Golf in Citrus Heights

As the sun rises over the emerald greens and fairways of Grayson Woods Golf Course, the shadows cast by Mount Diablo in the east recede and players tee up to test their mettle against the challenging par-27 course. Each of the course’s nine holes is nestled between trees and water hazards, raising the stakes and level of difficulty for junior, adult, and senior players alike. Alongside the main course, players develop their orb-rolling stroke on an 18-hole putting course that sits atop an ultra-modern surface free of divots, dirt clods, and rigs drilling for untapped sources of iced-tea-lemonade. The staff, which includes a PGA professional and an LPGA professional, offers private lessons to give improving players an edge at regularly scheduled tournaments such as the Junior-Senior Open and Ladies’ Day.

Bass Lake Golf Course's par-72 course challenges players of all skill levels with up to 5,939 scenic yards of rolling foothills, stubborn trees, and glittering lakes infested with hungry, hungry hippos. The course's 18 holes test golfers' finesse with short layouts—including the up-to-150-yard hole 10—and driving accuracy with lengthy layouts—such as the up-to-526-yard hole 1. Since taking ownership of the course in 2002, Alex and Sabrina Ho have enhanced the club with a 30-stall driving range, practice greens, a pro shop, and an onsite restaurant and bar.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer, known in the cleated world as the King and winner of the PGA Tour's Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, designed the undulating ryegrass fairways at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. Ranked as one of Golf Digest’s Readers’ Choice Top 50 Public Courses in 2009, the course unfolds scenic views of rolling hills as players give their balls detailed directions, hand them compasses and trail mix, and send them hiking toward the pin. The 12th hole’s pin challenges orbs with one of the toughest locations on the course, and eight sand bunkers guard three sides of the 18th hole’s green. After working up a sweat, swingers can remove their gloves and Kevlar vests and celebrate or commiserate their score at The Grille, where diners gaze out over the greens while munching sandwiches and quaffing beer.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,678 yards
• Course rating of 72.8
• Slope rating of 142
• 25 hitting stations at driving range
• See helpful course map and notes

Helmed by founder Tom Rezendes, NorCal Golf Academy’s PGA professional instructors believe that there are infinite ways to swing a golf club. In this spirit, they help each student find his or her own best approach, taking into account physical limitations to craft goals that are as lofty as the berries on a berry bush. The indoor facility’s wealth of technology helps the teachers create such individualized road maps with three practice bays outfitted with K-Vest motion analysis—a system that uses wireless sensors to assess movement patterns—and GC2 launch monitors, which depict ball flight on flat-screen HDTVs.

The PGA professionals take all this information into account while offering recommendations. Operating on the premise that there is no such thing as a quick fix and that overall fitness is key to a good game, they also focus on adding new drills over time, and encourage students to participate in the facility’s golf fitness classes. The specially designed workouts can help golfers build a solid swing and generate the muscle needed to fight off water-hazard gators.

Golf legends Johnny Miller and Fred Bliss teamed up to design the course at Metropolitan Golf Links, and were rewarded with numerous accolades, such as the 2010 ELGA Chapter Award for Public Facilities from the GCSA of Northern California and Golf Digest. To achieve their links-style vision, the golf gurus incorporated the natural contours of the land and covered the terrain with omnipresent sand traps and modern turf hybrids. The result whisks golfers around a labyrinthine layout complete with straightaways, doglegs, and double doglegs, each made more difficult by heavy breezes that blow in from San Francisco Bay, which can disrupt shots and ground scorecard paper airplanes.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,959 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.8 from the back tees
• Course slope of 131 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard:m]]

Though Metropolitan Golf Links sometimes features a discounted price online, this Groupon still offers the best deal available.