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Rating Index Rating
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3.8
819 Reviews (819)
5 Stars
327
4 Stars
349
3 Stars
97
2 Stars
25
1 Stars
21
Conditions
3.4
Value
4.0
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.7
78.5%
Recommend this course
736 out of 819 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.2
21 Reviews (21)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
6
3 Stars
8
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
1
Conditions
2.7
Value
3.3
Layout
4.3
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.4
61.9%
Recommend this course
13 out of 21 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.3
65 Reviews (65)
5 Stars
11
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
21
2 Stars
10
1 Stars
5
Conditions
2.8
Value
3.5
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.8
Amenities
3.3
StaffFriendliness
4.1
60.0%
Recommend this course
39 out of 65 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 71
Length 6739 yards
Slope 128
Rating 72.3

Castle Oaks Golf Club is situated on the historic Preston Farmlands. The Preston Castle, built in 1894 overlooks the rolling, oak-studded hills of the course. The course opened a century later but it blends in beautifully with the existing terrain, utilizing the Sutter and Mule Creeks and mature trees as natural hazards. When the golf course opened it was acclaimed as the best public course in northern California and it has remained one of the area's premier courses. The layout has an interesting mix of holes with some that are wide and forgiving and others that are narrow and play alongside environmental hazards. The meandering creeks and several lakes come into play throughout. There are many risk/reward opportunities and golfers will encounter several hazards and out-of-bounds off the tee, but overall the course is player-friendly enough to appeal to any skill level.

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Castle Oaks Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1994
Golf Season Year round
Architect Brad Benz (1994) Ross Forbes (1994)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Pull-carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in California (2015 #16)
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Reviews

3.8
819 Reviews (819)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 28
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

New Mgmt

Course under new ownership,appears course will updated.will go back in month to see improvements.My outing was fine concerning conditions,Give a try when .

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Back to Normal

We played here over the Memorial Day weekend and were sad to see the condition of the course. I left an unfavorable review at that time. We played it again on July 6th and were so glad to see the course conditions had returned to their normal, good state. We played as a twosome. Two groups let us play through that allowed us to play the round in 3 and a half hours. It was a very enjoyable round.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Skip This Course

Tons of hazards. Poorly maintained on all fronts. Greens have leprosy. Bunkers are wet concrete. Fairways are full of terrible lies due to grass conditions. Tee boxes overgrown. Cart paths full of debris. Water hazards are algae infested. Will not be back unless they change management and dramatically improve.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 32
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Woefully condition amidst uncertainty

First, the guy in the shop was great and I feel bad for everyone there that has been working while this course straddles the line between being in operation or closing. Nothing in the pro shop, etc. Feels dreadful. To the course, which has one of my favorite layouts around. It’s a tough and demanding test, even if many of the holes aren’t quite lengthy. Greens were ok, for once. Fairways were awful. There’s grass but they’re not cutting it very well, or at all. Thick and no runout. And you’d find better tee boxes at just about any other golf course around. Thick, uneven grass. Horrible. The rough was crazy deep, too. Way too deep in many spots right off the fairway. This isn’t supposed to emulate Oakmont. We’ll see what happens with the sale, but I’ll not be back until I hear they’ve decided to operate this course with the right attention to important characteristics.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Pretty good shape after almost closing

Course was in pretty good shape after almost closing two months ago when it was in terrible condition. Fairways and rough are still green. Haven’t been affected by high temps yet. Rough was cut to a manageable length. Only complaint would be some rough spots on some of the greens. Really happy this course stayed open and is now in better shape.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Previously Played

Arethey going out of business?

I played this course many times over the last couple of years. And it's always been beautiful fun to play Love the layout, and I went on May 29th, with my son and it was awful pro. Shop had nothing in it. The fairways were dry and dark, hardly any. Grass, it was just awful. Sad to see, I really enjoyed this course.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Response from on 06/09/2025:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We understand this visit didn’t meet expectations and will use your comments to make improvements. We hope your next visit is more enjoyable.
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Dry as a bone

City of Ione has taken over the management of this course. No water avaiable so course is very dry

Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 12
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course is not well maintained.

Course is not well maintained. Grass is mostly yellow and lots of bear spots on fairway.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 119
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Loss of a Nice Course

This used to be a nice course. It is not at this time.

The tee boxes and most of the fairways are dried-out, dead grass. The greens are throughly pitted up with ballmarks.

The rumors that we were told amounted to the course had been firr sale and the buyer backed out. Whether the rumors are true or not, the place appears to not be loved by those that should be taking care of it.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Dry

Fairways very dry it looks like only the greens are being watered right now.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
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