Golf in a Post Corona World: Spring Valley Golf Course

We were shy about reviewing Dry Creek Ranch golf course a number of weeks back due to the lack of COVID protocols in place (they have greatly improved in recent weeks fyi). But as shy as we were to publicize Dry Creek Ranch, we are thrilled to promote and bring eyes to Spring Valley Golf Course in Milpitas, CA. 

Over the weekend it was announced that golf courses in the Bay Area counties can start opening up for golf starting Monday, May 4th. However, the rules are being implemented in inconsistent ways. Some golf courses opened up with tee times for only singles. Others were not able to figure it out, and didn’t open at all.  

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However, Spring Valley was able to burn the midnight oil and implement the rules so that golf could be played on the morning of May 4th. And they put an astonishing amount of thought into how they can keep staff and players safe. Paying for tee times online is encouraged. For those who must pay on site, they have transformed the restaurant into the new golf shop clearly marked with signage to keep people safely apart. The newly set up registers are behind clear plastic and have an outside starter station, they have done a fantastic job spacing out the driving range and distancing people on the practice green. They even have disinfectant stations next to the range ball machine so you can ensure your ball bucket is squeaky clean. 

When you make it out onto the golf course they have done everything right. No rakes, water stations or ball washing machines can be found. And for cup mitigation they have inserted the cup upside down so that it raises up about 1 inch. The goal is to have your ball touch the raised cup and you have “holed out”. I prefer the “pool noodle” method, but both are great. Well done Spring Valley! 

For those of you who are not familiar with this golf course the best way to describe it is that it’s a “daily drinker” in wine parlance or a “daily driver” in car collecting lingo. This is a solid parkland golf course nestled in the hills over Milpitas, CA. The course is not ruined by the unwanted features of many municipal golf courses – it’s far away from freeways, airports, shooting ranges, and best yet it was not formerly a city landfill. 

This par 70 is a relatively easy walk that seems easy and straightforward at first. They removed all but three bunker complexes from the course in the 80’s and it comes in under 6,200 yards from the Blues. How hard could it be? But this little gem has some tricks up its sleeves and local knowledge will be very handy. 

The first interesting feature you will come across is that the course has 2 number 2 holes. They alternate which one is the one you shoot from. Basically a while back they converted the original Par 71 layout number 2 par 4 to slice it in half. Depending on the day you are either playing a somewhat muscular par 3 with OB on the left or an extreme downhill par 3 where club selection is everything. 

After that the front 9 is fun and playable, with a couple very interesting holes. It’s the back 9 where this course can bite you. The holes are not long, but many are doglegs in which you have to be careful with your shot selection. Some are short enough to drive the green if you are so inclined, but poor shots will be punished severely. 

The real defense of this golf course is the greens. Depending on pin position some of the greens can be absolutely maniacal. In fact the green on 15 is dubbed the “Winchester mystery green” because to be sure everything breaks the exact opposite of what it looks like it will do when you are on the green. When hitting your approach to the 13th green be sure to favor the right side of the green if you want to have a prayer of holding it. The locals say that all putts break away from the mountains and toward the valley, but that has not been my experience. 

All in all this is a work-a-day golf course in a land of absolute giants. If you come to the Bay Area for golf I would not suggest you venture out to Spring Valley in your search of Bucket List Golf. However, if you live in the Bay Area and you want to have a nice round where you can be assured the staff is doing everything to keep you safe in the time of COVID… Spring Valley can fill that need and does it nicely.

Rankings:

• Bucket list rank (from 1 to 5 buckets): 1 Bucket (To be fair we still are a bucket golf course travel blog who have diverted our mission to bring attention to staying safe golfing while COVID)
• Caddies: NA
• Location: 6
• Spectacle/ visual: 5
• History: 3
• New/ancient: Modern
• Playability : 7
• Memorability : 6
• Buddy-a-bility : NA
• Service/etc: 10 for COVID
• Value: 8
• Warm up facilities/Range: 6
• Food & Drink: Closed for now but the food is very good