This park has an abundance of beautiful scenery and wildlife. There is a great mix of long, short, uphill, downhill, open, closed, left doglegs and right doglegs. There are handful of holes that have some serious distance. This course will test your range of skill. Baskets, maps, and signage are very good. Tees are almost all concrete and are generally in very good shape

I finally got a chance to play the 'bonus' holes up the hill from 4. They've successfully filled in some design gaps with heavily wooded tight lines and tunnel shots. These holes really round out the course nicely and add shot variety that doesn't really exist in the original 18.

This course requires a lot of hiking in a hilly wilderness area. Pack in extra water and snacks. Wear pants and durable shoes to protect from burrs and poison oak. Despite coming prepared, I ended my round exhausted and dehydrated.

While I greatly appreciated the bonus holes, they were poorly marked and blanketed in poison oak. I grew very tired walking up and down hills scouting for tees and baskets.

This can be a tough course both physically and mentally. It's an epic slice of land where the course designers seem to have virtually unrestricted control over layout. This leads to some really spectacular and thoughtful layouts. If you're above beginner, give this course a try!

This course was just amazing, don't really know where to start. Great views, great tee boxes, pocket maps at hole #1 for first timers like me, brooms at most if not all tee boxes.

Can be confusing on the basket you are throwing at on a few holes. Also someone new to the course may stumble on to the "extra holes" and wonder whats going on these are not on the map.

Very friendly fellow behind us that we let play through gave us a few tips for navigating the course, like the rabbit ears that hide a basket on a hole(a bush that almost looks like a rabbit head.

Extremely scenic course that is on and surrounded by oak covered rolling hills with a view of Stafford Lake nearby. It is completely isolated from the rest of the park and is quite peaceful. This place is all about tree-lined fairways with elevation on every single hole. The variety of shots is outstanding and a good majority of pins are placed on slopes which will cost you a stroke if your missed putt stands on edge and rolls away. People with cannon arms will have more opportunities for birdies but there are enough short holes to please a noodle arm like me.
The signature holes to me are (as others have mentioned) - #6 - Staffords version of "Top of the World", #16 - a hole that is framed by the arm of an oak tree, #18 - a seemingly short simple open shot, but you find as you approach the pin, that it's perched on a rock cropping that drops very steeply on the right (glad I didn't throw my RHFH or I would have been far below the pin on landing).

I would say that this course caters to a more advanced player (for good scoring opportunities), but the average player should find it enjoyable.

The signs were great and the nice washer on those signs indicated the current pin position - awesome!

This being the only time I've played, it was frustrating that about half the pins were not visible from the tee. I don't have a problem with blind pin positions - except when the already physically challenging terrain is compounded by having to hike ahead on so many holes to confirm the pin position.

A few tee pads were in dangerous places which were on the edge of fairways

Bring plenty of water. It's a long walk to any facilities in the park.

I will play this course again when I return to NorCal. I'm wondering if it will have more of a "Wow" factor than it did my first time (I guess I expected a lot more from the course design).

All this course needs is a beverage shack or a cart girl! (not being sexist)
Love/hate this course
As a new player, I come here to measure my progress. Then I go to Crane Creek to fix my game.
The first 3 holes are tough, long, uphill, over trees. Hole 6 is epic downhill drive
8 is my favorite with a resting spot under a killer oak tree. This is a great place for a break. I always envision Robert Plant/Jimmy Page jamming out under this tree.
I try to break 40 on the front 9 and 35 on the back 9.

A bit of a walk to the first tee pad.
Price for parking goes up on Fri-Sun
Watch out for animals, alive and dead
And giant rabbit(?) holes dug into the sides of hills.
Hole #18 is a mean SOB

Bravo UFO's and all of the other folks that take care of this course!
I have yet to play, (or find) the extra tees above 4. I have seen some pins but not the tee boxes.
Such a great course. Really pretty and a real workout.
I hope to play here at least 20 times this year.

Tough course for a beginner like me.
Clean. Well kept. Thanks Dave !
Great views

I can't think of any.

If I hadn't had a "Guide" I would NEVER have found the 5 extra holes. Not sure I could find 'em now. This course makes you use all the shots. Techniques I have not learned yet, too. It's UP hill and DOWN hill then, UP again. Great hike. And DG'ers make great company.

The experience of the hike was the high point--great vistas, a classic CA coastal mtn. landscape, and everything from wild turkeys, turkey vultures, hawks, crows, deer, and scampering lizards underfoot.

The layout will appeal to pros and advanced players who want to challenge themselves with elevation change, blind shots, and distance.

The course itself was terrifically challenging, in part due to our not knowing the course route. The greatest issue was howling wind, gusting 25 mph. and making shots nearly impossible to control.

The long grass ate my favorite disc on hole 7. For recompense, I came out with about 4 lbs. of barbed stickers in my socks.

For a summer round, wear long pants and watch out for poison oak.

Don't expect many birdie opportunities. Pars will feel like an accomplishment on most holes.

The main feature of this course is the big hills. Nearly every hole has some kind of elevation, and that adds a lot of fun and challenge. You have to control your disc up and down steep hills, and lots of landing zones are sloped enough to encourage roll-aways if you're not careful. Add in some wind, and this course really rewards understanding how your discs fly when you're not on flat ground.

A handful of the holes (mostly the added letter holes) offered some nice wooded shots. It was a nice change to need to shape some interesting lines in contrast to the mostly open holes on the rest of the course. There's great distance variety, from reachable holes to some bombers including some multi-drive holes.

There are some fantastic views here, and I felt like every time we wanted to stop and catch our breath there was something nice to look at. The tees were perfectly fine, even the natural tees on the added holes weren't too rutted out yet (though that could become a con if they don't get permanent pads in the near future).

There are some navigation issues, especially with the added holes. Some of the signage was out of date or inaccurate, and that was a little frustrating in the spots where multiple baskets were visible. A little work on tee and navigational signage would go a lon way for first time players here.

The grass was a bit long when I played, making for some frustrating disc searches in the middle of the fairway. Prairie grass is my least favorite type of disc golf rough, especially when it's full of fox tails that you never fully get out of your shoes and socks. There's a ton of poison oak in the more wooded sections of the course. There were a couple places where I felt that holes played too close to one another, especially when elevation is added in to make bad shots even less predictable.

Beginners will find this course a bit daunting, with lots of length and some nasty rough in spots. More experienced players will find some great challenges here, especially with the addition of the wooded letter holes to test a different part of your game. Be prepared for a hike, there's a long walk back to the car, and the walk to play the course is reasonably strenuous.

This is a really well thought out course with some great pin placements. There is some great change of elevation throughout the course to add an extra element of difficulty. I really like how well marked out everything was. Our first time playing there, we had no trouble location all the holes.

Not much negative to say about this one. One of the best courses I have ever played.

Great map pamphlet at the first tee!!!

Too many to list, please see lion's review.

See above...

Sorry, I know that this is a lame "review" and I don't blame you for voting this one as "not helpful" but it's hard to beat the elaboration that 'lion' did in the previous review. To sum up, this is an ever expansive course, probably one of the largest I've played so far. When I played it it was over 90 degrees (BRUTAL dry heat) after playing at Golden Gate earlier in the week at only 68 degrees. I thougth I was well prepared but after climbing up and down the first 7 main+5 or more extra baskets on the hill and reached the bottom high desert tees I had to quit (both due to time and lack of water/energy). I had some amazing blind shots over trees (basket 3 I think) and around bends (basket 4?). Some were more frustrating in some of the thick trees. All in all an extremely impressive course but the distance and guidance to the starting point from the parking lot and back was pretty tough in the heat. I was completely filthy and sweaty by the time I got back to my car and had to go straight to my flight. I was not prepared for this course physically. I recommend bringing extra water and/or rationing what you take. An amazing drive out to the course from SF and spectacular views await. Definitely try to make it out to this one if you're in the area but like lion said, plan on it being an all day event with plenty of water and nourishment. Otherwise the fun of the course may be stifled a bit.

1. With the new hole additions that were made in the last year the course is actually on its way to probably being a future 27 hole course.
2. I liked the fact that there was a practice basket close to the parking area. This gives you time to practice if your waiting for others or just wanting to chill and putt a little before hiking to the course.
3. The course is located in a certain area of the park that is only used for disc golf. Since that's the case you don't have to worry about picknickers or sunbathers or anything non disc related that might slow you down, unless a cow or wild turkey herd get in your way.
4. The views are stellar and top notch. Views of the lake, wildlife, rolling green hills, and the entire course. The view from the some what hidden upper tee on hole 6 is where it's at. Check it out.
5. Wildlife on the course is cool. I've played here in November and have seen huge wild turkeys all over the course. Just made it really cool.
6. The tee signs for this course are really detailed with hole numbers, distances, where the other tee boxes are located, multiple basket locations, next hole tees and the graphics were good. No complaints over signage.
7. Tee pads are well done and with multiple pads on most holes it's great to see the love that was put into this course by the locals. Some of the teepads are hard to get to and to have concrete pads there only means they hiked in with the concrete. So kudos to the people who put it in. Good grip on pads aswell.
8. There are trash cans around the course and that's speaks highly for the park staff who drive those all terrain golf carts picking up trash. Speaking of trash, I didn't see any trash on the course. The course was super clean. Well kept.
9. The layout is always changing with the multiple pins per hole and every layout is very respectible. I've always felt challenged here and everyone I have played with really knuckled down to stay afloat on the course. It's no push over.
10. Stafford also allows you to empty your bag and throw every type of shot. The course isn't lefty or right friendly. It's nuetral ground and fair.
11. The course isn't flat. There is a ton of elevation to deal with. More then half the holes have elevation. hole 6 has an upper tee pad installed around Thanksgiving 2008 that has a 100 elevation drop to the deeper pin placements that rivals any top of the world shot.
12. Signature holes. This course has a few but holes 6 and 9 are amazing. Hole 6 for the huge elevation/top of the world throw and hole 9 for the 1000+ foot hole named after a highway that's honest and challenging.
13. I won't give a breakdown of every hole but just know there is a lot of length on this course. If you cannot huck the disc 400 feet then you will be required to play the long holes smart and look for your birdies on the shorter holes when they come in patches like holes 10-12 or 6-8.
14. The course is growing and after hole 4 up the hill, new holes have been installed. I image cement pads will come. So look for them and be prepared for more then 18 holes.
15. All baskets on the course were sound, no dents or faulty components were noticed. They were also all easy to spot. Tape and color on baskets made for good visibility.
16. The course is well laid out and finishes were it starts. Hole 1 and hole 18 meet at the end without intersecting at all. Always nice when a course does that.
17. No crossing fairways. All the holes are given tons is space and choices for all of its pins. I'm glad that the expansion on the course didn't alter the existing layout. A lot of people always say they want to shorten certain holes and add more with all the land. Well I say that's a terrible move. The fact that the local club left the orginal holes in tact is awesome.

1. First con is that it's a pay to play course. 5 dollars during the week and 10 on the weekends. 2 dollars to walk in. Walk in from where? Maybe park right across from the entrance at the home that's closest to the park. I parked there once when the park was closed. If your local I would look into a seasonal pass and bring lots of exact change for the machines or a credit card. If there isn't anyone at the main office you have to pay at one of the pay machines and they don't give change I here.
2. Closed for certain holidays. I showed up on Thanksgiving when the weather was beautiful and the park was closed( gate was closed). Always call ahead or check the site if your from out of town.
3. Park hours, any course that is only opened for certain hours is a con. If the park is closing and there is still daylight I want to be able to still play.
4. I don't remember any bathrooms on the course. Just some bathrooms near the park entrance and near the parking lot close to the practice area.
5. To me the walk to the course from the parking lot wasn't bad or a con but to some a quarter mile plus walk is a con. After a long drive to the course the walk actually warmed me up and got me blood flowing. Download a map because if there isn't any golfers there when u show up and you don't know where the course is it might take u awhile to find it.
6. Hole 5 is a great hole but the slope and brush hugging the fairway, plus if its in the blind position make it easy to lose a disc on the hole. Best to have a spotter on the hole.
7. Watch out for wildlife and try not to hit any. Please be patient if they roam into your shot and enjoy the majestic nature of the animal.
8. As for the course I cannot think of anything wrong with the orginal 18 holes, but with the new holes the teepads should go to concrete and not just be marked with stakes. They will get muddy and hard to play in the winter.
9. The lake doesn't come into play in the course, but near hole 12 if you throw deep there is some marsh lands and thick brush/ Bambo area you need to watch out for. Also just watch out for the ravine near basket 17. Try to stay out of it and use the bridge down below.
10. Since you park so far away, you really have to load up your disc bag with drinks and snacks for the entire round or rounds. If you don't and have to walk back to the car it's an easy 30 minutes out of the way and 30 minutes of lost disc golf time or relaxing between rounds. This also sucks because the course involves a lot of hiking. A heavy disc bag isn't recommend. This course isn't friendly to beginners just figuring out the game or to anyone not able to really hike over a mile of course in the hills.

I have played nearly 250 courses in the state of California and Stafford is my favorite. It's worth spending the entire day at playing. All the pros make it spectacular. Also as an added bonus there is a brewery close by and plenty of stores within ten minutes of the course to stock up on snacks and drinks while you play. The surrounding area is gourdgeous. Stafford is like a central hub between golden gate park and Skyline wilderness in Napa. The area has plenty of courses around a few of the best in the state. I would always recommend playing in groups here or pairs. If your a tourney player, multiple tourneys are held at Stafford throughout the year. So if you want an excuse to play the course, sign up for a tourney. There are hotels and camping nearby aswell.

Beyond gorgeous. Even if you are playing terribly you can have a great time. The course is a hike in and of itself and there are rabbits and deer all over the place. The holes vary greatly in approach and difficulty which is a blast to play and can be very challenging and rewarding.

If it weren't for the poison oak, I would award 5 stars to this stellar course.

I will definitely be playing the next tournament that rolls through here.

Okay, I did my initial review late at night. Bad time to review. Paid $5 and parked. There is a practice basket to warm up on and plenty of room to throw some warm up drives before beginning the hike to the first tee, perhaps a couple thousand feet or more, to the first tee. I was a tad out of breath by the time I teed off from the walk up the incline to the tee. This sets the tone for the physical test of Stafford Lake. You will work your way up and down hills that will challenge your knees , ankles and stamina. What a test of endurance. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the beat down. The designer created a great balance of shots. The holes were well conceived as my skills, or lack thereof, were severely challenged by uphill shots, downhill shots and sidehill shots. I especially like the sidehill shots that make the thrower land the disc at the proper angle to negate the chance of a rollaway. Left, right, up, down, breathe deeply and execute well or be punished when you disc glides down the serious terrain away from the pin. Even the shorter holes used terrain well to create the illusion of baskets being closer to you than they really were. This set up putts that were further from the basket I thought I should have been and created the opportunity for roll aways and fly by putts. There are some really cool trees on this course and some panoramic views that helped enhance the disc experience.

I had difficulty following the flow of the course in a number of places and spent some time walking around searching. I didn't need the extra walking on this course!. It needs more "Next Tee" signs. ( I feel like a chump saying that because a lot of my courses need them too.) Some of the greens really needed some trimming, as the 10 meter putting zone was greatly encroached by branches and bushes. I loved the long downhill 1000'ish hole. I didn't like that there was another basket and tee in the "kill" zone from incoming play on the long hole. I think that could be easily remedied if somebody energetic agreed with me. While I appreciate that most of the tee signs have distances shown on the signs, not all were shown in the correct positions. It was a bit difficult to figure out which position and how far to throw on some holes. I recommend wearing 2 pair of socks and perhaps some sock covers to keep out burrs and sharp grass seed. They were pesky indeed.

This course definately would be a 4 or more in my book if the "cons" were addressed. Bring plenty of water in the summer.

only 2 $ if walk in or park offsite
restrooms near parking
had drinking fountain near benches before hole 1
amazing elevation shots
great scenery and wildlife
not busy(sat afternoon)
very informative brochure at hole 1 with map and individual hole descriptions

showed up saturday(paid 10$ at kiosk-does not give change for 20bill had to use credit card)
sometimes hard to find way(map helped a lot)

I loved this course. I am a beginner but still had a great time. Bring water and get ready to hike.

Extreme elevation/danger
Variety of open shots and wooded ceilings
New pin positions have been added, including #9 "Sinclair Highway". This hole is typically 1000ft, yet they've added a "New Long" position, which is probably 1200.Insane.
Accurate tee signs
Two sets of tee pads on various holes
Incredible views
Tons of wildlife including Bobcats
1000' hole! Sweet!
The newly added 4 holes add a nice "Santa Cruz" feel through the trees.

$10 to enter the park
The lake does not really come into play at all
Very high grass in the spring, weeds in the summer
Windy almost on the daily
A few holes have long walks in between

One of the true "Championship" courses in Nor Cal. Be prepared to deal with elevation, wind, and the stunning beauty of the park. The course welcomes you with one of the longest 350' holes you will ever play; straight up the side of a hill. If you can control your drives and stay focused, you will feel extremely rewarded at the end of your round.

Very scenic course. Rolling hills remind me of scenes from the movie Braveheart.
All of the holes have great signage, and it is mostly clear how to navigate your way around the course. I think that an arrow pointing to the next tee location could have been useful on the signs (after playing Delaveaga I always notice this on every course).
The holes are long and challenging. You have to scope out some of the holes before throwing just to know how the hole is laid out; so you don't lose your disc after teeing off. I like that part. I want a course to challenge my drive & approach accuracy, and most of the holes on this course are no slackers in this dept.
There are a lot of uphill holes on the course; makes you feel like a real chump with your drives. But what goes up must go down, and the elevation loss holes are worth the up!!!
Definitely a great course, play it if you have time. Worth the short ~20min drive off 101.

Very long-holed course. Bring your best drives, and make sure to stretch beforehand. My arm was killing me afterwards, but I'm a bit of a puss.
The uphill holes, but as I said before, you've gotta get up to get down!!
Hole 9 is just a give up. 1000' hole? Really? Just make 2 holes out of it and call it a 19 hole course. It wouldn't be the end of the world.
Drive a ways down the dirt path after the paved parking lot, it'll save you some time walking. We enjoyed the walk on the nice day, gave us some time to relax & adjust to the surroundings.

The hawks circling around are a great nature touch. The views of the lake from the vistas are wonderful. The thing I liked most about this course is that I came from playing the Golden Gate Park course in San Fran, which was fantastic, but this was total transformation to a remote, quiet, rural land. I needed my clock reset with some nature after the traffic jams of the city!
The course itself was a great change too because it is a true long wilderness course, perfect excuse to cover a lot of ground in one day!

The course scenery is amazing the views of the lake and the surrounding wilderness is breathtaking. Hole six is amazing a massive downhill blast that is more fun than i can express watching the disc fly is awesome. you have to throw a variety of shots hyzers, a lot of straight shots, anhyzers. a lot of throws require a high throw to clear an obstacle then an abrupt stall with not a lot of fade(hole 2). You will want to look around for a "local's" route on a lot of holes, they are there. That is something I have always enjoyed doing. You can't throw lazy putts on this course if you don't make it and it lands on edge then you will be rolling a long way. You don't necessarily have to have a big arm on this course I can see the very accurate throwers eating this course up. Hole 13 is a well designed hole imo. Long hole with a small elevation gain on to a plateau then at about 375 ft off the tee it drops off to a semi guarded pin along the tree line. Hole 18 has an awesome route out to the left, there is a good rhbh route, but if you risk the small gap out to the left rhfh it's more direct to the pin. I don't mind pay to play if it keeps the jerks out. Bring your camera, the views and wildlife are worth the entrance fee alone, then you get to play a great course to boot.

For how much land is out there some of the holes are sandwiched together. it's no doubt to take advantage of tree clusters, but again there is a lot of land out there. Some of the holes are a little too easy. Hole 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10. I'm not implying I'm so feaking good or anything I'm a good am2 player, for example hole 10 is supposed to be a tunnel hit you gap type hole. The tunnel is quite large and the hole plays about 250. Tap in bird the first day and missed a 40 ft the second. There is a lot of Not A Golf Shot Holes here. Hole 4 short hole trees to the left and right. There is a gap up the Center the hole is up to the left under a large tree. im guessing most locals just throw a thumber over the first set of trees hit the tree the basket is under and hope there token plinkos its way to 10,000. I threw a steep fh anhyzer flex low and hard with a flat top fb, i was able to hit the gap flex out under the second tree and hit a deuce, but that would work maybe 20% of the time if that. There is a lot of luck involved on this course. it seems that the hardest holes also have the slanted greens. i hate having a great drive on a difficult hole then getting a roll away. also im a smoker and while all the signs say no smoking i still did, but i dont walk and smoke i smoke put the cig out then pack it in my bag. With all the signage why Am I picking up all the locals butts next to almost every teebox?

*bring water
*don't bring a jacket you can't carry in your bag, some of the ground was frozen but had to take my jacket off by hole 5 from hiking.
*sorry to all the nice locals but the players we ran into were either the college kids with a backpack and more beers than discs or the arrogant top pro locals(in their minds) who wouldn't even give us the time of day. I'm not asking for a reach around here, just look me in the eyes: hows it going?, first time out here?, watch out for hole X the right can be tricky, have a good round. This didn't affect my rating of the course I could care less about the other people on the course, but you have to advertise you course and show some hospitality. Also be careful, I had my own lack of courtesy on hole 6 I was shooting from the higher pin a someone by himself was finishing out. I saw him walking out to the right past a teebox so I threw my drive he had left either his bag or a disc down the hill and was now coming back towards the teebox which is only about 100ft from the pin of 6. Just from seeing that my disc wasnt turning over as much as I wanted it to. I knew it was heading for that teebox. I yelled fore until it hit he saw it, but was still shocked by how close it was (about 15ft) you have to take your time on this course dont rush even if there are people behind you. Some tee boxes are too close to other pins and some pins are too blind to not take you time. All in all this course is a must play. In my limited experience this is one of the few courses that has the combination of space, elevation, scenery, local club (even though I didn't see them it's evident that a lot of people are taking a lot of time up keeping this course) to reach 4.5 stars. I gave a 3.5 which Is generous by my ratings If I could it would have been a 3.25 but it's closer to a 3.5 than a 3. I rate my home course a 3.5. Stop giving courses 5 stars. 5 is perfect and that doesn't exist! A good reworking of some of the holes i feel needs to at least be looked at. Finally get out to Stafford lake!

Set in a beautiful spot along a twisting rural road that could be seen in a luxury car commercial, the course starts out with ample parking, bathrooms and water, a nice practice basket area, then a warm up walk for 5 - 10 minutes to the first teepad. The 60 foot elevation hike in the last 50 yards to teepad 1 let's you know right away you're in for a workout.

A detailed sign map of the course with a stash of tri-fold glossy brochure scorecards greet you there, along with the nice concrete teepad with tee sign pointing out all the pin positions and current position, along with elevation change for each.

The course is very well maintained, and the scenery and wildlife is top notch. Mature oaks are everywhere, along with wild turkeys, jackrabbits, deer, ground squirrels, mice, vultures and hawks, etc.

The variety of holes gives the feeling of an adventure, wanting to see what's next, rather than just playing a bunch of non-descript holes. Combined with the multiple pin positions (up to 5 on some holes) that are changed around regularly, the course plays differently every time, so each trip back is a new experience with new challenges.

Every hole has its own character, with a great mix of hyzer, anhyzer, uphill, side of hill, downhill bomb, roller, and open and wooded holes. Hole 6 is one of the coolest downhill bombs anywhere, with the lake and hills backdrop that is postcard material.

Other than occasional bad luck roll-aways, the course is very fair and rewards precision placement shots and good drives, and can punish errant throws pretty badly, with a few OB's sprinkled in to keep you honest. Your putting game will be tested, with many steep hillside placements that can make or break your round.

Baskets are all Mach III's in good shape, fairways and greens are all well defined, and the hike to play the course will test your physical endurance as well as your mental game.

Not beginner friendly due to rugged hilly nature of the course and the challenging holes.

As with most Northern California courses, it can get very hot and dry in the summer which results in some bad rollaways. Bring lots of water!

Wish it were 27 holes since there is plenty of land for it. Maybe someday...

This is a must play destination course for anyone looking for what CA disc golf should be.

The mature oaks in rolling hilly terrain with abundant wildlife, combined with the beautifully laid out course with good signage, great teepads, and nice baskets make this a great time, no matter if you're throwing well or having a tough round.

An absolute gem that is rarely crowded and that I try to play a few times a year.

-long and short distance tees
-concrete pads
-good mixture of tee length and elevation changes
-grills for BBQ and making a fun day trip with family and friends
-some tricky shots but nothing too crazy that you feel like you might lose a disc
-amazing scenery and great weather
-plenty of "green bowl" holes
-close to a great grocery store
-well maintained
-good baskets
-no waiting to play, its far enough to where it keeps large amounts of people off the course.
-multiple hole locations

-not enough garbage cans
-can be pretty muddy well after a rain
-pay to play
-last time i went the hole numbers on the baskets were all facing the wrong direction
-

remember to use your phone to take a picture of the map so you can refer to it to navigate the course. the couse is pretty straight forward but first or second timers might want to keep this in mind.

-Layout. Wonderful use of space that NEVER felt repetitive.
-Views are amazing.
-Elevation, flora, and landscape give the impression that a great deal of thought went into this course. No tee or basket feels accidentally or awkwardly placed.
-Parking and a nice walk in. Be thankful for the walk. You'll want to be warmed up to get up #1!!!
-$ to play. Yes, I was happy to pay for this experience. It was that good.
-Multiple tees used to good effect. They do more than simply make the holes longer.
-Two fun steep downhill midrange ace runs. Although, go to far and your walking 100 feet downhill.
-1000 foot hole #9 that plays alongside a ball golf hole.
-The tree and tee pad area on hole 10 are a landmark. Beautiful and creative tee placement.

-Muddy pathways a little slippery.
-Water not in play as much as it could be.
-Occasionally tricky to navigate. Not a problem the 2nd time around.
-Some blind tee shots. Normally, this is fine. but driving blind to a sidehill with the potential for a 250 foot roll away isn't my kind of fun.

I haven't been to the bay area for 4 years. This course will have me flying west to the Nor Cal. area much sooner than that. Thanks for a wonderful experience to the park, local players, and sponsors. We found one of the sponsors (Moylan's Brewpub) after the round for lunch and very good beer to repay them for their generosity.

Foremost, Stafford has the fantastic hole design. Every hole is very different and interesting. There's steep uphill and downhill. Throwing into, out of, through, and over trees. There's long bomber holes, and tight technical holes. The course is not overly wooded, but the trees are used effectively.

The landscape is also stunning. Views of the lake and hills are gorgeous. There's plenty of wildlife. The course is well maintained. There are cement tees, benches, and useful tee signs. The pins move regularly between substantially different positions, and are indicated accurately on tee signs. Many holes have multiples tees. There's bathrooms and a water fountain. I've never seen it super crowded, and the course doesn't get any non-DG traffic. Unlike the very crowded Golden Gate Park and DeLaveaga, Stafford is playable on a Saturday afternoon.

For some players, price will be a big negative. The fee is variable. It's worst on summer weekends at $10 per car. This fee undoubtedly keeps the course from getting super crowded.

The course flows pretty well, but navigation can be slightly confusing your first time. The easiest place to get lost is getting to the first tee, a 1/3 mile walk from the parking lot. A next tee sign would be helpful after hole 7. On 9, it's easy to accidentally throw at the pin for 11 if it is in B position.

Some holes are blind and a spotter is helpful.

Play from the long tee on 14. It's up the hill near the left tee for 7, and it's worth the hike up.

How to get here on public transit:
Use Golden Gate Transit to get to/from downtown Novato (Redwood & Grant). Schedule an appointment with Novato Dial-A-Ride (415-892-7899) from downtown to Novato Boulevard & Fire Road. This is the absolute western edge of the Dial-A-Ride service area. From here there it's a little over a mile walk to the eastern entrance to the park, and another mile to the first tee. Pay attention to Dial-A-Ride's hours, and schedule your trip ahead of time.