Lodi area is the place for golfers

By News-Sentinel staff

Looking for a place to tee it up?

Lodi and the immediate area boast a number of public golf courses available to challenge beginners and seasoned pros.

Among them:

• Forest Lake Golf Course, 2450 E. Woodson Road, Acampo. (209) 369-5451.

Forest Lake, an 18-hole, par-66, 5,000-yard course, is located at Lower Sacramento and Woodson roads, 6 miles north of Lodi. The tight, tree-lined course features small, fairly level greens and a large driving range.

	Jennifer Matthews-Howell /News-Sentinel Erik Townsend of Lodi putts the ball into the cup during a tournament at the Woodbridge Country Club.

Greens fees: $13 weekdays for 18 holes and $10 for nine holes; $16 for 18 holes and $12 for nine holes on weekends. Prices do not include a cart.

• Dry Creek Ranch Golf Course, 809 Crystal Way, Galt. (209) 745-2330.

Dry Creek Ranch, an 18-hole, par-72, 6,700-yard course, is located about 10 miles north of Lodi just off Highway 99. The course is situated among trees and the twisting Dry Creek. It features sprawling fairways with a number of water hazards. The greens are small and relatively level.

Greens fees: $22 weekdays and $34 weekends for 18 holes, and $12 weekends and $8 for weekdays. Twilight afternoon rates after 2:30 p.m. for 18 holes are $15 weekdays and $22 weekends. Senior and junior rates for Tuesdays and Wednesdays are $18 for 18 holes.

• Lockeford Springs Golf Course, 16360 N. Highway 88, Lockeford. (209) 333-6275.

Lockeford Springs, an 18-hole, par-72, 6,800-yard course, is located about 6 miles east of Lodi, south of Lockeford. It is relatively flat with a number of moguls framing the fairways. There are few fairway bunkers or water hazards. Greens are undulating and a few are multi-tier. There is also a grass driving range.

Greens fees: $22 weekdays and $33 weekends for 18 holes.

• Micke Grove Golf Links, 11401 N. Micke Grove Road, Lodi. (209) 369-4410.

Micke Grove, an 18-hole, par-72, 6,500-yard course, is located adjacent to San Joaquin County’s Micke Grove Park, about 5 miles south of Lodi. It features eight lakes and more than 40 bunkers.

Greens fees: $19 weekdays to walk and $31 to ride with a cart; $29 weekends to walk and $41 to ride. There is a senior rate of $13 and $24 weekdays.

• Swenson Park Golf Course, Alexandria Place and Lincoln Road, Stockton. (209) 937-7360.

Swenson Park features an 18-hole, par-72, 6,400-yard course and a par-3, nine-hole, 1,300-yard executive course. It is located near Interstate 5 just north of Benjamin Holt Drive. The 18-hole course is nestled among oak trees and has some water hazards. The greens are level and small to mid-sized. The executive course is basically a beginner’s course, with some trees and water hazards.

Greens fees: For the 18-hole course, it’s $18 weekdays, $13.50 after 2 p.m. and $9 after 3:30 p.m.; weekends, it’s $23, $16 after 2 p.m. and $11.50 after 3:30 p.m. For the nine-hole course, it’s $10.50 weekdays and $12 weekends.

• Van Buskirk Golf Course, 1740 Houston Ave., Stockton, (209) 937-7357.

Van Buskirk, an 18-hole, par-72, 5,500-yard course, is located off Interstate 5 adjacent to the French Camp Slough. It features a number of water hazards on the front nine. The course is level with mid-sized greens.

Greens fees: Same as Swenson Park’s 18-hole course. Both are maintained by the City of Stockton.

• La Contenta Golf Club, 1653 Highway 26, Valley Springs. (209) 772-1081.

La Contenta, an 18-hole, par-71 course, is located about 30 miles east of Lodi. It is a tight, hilly course. Water hazards are on 10 of the holes; the greens feature a number of breaks.

Greens fees: $21 weekdays without a cart and $33 with for 18 holes; $33 weekends without a cart and $45 with.

• Emerald Lakes Golf Center, 10651 E. Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove. (916) 685-4653.

Emerald Lakes, a nine-hole, par-33, 2,400-yard course, is located along Highway 99 about 20 miles north of Lodi. The course is tight, but level, and features three lakes and more than a dozen sand traps.

Greens fees: $10 weekdays and $12 weekends for nine holes.

Driving Ranges

• Backspin Golf Center, 2800 E. Harney Lane, Lodi. (209) 333-8172.

Backspin Golf Center features a lighted driving range.

Fees: $10 for a bucket of approximately 200 balls, $5 for a bucket of approximately 90 balls and $3 for a bucket of approximately 50 balls.