{"id":591,"date":"2011-11-02T18:07:10","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T18:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jaystuller.com\/?p=591"},"modified":"2011-11-04T00:15:48","modified_gmt":"2011-11-04T00:15:48","slug":"at-calaveras-countys-greenhorn-creek-theres-a-whole-lot-of-jumpin-going-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/golf\/591\/at-calaveras-countys-greenhorn-creek-theres-a-whole-lot-of-jumpin-going-on","title":{"rendered":"At Calaveras County\u2019s Greenhorn Creek, There\u2019s a Whole Lot of Jumpin\u2019 Going On"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The target at the 13th hole of Greenhorn Creek.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1848 a wave of humanity swept into Alta California\u2019s central Sierra foothills, drawn by the discovery of gold.\u00a0 To the thriving settlements of San Andreas, Angels Camp and Murphys, merchants, opportunists and curious observers followed the miners.\u00a0 Some of the more notable included Daniel Webster, William Hearst, J.P. Morgan, Ulysses S. Grant, John Jacob Astor and a young journalist with the pen name of Mark Twain, all of whom stayed in the Murphys Historic Hotel<\/a>, where several original musty rooms still freeze time from the second half of the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

While the gold rush largely ended seven years later, waves of people continue to flock to the region even now.\u00a0 During warm summer days some of those visitors still pan for gold in the area\u2019s streams – – or go white-water rafting down its rivers.\u00a0 Others explore abandoned mines – – or the enchanting natural caverns with underground lakes and unusual crystalline formations. \u00a0Still more go hiking, biking or ride zip lines, after which there are tastings at one of the two-dozen wineries in the county, shopping at art galleries and antique shops, visiting a gold rush museum, and dining at a number of remarkable restaurants. During winter, skiing and snowboarding is nearby in the High Sierra.<\/p>\n

Home to Twain\u2019s celebrated Jumping Frog and an eponymous contest each May,<\/a> Calaveras County is also a place for excellent year-round golf.<\/p>\n

On a recent visit to the Greenhorn Creek Resort<\/a> and its award-winning Robert Trent Jones II<\/a> redesigned course, we experienced a small sampling of what the region offers travelers, including several wineries – – more about which in another post.\u00a0 And as memorable as anything else during the trip, our small group of journalists were given a hands-on lesson in making those green amphibians leap, by a couple of veteran Jumping Frog Jubilee wranglers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Joe Kitchell, the 2005 Jumping Frog champion. <\/p><\/div>\n

The Caddy Shack<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Although I\u2019ve been through Angels Camp several times and played golf at a few of the region\u2019s courses – – which in retrospect I uniformly much enjoyed – – I hadn\u2019t previously paid much attention to Calaveras County as a destination.\u00a0 My bad.\u00a0 It\u2019s only a two and a half hour drive from San Francisco, an hour-and-a-half from Sacramento and is located pretty much between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite.<\/p>\n

Along with the Saddle Creek<\/a> golf course just down the road in the town of Copperopolis, Greenhorn Creek shares honors as the region\u2019s premium course.\u00a0 With five sets of tees that range from 4,882 to 6,749 yards, the layout offers firm fairways that yield prodigious rolls on tee shots, and wickedly fast greens that played at 11.5 on the stimp in late October.\u00a0 While by and large a friendly and forgiving course, it does pose challenges with several short par 4s, such as the 325-yard 12th<\/sup>, which is a severe dog leg right with a narrow fairway flanked by ditches on each side to a green that\u2019s decidedly up a hill.\u00a0 The 13th<\/sup> provides some relief – – so long as you miss the pond on this steep, downhill par 3.\u00a0 But it\u2019s back to focusing on the next hole, a 415-yarder that\u2019s also narrow and is listed as the third most difficult on the course.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Walk away with a par or bogey on Greenhorn Creek's 5th hole and one can sigh with relief.<\/p><\/div>\n

Then there is the 5th<\/sup>, the green of which is in the photo on the left.\u00a0 What the image doesn\u2019t show is that you have a narrow fairway with water to the right, and out of bounds to the left.\u00a0 And to reach that green with the water guarding it, most players will be forced to lay-up or hit a second shot that must travel 170 yards.\u00a0 It\u2019s listed as the second hardest hole on the course, but has a much higher pucker factor than the number one handicapper.<\/p>\n

Since Greenhorn Creek has an active full-time membership engaged in all manners of sporting and social activities, its facilities include an exercise and weight room, a large pool and a couple of tennis courts.\u00a0 Its CAMPS Restaurant<\/a> has a first-class menu<\/a>, with the good burger you\u2019d expect at a golf course, but also dinner items that include steamed clams, roasted duck breast with truffled risotto, and, along with several cuts of steak, fresh pan-seared scallops, not the cuisine normally found at a golf course.<\/p>\n

The resort offers a number of \u201cstay & play\u201d packages, starting at $109 per person for at least two players during midweek, and yet only $135 per person during weekends.\u00a0 There\u2019s an eclectic set of accommodations, including the least expensive rooms at a time-share condominium complex. Run by WorldMark<\/a>, the multi-bedroom units include a kitchen and living room, and are what you\u2019d expect by a budget-conscious traveler.\u00a0 At the other end of the spectrum is one of bright and freshly decorated cottages near the course, with two or three bedrooms and kitchens that are open to living rooms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The lounge area of Greenhorn's Caddy Shack.<\/p><\/div>\n

The latest wrinkle in Greenhorn Creek accommodations is the Caddy Shack, a barn-like former business office that was recently conferred to a five-bedroom hang out.\u00a0 Situated near the golf course\u2019s ninth hole, the Shack is geared for groups of up to dozen.\u00a0 With a barbeque area, horseshoe pit and a living room with 55-inch high definition television, it\u2019s advertised as a place for \u201cfriends, family, teams (and) business groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jumping the Frogs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our group was treated to an authentic Angels Camp experience when we were met by officials from the Jumping Frog Jubilee, which for the past 80 years has been each May during the Calaveras County Fair.\u00a0 Inspired by the 1865 story – – The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County<\/em> was actually Twain\u2019s first published piece of work – – the contest attracts serious participants.\u00a0 Some families and groups have been at it for generations, such as 2005 champion Joe Kitchell, an Angels Camp native who\u2019s been with the Calaveras Frog Jockeys for some 25 years.<\/p>\n

Each year new frogs are captured a couple months before the event and released right after.\u00a0 While the critters aren\u2019t exactly trained, wranglers understand what motivates them.\u00a0 \u201cThe life cycle of the frog is to eat, not be eaten, and to breed,\u201d explains Kitchell.\u00a0 \u201cOur job is to make them think they\u2019re going to be eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

One of the frogs we jumped on the visit to Greenhorn Creek.<\/p><\/div>\n

In the contest, frogs are held back the back of the neck, pinched between two fingers.\u00a0 The jockey often strokes the frog\u2019s legs, to relax it.\u00a0 It is then set down in a small circle, after which the wrangler attempts to frighten it into jumping three times – – hopefully straight out.\u00a0 \u201cYou try to find frogs that don\u2019t jump in different directions or back and forth,\u201d Kitchell, \u201csince the distance is measured from the circle to the landing of the third jump.\u201d\u00a0 But too much experimentation is counter-productive, since the more they are handled, the more docile the frogs become.<\/p>\n

At the start of each jump a wrangler takes care not to stand above the frog, because it has exceptional peripheral vision and might freeze if it sees the person.\u00a0 The trick is to make a loud noise, thump the ground and blow air at its butt, inducing that primal fear of consumption by a larger animal.<\/p>\n

The world record, set in 1986, is 21 feet 5 and \u00be inches.\u00a0 Each year the winner usually makes three hops that average 19 to 20 feet.\u00a0 None of us rookies could get our reluctant frogs to hop more than ten.<\/p>\n

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