Almaden Golf & Country Club- San Jose

There are two levels of golf courses in this country, dear readers, the kind you and I play, and the very private kind. Thanks to some friends at the San Jose Sharks, I got to experience the other kind, at the Almaden Country Club.

You might not expect San Jose to be the site of the "privileged set," or maybe you would. But when I saw a Rolls Royce golf cart (that I'm sure cost more than my car!), I knew I was not hanging at my local muni.

This is the kind of place where they treat you like royalty. Everyone is nice to you, and very accomodating. We were told to tee off when we were ready, and being a twosome, were told by the foursome on the first tee to hop right out there. We rewarded their generosity by hitting two of the most pathetic drives ever struck! Mine actually got stuck in the branches of a tree! But off we went…

A big hitter's track, Almaden plays almost 7,000 yards from the blacks, 6,600 from the blues, 6,200 from the whites, and 5,600 from the reds. The four par 5s ranged from 468-488 yards (from the whites), and were all made longer by uphill greens or turturous trouble.

On a course like this, knowledge is power. Blind shots and hidden hazards abound. Or at least that's what I'd like to blame my score on, but I can't. I can however, blame it on the dog.

Yes, the dog. The unleashed Pit Bull behind the green at six. You wouldn't think it possible on a nice course like this, but very often where you find private golf, you also find private homes. And that (and the dogs) are the one drawback to the Almaden Country Club. But I digress.

No. 6 is a 123-yard par three, to a green with water in the front, and small hills behind. With the flag in the back, I hit an 8-iron, which carried over the stick and onto the hill beyond, out of sight. No problem, I thought, a chip and a putt. As I walked up the hill however my heart nearly stopped. Standing over my ball, like a scene from some cartoon, was a very angry Pit Bull. Now, dear readers, I am not a big fan of canines to begin with, but when that dog started barking, I started making tracks. He never came over the hill, and I took a free drop and still made triple. I stopped shaking long after I got back home!

After that, I heard every dog within about a three mile radius bark all day. My partner, couldn't stop laughing, which didn't help me pull it back together at all. But I didn't miss all of the highlights.

This place is beautiful, lots of trees, a bit of water, in spectacular shape. The rough was tougher than it looked, putting a premium on accuracy (Of course with distance and accuracy you can play anywhere!) The quick greens were also emaculate. Not a hacker's track by any means. And no waiting.

I finally figured out why people spend the cash it costs to belong to a place like this - great golf, good service, no waiting. Probably not the kind of thing that will ever be a reality in my life, but for one day, I sure did enjoy it.

By Mike Roth
Assoc Editor, sfbaygolf.com

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