Golf in Fremont

Dave Johnson has been coaching golfers for over 20 years and through more than 40,000 lessons. His style is intuitive and all about connecting with the students. Enjoy the benefit of his deft professionalism during your two-hour golf lesson. Three different clinics are available for all skill levels, from high-level hobbyists to recent mini-golf graduates, and classes are capped at eight students to ensure personalized attention. Pick up multiple Groupons to attend multiple clinics.

Pristine fairways gently rise and fall across 6,664 yards of undulating terrain at Pajaro Valley Golf Club's 18-hole course. Located a mere Goliath's drive from the Pacific Ocean, golfers can smell the crisp sea air and hear the hushed whispers of heist-planning pelicans throughout the picturesque par 72, once the verdant kingdom of 1930s golf legend Olin Dutra. The club’s E-Z-Go golf carts ferry about the arsenal of woods and irons needed to triumph over the transition from shorter par 3s and 4s to the lengthy fairways at the 1st, 4th, 15th, and 17th holes, all par 5.

After looping the horticultural haven, golfers can retreat to the club's full-service restaurant, where frothy beers and hamburgers refuel weary bodies and famished 9-irons. Spiky-shoed journeymen can place their order ahead of time at the 9th or 18th tees, ensuring their meal will be ready for them at the turn or shortly after the round.

Dan Sacks and his team of veteran instructors at Bay Area Custom Golf boost swing skills and course confidence with custom club-fitting services and personalized instruction in a state-of-the-art 1,100-square-foot facility. During private 45-minute lessons, instructors use video analysis to help identify any quirks that may affect swing. Once grip, alignment, posture, and proper plaid pairings have been tweaked, students can send dimpled spheres soaring into a practice net. The facility also offers services for custom club fitting, pairing players with clubs by boiling down elements of a golfer's stroke and current club dynamics.

After digging up divots as a player on the California Golf Tour and Golden State Tour, golf pro Leigh Ochinero decided to share his passion for the sport by mentoring aspiring golfers. He coached players on everything from improving their short game to developing sound course strategy, and even spent time presiding over golf-instruction company Golf on the Move. Now, he leads GolfSmarts, drawing upon nearly 24 years of teaching experience as he combines traditional hands-on instruction and the modern technology of video analysis. He also invites pupils to join him for playing lessons that test whether or not newly learned skills can stand up to the pressure of a real course’s hazards, design quirks, and ball-eating golf carts.

A self-described "cattleman," Jack Roddy made the shrewd business decision to turn his 2,000-acre cattle ranch into Roddy Ranch, which opened its pristine greens in 2000. The outcome was a resounding success, as the club's 18-hole, 7,024-yard course garnered praise from its early guests, including a San Francisco Chronicle writer who lauded the "home-free surroundings" as "the finest golf course that's opened in the greater Bay Area in years." With mounded terrain, relatively scarce tree lines, a multitude of bunkers, and ball washers that speak Gaelic, the course brings the links-style characteristics of golf's Emerald Isle forebears into the rustic hills of northern California. As golfers traverse the grassy labyrinth, elevated greens and tee boxes give way to scenic views of the brown- and green-toned landscape as rising foothills graze the distant clouds.

The expansive club also encompasses a 400-yard, three-tiered driving range, as well as a pro shop featuring golf apparel and accessories from Titleist, FootJoy, Antigua, and other top industry brands. After trolling the fairways or burying disloyal 9 irons in the deepest bunker, players can retreat to The Corral, where a full repertoire of sandwiches, salads, soups, soft drinks, beer, and liquor foster post-round rejuvenation and revelry.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course

• Length of 7,024 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 74.5 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 142 from the farthest tees

• Five tee options

• See the scorecard

Healdsburg Golf Club carves through Wine Country, loping over undulating terrain marked by mature fir trees and views of Dry Creek Valley. Before taking the course, limber up on the all-weather driving range, with 18 stalls spread over three tiers that allow golfers to smack 300-yard drives or attempt to sink a two-story practice putt. The nine-hole course wraps well-manicured fairways around doglegs and surrounds greens with an entourage of bunkers and rolling mounds. Though suited for beginners, the course is a test for players of abilities, challenging golfers to hit a variety of shots, from long drives down par 5s to bicycle kicks past the goalkeeper on the eighth green. Golfers can relax after their rounds with a relaxing meal at the club’s bar and outdoor patio. The elevated patio overlooks the course as it fades into a sea of trees, misty mountains lining the horizon, and a wormhole leading to a secret nine-hole course on the moon.

Course at a Glance

• Nine-hole, par 35 layout
• Three sets of tees
• Length of 2,622 yards from farthest tees
• Course rating of 65.4 from farthest tees
• Slope rating of 114 from farthest tees