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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
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
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.4
73 Reviews (73)
5 Stars
13
4 Stars
24
3 Stars
21
2 Stars
10
1 Stars
5
Conditions
2.9
Value
3.6
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.4
StaffFriendliness
4.2
64.4%
Recommend this course
47 out of 73 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 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful but..

The course is beautiful and would be fun to play but the rough was so long and the last cut still had left all the clippings on top so the combination of long grass eating up a ball and the clipping concealing it you’d better make sure to bring a bunch of extra balls.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 48
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Twice a year
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Beautiful layout.

Of course itself has a beautiful day out. Unfortunately we didn't know that the greens had just been plugged and sanded. Any ball hit off the fairway was difficult to find as the grass was 3 inches or longer. A lot of the tee boxes could use some TLC.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 53
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 123
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 500 Contributor
Previously Played

Castle Oaks is good track but could be better

Castle Oaks is a good track, but with some small improvements could be much better. First 9 holes are longer and tougher than the back nine; especially since on this day, the fairways were not cut down (more like a first cut), and the first cut was very tall and thick. They did have mowers out there, so assuming this will soon be corrected. The second nine is easier than the first (about 300 yards shorter, not much trouble except 10/18, and the fairways in the first cut were much better.) Staff is friendly, pricing is OK, good putting green but driving range is worst in area and it’s not close. Basically hitting off dirt with a few clumps of grass here and there. Should install mats if you can’t keep the area with the semblance of some grass. Overall, still worth playing.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

.

Fairways had not been cut for at least one day and maybe more. Some of the greens had bare spots. Otherwise, good

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

mowing

very poor mowing conditions in the rough

You could not find your ball in the rough as it was too deep to find

Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 26
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fairways and Rough

Grass was extremely tall on this day. Fairways were playing like the rough and the rough was so tall I lost balls that usually aren’t a problem to find. I do like this course a lot and maybe on this day it was the exception.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 32
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Castle Oaks

First time playing this track. I really liked the golf course and it’s a solid layout. Greens were rolling nicely. But, the fairways hadn’t been mowed in a while and were almost as long as the rough on other courses. No roll whatsoever. And the fairway rough and green side rough were a joke. We lost several balls within yards of the fairways and greens. Not good.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
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 Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

The course is well layed out

Great day at Castle Oaks. Course was in great shape for this time of the year. Rough was a little thick, but I'm sure it was not mowed due to the recent weather.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 204
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 100 Contributor
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Unplayable

N9 rain past 3 days but cart party only took 5 hours and grass not mowed in week so fairway and rough were deep hard to find ball should have been reduced green fee

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 204
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 100 Contributor
Previously Played

Post Rain

After 3 dry days the course was still wet on few holes since no mowing fairways and rough was tall hard to find balls

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 53
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Playable

Compared to many courses that have been affected by all the bad weather Castle Oaks is very playable. Swampy in some parts, sand traps washed out, but still playable. Cart path only & I still got around under 4 hours. They have done a great job despite all the weather challenges.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
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