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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 26
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Course

Castle Oaks is always in great condition, and very consistent condition no matter the time of year. Greens are terrific !

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Worth the drive

Nice challenges, better have straight drives, quiet area, will play again

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Castle Oaks Review.

This course provide adequate challenges, and is always in good condition.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Family Tournament

Great time round was great except for the air raiding of the greens

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Very forgiving

Great course. Very forgiving. Well maintained. Enjoyed it and will be back.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Always a fun course to play.

Pace of play is usually much better on this course than this particular day. We ended up behind a small tournament of guys who seemed to be beating the ball all over the lot. Many looked like they should have stayed at the range for a few more hours. Great staff! Always friendly and courteous.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Awesome

This is a beautiful course with perfect greens. I had forgotten how much fun this course is.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Hit good approach shots

Fun course, you don't have to hit it long, but you better be accurate on your approach shots. Bunkers are not very sandy, making shots difficult off of nearly hard pan surfaces. First time players should have a player familiar with the course with them. A couple of holes are a little odd and some course knowledge would be very helpful. I will certainly play this course again!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Middle of no where gem!

Great layout!
Last two holes are to toughies!
Well worth the trip!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Golf

Greens are in great shape fairways looking good not too busy mid week with good price..

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Fair weather
Used cart

An oasis in the foothills

If you need to get out of town, this is the place. You can actually score well here if you keep it in the fairway. Putting greens are receptive and fun to putt. Not a big fan of the deep rough on this course.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Fun Course

I always like playing Castle Oaks a lot of different looking holes. We played it Friday 10/3/2014, they should have told us that they just did the greens. They were very sandy and sloooow,but still love the course.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

castle oak

great day of golf better then staying home and working

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Aerated

Greens were aerated and no notice on GolfNow. Most of the time it is clearly posted on site. Drove 40 min to punched greens and the worst sand job I have ever seen.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Castle Oaks-A Pleasant Surprise

$40 rate on golfnow.com, so I arrived at Castle Oaks for the first time with low expections. My expectations were exceeded.

The course was in very good shape for this time of year. The tees and greens were in great shape. The fairways were pretty soggy which was surprising.

The driving range has very good balls, and the staff in the shop, and snack bare were all friendly.

I'll be back because $40 with a cart is a great deal and I love a great deal.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 43
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Wish I had GPS

Absolutely in great condition considering the draught we're having. All areas of the course are green and cut appropriately. There was a couple of traps under repair but that's can be expected from time to time. The ball marks on greens weren't too bad and the greens themselves were quite nice. Since it was my first time playing I wish I had gps. We played @ 7:00am and were not pushed or pulled by anyone.

Conditions Excellent
Value 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
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Surprise in the foothills

Hadn't played this course in over 10 yrs...has really grown up, in great condition for late summer. Very busy, marshals need to be more forceful with slower groups esp when several holes open in front of slow group. Would have played in about 4 hrs if it didn't take almost 2 hrs to play the first 7 holes. The course itself was really a fun challenge of tough fun and easy holes. Elevation and water keeps it very interesting. Doglegs will make the longer hitter think. Will be back on a weekday or earlier start time!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Excellent condition

The course was in excellent condition. It is a very beautiful course to play. My only complaint is the sand traps don't have sand in them! Lucky for me, I didn't have to play out of them today...

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

lots of doglegs.

Course in good shape, had too wait most of holes group in front was slow. Pin placements were difficult that day.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Exceptional course

Challenging and beautiful. This course has it all. Get a chance to use your full range of clubs and a fun 18th hole.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
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