Napa Valley Country Club

Date played: September 3 and 6, 2020

I know that when I play a course that I usually rate it.  But this is going to be a little different.  I got a chance to play a couple rounds at Napa Valley Country Club.  Since it is a members only course rating it will not do any one any good. 

I will say up front that if I did my normal rating for this course it would be a birdie and most certainly a must play!  There is nothing about Napa Valley Country Club that would make me say something bad. 

Napa Valley Country Club has it all!

It is one of the most beautiful courses I have played and the course layout is phenomenal.  It uses the terrain to create a golfing playground. 

There are short and long par fours, tricky par threes and par fives that scream for you to play them aggressive. 

All of the holes can be played in a few different ways to get your par.  No matter what you choose, you have to be accurate……or you will be in trouble. 

There are no gimme holes that give you a break from the round.  Your head has to stay in the game and on the course. 

I was able to play Napa Valley Country Club as a guest of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ken and Debby.  Both my wife and I love playing golf with them.  Whenever and where ever we meet, golf is involved. 

When Kathy and I planned the trip to California to visit them, I was excited.  I knew we were going to play golf and I was hoping that we would play at least one round at Napa Valley Country Club. 

Well, I was more than happy to have gotten two rounds in there. 

The first round was on my birthday.  Ken treated me to a round with his weekly golfing group.  I did loose a little money, but it was worth every penny.  I didn’t play my best round of golf but….the beauty of the course more than made up for the poor play. 

Ken was a good sport and he did take my money with a smile. 

Then Debby booked a round for the four of us on the following Sunday. 

All I could think of between my birthday and Sunday was getting another chance to play Napa Valley Country Club again – I just knew I was going to play it better.  I thought of where I could change my strategy and pick up a few strokes.  I also knew I would have two players that knew the course well and they could guide me to a better result. 

Sunday rolled around and I was ready.  Debby is a very good golfer and I knew she would be on her game.  It is her home turf and she knows all the good spots to land her ball and where she can get away with an errant shot.  We usually trade winning rounds.  If I wanted to play better than her I would have to play one of my best rounds. 

She wasn’t going to give me anything! 

Debby did not disappoint.  She played well and out right kicked my butt.  Not only did Debby beat me….Kathy and Ken took me to school as well.  I was the looser for the day twice in a row. 

That hurt!

Normally when I play really poorly I am upset.  I can’t wait to get off the course and get my clubs out of my hands.  Well, not only did I play poorly, I played down right bad.  This is where the company and the course were better than golf. 

I love the people that I played golf with! 

And, the course it so beautiful I just couldn’t get upset.  I wanted to play the next hole.  I wanted my playing partners to hit good shots.  I wanted to see the balls pop up and fly.  I wanted to see the ball roll on the perfect greens and fall into the hole.  I didn’t care if it wasn’t mine.  Kathy had great shots.  Debby played a great round and Ken was steady throughout the day! I was the only one that couldn’t put two shots together.   And I enjoyed seeing each of them play well. 

I did have some good shots and a few of them were at the perfect time – although they didn’t help with my score.  They just helped my ego.  There was a downhill par five that screamed:

“hit your driver as hard as you could”

I did and it was straight and true – 370 yards. Wow, insane.  I was just 115 yards to the hole.  Then low and behold I hit the second shot on the green – and I am going to putt for an eagle. 

Then – you guessed it – the bad game crept back in! 

Three putts later, I got a par.  I could only smile.  Because the drive was so perfect and the hole so beautiful, there was only one thing to do:

Smile and laugh with Kathy, Ken and Debby!

Thank you Ken, Debby and Kathy for playing golf with a duffer.  Today and this week was one of my favorite golf weeks.  I hope that I get another chance to play Napa Valley Country Club – I do want to post a good score there.  But, more importantly…..

I want to play golf with my family on this beautiful course!

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting.  Written Marc Festa