Anyone play Mayacama recently?

[David Ober]

Playing the Scratch Players Mid-Am there at the end of the month. Really looking forward to it, though I've heard it's quite a tough walk! Anything else I should know before playing?

[David_Tepper]

I have not played there in a couple of years. There are a number of forced carries and lateral hazards, typical of California courses with barrancas/ravines/creek beds running thru them. Given the mild and dry winter we have had in Northern California, the course is likely to be in very nice shape and on the firm side.

Here is Kyle Henderson's excellent photo tour of the course:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,44931.0.html

[Niall Hay]

How does the course compare to it's NorCal neighbors? Meadow Club? Olympic, SFGC, Cal Club?

Also how does it rank as one of Jacks? Is Muirfield Village his best? Where does Mayacama rank?

[Niall Hay]

Here is Kyle Henderson's excellent photo tour of the course:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,44931.0.html

Kyle's pictures are awesome.  Great job and thanks for sharing. 

[David_Tepper]

Niall -

The courses you listed are pretty old-school, with relatively few hazards and/or forced carries. You have to hit a pretty bad shot to lose a ball on any of them.

As I think the pictures of Mayacama show, a bad swing can cost you a penalty stroke (and a lost ball) on almost every hole there.

DT

 

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

David hit it on the head as was your tough walk thought. It is a tough walk.

[Joel_Stewart]

How does the course compare to it's NorCal neighbors? Meadow Club? Olympic, SFGC, Cal Club?

Also how does it rank as one of Jacks? Is Muirfield Village his best? Where does Mayacama rank?

It's not in the same league as SFGC, Oly or Cal Club.  Hard to compare it to Meadow which is a nice pleasant members club.

It's a good club, the walk is pretty stiff but it's a caddie only club so its manageable. It starts off pretty strong so you need to play well from the first shot.  There are some holes which I didn't like and the 18th ends with a strong hole around a big lake.

If you shoot even you should do well.  Maybe JWL will comment as it was really his work.

[Niall Hay]

thanks guys. Where does Mayacama rank for Jack designs?  Muirfield Village in the wine country mountains?

[PThomas]

thanks guys. Where does Mayacama rank for Jack designs?  Muirfield Village in the wine country mountains?

one of Jack's better designs...overall I liked it better than MV

[Niall Hay]

Wow, strong words. MV is pretty good.

[JNC Lyon]

How does the course compare to it's NorCal neighbors? Meadow Club? Olympic, SFGC, Cal Club?

Also how does it rank as one of Jacks? Is Muirfield Village his best? Where does Mayacama rank?

It's not in the same league as SFGC, Oly or Cal Club.  Hard to compare it to Meadow which is a nice pleasant members club.

It's a good club, the walk is pretty stiff but it's a caddie only club so its manageable. It starts off pretty strong so you need to play well from the first shot.  There are some holes which I didn't like and the 18th ends with a strong hole around a big lake.

If you shoot even you should do well.  Maybe JWL will comment as it was really his work.

How does being a "caddie only" club make the walk more manageable?  Like the walk is easier for caddies than it is for the golfers?  I'm not buying it.  Mayacama does sound like a good golf course.  I do like Jim Lipe's work as architect (can we call May River, Dismal River, Concession, etc., Nicklaus courses, really?), and Mayacama sounds like a high-class joint.

[SB]

I played it in November and didn't think it was crazy difficult.  There is certainly lots of potential to lose balls if you spray it, but the corridors are pretty wide, so to lose a ball, you REALLY have to hit a bad shot.  Again, I played in November, so maybe the rough was down for the winter.  I didn't find the walk terrible, a couple of decent walks between holes and one big trip up a hill that they drive you up, but I've had harder walks.

Overall a great experience, one of the best Nicklaus courses I've played or seen.  I played with my brother in law who lives in the Bay Area and plays in a lot of amateur tournaments and he says its in his top 5 in all of NorCal, which I thought high praise as he's pretty well traveled.

[Tim Leahy]

Would you compare Mayacama with Sherwood?

[Matthew Petersen]

Would you compare Mayacama with Sherwood?

Looking at photos, that was certainly the comparison that came to my mind. However, I suppose that's as much to do with the setting as anything.

[kurt bowman]

JNC Lyon,

Dismal River and Concession were the work of Chris Cochran not JWL.

Kurt

[Matt MacIver]

I played 1x four years ago, and I'm NOT a scratch player...so with that: it was pretty firm when I played and think that's the intent when possible.  Very hilly walk but caddies made for a lovely stroll in the park.  Even as a high handicapper I thought the fairways were sufficiently wide, though there is water and woods all about.  I thought the challenge on the green was the high stimp rather than severe slope.  I thought it was a really solid course (7?), and am thankful they let a tourist like me on...however, at full rack rate it's the most expensive course I've ever played, and won't be going back for a replay. 

[C. Sturges]

I have been able to play it a couple of times and it is a very fair course.  With that being said it is easy to loose golf balls.  I would get a caddy( not sure you can play without) because I never thought it a hard walk and have played it in a summer heat wave.  The caddy also help with getting you to hit more club when you do not feel the elevation change.
It is a top five JN course it my mind, right up there with MV, just very different land.  Have a great time and play well.  As others have said it is more rugged than most of the other courses in NoCal and tighter mattering how the rough is.  I have seen it where you have no chance to find your ball and when it was playable.
Chris

[David_Tepper]

David Ober -

I see you played in the Scratch Players at Mayacama last week. What did you think of the course? I hear it was playing pretty tough.

DT