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3.6
819 Reviews (819)
5 Stars
327
4 Stars
349
3 Stars
97
2 Stars
25
1 Stars
21
Conditions
3.2
Value
3.8
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.6
72.0%
Recommend this course
736 out of 819 reviews
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Average Rating
Avg Rating
0
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
0
Value
0
Layout
0
Friendliness
0
Pace
0
Amenities
0
0%
Recommend this course
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.2
27 Reviews (27)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
11
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
2
Conditions
2.7
Value
3.4
Layout
4.2
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.4
StaffFriendliness
4.2
63.0%
Recommend this course
17 out of 27 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 71
Length 6739 yards
Slope 127
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

3.6
819 Reviews (819)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 17
Brunch 7
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 26
Bunkers 25
Forced Carries 19
This course/club is great for:
Locals 25
Advanced Golfers 20
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 15
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 34
In the 'Burbs 6

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Interesting course in great shape

I play this course a couple of times per year. I would play it a lot more if I lived closer. It has a wide variety of challenging holes including a high risk, high reward split fairway on 18. The course is always in great shape and the greens are perfect. Good speed and always true. You always hit off grass on the range. A small drawback is the course winds through houses but it is not claustrophobic and they are not in play. You can get some really great deals on GolfNow on this course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Poor
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Worth the drive to Ione

Always a fun tract to play, many challenging holes never disappoints. The course was a bit over watered fairways to greens making for soggy play, better that I guess than no water a dry.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Greens and fairways in great shape. Course was a little busy but a good time was had by all.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Not a good day

We love playing here but this time not so good.we were a twosome that caught up with fivesome in front of us with another fivesome in front of them.no one was good enough to let us play thru.asked marshall if we could go in front of both of them and he said no,help me to understand this.took about 45 min.longer than it should have.thank you.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Good course out of no where

If you happen to be going to Yosemite, Sacramento, Stockton, Tahoe and taking the back road, this is a great course to play. It is sits in a retirement community. We stopped by to play on Friday and Saturday and the rate was cheap. The course was not busy at all so we finished in 4 hours. The course was in great condition.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Fun course to play

Castle Oaks is an interesting layout with some very challenging finishing holes. It is not penal and a fun course to play.

The greens were in great condition the day we played.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Castle

We played later in the day during peak heat.....

The course was a tad wet with the greens slow, but expected when playing in 106* heat. All but the bunkers were in excellent shape otherwise. They let us play as a 5some because we were the only ones out there. They didn't kick my friend off the course for wearing a tank top (don't know why he thought that's Ok) so I was appreciative of that. Bar service was excellent. All water jugs were full on the course as well. Worth the hr drive for sure.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 55
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Nice Round, Tricky Greens

The weather was perfect, the sign-in easy and course ready for us. Just over 4 hours for 18-holes for our 4-some. Tees and fairways are excellent. Greens are tricky and sometimes slow, sometimes fast with only one raised cup. We'll definitely play again!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Track

I'm so glad this golf course isn't too far from home. Its a great track to play for all level golfers. A lot of features and character from start to finish. It has the look of a semi private club. Always in good shape. People playing and staff have been very friendly and helpful every time i have been there. Everything is kept up there. All positive feedback.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 34
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Humble Pie

I let my ego get in the way. I teamed up with a very good 46 year old golfer who consistently hit the ball 250-270 yards from the tips. At 74 years old and hitting my drive a very long 230 yards convinced me by the end that I really shouldn't be hitting from the tips. It was excruciating fun, though, and I didn't slow the "young gun" down because I played fast. We did not get a lot of roll because of the "forever" wet weather we have experienced this winter. The very short grass fairways were somewhat mowed more narrow than they normally would be because of the wet conditions and the rough was a brutal thick 3-4 inches high. Several of the holes required close to 200 yard carries from the tips which was always sporty. The greens were in good shape, moderately quick with plenty of deceptive slopes and undulations. This is a great test for all golfers; recommend you golf this really scenic course if you haven't and I will be back to bring it to its knees.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Castle oaks

They had 3 tournaments before our t time they should have put more time before scheduling t times it took us 6 hours to play. It was the worst round I have ever played as far as waiting on every hole. We got there and had to wait for carts cuz they ran out so our cart was running out of juice. The course needs to schedule better not worry about making more money off people

Conditions Excellent
Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
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