Tilden Park Golf Course

This course is in a great location with some pretty cool scenic views. However the bad seemed to outweigh the good.

First off only walk this course if you are in really good shape. I got a cart half way through which ended up dying on me 3 holes later. There are some really steep hills that will gas the average person. The layout is ok with some challenging holes and decent greens. However like many muni courses the fairways can get really barren.

My biggest issue was the course was a swamp and should not have been played on. During the winter it gets very little sun and turns into slush. Overall I ended up quitting after 13 holes due to my cart dying and the fairways being mostly unplayable in my opinion. To add insult to quite literal injury I slipped in the mud on the fairway and hurt my knee.

You can get some really cheap deals so if you want to play golf for cheap it can be a good option but would definitely suggest playing in good weather if you do.

There aren’t many redeeming qualities of this cold, damp and cavernous golf course. Set back below Grizzly peak above Berkeley, the course doesn’t get much sun and it felt like we were playing in the shade the entire round. Of course this can be beneficial, except that the fairways were literally mud and as many as 4 tee boxes that I recall had driving range mats to hit from because there was only wet dirt where the grass should have been. The course got rain 4 days ago by the time we played but because it gets so little sun, tee boxes, fairways and greens were still soaked and balls were plugging on the green aprons although the greens were okay. Course layout is also an issue as many holes are quite narrow requiring subtle but necessary awkward draws or slight fades off the tee. Elevation change is also an issue as there’s quite a bit of artificial distance on this course hitting at greens way up or down hill. Pace of play was problematic as it took us more than full 5 hours to play the round.

did not get to play more than 9holes due to the time of year. (it gets dark around 4:00 PM. My tee-off was around 2:00 PM

Course is in good condition but suuper backed up. Drivable par 4 followed by long par 3 followed by reachable par 5 on the front made for excruciatingly slow round. Group of slow college kids backed up the course by letting another slow group in front play through, no marshals to be seen. Layout also is super weird. Lots of blind shots, course is tight, several forced carries, not great for beginners yet only beginners come play here! Would not return.

Tilden Park is definitely one of the biggest challenges in the Bay Area and it did not disappoint. It made you feel good when you did something good on the course. And the walk was quite an endurance. However, I used my driver's license to rent a pull cart and after the round, the people in the pro shop lost my license. It took them 30 minutes to find it so not a good finish to the day. But I survived the course and that's something good to say.

The starter announcement on thePA messed-up my start time. I ended up one group behind where I was supposed to be. Because I was a single they asked me to let a four-some ahead of me. The staff tried to penalize me by letting other people go because I was a single?!?!?

I guess it is the COVID Wild West. Young high school and college kids running the place. Tee time was 15 minutes behind schedule. Group ahead was organizing a 5th friend to join them on the 1st tee until I stepped in to object. A 5:10 tee time should of easily been enough to complete 9 holes before it got dark. Finished 6 holes with sunlight and a 7th too dark to be safe. Will not return to a course I grew-up on, but hadn’t played in awhile.

Tilden Park is a very challenging course with many hills and sloping greens.

The layout has a number of holes too close to each other.

The worst thing was pace of play was very slow.