Boundary Oak Golf Course

I recently took a one hour private «tune-​up» lesson from Dave Delong and it was far more productive that I had hoped. As predicted, he corrected some bad habits with my grip which were causing a weird hook, but he also covered stretching, warming-​up, ball placement, club selection, chipping, etc. Frankly, I wasn’t looking forward to the lesson but knew that I needed it. As it turned out, I hated for the lesson to end. Dave is a very knowledgeable, nice, easy-​going guy and I highly recommend him.

Super awesome people that work here! Robert and Kathy are the best! The greens are well kept and everyone here is always so happy. They have a nice pro shop as well were Brian and Sebastian can find you anything you might have forgotten or not packed for the golf day. The course isn’t as hard as some others around the area. I love coming here everyone makes you feel welcome and it’s fun!

First off this is a public course. That being said, golfers need to keep their expectation levels in check when playing here. We have played this course for a very long time, as groups, twosomes, and in tournaments. We have played with newbies, old-​timers, women, juniors etc. .the gamut of players with varying degrees of experience. Some we loved and some had no business being out there without a refresher course in golf 101!
This course continually rates high on the list of top courses in California. But people should NOT mistake it for a private course. It’s municipal and therefore at times; overcrowded, lacking good staffing (97% good employee’s mixed with a few bad apples) and due to the drought has some natural problems with irrigation. It also borders on a HUGE open space area, so any type of animal complaint should be kept within the broader picture: yes their will be animals! They live there! We’ve seen deer, rabbits, squirrels, foxes & even a 12 foot rattler (yeah don’t venture into the high weeds in the dry hills, that’s where they live!).
As for the course itself. It offers varying degree’s of difficulties and challenges. Both the greens & fairways offer competitive play.
Be aware on the weekends and days on which play is heavy, some people do play here that don’t seem to care how they treat the course. Scuff marks from golf shoes can be present (yes soft spikes), and un-​repaired ball marks can be found much too often. AND YES we agree that a few more Marshalls are needed at times to enforce pace of place and course etiquette. But unless a Marshall is assigned to every grouping, we’re not what the solution is on the issue’s we mentioned.
All and all though, this course is enjoyable. It offers the necessary challenges, it’s normally relaxing and fun, and the prices are adequate for what is offered. Twilight rates are also good during summer’s longer hours. We like the practice facility and respect the fact the ground crew/​management is doing the best they can under the duress of the drought and it’s effects.
The fact that people have had delayed tee times or had to wait a bit at a tee box, we’d say golfing is privilege not a right, get over yourself. A day golfing, is still waaaaay better that a day working! :-)

I played her for the first time this weekend while attending the Alan David Vasilauskas Memorial Golf Tournament, benefiting the Bay Area Crisis Nursery. It is a fun course and is very well maintained. We also had dinner there which was delicious and the services was great. Overall I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Boundary is solid. Good course and is kept up nicely. A full driving range with a grass option up top. A great facility to practice with 2 chipping greens 2 putting greens and a driving range. There is even a practice bunker that goes out towards the range. There is a lot to like about the course that offers back tees over 7000 yards for the real sticks. On the other hand there are forward tees for beginners, as well as a wide array of tees for all skill levels. The course is a good deal and definitely has some great views of the bay areas rolling hills. The back nine has some very pretty holes especially. The course isn’t too slow for all the action it gets. Overall a great course to play for players of all skill length.

Course is worthy of 4 out of 5 stars. However, the gentleman in the clubhouse was ridiculous. They don’t follow the tee times. We were at the cashier at 12:09 completely ready to go for a 12:15 tee time. The guy said we should have come earlier then moved us back to 12:45 for being «late». Typical attitude of a public course. This isn’t the PGA, let us tee off. One employee ruined our experience. We tee’d of around 12:55. 40 minutes late.

Great for a public course. Fast greens and some challenging holes. Twilight rates are fantastic and excellent value for money.
Too bad they don’t allow you to book tee times for 1. The driving range is OK. Early morning 9 holes of the back 9 gets you in and out quick on a weekend.
Very helpful folks at the pro shops.

Nice golf course but outrageous prices considering there is a HUGE ground squirrel problem and lack or marshals enforcing faster pace of play.
This is one of the nicer golf courses in the east bay but the fact that they are asking $ 60 on the weekend and $ 50 during the week is ridiculous considering all of the extra holes all over the fairways and greens. It’s a nice golf course but they need to lower the prices.
The lack of marshals on the course is unheard of. Constantly there are large groups playing with no golf etiquette and no marshals to tell them to let you play through or hurry them along. It takes way too long to play a round here.
It’s a nice course if you don’t care to pay out the nose for a squirrel riddled golf course that plays slow.

I play here 1 or 2 times a week, and it’s a pretty fun course. Always in good condition, and very smooth, fast greens. My issues are lack of dress code, and pace of play.
Firstly, they will let anyone out there walking the course. There has been multiple times I’ve been stuck behind a group of 85 year olds, walking the course, and taking their sweet ass time on every ‘shot’. It’s beyond frustrating. No round should take over 6 hours. What’s worse is the mornings… It’s like a senior citizens home dropped off all the residents and said, ‘be back in 7 hours’. No one waves you through… They just ignore the fact you are a single in a cart hitting up on them every shot. The course should require carts and have marshals out there speeding things up. I’ve never seen a course as nice a Boundary Oak so content with the slow play.
Secondly, the lack of dress code… Wtf? Today I saw a guy teeing off in a tank top and jean shorts. I mean, hell… Why even wear shoes? Let’s just walk around barefoot, shorts, no shirts, and work on our tans. Seems like the appropriate place to do that, right? I see no reason why not require proper attire.
It’s a great course… It’s unfortunate I can’t give it 5 stars.

Pretty solid public course with competitive rates. Reasonable challenge, but pretty wide open and forgiving. Greens are in very good shape and can be difficult to read. Fairways are in okay shape, considering the drought. I was surprised that it wasn’t more crowded on a Friday morning before the holiday weekend. Our foursome easily played in 4.5 hours without waiting or being pushed from behind. That always helps. I’d play here again for sure.
Minus one star for having a dude on the beverage cart.

This course is not bad. The greens are a bit dry however and it can be a bit like playing on asphalt. My biggest gripe is that there’s a police shooting range next door and at times there will be so much machine gun fire and high caliber weapons fire you’ll feel like you’re in a combat zone.

Course conditions vastly improved compared to last visit here in 2010. Driving range balls better then before still not good. Mats are improved and overhead cover. Course fairways and greens much better.
Do not book your tournament here!!! The coordinator is sloppy and ultimately lazy. Zero follow through and a lack of care. Not someone you want working for you. He caused many problems for the group we coordinated the event for. This was a horrible experience! Stay away tournament host…

Treated less than that of a gentleman while trying to enjoy the gentleman’s sport.
As a team building exercise it was a bad decision to golf at Boundary Oaks!

The driving range is easy to get to & use. There is a machine that takes cards and dispenses out balls. $ 5 for a small bucket (45 balls) and $ 9 for a large one (90 balls). They also have a new area with tables and umbrellas if you just want to relax.

They don’t really know how to run the course. We had a 6am tee time (1^st of day), made turn in 1:45, to be greeted by a backup of two groups on 10. They then put us back on 1 saying it was open, but got there and had to wait, and the scheduled group behind us ended up waiting. Horrible course mgmt. Not our first issues here, but will be our last (not coming back).

This review is just on the golf experience. I am a 9 hcp and have on public links all over the Bay Area in the past 8 years I have lived here and this is by far the best deal for your money as far as public golf.
The practice facilities are great. They have two chipping greens and two putting greens. Not much of an area to practice bunker shots. The best part is that they actually have grass tees. I am reluctant to post this because I don’t want them getting filled up! 45 Balls for $ 5 or 90 balls for $ 7 (you can get a $ 100 range card for $ 80 in the pro shop.
What I look for in a course is green speed and consistency. I can deal with poor fairways, rough, and tee boxes but inconsistent greens are an automatic two star rating.
The greens at Boundary Oak are always consistent and some of the faster ones around. Especially when you are putting downhill away from Mt. Diablo! They are tough and require a keen eye, but once you play a couple times you can really start knocking some in as they roll really true. Three rounds ago I had 13 putts on the front side (then I started drinking)!
The par fours are all relatively short; driver wedge in. But, if you spray your drive left or right you won’t be out of bounds as the course is pretty open, but your approach will be blocked by trees. I type from experience :(
The par 3’s are great. First is a short downhill 140 yd shot, the second is an uphill 190 yard shot (always seems to play with the wind), the third is usually the same club you hit on the second, and the fourth is a longer 210 – 15 yard into a large green that I can’t ever seem to hit.
The par 5’s are a good mix. First one is downhill dog leg left with bunkers pretty much in the landing zone in the dog leg. Green has water on the right and bunkers on the left. It is a challenging hole and very difficult to get in two. If you play it true you can usually have a nice wedge in to leave yourself with a make-​able uphill putt. The second one is usually with the wind and downhill. Driver 4 iron/​5 iron does the trick. The green is trippy though. It slopes from back to front, but the putts are faster going front to back as it is away from Mt. Diablo. The third par 5 is a beast dog leg right, trees everywhere and going for it in two is not really in the cards. The last is the finishing hole and again very hard to reach in two.
It is a great experience and not too tough to walk. It can get slow after 11 on weekends, but it is usually fairly open for twilight in the middle of the week.
I have yet to have a bad experience on this course and have played is 7 times since moving to the east bay in March.
If you are looking for a fair test of your game this is the course to hone your skills for Bayonet, Blackhorse, Spyglass and the likes. It presents some challenges but it can really boost your confidence and teach shot making.
Enjoy. My friends and I sure do.

These bad reviews must be from people that either do not golf often or the course was too much for them.
First off its a nice looking course, hence why it keeps being awarded one of the top public golf courses in Northern California. You can tell it gets irrigated really well and the workers don’t get in the way of play. Yes some Tee Boxes are a little roughed up. But its a lot better than 90% of the courses out there. The greens are very fast, nothing wrong with that. If it was very windy do you not adjust your swing?
The pro shop is nice, and most of the workers are willing and open to answer any questions or help out. The prices for a sleeve is very reasonable. If you didn’t come prepared in golf attire, they do have a clearance rack with a nice selection as well.
Trying to get something to eat? You cannot pass up a breakfast burrito here. I promise you it will be the best one you have ever had. You get attended very quick and food is ready if you call it in from the turn. Great selection of beers, and the price for a pitcher that no one can beat (I am a bartender). The only drawback of this place is that it looks like it is still stuck in the 70s era. When you’re on the course the cart girl is fully stock with extensive beers, especially 24oz cans as well as snacks.
Overall experience is great. One of my favorite courses to visit.

This is my home course (aka course I play most often).
It’s a well kept course and everyone I’ve encountered is nice. Most of the courses I go to have duck poop everywhere or are too close to suburban homes. For the price this place is affordable.
I like their driving range and the addition of the new shade covers. It gets HOT out in Walnut Creek in the summer.
The café is surprisingly good. Breakfast burritos and decent burger options. The pro shop sells pretty nice stuff and tons of Nike shirts for Boundary Oak if you’re into that.

I like this place. I just played here today after work, and with the days getting shorter it was nice to get to swing the clubs a bit.
It feels like a medium difficulty type course to me but the greens are a real challenge. It was my first time playing here in a few years so I couldn’t remember anything, and it could have been the light, but these greens seemed tough to read for me, which is a good thing.
The lawns are well cared for, and there are some nice water features to avoid.
One thing I really like about this course is it’s location, specifically it’s out of the way, but still close to town. Maybe 10 minutes from downtown Walnut Creek. The real bonus though is that it’s a quiet beautiful course.
You can really enjoy it.

STOP AND READ THIS ENTIRE REVIEW BEFORE PLAYING BOUNDARY OAKS.
First off, if there was a 0 stars on Unilocal… that’s where I would have ranked this course and their staff today. We tee’d off at 12:22pm today. Well over 5 hours to play a course that should take 4:30 tops. Everything was pretty smooth until we left the first tee – We quickly realized it was going to be a LONG HOT day.
Here were today’s NO NO’s Boundary Oaks: (our group has 20 years of golf experience each btw)…
First off… they allot only 7 minutes in between groups teeing off. Wow that’s real low. We must have waited… on a serious note — -4−10 minutes in between EVERY shot. This was so miserable, especially in the heat. M I S E R A B L E.
Second, Boundary Oaks hosted a morning tournament today. WAIT— ON A SUNDAY??? Let’s stop the greed… you already get a full house EVERY sunday. Tournaments are great for the week and perhaps a saturday. Not a sunday.
Third…if you are going have a sunday morning tournament… at least speed up the play by making everyone use a cart. I’m not trying to be rude… but there was a 70 year old man walking right in front of us (playing with two guys in a cart). It must had taken the poor elderly gentlemen 5 minutes to catch up to his partners on every shot. Sunday before twilight EVERYONE should RIDE to speed up play since this is the MOST expensive time to play golf.
Fourth…Cart girl for snacks… Wow…we saw her once the whole day… and then she comes on hole 17. We were dying for water and maybe a cold beer. But don’t worry, there was NO WATERCOOLERS… just a few water fountains.
Fifth, I believe there were holes WITHOUT a ball cleaning tool.
Sixth, I called in to complain twice during the round. Sure i was being a bit forward with them… but they GAVE ATTITUDE right back to me. This is when it dawned on me that this course was probably owned by the city. Yes it is. That is why they are GREEDY and don’t care too much about anything.
I won’t spend another DIME of my money at boundary oaks. I don’t want to play at a golf course where their employees don’t TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY. Good golf courses understand that we are the customers… and we should be treated like WE are paying their bills…
NO ATM machine. No excuse… it’s 2012, get a grip on this. Plus this shows you how smart this course is… If 10 people a day use an ATM machine and the machine charges a $ 2.00 fee… that is an extra $ 7,000 dollars of revenue to the course a year. Then use the $ 7,000 for my last paragraph below this…
Last but certainly not least… can i just get 1 flat surface to TEE OFF on. I mean every tee box was a disaster. Way too many divots, sloped teeboxs, garbage grass. Wow… clean it UP Boundary Oaks.