Solid concrete tee pads, holes well marked and easy to understand, varied shot opportunities, course was clean and seemed well kept, multiple pin placements indicated by washers on t-pad markers. I enjoyed playing under the shade of the trees. There is a creek running through the course, which adds to the challenge of shooting under par. We arrived at 8:00am on a Saturday and had no course traffic problems even with 20+ cars in the parking lot. This was our first time playing this course and everyone we spoke to were extremely friendly and helpful. Didn't see or run into any of the "shady folks" others have mentioned here in the review. Most of the players we met were experienced players, which was motivating for us. Note that we started at 8:00am. We played 2 rounds and by 10:45am there were about 7-10 people waiting at Tee #1 and the parking lot was almost full.
It was huge plus to have a pro shop there as well with a pretty extensive varied selection of discs/weights and disc manufacturers. I can see why this is a favorite course for many. Would love to play this course again.

The only downside besides the potential overcrowding is the terrain being mostly dirt. The weather was awesome for us, but mud would be a problem after any rain.

Need another 18+ course in area.

-18 holes with many diffirent pin locations
-Lots of different types of holes, this course will teach you how to do it all
-Nice wooded setting, nice mix of trees and a stream runnning through
-Great pro shop on site

- Usually very busy
-Lots of "Riff Raff" - high schoolers throwing tomahawks 50 feet into a tree, 38 year old guys with no shirt and a pony tail(really dude? really?), etc...
- Hole 5 has a pin location that is 500 something feet deep, secluded by trees. I don't mind that it's still a par 3, but it really slows the flow of the course.

Absolutely love this course when theres not a 20 minute wait to tee off at hole 1. Great diversity of holes and many pin locations make no round ever the same. Decent amount of locals that are good and friendly. The only problem I have are the low-life people with 1 disc and a 6 pack and don't let people play through. They had a security guard hanging out the past 3 months or so, but haven't seem him the past couple weeks.

- Lot's of variety, heavily wooded to wide open, left's, right's, and straight ahead holes.
- Creek flows past many of the holes, sometimes crossing the fairways multiple times in a single hole
- Huge amount of risk / reward shots
- Distances range from short and sweet to long and wooded
- Nice concrete teepads
- Good signage
- Great pro shop onsite with excelent selection including many rare discs that they get printed for tournys
- There is only a little elevation change on the course, but it definatly helps add to the experence
- Easy to find, right off of Hazel.
- Trash Cans around
- Benches on most holes sometimes 2
- Practice baskets next to the pro shop
- Easy to navigate
- Great use of land given

- Usualy crowded during peak hours, sometimes with large groups, some of which won't let smaller groups play through
- Creek is often brown and deep neer the basket and can be hard to find a disc in
- Road noise on the holes neer the back of the course
- A couple of holes are blind
- Can get muddy in the winter and dusty in the summer

Shady Oaks is a wonderfuly varied course in the Sacramento area. I would definatly say that it is the best course in the Sac area by what I've played The biggest problem that I think this course has is that it is busy, but the only way to help with this would be to put in more good courses in the area. The pro shop thats on location is the best spot in Sac to buy discs. Thier selection is top notch, with many discs that you usualy can't buy in retail (Cryztal Challenger's, Champion Archangels etc...). They also have bags, straps, clothing, food, drinks, and all kinds of other stuff.

For the St. Patty's tourny they also put in some extra holes along the backside of the course. These holes are mostly short and overgrown, with lots of poison oak. They also have natural teepads. I would probably rate this course a little lower if these holes were part of the perminant course in thier current condition, but as they are only used for the tourny I won't hold them against the course.

- Excellent layout
- Requires a multitude of shots
- No ridiculously long holes or stupidly difficult pins, save for the longest placement on hole 5
- Variety in pin locations, selections, hole designs, etc.
- Practice baskets in a devoted area
- Despite other reviews, actually does have grass in the winter/spring months

- Can get dusty
- Gotta get there before 10 AM, because the doubles think they own the place
- Sometimes is the place of disc golfers that choose to partake in objectionable actions or substances
- Customer service in the pro shop is absolutely horrible

This is where I learned to play. While I wouldn't recommend it for all other beginners, it definitely did serve to make me climb the learning curve much, much faster than a completely wide-open course (such as Elk Grove DGC).

The customer service in the shop is terrible. Jim Oates seems to think he's God's great gift to disc golf, and has had the attitude to support that notion each time I've spoken with him. A few of the other workers in the shop sport the same attitude, which is why I'll happily go play the course, but won't give Jim or his employees another cent.

In short: great course, terrible administration.

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.

-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.

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.

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.

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.

-The pro shop is great with a huge assortment of discs, equipment, and don't forget advice
-All concrete tee pads with ample space allotted
-Multiple pin placements which are changed routinely
-Trees add great difficulty depending on pin placement
-A nice variety of short, long, confined, and open holes
-Technical course for sure

-It can get extremely busy at times
-Bugs can be a nuisance when you toss one in the creek
-More signage is needed between some of the holes
-Very worn course (beware of unwanted skippage)
-Some people drink way too much and can sometimes ruin your day
-Parking can get hectic at times since there's not much of it

This was the very first course I played and it completely showed. I wasn't even playing with the correct type of disc but the people understood and encouraged me to keep playing (and perhaps acquire a few discs). The course is a pleasant find amongst the sprawling urban landscape. If your in the area I would definitely stop by. Just remember that if your going on a weekend expect to have long waits in between holes.

Great course to learn and work on your game. A good challenge for experienced players, but navigatable and fun for newbs. Warm up baskets are great. On site pro shop is a plus, but can be overwhelming for first timers.

Can be crowded - early in the day is best. Was surprised to see a constant flow of players on Thursday afternoon. I would love to see a roomier area to warm up - there is a small grassy area near the parking lot to practice short throws, but can't let it rip until you tee off. Course can be difficult to follow at a few spots, but for the most part it's fairly well marked.

Being the first course I played, I have a warm fuzzy for it. The course has a good selection of hole layouts, though only a couple are long enough to challenge big arms. 3 or 4 holes can be daunting to newbs, but most are accessible with mediocre shots. The corwds keep this course from being my group's regular hangout. There seems to be a fairly large "clueless" sect of players who don't get the concept of letting quicker groups play through and there is a regular problem of people cutting in at hole 13, causing unneeded delays. The flow seems to accordian throughout the round. It can be sluggish to start and then open up and flow, only to find 2 or 3 groups waiting on a tee box. Many groups exit after 12 which can open things up again if you don't have the cut ins.

pro shop is excellent. Course has all the challenges you need. Benches at every tee box.

crowded. Seems to be the party spot so a lot of people are carrying coolers and taking their sweet ass time. When I was there, there were several large groups of 8 plus that had total disregard for other players. The "thug" mentality of alot of the players was too much

Beautiful course, with many mature oaks, tunnel throws going left and right, a wonderful meandering/winding creek throughout, subtle but effectively used topography, a variety of challenging holes with wonderful variety of drives and approaches, variable pin positions, and friendly regular folks.

There is a practice putting area near the parking lot, where many regulars hang out and talk shop. Also a pro shop on site with a very good selection of discs.

This is one of only a few- and the only really good- course in the immediate Sacramento area. It is therefore very busy, and parking can be flush as well as having traffic from hole-to-hole. People are often courteous and I don't see many problems with folks letting others play through. Occasionally you'll have some very slow groups who refuse to let anyone play through, which is annoying. It can be buggy around the creek, and poison oak is abundant if that bothers you.

Check it out...this course is truly a tribute to disc golf in what is hailed as the "city of trees." The locals told me that it is the home course of Josh Anthon, the up and coming Innova-sponsored pro.

A little of every thing. It takes some skill to manuver through this course. Great time.

It is placed in the middle of a swamp. Avoid the bugs and mosquitos as much as possible.

Don't go during sundown.

Extremely beautiful course. Great mix of technical holes. Mostly medium distnace holes with one or two over 400'.

Busiest course I've ever played. If you're going on a nice day after 2 or so, be prepared to take 3 hours or more to play your round.

Beware the Poison Oak.