Golf Course Report

Last weekend I ventured down the peninsula and played Crystal Springs as a single. I found a good rate on Golfnow.com ($44 Twilight). First things first, Crystal Springs is a little over priced. I’d compare the course in difficulty and quality to San Geronimo, but the prices are always at least $20 more. This is just because of its prime location and every other public course on the peninsula sucks.

Crystal Springs Golf Course

The course is located in Burlingame between highway 280 and the Crystal Springs reservoir.

Check out the map of Crystal Springs Golf Course.

Keep in mind that the satellite map doesn’t capture the elevation changes.

There are several holes with sever elevation changes and all the trees around the course are huge. The signature hole on the front nine would be the par 4, 6th hole. You tee off from the top of a hill and it’s a long dogleg left which is all downhill. The view from the tee is so good; they have weddings from an area right next to the tee. Both of the par 5’s on the front are under 500 yards from the blue tees, so you can make some birdies on these. The ninth hole is one of the hardest holes in the Bay Area (assuming your playing the blue tees). The fairway is narrow and everything funnels to the OB on the left. The second shot is down an extremely narrow fairway and the green is also pretty small. Surviving this hole is key to playing well at Crystal Springs.

The back nine is easier from a scoring perspective. There are three short par 4’s and the final three holes present opportunities for good scores. 16 is a short par 5, 17 is a short par 4 and 18 is a par 5 with a wide fairway. One of the main problems with the course is it will wear you down over time. Be prepared for elevation changes, un-even stances, difficult chips and difficult greens. The greens are firm, quick and have a way of leaving you with fast, side breaking 4 foot putts.

Overall the round was good however the pace of play was 4 hours 45 minutes. I think that is a bit slow considering the cost of green fees, although it was later in the day. Past experience has proved that the pace of play is always pretty slow no matter what time you tee off out here. I think in general most of the people who play out there suck and the difficulty of the course beats them down and makes them play even slower.