Sequoyah Country Club

I have played this course twice with a friend who is a member, and I think joining it would make sense because the club has a ton of amenities, and it's the kind of course that would be fun to play over and over as it would be different every day.

That said, I'm NOT a fan of how they set up their greens. Pin placements are often bordering on illegal (on slopes or right next to the edge) and I've repeatedly landed a ball at the front of the green only to watch it roll clear across the entire green, then off into a gulley 30 yards away. There's not nearly enough room to miss on too many holes unless you're an exceptional golfer.

It's also not a very easy walk, as it's in the Oakland hills and uses quite a bit of it.

Views from the course are often remarkably nice and the members there seem quite cool with a great lack of pretense. It's a great facility, but the course isn't really my cup of tea for repeated play.

I am 29 and a new member here. Very low member cap and great "Young Executive" (under 35) low member dues and buy-in.

Absolutely beautiful course with great bay views from several holes. Short but very challenging with a variety of different looks and lots of tight precision based holes. I am a pretty long hitter and if I play smart I only pull driver 6 times usually (based on tees). Greens are a nice speed and very receptive, but they are tiny and punishing on misses. there are many bunkers and locations less than 10 feet off the green where you do well to keep the ball on the surface. Lots of trees line both sides of most fairways with lots of branches hanging out.

Amazing short game (~145yds and in) goes a long way to make up for reduced distance balls on the driving range. Very nice and helpful staff, unlike some other places they are very helpful and they are everywhere. Low membership cap so I have yet to wait more than 15 minutes to tee off and have never called in a tee time (except for planned events). Average round for me is less than 4 hours and if i rode alone I could make it in 3 easy.

Despite being over 100 years, not too many people know about this place,and perhaps that's part of its magic -- for example, you don't need to book a tee time, just show up and you are generally good to go. You need to play a few times to get a good sense of the course layout and it plays somewhat up-and-down (hilly, but not so much as Palo Alto Hills, for example). Fairways are fairly wide but it is the greens where you can leave a lot of strokes, as they are quite slopped and often very fast. A two-putt would be acceptable throughout. You can walk the course but it is a long one, with a rigorous vertical climb from #16 to #17. Food is available at the turn and is both quick and very good. Very likely to see deer (and wild turkeys) on the course. Some goof vistas to the Bay from many of the tee boxes.