Primary California: DarkHorse Golf Club is an old-school, hand-crafted gem

Golf Digest, Nov, 2002 by Ron Whitten

In this month of midterm elections, we couldn't resist featuring a DarkHorse. DarkHorse Golf Club in Auburn, Calif., less than an hour east of Sacramento, is part of architect Keith Foster's campaign to bring back personal attention to golf course design. He tossed away detailed blueprints in favor of creating a course the old-fashioned way, out in the field, directing the shaping of features as he went. The result is holes such as the quaint par-3 sixth, so hunkered down along a creek bed that the cartpath is a wooden bridge. And then there's the 588-yard 11th, uphill between two hillsides, the fairway weaving around black, live and valley oaks like the broken-field path of a running back dodging defenders.

Located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, DarkHorse involves both parched hills splotched with oak trees and steep canyons of ponderosa and gray pines. Foster's routing moves at a leisurely pace down valleys and up hills, reaching a summit at the 17th tee. The greens are generous but well guarded. There are precious few chances to bounce shots onto these greens. Most are gently contoured, although there's a buried elephant in the 15th green and a corresponding sunken elephant in the 16th.

Bunkers add a finishing touch. Positioned for optimum strategy and allure, all were built by hand and resemble the gnarly old bunkers of great course architect George C. Thomas Jr. In fact, the downhill, 453-yard 17th may well be what Thomas' Bel-Air Country Club looked like 80 years ago, before homes covered the hillsides of Los Angeles. Of course, the hills along DarkHorse also will be dotted with residences within the next few years. So elect to play DarkHorse now, while it's still a glimpse into the past.

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DarkHorse G.C. 13450 Combie Rd. Auburn, Calif. 95602 Par 72; 7,030 yards.

Location: About a 45-mile ride northeast of downtown Sacramento on Interstate 80. Once you get to Auburn, merge onto Highway 49 and go north for about 10 miles.

Green fees: $48 weekday prime time, $68 weekend prime time (including cart).

Contact: 530-269-7900, www.darkhorsegolf.com