Whispering Lakes Golf Course is back to its original splendor!
Come give it a try.

Whispering Lakes Golf Course originally opened in 1960 on Riverside Drive between Vineyard and Archibald Avenues. Over the years the course had lost a little of it's luster. But as reported in the Daily Bulletin — the course is back!

The course never shut down while staff members worked from a temporary trailer overseeing $1 million in improvements -- including a new clubhouse, golf carts, renovated landscape and new equipment.

“The course is in good shape, with a nice definition between fairway and rough,” reports PGA Pro Gary Nichols. “The course layout is very traditional – wide-open layout with small greens by today’s course standards.” The course plays consistently throughout the year.

You’ll love the layout ­ tree-lined fairways on just about every hole. The terrain is flat which makes for an easy walk if that’s your preference.

Medium-sized greens give you a fairly simple, straight-forward putting strategy, with no big breaks. This is the kind of course a lot of us grew up on before all the modern courses were built.

The 18-hole course features 6,624 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71. The course rating is 71.2, and it has a slope rating of 119.  Shot accuracy pays off big time!

Course tour with Gary Nichols, PGA Head Golf Professional

We asked Gary to give us a quick run-down of the course:

How do you recommend playing the first hole?

The first hole is a good opening hole, one of the longer par-4s on the course, with a dogleg left. Don’t try to cut the dogleg because there’s a big stand of trees on the corner. Drive straight or right-center on this par-4.

What’s the best par-5?

Actually we have two good par-5’s – number eight and nine, which is a little unusual having two in a row.

Eight has water all the way down the left from the tee almost to the green. If you stay out of the water it’s a short par-5 that’s easy to reach in two.

Nine is a long par-5, especially from the championship tees, which are 110 yards farther than the regular tees. You’re driving over water, with another lake to the right. You’re almost hitting over the lake to get to the green. It’s a dogleg right. It’s a good par-5, really tough to reach from the back tees in two.

Toughest par-3?

Definitely the third hole. It’s a 225-yard par-3, with a small green bunkered left and right. You have to hit it straight or you’re not going to hit the green!

What is the toughest hole?

Again, it’s #3.

How do you suggest playing the greens?

All of our greens play relatively the same – they’re pretty flat and rise front-to-back. You definitely don’t want to go over the greens at Whispering Lakes. Be short and go up rather than go long! But none of the greens are ‘super-slope-y.’

How would you describe the finishing holes; can I rescue my round?

On the right-hand side of #15 you have to contend with a huge ‘dry lake,’ a huge hole to the right. It’s also down the right-hand side of #17. You have a chance to make up a stroke on 17, the third of our three, par-5s. Eighteen is one of our two toughest par-4s. It’s a good finishing hole, a slight dogleg right – but you’ve got to get in the fairway and avoid trees left and right.

What is the signature hole at Whispering Lakes?

#15 is kind of an ‘evil’ hole with that giant hole; people who slice the ball will have a hard time keeping their tee shot out of it! But our signature hole is probably #9 (see above).

An old-fashioned course at old-fashioned prices!

A lot of our golfers appreciate our living, breathing tribute to “golf the way it used to be played” – not only in our course but what we charge you to play the course. Whispering Lakes is one of the best buys in golf in all of California!

We have a huge, all-grass driving range. The tee box is in good shape, and we have three chipping/pitching greens with bunkers so you can warm-up or sharpen your game. As area natives know, there aren’t too many ranges around so come out and take full advantage of what Whispering Lakes has to offer! 

Grass:

            Tees:             Rye and Bermuda

            Fairways:        Bermuda

            Greens:          Rye

We aerate the course with little to no interruption to your enjoyment of the game.

Check out the Golf Shop for your essentials like balls, tees, hats and gloves, as well as FootJoy shoes.