Peacock Gap Golf Club

San Rafael, CA

Reviewed by: BSF, Novato, CA

Quick note about Marin County Golf: There are 3 18-hole, public golf courses and as with the real estate around here, the prices are not commensurate to the quality of the product. You pay 30 – 35% more for arguably inferior tracks than surrounding counties (excluding San Francisco). If you are a bang-for-your-buck golfer, you might want to skip Peacock Gap & Marin County entirely and play some of the stellar courses in the neighboring counties (i.e. Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa).

The Review

That being said, Peacock Gap has definitely stepped up its game in the past few years & has become a quality place to play. They have an all-grass range, a comprehensive practice area , and an excellent restaurant/bar. they have really improved the course, from the tee boxes, to the bunkers, and especially the greens over the past 2 years or so. It’s a very short course (less than 6,300 yds from the Back Tees), with mainly wide fairways & receptive greens. Definitely a great place to shoot a low number, however it is not a cupcake. There are little tidal creeks woven throughout the course & come into play on most holes. Holes 2, 5, 9, 11, 17 & 18 all require your attention & the greens, which used to be slow & flat are medium-fast & undulating.

A note on the greens: They were originally slow, flat & a joke (pre-2000), they then tricked them up like Mini-Golf around 2005 or so (some of the older pictures on this site show the “half-pipe” or “Taco” greens), however within the last 10 years, they converted all of the weird ones back to actual ones you can putt. They also hired the greens keeper from the Meadow Club (GD top 20 Course in California) to work his magic: shaggy, slow & fungal became smooth & medium-quick & a pleasure to putt.

Parting Thoughts

I played an afternoon round on 7/6. The majority of the tee boxes were lush & flat. The fairways were nice, thin in a few places (especially #14), but that was the exception rather than the rule. The rough was lush & fair, although there are a couple of areas where they let the rough grow up so much that if you hit into them, odds are you will not find your ball. I found my way into a couple of bunkers & they were acceptable. The greens were smooth & rolling medium-fast. PoP was 4 & Change, but not expecting much on a beautiful Friday Afternoon. The staff was friendly & very accommodating.