Located in Grass Valley, Alta Sierra Country Club is known as the “Golfing Treasure in California’s Gold Country”. The 18-hole magnificent golf course is set among the pines and black oaks of Gold Rush Country. The beautiful, challenging 6600-yard track that always seems a little different each time you play it. You’ll find all the varied excitement that the best of golf can offer: rolling terrain, risk-reward opportunities on doglegs and over ponds.
The club welcomes visitors but generally, the course is reserved for members and guests before noon. A limited amount of starting times are available to the public in the afternoon.
Alta Sierra opened as an 18-hole course in 1964 and was the design of Bob E. Baldock and Jim Summers. Baldock is known for creating literally dozens of courses throughout California. Here the designers used the natural landscape skillfully in creating fairways and greens that meander among majestic pines and black oaks. You’ll eagerily anticipate what’s coming next on this course, because no hole repeats what you’ve seen before. As you stand on the next tee box, it will be a clever change, every time.
From the very beginning you’re going to decide that this is a fun course. On the par-5 opener (497 yards from the back and 446 from the front), you need to fire from an elevated tee through a chute of evergreens while carefully controlling your distance.
No. 2 is considered the most difficult hole on the course. It’s a par-4, 444 yards from the back and 371 from the front. It’s long and it’s uphill. There’s a lot to chew on as far as length. It’s relatively narrow and the fairway runs through the tall pines, an errant tee shot can make this hole a difficult one.
The 9th is one of the most interesting par-4s on the course, a slight dogleg left downhill measuring 402 yards from the back and 369 from the front.
As you take on the second half of the course, you’ll face a great hole, the par-4 dogleg left No. 10, measuring 384 yards from the back and 363 from the front. Favor the right side with your tee shot.
The back nine is famous for its outstanding par-3s, including the 12th (142 yards from the back and 135 from the front). Standing on the elevated tee box, you’re hitting down to a postage stamp green with a large pond to the right and rear of the green.