Golf looks like a sport for retired people on television. It is not. Kids as young as 7 are allowed on most regulation courses, and the greater Sacramento region has dozens of public courses that welcome juniors. The climate here lets you play nearly year round, and the courses run from urban parks to riverside perches, forested mountains and lakeside estates.
What matters more than the scenery is the programming. If your kid is new to the game, the way in is lessons, clinics and summer camps, and most courses here offer at least one of the three.
START WITH LESSONS, CLINICS AND CAMPS
Most golf courses in the greater Sacramento area run lessons, clinics and summer camps, so the first call is the course closest to you. Many of them also partner with First Tee Sacramento, which runs youth programs and tournaments. First Tee locations in the region include Bing Maloney, Cordova, Haggin Oaks, Wild Hawk and William Land in Sacramento, Emerald Lakes in Elk Grove, and Empire Ranch in Folsom.
THE PROGRAMS THAT CUT THE COST FOR JUNIORS
The city of Sacramento golf courses use a Junior Play Card. Kids under 18 play free with the card, any day and any time, as long as a paying adult is with them. Without an adult, kids 17 and under get 50 percent off green fees and cart rates. The participating courses are Haggin Oaks near Arden Arcade, Bing Maloney near South Land Park, Bartley Cavanaugh near Freeport, and William Land Park, all in Sacramento.
Youth on Course is the other program worth knowing. It gives junior players discounted rates at specified tee times, seven days a week, rather than whenever you happen to show up. There are also course-specific junior deals. Bing Maloney runs an Express 9 where juniors 18 and under play free with no card required and no paying adult, any time, seven days a week. Cordova Golf Course has its own junior rates for 9 and 18 holes. Bradshaw Ranch lets juniors play at a set junior rate on both 9 and 18 holes, any day of the week.
THE COURSES THAT MAKE A ROUND FUN
A discount gets you there. These are the courses that make the day worth remembering. 9 on the Hill in Citrus Heights, formerly Foothills Golf Course, runs glow golf through the summer, with glow-in-the-dark balls and illuminated fairways. Bradshaw Ranch runs day and night golf, where the first 9 holes are played before sundown and the second 9 in the dark with glow balls and necklaces. You can bring your own food to barbecue between rounds. Haggin Oaks has a 100-stall lighted driving range that stays open until 11 p.m. in summer, plus a 9-hole putting course with water hazards and sand traps. William Land Park was built in 1924 and is the oldest course in the region. Its smaller size makes it easy to walk, and it hosts summertime concerts on the green.
THE YOUTH ON COURSE LIST, TOWN BY TOWN
Youth on Course is accepted at a long list of courses. Here they are with their towns, so you can find the closest one.
- 9 on the Hill, Citrus Heights
- Ancil Hoffman, Carmichael
- Antelope Greens, Antelope
- Bartley Cavanaugh, Sacramento
- Bing Maloney, Sacramento
- Black Oaks, Auburn
- Campus Commons, Sacramento
- Cherry Island, Elverta
- Cordova Golf Course, Rancho Cordova
- DarkHorse, Auburn
- Davis Golf Course, Davis
- Diamond Oaks, Roseville
- Dry Creek, Galt
- Emerald Lakes, Elk Grove
- Empire Ranch, Folsom
- Haggin Oaks, Sacramento
- Indian Creek, Loomis
- Mather Golf Course, Rancho Cordova
- Teal Bend Golf Course, Sacramento
- The Ridge, Auburn
- Turkey Creek, Lincoln
- Wildhawk Golf Course, Sacramento
- Wild Wings Golf Course, Woodland
- William Land Park, Sacramento
- Woodcreek, Roseville
THE COMPARISON I REACH FOR, AND WHERE IT STOPS WORKING
The closest ordinary thing is a public pool in summer. There is a shallow end and a deep end, lessons run at set times, a lifeguard watches the water, and the whole thing fits inside a fence. That is the model most junior sports follow, and the clinic side of golf does too.
It stops working the moment you leave the lesson tee. A golf course has no shallow end. The junior tees are closer to the hole, but the ball still ends up in the trees, and nine holes can take a couple of hours with a kid. You cannot fence a course off or watch from the edge of the water. If your child is not ready to walk nine holes alone, you are walking them too, or riding along in the cart. That is the part nobody mentions when they sell you on the sport.
WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU TO WEIGH
- Nine holes is a half day with a kid. Eighteen is most of it. Plan around that, not around the junior rate.
- Clubs are the entry cost. Juniors outgrow a set quickly. Ask each course about loaner and rental sets before you buy.
- Discounts come with conditions. The city Junior Play Card still requires a paying adult for the free junior play. Youth on Course rates apply at specified tee times, not whenever you arrive.
- Summer afternoons are brutal. Book morning tee times in July and August. The heat is the reason, not the crowd.
- The courses are spread out. This list runs from Sacramento and Elk Grove to Folsom, Roseville, Auburn, Lincoln, Loomis, Galt and Woodland. Pick the two closest to you instead of chasing the one with the best reputation.
If a golf course is part of why you are looking at a town, start with the town. I keep every area guide at the neighborhoods hub, and if this is your first purchase, the first-time buyer page walks through the steps in order.
Question for you: are you looking for a course your kid can walk to, or a program you are willing to drive to twice a week? Those answers point at different towns.
Adapted from The Best Golf Courses for Kids & Families in the Sacramento Region, originally published by Windermere Signature Properties at windermerecalocal.com.
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