Oak Quarry: A pictorial!!! (18th hole posted)

[Kyle Henderson]

Oak Quarry is an aptly named and modestly priced (by California standards) golfing experience. I have only two complaints: it is not easily walkable and it is rather unfortunately located – Riverside is not a golfing hotbed, despite the hellish summer climate.


Approaching the first tee, a golfer’s spirits are quickly put at unease.


#1: Par 4. 303.
The first  green is reachable from the tee, and it is always such a pity to club down for the opening shot. Conversely, one brings serious trouble into play with driver in hand on the first swing of the day.


Recovering a birdie opportunity from a sliced tee shot is no easy prospect, though a “4” is still very doable.

[Brian_Sleeman]

Looking forward to the rest of your photo tour...

I played there nine years ago with some buddies and we enjoyed it quite a bit.  I can still recall a lot of specifics on certain holes and of course the scenery is spectacular.

[Alex Miller]

Already truly stunning photos, Kyle!

I don't like clubbing down SO much on the first hole of the day either, but I last played there with a friend of mine who drove the green and 3-putted for par while I happily went iron-wedge-birdie. For the space it occupies it is not a bad hole.

[Kyle Henderson]

#2: 572 yards.
The back plates are much more trying than the forward tees at #2. Planted trees and mounds on the left frame the target area. As at the first tee, a fade is preferred.


The green is set up for a running draw when conditions are firm or a lay-up right of the fairway’s center for conservative players.

[Kyle Henderson]

Already truly stunning photos, Kyle!

I don't like clubbing down SO much on the first hole of the day either, but I last played there with a friend of mine who drove the green and 3-putted for par while I happily went iron-wedge-birdie. For the space it occupies it is not a bad hole.

I like the hole well enough, but it may come at the wrong point in the round. Just food for thought.

[Mark Saltzman]

Kyle, is #2 as unforgiving as it looks?

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle, is #2 as unforgiving as it looks?

It's not extraordinarily narrow, but anything much beyond the fairway is dead.

[Yancey_Beamer]

Hole#2 is simply too early in the round to demand a long, totally accurate drive to a narrow fairway with dense rough on both sides.I agree.
The course is a favorite,however.

[Alex Miller]

Boy this is early in the discussion to pose such a question, but would the course be better if it started on hole 4 and played through 18, then 3, then 1 and finished on 2?

[Kyle Henderson]

Boy this is early in the discussion to pose such a question, but would the course be better if it started on hole 4 and played through 18, then 3, then 1 and finished on 2?

Maybe the "drivable par 4, stern par 5" opening sequence was intended to boost range token sales...

Without a proper warm-up, players just need to be conservative. Ball sprayers can legitimately hit irons off of the first 2 tees and make pars. I do think 1 and 2 (changed to 17 and 18) would be a nice way to decide a close match.

[Kyle Henderson]

#3: 164 yards.

The third is the final prelude to the more dramatic quarry holes. An impressive backdrop dwarfs the mounding and trees found right and long of the green (presumably to disguise the cart path).

[Kyle Henderson]

#4: 352 yards.
Playing around the driving range to a manmade gash in the mountain side, the 4th is certainly dramatic. The fairway is split, with the smaller left fairway offering the shorter approach for those willing to risk tumbling over the cliff. Then again, the right fairway is also small and a ball that ends up between these fairways may be very hard to advance. Hopefully the fairway division is usually shaved down so tee shots will run onto flatter ground.



The green site is unique in my experience – partially enclosed within a rocky amphitheater, with a large bunker buffering left and long misses from ultimate peril.

[David Kelly]

Boy this is early in the discussion to pose such a question, but would the course be better if it started on hole 4 and played through 18, then 3, then 1 and finished on 2?

I thought about that because the short #1 is such a weird hole to start on.  The good thing about starting with a very driveable hole is that it gets the wait out of the way before you even start your round.  If #1 was the 17th hole there would be a long back up there that would be annoying.

On hole #4 the risk going for the left side fairway and the reward for going for the right side fairway are both small enough that I don't see why anyone would bother with the right side.  Schmidt and Curley use a lot of alternate fairways in their designs but this one doesn't really work IMO.

[Derek Dirksen]

Thanks for the GREAT photos.  Love the look of hole 3.

[Jim Johnson]

Thanks for another great photo tour, Kyle, I know how much work they are to put together.

My wife and I played Oak Quarry on Mother's Day last spring with our son, who lives and works in Irvine (we were visiting from Canada). We had a great day together, and enjoyed the course, for the most part. One thing I do recall, though, is losing my tee-shot on the 4th hole when it landed somewhere in that strip between the upper and lower fairways, the grass was thick and fairly long there that day. Never did find it. That was frustrating.

JJ

[Matt Day]

great photo's

the thing that strikes me is how quite and peaceful it looks, for me an enjoyable and maybe underated aspect of playing the game

[Kyle Henderson]

Thanks for another great photo tour, Kyle, I know how much work they are to put together.

My wife and I played Oak Quarry on Mother's Day last spring with our son, who lives and works in Irvine (we were visiting from Canada). We had a great day together, and enjoyed the course, for the most part. One thing I do recall, though, is losing my tee-shot on the 4th hole when it landed somewhere in that strip between the upper and lower fairways, the grass was thick and fairly long there that day. Never did find it. That was frustrating.

JJ

Yeah, that's pretty lame. Otherwise the hole is quite good.

[Kyle Henderson]

#5: 216 yards.
Wisely using another par 3 to traverse the steep pitch down to the remainder of the property, Schmidt and Curley perched the green precariously in a reentrant such that left pins are well protected. Bailng out right will leave a tough little downhill chip.

[Peter Ferlicca]

Kyle,

Have you played the other publics in the Riverside area?  I have always wanted to play Oak Quarry, and I sure will some time this spring because these photos look pretty darn good.  I have only played The Ranch at Moreno Valley, and continue to go back there because for 28 bucks it is hard to beat that place.  I like Pete Dye and find that he did as good of job there if not better than at La Quinta Mountain.  Everyone sugguests Goose Creek too which is probably less than 5 minutes from Oak Quarry, it looks to be on a much flatter site but heard it is a great walking course. 
 
When I leave the desert to go West, I always drive past PGA Beaumont (now Tuckwet Canyon) and Oak Valley to go an extra 10 to 15 minutes to play The Ranch at Moreno Valley, Redlands CC, and now Oak Quarry looks like another option. 

[Bill Seitz]

Peter,

I went to college in Riverside, and spent a lot of time at Moreno Valley Ranch.  Can't believe it's only $28 to play there.  I think it was more when I was in school 20 years ago.  Great practice facility.  Our club team really only played in the Spring season, so I'd spend a fair amount of time at that range during the fall.   I always thought the mountain nine was the most fun, but the valley nine was probably the better test.  

I always thought Oak Valley was a lot of fun to play, and really enjoyed it.  I last played there about six years ago, and they switched the nines, and finally got the development to fill in around it.  I remember going there when the clubhouse was a double-wide, and it was in that state for quite a long time.  Only played across the road once, as it opened after I had already moved to Chicago.  Goose Creek is indeed a flatter piece of land than Oak Quarry (I've played each once), and I remember it being a pretty good experience for the price, but I haven't been there in probably more than 10 or 12 years.  

From the pictures, it looks like they've got Oak Quarry in pretty darn good condition. 

[Kyle Henderson]

Peter,

I have played Goose Creek (with The Emperor and Spaulding). My impression is that its certainly better than your average So Cal public course -- it has a surprisingly high number good holes for such a blah site -- and its much more walkable, but overall I prefer Oak Quarry (same architects). Victoria Club (private, Behr) is the other course I've played in the area; it has very good bones and would be a real treat with a proper restoration. All probably fall in the Doak 4-6 range, with Oak Quarry 1 rung higher than the others if you are cart ball tolerant.

[Tim Leahy]

Kyle,

Have you played the other publics in the Riverside area?  I have always wanted to play Oak Quarry, and I sure will some time this spring because these photos look pretty darn good.  I have only played The Ranch at Moreno Valley, and continue to go back there because for 28 bucks it is hard to beat that place.  I like Pete Dye and find that he did as good of job there if not better than at La Quinta Mountain.  Everyone sugguests Goose Creek too which is probably less than 5 minutes from Oak Quarry, it looks to be on a much flatter site but heard it is a great walking course. 
 
When I leave the desert to go West, I always drive past PGA Beaumont (now Tuckwet Canyon) and Oak Valley to go an extra 10 to 15 minutes to play The Ranch at Moreno Valley, Redlands CC, and now Oak Quarry looks like another option. 

I can second Oak Valley as a good course. I used to drive from Glendale to play there on the weekends to avoid the 6 hr rounds at Brookside.

[Peter Ferlicca]

I just recently played Oak Valley for the first time in October, I had a very enjoyable experience.  I thought it was a good golf course, and had signs of Pete Dye in the course.  I would play there over Tukwet Canyon, though I do believe the The legends course there is very pretty with the back nine built through all the oak trees with no houses around.   I was just saying that for the price and to avoid the howling winds that usually whip through the banning pass, I would drive an extra fifteen minutes into the Riverside area to play The Ranch at Moreno Valley, Oak Quarry, or Goose Creek. 

Tukwet Canyon and Oak Valley probably have only 75 days out of the year when the wind isn't blowing around 15 to 20 mph with strong gusts.  Both of those facilities where built right in the banning pass where the wind picks up its speed, and it is also at about 2200 feet elevation so usually it is a cold wind. 

Being here in the desert, you get spoiled by having so many good weather golfing days, you get picky on the weather you want to play in. 

[Bill Seitz]

Victoria Club (private, Behr) is the other course I've played in the area; it has very good bones and would be a real treat with a proper restoration.

Vic was our home course for my senior year.  I haven't played it since I graduated in '95, but it remains one of my favorite courses.  I'd love to get back there some day just to see how different it plays, if at all, with newer technology.  But it would really be a treat to play sometime with hickories.  Looks like they've done some work there sometime in the last decade or so.  The pond between 12 and 17 is new, and hopefully they've stabilized the banks of the creek in some spots.  I recall a fair amount erosion where it crossed the 14th hole back around the time I was playing there.  From the satellite view, it looks like maybe they did some bunker work as well.

[Bill_McBride]

I just recently played Oak Valley for the first time in October, I had a very enjoyable experience.  I thought it was a good golf course, and had signs of Pete Dye in the course.  I would play there over Tukwet Canyon, though I do believe the The legends course there is very pretty with the back nine built through all the oak trees with no houses around.   I was just saying that for the price and to avoid the howling winds that usually whip through the banning pass, I would drive an extra fifteen minutes into the Riverside area to play The Ranch at Moreno Valley, Oak Quarry, or Goose Creek. 

Tukwet Canyon and Oak Valley probably have only 75 days out of the year when the wind isn't blowing around 15 to 20 mph with strong gusts.  Both of those facilities where built right in the banning pass where the wind picks up its speed, and it is also at about 2200 feet elevation so usually it is a cold wind. 

Being here in the desert, you get spoiled by having so many good weather golfing days, you get picky on the weather you want to play in. 

Peter, have you played Desert Dunes on a day when the breeze is up?