While this course doesn't have the 1000+ holes that other top rated places seem to [DLV, North Tahoe, etc etc], this course has charm and difficulty to boot. It reminds me of Kaposia, Blue Ribbon Pines, or other Minnesota courses that don't have extreme distance or elevation changes but make up for it with phenomenal layout, and a priority on a skill set to navigate the tight, technical shots required for birdies.

You meander along a creek during the front 9, you get challenged by the eponymous shady old growth Oaks on the back 9, so the entire round is extremely enjoyable.

A pro shop? And you don't have to pay?? I haven't seen a pro shop since balboa park in san diego.

Folks say it gets busy, but I've got to say I've never been treated better - 3 groups let me and my partner play through on a relatively busy Sunday morning. Nothing compared to what I've seen at Balboa in SD though, where you better bring a mini-keg & a radio.

Honestly, part of what made the experience so great were the friendly and helpful locals.

This is definitely the kind of course you could come back to many times.

-all the local pros play here (Oates, Billings, Anthon, etc.)
-2 practice baskets
-biggest pro shop in norcal on site (THEY GOT EVERYTHING THERE)
-everyone plays here
-short and technical
-multiple pin locations
-daily doubles every day

-not alot but it does get crowded sometimes and alot of people do lose discs here alot but i have yet to lose a disc here

don't come and play here unless your ready because this course is not begginer freindly

The course has good sized tees and the baskets are in great shape. Easy to find your way around. Great lefts and rights and elevation changes. Some holes have a tunnel of trees that makes play even on a hot day very pleasant. Most holes have birdie oppurtunities. Pro shop on premises has a great selection of discs and gear, Also sells drinks and snacks.

This is one of the best courses around so it gets alot of traffic. Expect to find newbs that dont know when to let faster groups play through. 10 or 15 minute waits are not uncommon on the tees. Parking is tough on the weekends.

The best time to play is in the morning. I think this is one of the best courses in CA out of the ones ive played.

-Multible pin placements on every hole that are rotated randomly every monday.
-Challenging layout requiring multible different types of shots that have you playing under and through massive oak trees, with a winding creek and several OB on or beyond locations.
-Big Teepads -Nice Signs everywhere,
-1 or 2 Benches on every hole -Garbage cans -Bathrooms
-Huge putting area with 2 baskets!
-Locals that love the course and are respectfull of the game & it's rules.
-Many good players to challenge.
Random Doubles/Acepot10:00am daily! $5.00

-This course does not have a water fountain!
-Since it's the only course around it's overcrowded daily.
-Alot of dumb Park Users generally do not think to use a leash on their dog, even when they know the dog is not trained & will not obey basic commands such as no sit or stay. Therefore if you have a little or exotic dog you should not bring it, as there could be trouble from free roaming large dogs.
-There is never any women in bikinis. NEVER!!

Unlike all other courses nearly everywhere the parks & recreation provide nearly nothing to the physical course other than to empty the trash cans and mow the grass. It is the local players who have made & continue to make this course happen. Respect is due to all the awesome locals who over this courses long history have donated their time, labor, & materials.
Also..There is a huge differance between a Park User and a dedicated Disc Golfer is there not people? On a average day Park Users outnumber the real golfers 50-1 or more at Shady Oaks. This is a public park so these degenerate people only use/abuse/litter/leave.
Much like any other public place without supervision. So meeting a few will happen.
The rule I see posted on a sign on hole 1 states.. that 6 max is the largest group that should be played. The locals follow that rule thus the sign & will generally always let a smaller group play through if asked. I like Shady Oaks and I hope you will want to try it after reading this review.

-Challenging and comprehensive layout
- Under tree canopy over half of time yet still open
-a creek runs through it
-VERY fun for the beginner and moderate pro alike
-uses washer system for alternate pins
-great mix of short, medium and long holes
- Nice atmosphere

- can be hot and dusty
- people can seem a little 'shady'
- popular course so it can be a little crowded

My favorite course so far.

-Well maintained
-Course covers the full spectrum of technicality
-Love how this course takes you in and out of the trees going from long open holes to short technical holes
-Signs indicate basket placement
-nice big tee pads
-pro shop on course
-warm up baskets
-Nice use of elevation change, has couple nice holes that throw downhill
-couple great dog leg holes which is quite rare for most courses

-gets crowded
-This course should change its name from Shady Oaks to Shady Folks because of all the riffraff that play here
-Could use an uphill hole

-Best course I've played in the central valley by far

- Pro shop that carrys most manufacturers like Discraft,Discwing,Gateway,Lat 64 and Innova and more.
- Practice area has two baskets in the putting area
- Large tee pads on all holes.
- Course flows well from hole to hole with very few if any pedestrian traffic to hold you up.
- Diverse and challenging course design with water (creek),elevations,hyzer,anhyzer pin placements.
- Clean throughout the course with trash cans and benches sometimes two benches.

- Can be crowded during the peak times.
- Parking can be tough during the peak times too.
- Peak times 10:00am 3:00pm.
- People like to start on holes 11 or 12.

- You can practice your drives on the soccer field just on the other side of the park and also additional parking available. Just follow the path going through the course area.
- Banks near the creeks can be very slippery

UPDATE: After reading this review I can't believe that I left out the fact that it's an awesome course and I make it a point to play here or at least putt a few.

- Fairly easy to navigate (link to map below)
- Signs, benches, and dials for pin placements
- Practice baskets near pro shop and 1st tee
- Pro Shop on site here is their website
http://www.final9sports.com
- Big concrete tee pads on all holes
- Multiple pin placements that change it up
- Requires a WIDE variety of shots
- Challenging design with open and tight holes
- Creative use of creek and trees

- Busy during peak times
- Large slow groups not good about letting 2 guys play through?
- Lots of mud or dust depending on rain
- Limited parking when crowded
- Locals that are playing the course fit the description of other reviews . . .

Here is a link to a Map of the course
http://www.final9sports.com/c..._oaks_map.pdf

To have a better experience go early morning and weekdays when it is not as crowded. It took us about 2 hours to play the first time. We skipped a hole and came back because a large group that said no to playing through. If you play after it rains it will be quite muddy, but if not then it will be dusty so take your pick. It is a great course and is worth playing if you are in the area or passing through.

The pro shop has a good selection. I put a link to their website above.

This course has all the shots with many alternate pin locations.Tuff technical yet forgining to to novice

Increased popularity has overwhelmed course traffic causing huge crowds causing very slow play. Too many lets go just to get drunk and stoned and cause a ruckus type of people who dont respect this game or people for that matter

Pro shop on site. But dont expect great customer service or product knowledge of anything other than popular Innova prouducts.

Nice, technical shots. Great long shots to get a good feel out of your driver. Well marked with benches and trash cans at every "T". Beautiful scenery with lots of trees.

Crowded, but then again, I did go on a weekend. Some fellow players were a little rude and seemed they gave disc golfers a bad name by throwing their discs at local joggers.

Nice layout, nice course overall. I would definately play again when I'm in the area.

Great Pro shop with a helpful, knowledgeable person. Good signs with multiple basket positions. Challenging wooded holes. Good, long tee pads. Plenty of garbage cans and bench's.

A little crowded, but that is expected with the limited number of courses in the area. No memorable holes to discuss with friends later. Just typical, generic layouts. A little dull.

A good course, but nothing exceptional that would make me go out of my way to go back. I've seen other reviewers complain about the dust and dirt, but it's California. If you don't like it dry and dusty go up and play in OR or WA. It's sunny and warm, but that's the price of playing in most of the West. I'll take it over snakes and gators.

Lots of challenging holes short and long, holes in wooded areas are fantastic, great mix of open and crowded fairways, practice baskets and a pro shop on site.

Always very crowded... with kind of a rough crowd, rowdy drunks, easy to lose discs, and dusty.

I love playing this course when I can, but make sure to early in the morning on a weekday to avoid maddening crowds.

I like playing courses that have pro shops. Jim Oates operates one here. Nice selection of discs, apparel, snacks, and drinks. Didn't see restrooms but I'm sure there are some.

3-4 basket positions on most holes. Nice mix of open and wooded shots. Concrete tee pads and benches on all holes. Signage was top notch with a marker letting you know what the basket position was.

Most of the locals that I spoke with were friendly.

Pretty easy to follow the layout from basket to the next tee pad. Some moderate elevation change.

Dirt dirt dirt. There is absolutely no grass on fairways of this course. Despite the sign stating dogs must be leashed no one does. I spotted no less than 6 dogs running around the course loose and had 2 run up on my tee pad when getting ready to drive.

I was lucky enough to witness a guy in the twosome behind me hit his first ace and sign his disc. I would play this course again.

This course offered alot of different types of shots, mostly techinal, with very few wide open shots. Lots of unique uphill/downhill shots. Layout was o.k., fairly easy to follow. Pro shop on site is a big plus in my book. Locals seemed really friendly and willing to lend a hand.

REALLY DUSTY!!! Not used to playin a course that was that dry and come out as dirty as I did!!

All and all this was a unique experience for me as I will probably not be in the area for a few more years. really enjoyed all the courses in northern cali. and cant wait to get out here again. If your in the area I definetly reccomend this course. A must play!!!

This is one of the best designed courses I have ever played. They built a fantastic course on a relatively small amount of land. You have to be able to control your disc and must be able to throw many different types of shots to play well here.

The course runs through a grove of great oak trees with lots of shade, and OB due to the creeks that traverse through the course.

Great pro shop, well marked signs with daily pin indicators, it's a professionally run course. It's a must play course.

Honestly not much, holes 1, 2, and 11 (I think) were pretty lackluster, but the rest of the course is solid. That said, how many times can you pick out only a couple of bad (or normal) holes, and it's not the other way around?

The day I played this course they had every pin in the long position which made it much more fun for me.

It's a natural course so the greens were fast and it was dusty and stuff, I personally like these conditions, but others may not. The creeks were dry too, which made it much less stressful since there was little chance to lose a disc, in the spring this must be a killer course.

I also played with my friend as a guide and by his advice got there at 8 to miss the crowds. So I had a great day, but as we were coming off the local guys were just starting so I could see where some of the other ppls comments were coming from.

This course provides challenge because you will be utilizing every shot in your bag.

practice hole
Lots of shade
Pro shop (water, discs, bathrooms)
garbage cans on course
course was very clean

Didn't see many

Some holes are difficult to see from the tee area and we needed to go up and spot it first. This really isn't a con It just wasn't a plus for us as first timers

I shot a +15 for my first time out and wasn't totally disappointed. I am not a true beginner and I really putted poorly. I would figure many other good intermediate golfers would play this course regularly and score single digits

The course is an excellent one. every hole presents a new challenge with various typed of hazards. A wonderful course to play if you can manage being up at 7 am.

Every day at 10 am they have doubles. It normally wouldnt be a problem but the people who play here literall act like no one else should be on the course. This is true after 10 all day. Every time I have played, I have been held up by a group that I see very often (every time im out at this course) and has no common courtesy. Expect to be stuck behind groups of six without an offer to play through even as a single. Expect very rude commentary from the locals.

I would honestly play this course every day if it werent for the arrogant people that play here. I have played most of Northern Califonia and never seen a course that had such a rude attitude from the people that play here regularly. They will provide no pleasantness and I can promise you that. This is the closest course to home for me but ZI would much rather make the drive to Rocklin to play a semi-pleasant course.

Very senic. Muti pins per hole for verity. Some really wicked water hazards. Disc golf shop on sight

very crowded on weekends. Small parking area. Poison oak at times

go early on a sunday morning, the course is very empty at around 7:30am in the summer before it get to hot.

Hands down the best course in the central valley, You have to travel to Santa Cruz to find better!
Pro shop on the course!!
Chit load of inventory!!!
Great staff!
Course has water hazards during wet season.....
Elevation changes annd a lot of tunnel shots.

The fact that I moved and won't have to contribute to the Oates reteriment fund!

Home of the Christmas classic in the central valley series.
Home of Master Champion Jim Oates
Tall guy dark hair throws like a 20 under.....donate your money!!!

Produces very challenging shots, and has a lot of changes in elevation. Plenty of good players to play with. Great pro shop.

Many of the baskets and fairways are hidden, making it difficult to track a disc after tee or approach. Two sections of the course are pretty much in a swamp in the early summer. Tons of mosquitoes.

Best course in Sacramento by far. A little bit of a trek for some, but worth it.