San Geronimo Golf Course

Night time glowball tonite at 8! Buffet beforehand at 6. See you there!
Well that was supposed to be a tip, not a review.
This is one of our local courses that we play often. It can be a bit difficult for high-​handicappers but not terribly so. Pretty easy to lose some balls here. It’s a fun course with a fair amount of variety, the staff is nice, there’s a bar that I wish would stay open later. Sometimes a cart cruises by with drinks. You can walk it but they do have lots of electric carts (no GPS). No yardage book which would be handy. Wish they did a bit better with their email/​promotions. Rates are pretty reasonable, especially later in the day on a weekday. And they have a pretty cheap ($ 50) preferred player card that gets you extra discounts.
They also provide space for a local gardening community, which is a plus.
They have a very good (free) pitching, chipping and practice area, but no driving range.

Played this course for the first time. Lovely setting, the fairways and greens in decent shape for this late in the dry season. Pace of play was good but this was on a Monday, imagine SG like any course gets slow on weekends. The front nine is pretty straight forward but the back nine is challenging. Overall a nice golfing experience!

Our group of 20 golfers had a contract to play San Geronimo at 8:30. On the afternoon before our tournament, the manager called to tell us we had to change our start time to 8:00 and we would have to do a shot gun start on the middle of the back nine. Lots of angry golfers and last minute shuffling. We will never schedule another event here. Very poor management.

Friends of mine played here last weekend, before I had a chance to warn them about the excruciatingly slow play. Needless to say, when I asked how their round went they said «the greens were fast. and the course was god-​awfully slow!».
A good management shake-​up needs to happen before ownership of this course can hope to (re-)attract serious players.

I have played San Geronimo regularly the last couple of months on Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays by purchasing 7:15am — 7:45am tee times on GolfNow for around $ 30 — 40. The pace of play was great. Some groups & singles we let play through and others let us play through. However I have never experienced a major back up. Perhaps this happens later in the day.
The course itself is challenging with moderately fast greens some with big undulations. I can’t really say this course «fits my eye», but I enjoy playing it anyway. The front 9 is relatively quiet compared with the back. Straight forward holes that are mostly flat. Some have water hazards and over the green is almost always fatal.
The back 9 is the main event at this course. Nearly all the holes on the back place a premium on the accuracy of the tee shot. You must place the ball on the right side of the fairway on the 10^th & 11^th or you will never be able to get the ball on the green in 2. (10^th is par 5 & 11^th par 4) I think the 16^th is the most difficult approach shot to a raised green with water front left & a small bail out area right.
Overall it is a fun course to play if you don’t expect too much. Everyone I have encountered at the counter and on the course have been friendly and cordial. The other golfers I have run into have always been friendly. For me, that goes a long way and adds the 4^th star. 3 star course/​facilities 4 star experience.

Very challenging and in excellent condition.
Font 9 is somewhat open where you can bomb your drives. Hit a 200 yard shot on 8, as OB is waiting for you on both sides. Back 9 is tight so prepare to be accurate. 11 is probably the most difficult hole to make par. Screw up your tee shot and it quickly becomes a realistic par 5.
Staff is fantastic and customer service focused.
If you are a 12+, you should stay on the white tees. I wish they would assign golfers tees based on handicap. I see way too may heroes playing the blues. Check the slope; it is a challenging course.

oh god where do I start. The old guy behind the bar was on his period or something, I wonder why do mean old people like him even work in the service industry. Then when we were done for the day, thank god, we came in for lunch and that old guy, still there and not sure what he was doing, but he was doing something behind the bar and doing everything but helping people waiting, waiting, waiting… so we left, as did many other people.
I do have to say, the course is nice and the surroundings beautiful, which is the only reason why I gave this a single star. The so called clubhouse is so ugly and straight out of the 70’s…I am talking esbesto’s popcorn ceilings and funky wall paper, and plants plants plants, dead plants everywhere.
But the staff and management are just plain awful. What a waste of my time and money.

Years ago this course was the worst in the area for slow play (8 minute gaps in starting times probably doesn’t help), but seemed to get better a few years back. Well, it’s back to the same old story. We quit after spending 4 hours on the first 14 holes, but the really disturbing thing was the attitude of the management who basically told us to stop complaining since there was nothing wrong. We had three-​group backups on many tees and two fivesomes playing ahead of us. They told us that they had no problem with a fivesome which is a first for me in 40 years of golf. You will always have some rounds that take too long, but in every other case (including here) the response is usually apologetic and sometimes they will give a pass for future play. Here it’s more like «take it or leave it». I’ll leave it. Too bad since it is really a pretty course.

Great staff and you can take beer on draft to go!
Okay, I have never golfed in my life and am not about to start, BUT i have been the driver of golf carts at many a golf courses.
The views of San Geronimo in Marin are truly beautiful and you feel so removed from the concrete jungle that surrounds you day in and out.
There is plenty of parking and a quaint club house welcomes you with seriously the nicest (non-​snooty) employees that I have met. We ordered a couple of beers to go and the bartender gave us some free pretzels– who doesn’t love free stuff!!!
I know nothing of what consists of a golf course, but talking to locals this course gives you plenty of «hazards» to keep you on your toes– sand traps, large towering trees, ponds, and some elbow-​like pars. The course looks technically difficult and from the yelling and club throwing from my associates I am assuming this course fits well with the overall theme of the game– FRUSTRATION.
They allow you to take your well behaved dog along side you, which was a huge shock since dogs seem to not be allowed anywhere!
They do not have much of a driving range which is the only downside.
This place is also still family owned and I am all about that business!

I play a round here every other week.
Book on BOOKNOW and it’s around $ 42-​$ 46 for a week day.
The course is not too easy and not too hard for the average golfer.
No big hills or slopes.
Fairways are always in good shape and so are the greens
The staff and locals here are very friendly !
The food here is decent but portions are HUGE.

This is a nice change of pace course from where I regularly play. Instead of seeing the ball go into the blue/​gray sky, here the back drop on a lot of the course is actually green trees. The front nice is like being in the Pacific Northwest.
Like that part of the world, the course seems to be a bit wet and shaggy. The shoes and trousers definitely get wet. It is an easily walkable course, although there is a bit of a hike from 9 to 10, but since golfnow deals typically include carts, for those who prefer that option it’s still good value.
Most of the routing is laid out plainly infront of you, but there are some tricky local knowledge holes, with shots over gullies that require some forethought. The 18^th finishes up with a nice crescent hole and overall the greens have been in decent shape, even while the course might have been a bit mucky.
This is a solid 3/3.5 level course and is worth a round or two a year for those that have a bit of a hike out to it and could be a quality local for those in the neighbourhood.

I haven’t played here yet, but would love to after walking the course a few times to cover a few golf tournaments.
The views are beautiful everywhere on the course. The front nine is fairly flat, while be prepared to walk a few hills on the back nine.
But it is a gorgeous course with not a lot around it. Very scenic, but a cart is well worth the price to enjoy it.

Is it wrong to love a golf course for its terrific lunches? There’s nothing like picking up a wonderful wrap with tiny french fries on the side as you head for the back nine. The Asian Wrap is delicious.
This is a great course nestled in scenic hills. The greens look flat, but don’t be fooled: they’re tricky in subtle ways. The course is challenging and each hole is different than the last. Lots of variety in the eighteen holes.

San Geronimo is a fairly standard course. They let us play after a frost delay, so a lot of the greens were still holding a fair amount of water. It’s a fun course to play and they do a great job of keeping gameplay moving forward.
The clubhouse has a great selection of food and drink and an awesome fireplace. I will totally go back for another 18.

I have no complaints about San Geronimo GC. The course is always kept pretty nice. The greens run true most of the time, the fairways are cut well, and the rough is forgiving, so you can drink away the round and not worry too much about where your ball lies. Hazards are a major buzz kill here though. It pays to be accurate, sometimes, at this course or else I hope you brought a few sleeves of balls with you. I still love the 10^th hole of this course since I almost eagled it my last time out (gotta birdie instead… darn) because it plays from an elevated tee and is reachable in two if you get a hold of a couple good shots. The 18^th hole is cool too, but I do miss the obscure looking tree, I think, or ditch in the middle of the fairway. It was so long ago that I played here that I totally forgot. Anyway, if you played the course a few years back you know what I’m talk about. The 18^th fairway actually looks normal now. Wow! One of the better public courses in the North Bay that doesn’t have an inflated price.

Had the chance to tour the course and grab some lunch last thursday. The course is absolutely beautiful, one of the best I have seen in the public sector.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend grabbing lunch from the club house. Their Chef is absolutely phenomenal. The food was so rich in flavor and made with locally grown produce (the greens for my salad came from his personal garden). My foodie heart was blown away.
A great course and even better food when your in the area (totally worth the trip, if your coming in from the city)

San Geronimo Golf Course offers a very challenging, interesting, and fun course for anyone of any skill level.
The front nine is relatively flat compared to the back nine, and thus not as interesting, but still great nonetheless. The last few holes of the front are my favorite as they are more hilly.
The back nine is really what I look forward to when I play here. The hills offer some variety, which is awesome. On the 14^th tee, you are aiming at a huge hillside, which I have never seen at any other course I’ve played at. This is why I love to golf here.

I’ve probably played this course upwards of 25 times. One of my regular courses. SG is a great location — only 15 minutes from civilisation but the instant you cross the ridge into the San Geronimo Valley, you feel like you’re entering a sacred place.
Back to the course. The course is awesome, always in great condition. There are two faces to this course: the sprawling front nine — a collection of straight, flat, albeit long holes with that will have you tallying up your scorecard in delight upon reaching the clubhouse — and the hilly, wooded back nine that has a hazard around just about every corner to quickly shatter any confidence that the front nine has given you about your game. That’s right, the back nine can get quite tough. If you’re one of those golfers, like me, who doesn’t always keep it in the fairway, bring a lot of balls –you’ll need them.
Truly a great course.
Some tips: it gets busy on weekends, and even during weekdays. Avoid the midday rush by either going very early in the morning or late twilight. Take a cart if you can — navigating those hills and long holes can leave you exhausted by the back nine.
It can get extremely foggy in the morning, in the 90s on summer days, but the fog generally rolls back in by 5ish in the evening.

Monday I took the day off work to play my home course San Geronimo. San G is located in West Marin, Forrest Knolls to be exact. It’s about 15 minutes from San Rafael.
Here is the map:
San Geronimo Golf Course
In short San Geronimo is the best course and best value in the entire Bay Area. Their rates are lower than every other 18-​hole course in the area and the course itself is awesome. But be warned, it’s extremely difficult. It’s long, well maintained and has firm and fast greens.
Every hole is a double bogey waiting to happen. There is constant danger off every tee and if you are above the hole once you’re on the green your screwed. There are plenty of elevation changes, lakes, bunkers and large oak and pine trees to mess with your head.
All that being said… there are opportunities for birdies. Three of the four par 5’s are birdie holes and reachable in two for longer hitters. As for the par 3’s, forget about it. There is only one manageable par 3 (the 13^th) and even that one has a difficult green. Again I can’t stress enough the value of being below the hole at San G.
I was partnered with a couple of cool guys whose names escape me. But they were both good players and we played the black (back) tees. I was pretty surprised that I shot 80 and putted real well — 32 total putts to be exact. We teed off at 11:45 and the rate was $ 38 with a cart on
. The round took us 4 hours and 20 minutes.

Round two the other day. You know what, it’s actually a pretty challenging course. A ton of hazards — I especially enjoyed the high grass where I donated a sleeve of golf balls.
But there are a ton of nestled greens behind trees, water, and beach party bunkers. Bottle service!
The greens are actually very intense — not only fast, but hilly. You can actually see you ball continue to roll after it lands. And no, it’s not spin, that’s for sure.
Pin location was also pretty extreme, too. Always tucked or at the bottom of a slope. But there were a couple of cool small bridges to drive over to get to the greens.
Overall, it’s a nice course. A lot of course management decisions — but maybe it’s because I can’t get there anyway.
Turns out it was $ 40 including cart after 10AM? Still not bad.