Golf in Watsonville

Within the verdant expanse of Burlingame Golf Center’s practice facilities, instructor Dave Atchison, who attained his PGA Class A status in 1981, imparts score-shaving tips to pupils of all ages and abilities. After demonstrating his passion for golf each morning by shaving with a sharpened divot tool, Dave heads to the golf center to showcase club-swinging skills that have fueled his 33-year teaching career, which has included six seasons of coaching at UCLA and another seven at UC Santa Barbara. With a full-length driving range, practice areas for chipping and pitching, and a sandtrap for bunker shots and makeshift hourglass construction, Burlingame Golf Center helps Dave and his clients foster improvements in all facets of the game.

At age 6, when most little boys are obsessed with their toy trucks and plastic dinosaurs, Ken Miller was interested in playthings with steel shafts and the ability to send a ball soaring over the grass. Young Miller’s passion for golf didn’t wane as he grew older: after making a splash on the junior golf scene, he attended Fresno State University on a golf scholarship and toured competitively before retiring to teach. But after 10 years of working for someone else, Miller was ready to realize his own dream: a family-friendly range that satisfied even the pickiest golfer. So, with his kids and wife in tow, Miller spent a year sculpting 19 acres of land into what is now McHenry Golf Center.

Today, the practice facility—which was named one of the Top 100 Ranges in America in 2009 by Golf Range—presents players with an all-grass driving range whose lighting makes it possible to play with balls that are afraid of the dark. After landing shots on the range’s seven target greens, which taunt them from 75 to 230 yards away, golfers can work on their short game at an 11,000-square-foot putting green, then head over to a practice green guarded by five circular and kidney-bean-shaped bunkers. If they want help with their chipping technique or sand play, they can take lessons with Miller and other PGA pros. Golfers can refuel with fare from the center’s snack bar after a lesson or independent practice.

While creating McHenry Golf Center, Ken Miller designed a pro shop to meet the needs of both casual and dedicated golfers, whether they carry a standard coin purse or suitcases filled with golden golf balls. Customers can get an expert fitting before picking their clubs, thanks to the center's TaylorMade SelectFit System and Ping Advanced Fitting System. For putters and woods that need attention, Golfsmith Clubmakers–trained Jim Tocco awaits at the repair center, where he fixes grips and shafts, working quickly enough to offer next-day service.

Pruneridge Golf Club’s nine-hole par 30 course features few obstacles and just two holes longer than 300 yards so that golfers can concentrate on making solid contact with the ball and enjoying their round instead of worrying about extreme distance or hazards such as “Sink Holes Probable” signs. Meanwhile, range balls spray from both levels of a two-tier driving range with 44 stalls, and Class A PGA professionals dole out advice throughout indoor and outdoor lessons. During these sessions, Visual Golf stop motion video technology helps golfers see their own bad habits and instructors make recommendations on how students could improve.

Emerald Hills Golf Course strings together nine par 3 holes that test short-game proficiency as players use shorter irons to propel their golf balls through course's frequent elevation changes. The sixth hole presents opportunities for holes-in-one with a downhill tee shot of just 120 yards into a bowl-shaped green, easily replicated from a backyard deck into an inflatable swimming pool.

Golfers hoping to shave strokes off their scores can work under the tutelage of the course's certified teaching professional, Chris Raddie. Players can then practice Chris's corrective advice after a lesson or before a round on the two practice greens or midsize practice cage, which can double as a penalty box for prevaricating scorekeepers.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par 27 course
• Total length of 1,156 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 54.2 from the back tees
• Course slope of 88 from the back tees
• Two sets of tees per hole