Land Park Golf Course is Refurbished……

                                    Come Play It Again For the First Time!!!!

                                              (as published in Golf and Lifestyles Magazine) 

Affectionately nicknamed “The Cradle” because it was Sacramento’s first golf course to open in 1924, the beautiful tree lined course in William Land Park has been lengthened and improved significantly.  Originally designed by William Lock in the early 20’s, the course was then altered by the renowned architect Sam Whiting in the early 1950’s.  Whiting was also responsible for doing the Olympic Club, Harding Park and Sonoma GC amongst others.

Most recently Bob Cline, LPGC’s superintendent, and GM Tom Kees have made some changes that have included improved conditioning and new black tees that now stretch the par 34 nine hole course to over 3000 yards.  “Don’t be fooled by that yardage as still being short says,” Kees.  “We have three par 3’s that range from 170-200 yards; five par 4’s that range from 300-445 yards and one par 5 that plays 525-550 yards.”  For good players, this course was typically a drive and wedge to most holes.  Most PGA tour courses are around 100 yards per stroke of par (e.g. par 72 at 7200 yards) and LPGC can now play right at 90 yards per stroke of par.

As important has been the steady improvements over the past few years that Cline and his crew have accomplished.

The Bermuda fairways are mowed to ½” and lined by a gentle, yet challenging rough.  Each hole now has a defined walking path from the tees to the fairway and of course other tees are available to play for those who don’t want the extra yardage challenge.  Since the course has a long history of supporting junior golf, the Little Linkers tees (yellow) are still available along with the junior (blue) tees.  The ladies have course ratings by the Pacific Women’s Golf Association for both the red and white tees.

New bunkers have been added to the right front of the first hole, right front of number 6 and a fairway bunker at the corner of the dogleg on the par 5 eighth hole. “The newly expanded bunker on the drivable 6^th hole will give the long hitters something to think about,” said Kees.  

Bunkers are trimmed and raked virtually every day.

If you used to play here, you probably remember these decades old greens as being slow and bumpy….. not so anymore!!  Cline’s crew has them putting true and smooth, aided by a roller and “TLC”.  Recent tournaments and some other special events have seen the stimpmeter hit 11 plus.

The facility, which is operated by and for the benefit of The First Tee of Greater Sacramento, now offers a “limited flight” practice range.  Cayman balls are utilized with a seven iron max.  There are two practice putting greens and a chipping green as well.  The value is one of the best in town as weekday green fees are $15 and weekends $17.  You can call the golf shop at 916-277-1207 for junior, senior and seasonally adjusted twilight rates.  This includes being a NCGA (www.ncga.org.) affiliate course whereby juniors can get accredited and play golf for as little as $2.

The Best Kept Secret is Mulligans Café and its food and beverage offering.  The popular golfers’ special of two huge pancakes and scrambled eggs is just $3.  You can also try some breakfast burritos, sandwiches and omelets along with Peet’s coffee. 

The lunch menu is highlighted by 1/3 pound hamburgers and even a ½ pounder known as “The Badge” named after those who wear one for a living and dine here. If you’re lucky enough to have had the golf burgers at the Olympic Club or Silverado, then you should try Mulligan’s “Paisano” golf burger, comprised of a mix of Italian sausage and ground beef served on a hot dog roll.  You can also find 6 beers on tap and over 30 others in bottles and cans.  They also serve milk shakes using the locally famous Vic’s ice cream. LPGC can host most any tournament or special event.  For the past two years, “The Cradle” has been the site for the National Golf League (NGL) and its popular “Suds on the Green”.  Professional golf teams from around Northern California played right through a brew fest and live music on the “arena hole” and a new slogan was born…..”The Cradle Rocks!!”   Over 2000 people attended last September. 

“Come play it again for the first time!!”

William Land Golf Course
1701 Sutterville Road
Sacramento, CA 95822 
916.277.1207