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Turkey
Creek Golf Club- Lincoln
Standing on
the first tee at Turkey Creek Golf Club outside Sacramento, I couldn’t
help but think, Geez, what a turkey! It was a mangy little squab
of a hole, 331-yards slightly down hill, with a murky water hazard
running up the left side and a smattering of unkempt bunkers guarding
the green.
I’d schlepped
to Turkey Creek from Oakland because a friend with fine taste had
recommended it. Raved about it, really. Said it was the best course
in the Sacramento area, better event than its close neighbor Twelve
Bridges, a course so good it hosts an LPGA event.
I was mystified.
And when my
approach shot on that first hole bounced off the rock-hard green
into an unraked sandtrap, my thoughts turned even darker. The next
time I saw my buddy who’d been talking all that Turkey, I’d grab
him by the gizzard and beat the stuffing of him.
Luckily, this
story has a happy ending. By the end of the day I was giving thanks.
After that
disappointing first hole, things at Turkey Creek improved. Improved
so much that I think it’s fair to say that if Turkey Creek isn’t
the best 18 public holes in the Sacramento area, it must be the
best 17.
This is golf
the way you rarely find it in the Bay Area—a classic tree-lined
layout with long meandering fairways and nary a housing development
in sight. There are dramatic doglegs, tricky par-threes flanked
by glorious lakes and old gnarled oaks that grab errant shots and
drop them like rejected acorns deep into the rough.
It’s a golfer’s
golf course, with a low-frills clubhouse and an unpretentious air.
It spares you the corporatized feel of Twelve Bridges—no bag drops,
no hello sir, how are you today sir, may I carry your clubs three
steps in exchange for a five-spot, sir.
You drive into
the parking lot, unload your clubs and prepare to get your butt
kicked by a good old-fashioned golfing challenge.
The course
plays 7,012 yards from the tips, but it often feels longer. Especially
No. 5 (449-yard dogleg right that requires a precise 250-yard tee
shot to even see the green) and No. 6 (462-yard par 4 with an uphill
tee shot).
The back nine
is pure pleasure. Each hole is a hole unto itself, with fairways
that sweep through the woods, New England-style. If there is a signature
hole, it’s number 14, a 173-yard par three that brings to mind (no
exaggeration here) the 12th at Augusta.
Aside from
the first hole, the only turkeys you’ll find at Turkey Creek are
the wild ones. They scamper about the trees in great gobbling flocks,
adding to the already rural feel.
Although it’s
not as painstakingly manicured as, say, Twelve Bridges, the course
plays beautifully. Balls roll fairly on the firm fairways, and the
greens putt true. Considering the price on weekdays—$45—it’s hard
to imagine a better deal.
Avid golfers
will wish Turkey day was every day of the year.
By Josh Sens
Reviewer, sfbaygolf.com
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