The Ranch Golf Club can leave even the most experienced of
golfers shaking their heads, wondering what they did wrong. But it
will take your breath away just like it did mine. I won
’t even mention what it did for my ego — or what is left of it
after golfing there for Media Day on Monday.
The Ranch Golf Club can leave even the most experienced of golfers shaking their heads, wondering what they did wrong.
But it will take your breath away just like it did mine. I won’t even mention what it did for my ego — or what is left of it after golfing there for Media Day on Monday.
There were a lot of endangered species there before, but I think I may have terminated some of the friendly speckled horned salamanders with the many stray golf balls that seemed to fly anywhere but the fairway.
The golf course is definitely not for those afraid of heights. When you’re waiting for your partner to find his or her ball, you can see how many landmarks you can spot in the Silicon Valley skycap.
The first nine holes face the west and provide a perfect view of the entire valley. On the left on one of the nearby hills stands Valley Christian High School, which in itself has a good view – but not nearly that of the golf course in the eastern foothills of San Jose.
I couldn’t believe what they asked us to hit and where they asked us to hit. We were going around hills, hitting off hills and island hopping and were constantly switching elevations. And all this while avoiding the wide open natural areas of the hillside.
“They literally had to go in there and build golf holes by bringing in mountains of earth,” said Steve Janisch, who took over as the general manager and director of operation. “That whole canyon was just a big canyon and they had to build shelves on it. The engineering was pretty dramatic.”
With a course rating of 152, the course is four points higher than that of Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach.
Although it may be one of the toughest courses in the area, it is also one of the more beautiful courses in the area. You won’t find many courses set with the topography of this one and with the view of this one. It was designed by Casey O’Callaghan, who has designed many courses like Hidden Valley Golf Club in Riverside and Mountville Golf Club in the Napa Valley.
The par-72 public course is nestled in the hills east of Highway 101 at the Yerba Buena Road Exit.
The course, owned by William Lyon Homes and managed Landmark Golf Management, is surrounded by homes like many of the newer courses are – 538 luxury homes are scheduled to be built. There have been 135 tenants who have moved in since the club opened on May 22.
The homes are spaced apart so the course doesn’t have a boxed-in feel. And there is no need to yell “fore” for the most part after an errant drive. You almost need binoculars to see people ahead of behind you.
There is plenty of open room on the course, but the course doesn’t play that long. The blue markers are 6,389 yards, the white are 5,808 and the red are 4,900 yards. And for the adventurous, there are the black diamonds at 6,747.
The key to the golf course is hitting the ball straight and not trying to do too much with it. Once you get it on the green, you have a hole new set of problems. Many of the greens are hilly and there are plenty of hazards.
The back nine are almost a cakewalk compared to the front. Although the aerial view of the city is replaced with the view of homes, the back nine still continues with some of the same characteristics of the front and still provides a challenge. For instance, on hole No. 15, there is a sand trap in the middle of the green.
“The holes are definitely unique,” Janisch said. “There are some holes you don’t see very often. It is not a golf course where you stand out there and swing as hard as you can with a driver. You got to think your way around.”
The course is reasonably priced – $80 on the weekdays and $100 on the weekends. The price includes a cart, which is mandatory.
For more information, call 408-270-0557 or go to theranchgc.com.
Nathan Mixter is the Sports Editor for the Hollister Free Lance.
