1600 Aetna Springs Rd, Pope Valley, California, 94567
1 Ranking
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Nick Leonoudakis
Pope Valley
2010-06-06
$46 (cart included), played on Saturday, June 2010 at 10am
Everyone kept telling me the 9 hole Aetna Springs Golf Course was closed..... I called on a Tuesday to set up a starting time for Saturday, no one answer but an answering message asking me to leave my number.
I got a phone call the next day and the gentleman told me the course is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. He told me it would be no problem to get the tee time I wanted which was 11:00. I had played Aetna back be it was a "cow pasture" a few years before it was renovated and actually enjoyed it. So needless to say when I heard it was going to renovated and lengthen somewhat, I was intrigued and checked in every so often to see the progress.
I kept hearing about the problems the developers were having with the Napa County regulatory agencies and apparently they want to keep golfers interest so they reopened.
The bentgrass greens are magnificent. The fairways are in good to great shape. The rough is tough, especially the second cut which is about 6" tall and very lush fescue grass.
The layout is interesting and actually a bit short, 3057 yards from the blue tees, but challenging. The short Par 3 134 yard fourth is probably their signature hole, very nice design and almost no place to bailout. The sixth, a 395 yard dogleg right par four is interesting as the second shot from the fairway is blind but fair because the green is framed by two tall Oak trees that give you a place to aim.
All in all I certainly hope Aetna Springs gets through problems with the county, because this course is a gem.
It seems in this day when local governments need all of the tax dollars they can get, it seems silly to not let these businessmen proceed and add a serious chunk of change into the county's coffers.
Would travel: 120-300 Miles, Vacation Worthy
Bottom line: I would play again, Better than average course for the area, Ranks with the best in this price level, Fair priced based on quality and competitive area pricing
Condition of Course, Layout, Price, Ambiance, No Houses on Course, Pace of Play, Staff, Clubhouse
$46 (cart included), played on Saturday, June 2010 at 10am
Everyone kept telling me the 9 hole Aetna Springs Golf Course was closed..... I called on a Tuesday to set up a starting time for Saturday, no one answer but an answering message asking me to leave my number. I got a phone call the next day and the gentleman told me the course is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. He told me it would be no problem to get the tee time I wanted which was 11:00. I had played Aetna back be it was a "cow pasture" a few years before it was renovated and actually enjoyed it. So needless to say when I heard it was going to renovated and lengthen somewhat, I was intrigued and checked in every so often to see the progress. I kept hearing about the problems the developers were having with the Napa County regulatory agencies and apparently they want to keep golfers interest so they reopened. The bentgrass greens are magnificent. The fairways are in good to great shape. The rough is tough, especially the second cut which is about 6" tall and very lush fescue grass. The layout is interesting and actually a bit short, 3057 yards from the blue tees, but challenging. The short Par 3 134 yard fourth is probably their signature hole, very nice design and almost no place to bailout. The sixth, a 395 yard dogleg right par four is interesting as the second shot from the fairway is blind but fair because the green is framed by two tall Oak trees that give you a place to aim. All in all I certainly hope Aetna Springs gets through problems with the county, because this course is a gem. It seems in this day when local governments need all of the tax dollars they can get, it seems silly to not let these businessmen proceed and add a serious chunk of change into the county's coffers.