PEPPER TREE GOLF CLUB (1952)

 

CENTRAL VALLEY REGION

Public. 18 hole - cost: $16 - $26

1119 Watts Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93307

Tel: (661) 832-2259

 

Designed by Eddie Novak. Keep the ball in play. Short and flat, Pepper Tree is anything but easy. You will find out-of-bounds on 12 of the 18 holes, water on six holes, and fairways boarded by trees. With small greens and tight fairways the patient player who can hit greens will be rewarded with a low score. This course was once called Valle Grande. From within Bakersfield: Off Highway 99, drive east on Highway 58. Turn right on Cottonwood Road for a little over a mile. Turn left on Watts Drive to the club. Once rated one-star in Golf Digest Places to Play, but probably deserving two.

 

PETALUMA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB (1922)

 

NORTH COAST REGION

Members only - 9

1500 Country Club Drive, Petaluma, CA 94952

Tel: (707) 762-7041

 

Designed by Roger Baird. What this course lacks in distance, it makes up for in elevation changes. If you are not used to walking hills, you might want to bring an oxygen tank and your own caddie to carry it. Reciprocal play with other members-only clubs is allowed. From San Francisco (about 40 miles north to the course): Take US 101 north, exit on Petaluma Boulevard South and head downtown. Go south on McNear Avenue to Country Club Drive. Below the radar screen, this little nine-hole layout is a gem and affords some beautiful, unspoiled views of the hills to the west and Petaluma to the east.