal not on the Monterey Peninsula.

The course is currently cart path only, but will open up the fairways to carts some time next month. Changes in elevation and a couple of jaunts from green to the next tee make this a tough walk.

It is the best course within 50 miles of Sacramento and well worth the drive from the Bay Area.

[Tim Leahy]

Here's another couple of links for the course.

http://www.yocha-de-hegolfclub.com/

http://www.yocha-de-hegolfclub.com/courses.php

http://www.sacbee.com/golf/story/728084.html

enjoy

[Tim Leahy]

Attached link is a chance to play the course in tourney format on May 1, 2008, sounds like a fun day.

http://www.woodlandchamber.com/2008_Golf_Tournament_Entry_Form.pdf

[ed_getka]

Tim,
   Thanks for bringing this one to our attention. I'll have to try and get out there.

[Tom Huckaby]

It is nominated for Best New for Golf Digest.  I was supposed to get up there and play it during my recent "sabbatical", but sadly I just couldn't make it happen.  It is way the heck up to the north.

Sounds pretty cool though - I do need to get there before the summer ends.  It sounds and looks like it will be worth the drive.

TH

[Tim Leahy]

Tom & Ed,
it might be closer to the Bay Area than you think, the 505 frway from Vacaville takes you real close to Cache Creek and its about 30 miles from the 80/505 interchange in Vacaville.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tom & Ed,
it might be closer to the Bay Area than you think, the 505 frway from Vacaville takes you real close to Cache Creek and its about 30 miles from the 80/505 interchange in Vacaville.

I'm sure it is close to parts of what would be called the Bay Area.  I live in San Jose.  Mapquest said 2hrs, 21 minutes.  I'm sure I could make it up there quicker than that, but that's still a long way to go.

TH

[Kalen Braley]

Tom & Ed,
it might be closer to the Bay Area than you think, the 505 frway from Vacaville takes you real close to Cache Creek and its about 30 miles from the 80/505 interchange in Vacaville.

I'm sure it is close to parts of what would be called the Bay Area.  I live in San Jose.  Mapquest said 2hrs, 21 minutes.  I'm sure I could make it up there quicker than that, but that's still a long way to go.

TH

Wow,

Even from SJ that would still be booking to get up there in 2 hrs and 21 minutes....that would obviously have to mean at 3 AM in the morning.

Tom, you could make a day of it and see the new John Daly course, not too terribly far from there. 

[Tom Huckaby]

Kalen - right you are re traffic issues.  And you're right, Sevillano isn't that far away - that would be a fun day.

That is it would be fun for those who get to take entire days to play golf.  Hell I couldn't do that even when I wasn't working.  Fat chance of making it happen now.

 

[Tim Leahy]

Tom & Ed,
it might be closer to the Bay Area than you think, the 505 frway from Vacaville takes you real close to Cache Creek and its about 30 miles from the 80/505 interchange in Vacaville.

I'm sure it is close to parts of what would be called the Bay Area.  I live in San Jose.  Mapquest said 2hrs, 21 minutes.  I'm sure I could make it up there quicker than that, but that's still a long way to go.

TH

C'mon, it takes two hours to get to SF from SJ most days.
Believe me when I tell you it's worth the trip. No quieter or more serene area for a golf course in No. Cal.

[Tom Huckaby]

Lots of places are quiet and serene - you just have to get over two hours' drive from San Jose, in basically any direction!

As I say I do have to get up there before the end of the summer.  I am just not looking forward to the drive.  You see, Mapquest does not allow for traffic.

 

[Joel_Stewart]

It is the best work so far for architect Brad Bell and he has done some good courses in NoCal already: Coyote Moon, Apple Mountain, and Turkey Creek to name a few.

Tim:

Have you played all of Brads courses, especially Coyote Moon?  It will be a tall order to be better than CM, but I'm playing there on Thursday and will let you know.

[Stan Dodd]

Brad;s work at Teal Bend is good given the site.  He created a lot of interesting holeson a flat area with the airport right there.  A fun place to play.

[Wayne_Freedman]

Am playing there on Thursday.

What's your take on the 14th? It looks penal on the web site.
How did you play it. Left or right? And, from what tees?

Is that a Redan on the front nine?

[Matt_Cohn]

So which spot is more fitting for a GCA get together: Yocha-De-He or Sevillano?

[Kyle Henderson]

I'm planning on taking my dad there on Father's Day. Looks like fun.

[Ryan Farrow]

#18
Par 4





I wish I could say I haven't seen that one before, hell I wish I could say  I haven't seen that one about 100 times.


You got to be kidding me with the nominee for best new 2008 stuff.

[Matt_Cohn]

Am playing there on Thursday.

What's your take on the 14th? It looks penal on the web site.
How did you play it. Left or right? And, from what tees?

Is that a Redan on the front nine?

This is 14 - doesn't look that severe at 416 yards:


But this is 15, which looks quite severe at 433:


This one looks interesting at 328, how is it?

[Joel_Stewart]

How far is the carry on #14?

I talked with Brad Bell who may be one of the best young architects out there that no one has heard of (especially people on the East Coast).   He has only worked in California but has built some really excellent golf courses.   He is a former UCLA golf team member, who played with Corey Pavin.   When Pavin won the Open at Shinnecock, Brad also qualified so they spent alot of time together and Brad said it was something special to be there with Pavin.   Anyway, he flamed out on the tour and somehow got into building golf courses. 

[David_Tepper]

A nice (but slightly dated) article & profile on Brad Bell -

www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2001/07/09/focus6.html

[Tim Leahy]

Wayne and Matt,
the picture of hole 14 is decieving, the trees are too high and extend too far to cut the corner, you have to play to the end of the fairway and then right to the green between the trees and over the creek. I played the gold tees and it was 265 to the end of the fairway into a slight wind. I pushed a three wood and it kicked off the fairway into a kind of valley of sin between the fairway and creek hazard. My drive was far enough to avoid the trees on the right and I hit an iron out of the rough to the uphill green.
Hole 15, is fairly level and the wind was at my back, I chose the shorter route to the left and had a long iron to the green.
The Redan is no. 7, par three.
No. 8, the short par four is slightly uphill and I hit a layup. Maybe with Matt"s length it might be reachable on a calm day.

Ryan, have you played the course or seen it in person? According to Tom H. it has already been nominated as Best New for 2008, so I'm not the only one singing it's praises. As for the 18th hole, I have not seen too many like it in No. Cal. that are done this well. If you read one of the links attached to this thread, Brad Bell explains his use of the large lake for hole no.s 17 and 18.

[Tom Huckaby]

Just to clarify:  there is no particular praise nor honor that is attached with being nominated for Golf Digest's "Best New" list, although courses sure do market it as such.  All that has to happen is someone suggests it to GD management, the course agrees to host raters to see it.  Many courses that did not come close to making the final ranking list have been "nominated" in this fashion.  I only said what I did because Tim said it was going to be nominated, and I clarified that to report that it already had.  That is, it's on our list of courses to be seen.  Just remember again this does not mean the course is good, bad or indifferent.

Today I talked to several NCGA raters who have played it, and they sung its praises as well.  I do hope to see it myself at some point.

TH

[Joel_Stewart]

I played here yesterday and its pretty good.  It is not Brads best, I still consider Coyote Moon his best work.  It is a resort course, lots of water falls and some bells and whistles.   The course really starts at the 7th hole, a par 3 redan.   The back nine is strong, lots of interesting holes.  There is a huge amount of mounding that was constructed, much of it not neccesary and excessive.   Wadsworth did the construction.

I'll post more later.

[ed_getka]

Thank goodness I can come here for course recommendations. The Best New list is the dumbest thing I have heard of in a while. A course agrees to let raters out and Golf Digest puts them on their Best New list? What a farce. Why don't they just call it New Courses and let people make up their own minds?
    The course sounds interesting. Who that has played it thinks the green fee is worth the architecture you are seeing there? Doak rating?

[Tom Huckaby]

Thank goodness I can come here for course recommendations. The Best New list is the dumbest thing I have heard of in a while. A course agrees to let raters out and Golf Digest puts them on their Best New list? What a farce. Why don't they just call it New Courses and let people make up their own minds?
    The course sounds interesting. Who that has played it thinks the green fee is worth the architecture you are seeing there? Doak rating?

Now hold on just one second, my over-reacting friend.

Golf Digest doesn't put courses like this on any list.  All I explained was that it's meaningless to say a course is "nominated" for the Best New list.  Any course can basically "nominate" itself, as I explained.  But this does NOT NOT NOT mean they make any list published by the magazine - only those with the best rating scores make the lists (top 10 in each category) that go in the magazine.

Now chill.