Golf in Sacramento

Ken Sawitzky’s lifelong devotion to golf began in 1958, when he studied under the tutelage of Johnny Goodman, the last amateur to win the U.S. Open. Since then, his golf career has blossomed like a greenside bougainvillea, encompassing 15 years of experience correcting swings, smoothing out putts, and framing interestingly shaped divots. Ken now splits his time conducting golf classes for the Davis Parks and Recreation Department and roaming the verdant hillsides of Wildhorse Golf Course, tirelessly searching for new score-shaving methods to sprinkle upon the unsown swings of his pupils.

For more than three decades, the course at La Contenta Golf Club has draped over the low-lying foothills that ripple eastward from the Sierra mountains. Course designer Richard Bigler chopped a bentgrass gauntlet into the terrain, painting a 6,425-yard stripe of fairway into the dry and unforgiving land that alternates between valleys and meadow. The signature par-3 13th hole contains the track’s most violent drop-off. An oblong green fronted with water, the obstacle requires golfers to execute long, downhill tee shots or to launch each of their golf balls from a potato cannon. Players can refuel for another game by stopping at the onsite Vista Grille, complete with breakfast and lunch menus that teem with flapjacks, salads, burgers, and sandwiches.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 course
• Total length of 6,425 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 69.9 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard