Leading up to this Sunday (3/31/19), the team @thealohapress had a lot of work to do in order to convince our wives to let us out on a weekend. Lucky for us, they had planned a “Girls Day” in Sutter Creek and we were off the hook.
After last week’s car troubles left us stranded in the parking lot @greenhorncreek, I decided it was best if I drove and J.C. Picked the course. On this Sunday we loaded up in the truck with a couple of our friends and made the short 30 minute drive to @wildhawkgolfclub in Sacramento County. We have all played this course in the past, but it had been a while and we were looking forward to the challenge.
WILDHAWK GOLF CLUB REVIEW
We arrived at the course about an hour before our 8:26 tee-time, which gave us the opportunity to check out everything @wildhawkgolfclub has to offer. We all checked in and bought a couple buckets of range balls, but little did we know it would be a while before we hit our first warm up shot. Instead of grinding away on the range, our boss was busy conducting a flyover of the course with his new drone and the rest of us couldn’t leave the pro shop (20% off). We probably needed a basket, as we walked out with new balls, hats, shoes and even a pair of socks, yes socks! So about the socks real quick. Not sure if this happens to everyone or just me, but my lovely wife has a tendency of mismatching socks with the best of them ☺ ! Well it happened again on this day and because it was beautiful outside, I decided to wear sandals to the course and didn’t realize it until it was too late. Oh well, a nice new pair of @footjoy poke-a-dot socks did the trick.
So back to the golf. After a spicy Bloody Mary and delicious breakfast sandwich, we were finally headed to the range. Not realizing how much time we had spent in the pro shop and bar, it was only moments before we were called to the first tee. Leaving behind most of our range balls for the next lucky sucker, our round was about to start.
#1 @wildhawkgolfclub is a straight away par 4 (319 Yds) with very little trouble in sight, or so it seemed. Off the tee, one of us found the fairway, two were in the thick rough and the other was dropping a new golf ball (-$5.00). No pars on that hole for the group and it was a pretty tough go until we stepped onto the tee at the par 3 4th. Playing about 150 yards that morning with the wind in our face, we all started joking about the unthinkable hole-in-one and even agreed that if it happened, it was straight to the bar and no work on Monday! The pin was tucked in the back left of the green, with a pond in front and a creek protecting the left side. Our first three shots missed the green, but our final shot was right on line. Wondering if this 7 iron was enough club, we watched as it tracked right toward the pin, could it be? Nope, but the ball would end up about two feet from the cup and we added our first birdie to the scorecard. Two more birdies on the next hole and things were looking up. As we made our way through the rest of the front 9, you could find us just about everywhere on the course except the fairway. After a tough 9 holes we made a quick pit stop at the bar and grabbed a few refreshing cocktails that guaranteed us a better back 9.
#10 (Par 4, 337 Yds) @wildhawkgolfclub runs along the road and is a sneaky tough hole that’s called, “The Chute.” This was the first hole @thealohapress has put the drone in use during play and it was awesome to have it follow us throughout the hole. The back 9 @wildhawkgolfcourse plays a little longer than the front, but definitely has a couple of risk/reward holes that can make or break your round. When you get to #16, this is your first opportunity to go for it, on the hole they named, “If you dare.” This par 4 only measures 283 yards on the card, but has a lake on the right that runs the entire length of the fairway and up to the green. After using our laser, we knew it was 245 yards to carry the water at the front of the green and 275 yards at the flag. Even with these yardages in our heads, it still looks a lot longer than it plays, which we soon found out. Two of us flew the green and ended up in the trees, which made for a difficult par and the other two came up short, but definitely had easier second shots. If we got to play it over, irons off the tee might not be a bad idea on this hole.
Knowing that our round was nearing an end, we couldn’t help but admire the beauty of spring that was all around us. The trees were in bloom, the flowers were soaking up the sun and the birds were everywhere, except on the scorecard. It was truly a beautiful day, but if you have allergies like me, don’t forget your meds.
As we reached the 18th tee (Par 5, 503 Yds) we were all in agreement that this was @wildhawkgolfclub signature hole. This par 5 has a creek running through the middle of the landing area, which makes for a tough decision off the tee. Once you’re safely in play, your second shot requires a precise layup, as the rest of the hole is lined with water down the right. As you approach the green, you can see the clubhouse in the background and the tough undulations in this elevated green. In the end, two of us had looks at birdie to finish off the day, but both putts came up short. Not long after walking off the 18th green, a couple of our phones started buzzing and the text messages from our wives started pouring in. It’s like they have a little timer that tells them exactly when we finish our round! ☺.
After dropping off our clubs and cleaning up a bit, we stopped in the bar for one more “Pop.” Both bartenders that day were great and the customer service in the pro shop was outstanding, which is probably why we left with so much new gear. Even though we didn’t play our best on this day, our experience @wildhawkgolfclub was amazing. This is definitely a great course to spend a day at with your friends and a short enough drive that you can make it home before dinner. Thanks again to @wildhawkgolfclub for having us out and thanks to our wives for this beautiful Sunday round of golf.
Question of the day: Do you like the risk/reward of a short par 4? Do you go for it or not?
Pros:
1. Great staff all around.
2. Excellent bar and restaurant.
3. Challenging and fun par 3’s.
4. Tough, but exciting finishing hole.
5. Great deal's on tee times!
Article by: Jeff
Photographs and Video by: JC
