Camp Sankanac DGC reviews
11
0
There will be blood
Reviewed:
Played on:Nov 25, 2022
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
Nearly endless challenge
Pleasant scenery.
Variety of hazards and hole types
Hilly but not punishing
Nice baskets
Well thought out basket locations
It's so hard that it doesn't really matter what the weather is like, you'll probably shoot about the same thing no matter what.
Pleasant scenery.
Variety of hazards and hole types
Hilly but not punishing
Nice baskets
Well thought out basket locations
It's so hard that it doesn't really matter what the weather is like, you'll probably shoot about the same thing no matter what.
Cons:
The tees are dangerous if it is wet at all. Especially the various rubber mats.
The thorn bushes that line pretty much every fairway are brutal. The fairways aren't particularly narrow, but if you go off them, trying to play from the rough is pretty nightmarish. If the course had more play they'd probably get beaten down some and be less of a cruel hazard, but right now you are either in pleasant fairway, or chin high thorns digging into you.
New buildings have kind of disrupted the flow of the course, especially near the end. It's clear the course has had to be redesigned around new parking lots.
The thorn bushes that line pretty much every fairway are brutal. The fairways aren't particularly narrow, but if you go off them, trying to play from the rough is pretty nightmarish. If the course had more play they'd probably get beaten down some and be less of a cruel hazard, but right now you are either in pleasant fairway, or chin high thorns digging into you.
New buildings have kind of disrupted the flow of the course, especially near the end. It's clear the course has had to be redesigned around new parking lots.
Other Thoughts:
There is a lot to like at about this course, as it hops across creeks, through gaps that are intimidating but fair, and marches up and down hills. However, playing this course at the "Pro Par" they put on their map is an exercise in torture unless you have a 950 rating or higher, and there some nitpicky things that could improve. It's probably somewhere between a good and a very good course now.
I played this course twice in a recent C-tier tournament and the first round was mostly a gentle mist with no wind, and the second round was sunny with a gusting breeze. I shot +14 the first round and +15 the second round, and didn't really do anything particularly bad. It's just that I can't throw it far enough to realistically expect to shoot the Pro Par on the scorecard. It is, in theory, possible, but I'd have to get up and down from 150 feet all day long, and stay out of the constant rows of thorn bushes. Nobody shot under par in either round, the closest anyone came was a +1 in the morning round, which was a 950 rating. The winning score in the MA3 group where I played was +9 for two rounds, and +15 was second place.
The course opens with a first hole that is good example of what you're going to get the rest of the day. A par-3 that you can't reach, over a water hazard, through a gap, with electric lines swatting down anything on a decent line, with a basket 20 feet above your head on the side of a hill. Like pretty much every hole to come, you play for safety off the tee, then try to get somewhere close for a decent par putt. Hole 2, a 600 foot par 4, runs you between a gauntlet of thorn bushes on the right, and creek on the left, before ending in a grove of random trees and basket placed barely in front of the water. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of water hazards directly behind the basket. I guess the point is to have everyone creep up on the basket and then have a death putt that rolls into the water, but there's no real heroism or strategy. Unfortunately this is not the only time you have to deal with a basket with water a few feet behind it. Hole 3 is one of the relatively few "breather" holes, although it is still 230 feet up a hill and curving to the right. Still not easy.
Holes 4-7 are a succession of par 4s that you play as a Par 3. Hole 4 might be possible to get to if you have a 400-foot right hand forehand, but everyone else is playing it as a 250-foot shot followed by a 150-foot uphill approach. #5 is over 500 feet, par 3, but at least it is downhill in a pretty open field. 6 is 400 feet, over the creek, through a gap, then right up a hill. Another fun par 4 that is a par 3 on the card. 7 is more of the same, 500 feet par 3, out of a gap, across a soccer field, then back into a gap with water directly behind.
Hole 8 is a short par 4, a tunnel shot layup out of the woods, then a very uphill second shot. I didn't see anyone close to the top of the hill in 2, even though it's under 500 feet. It's a tough one. Hole 9 is more of the same
Holes 10 and 11 are pretty fabulous, short par 3s that almost every recreational level player can realistically reach, with hazards in front of the basket, not behind. 12 is your second and last "breather", a flat, dead straight, short par 3. You finally emerge from the woods on #14, bleeding from everywhere including your scorecard. From here your only real danger of bodily injury is from getting hit by a car. 14-18 are not bad holes at all, and in fact I enjoyed them more than most of the woods holes. 14 is a strategic dogleg left par 4 where you can either go around a parking lot OB on your second shot or try to cross it and cut off a lot of distance. 15 seems like a breather, until you just can't stay out of the thorn bushes on your second shot. #16 and #17 are two more par 3s that would be more fun as a par 4, and the best hole on the course is #18, a long downhill par 4 that starts off as wide as the ocean and ends up cramped into a tiny corridor (although the OB roadway right behind the basket is again not my favorite kind of hazard)
It's definitely a course worth driving a bit to see and play. Assuming it's open, which is not a guarantee. It's not open much at all from about Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. I would not play the course at the "Pro Pars" though, unless you can throw it 400 feet forehand and backhand with accuracy. It's 7500 feet mostly through trees and the pro par is 61, which would probably be doable if you didn't have trees and thorn bushes everywhere. I'd add 1 to the par on holes 4-7, 9, and 17. With that there's at least the faint glimmer of hope of shooting even par if you're a sub-900 rated player, which most of us are. It's OK to play with pars that make the course enjoyable. We don't have to beat ourselves up all the time.
If they could get rid of most of the thorn bushes and put in a few new tees this is a definite 4.0 or maybe even 4.5.
I played this course twice in a recent C-tier tournament and the first round was mostly a gentle mist with no wind, and the second round was sunny with a gusting breeze. I shot +14 the first round and +15 the second round, and didn't really do anything particularly bad. It's just that I can't throw it far enough to realistically expect to shoot the Pro Par on the scorecard. It is, in theory, possible, but I'd have to get up and down from 150 feet all day long, and stay out of the constant rows of thorn bushes. Nobody shot under par in either round, the closest anyone came was a +1 in the morning round, which was a 950 rating. The winning score in the MA3 group where I played was +9 for two rounds, and +15 was second place.
The course opens with a first hole that is good example of what you're going to get the rest of the day. A par-3 that you can't reach, over a water hazard, through a gap, with electric lines swatting down anything on a decent line, with a basket 20 feet above your head on the side of a hill. Like pretty much every hole to come, you play for safety off the tee, then try to get somewhere close for a decent par putt. Hole 2, a 600 foot par 4, runs you between a gauntlet of thorn bushes on the right, and creek on the left, before ending in a grove of random trees and basket placed barely in front of the water. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of water hazards directly behind the basket. I guess the point is to have everyone creep up on the basket and then have a death putt that rolls into the water, but there's no real heroism or strategy. Unfortunately this is not the only time you have to deal with a basket with water a few feet behind it. Hole 3 is one of the relatively few "breather" holes, although it is still 230 feet up a hill and curving to the right. Still not easy.
Holes 4-7 are a succession of par 4s that you play as a Par 3. Hole 4 might be possible to get to if you have a 400-foot right hand forehand, but everyone else is playing it as a 250-foot shot followed by a 150-foot uphill approach. #5 is over 500 feet, par 3, but at least it is downhill in a pretty open field. 6 is 400 feet, over the creek, through a gap, then right up a hill. Another fun par 4 that is a par 3 on the card. 7 is more of the same, 500 feet par 3, out of a gap, across a soccer field, then back into a gap with water directly behind.
Hole 8 is a short par 4, a tunnel shot layup out of the woods, then a very uphill second shot. I didn't see anyone close to the top of the hill in 2, even though it's under 500 feet. It's a tough one. Hole 9 is more of the same
Holes 10 and 11 are pretty fabulous, short par 3s that almost every recreational level player can realistically reach, with hazards in front of the basket, not behind. 12 is your second and last "breather", a flat, dead straight, short par 3. You finally emerge from the woods on #14, bleeding from everywhere including your scorecard. From here your only real danger of bodily injury is from getting hit by a car. 14-18 are not bad holes at all, and in fact I enjoyed them more than most of the woods holes. 14 is a strategic dogleg left par 4 where you can either go around a parking lot OB on your second shot or try to cross it and cut off a lot of distance. 15 seems like a breather, until you just can't stay out of the thorn bushes on your second shot. #16 and #17 are two more par 3s that would be more fun as a par 4, and the best hole on the course is #18, a long downhill par 4 that starts off as wide as the ocean and ends up cramped into a tiny corridor (although the OB roadway right behind the basket is again not my favorite kind of hazard)
It's definitely a course worth driving a bit to see and play. Assuming it's open, which is not a guarantee. It's not open much at all from about Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. I would not play the course at the "Pro Pars" though, unless you can throw it 400 feet forehand and backhand with accuracy. It's 7500 feet mostly through trees and the pro par is 61, which would probably be doable if you didn't have trees and thorn bushes everywhere. I'd add 1 to the par on holes 4-7, 9, and 17. With that there's at least the faint glimmer of hope of shooting even par if you're a sub-900 rated player, which most of us are. It's OK to play with pars that make the course enjoyable. We don't have to beat ourselves up all the time.
If they could get rid of most of the thorn bushes and put in a few new tees this is a definite 4.0 or maybe even 4.5.
4
1
Obiwankaneobi
Experience:
32.9 years
153 played
6 reviews
Fun course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Dec 27, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
The holes are the stars of this course. It boasts an abundance of epic golf holes with a sprinkling of short technical holes here and there. The variety of shots required, the use of water hazards and elevation changes make for a fun, challanging, and fair course.
Cons:
The walk to the field holes is way to long. The walk down from 9s tee is treacherous. The tees are ok but could stand to be leveled and made uniform. The baskets are probably the best homemade baskets I've ever used but they are shallow and do result in some spit outs. Not as good as real discatchers. Couldn't find a restroom.
Other Thoughts:
The course is a lot of fun to play and very challenging. It has tremendous potential. With a few changes I could rate it even higher. Basically no concrete tees, non standard baskets, some hole flow issues and lack a facilities are the only things stopping it from being world class.
