Silver Lake Golf Club

Rain fell hard for most of the hour long drive to Silver Lake Regional Park. Pulling into the parking lot, the skies let up. It was a friendly check in with Rob in the pro shop and I was off and running to the parking lot with keys in hand for an electric E-Z-GO golf cart. Another quick check of the weather radar strongly suggested I put on the rain gear and pack the umbrella. 

Silver Lake's 9-hole, Par 36 course has some minor elevation changes but for the most part, the 3,163 yards plays relatively flat. The opening hole is a moderate 346 yard, Par 4, dogleg right and does provide a stress free introduction to your round. Hole 2 gets down to business as it is a challenging Par 3 that stretches 200 yards out to a rather small target green.

The seven holes that follow offer a wide variety of twists and turns, each one shifting direction or character just enough to keep you fully engaged. 

The course will ask you to strike the ball well as the landing areas of the fairways are only 20-25 yards wide and the greens make for small targets as they average 5,100 square feet in size.

There is water on the course but shouldn't be a problem for most golfers as Big Gully Creek passes through the golf course on just two holes, just off the tee box on Hole 3 and then in front of the green on Hole 4. Bunkers are a scarce commodity as I only counted four of them.

Cart paths were in good condition to and from the tees and greens. Fairways were mostly healthy although the lead up to the greens on holes six and nine showed evidence of suffering some winter kill in places.

I chatted with the course superintendent on the first green and he mentioned that the greens were just verti-cut and rolled in the past 2 days and I was surprised to learn that this nine-hole course has been operating since 1964. Greens were softened by the morning rains and were receptive to good approach shots. There are plenty of undulations and contours to navigate and they rolled consistently at a quick pace. If your putter happens to get hot, good scores can be had. 

Silver Lake GC offers good value with a clean, thoughtful layout tucked into a quiet setting. The club is a member of the RCGA so scores can be posted for handicap purpose. And for those that are travelling, there are a number of RV and campsites available.