{"id":6949,"date":"2012-01-12T13:48:12","date_gmt":"2012-01-12T20:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertfagan.com\/?p=6949"},"modified":"2014-12-30T15:59:53","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T22:59:53","slug":"municipal-golf-fairfield-california-gets-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/6949\/municipal-golf-fairfield-california-gets-it-right","title":{"rendered":"Municipal Golf: Fairfield, California Gets It Right!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Paradise Valley is one of two excellent and well-run City of Fairfield, California golf courses.\u00a0 Shown here is the marvelous short, drivable par-four 14th, the shortest on the course.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Running a municipal golf operation is increasingly challenging these days.\u00a0 As play is declining most everywhere, costs are cut, and offerings suffer.\u00a0 Many municipalities are suffering operating losses.\u00a0 That said, I have observed over the past decade that the City of Fairfield, California seems to have captured the right mix of facilities, management, and strategy to weather the challenges.\u00a0 Golf is fun in Fairfield, California; and the City is blessed.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Like it’s newer sister course, Rancho Solano offers many wonderful views as shown from behind the par-five opening hole. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I recently enjoyed the nice opportunity to revisit and play the two Fairfield golf courses, Paradise Valley Golf Course and Rancho Solano Golf Club.\u00a0\u00a0 They have both nicely matured over the years and the conditioning is on a par with many proud private facilities.\u00a0 In fact, the Superintendent at Rancho Solano, Lalo Pacheco, received professional accolades for providing the \u201cBest Conditioned Public Course\u201d in Northern California.\u00a0 And for a one-two punch, readers of “The Daily Republic” voted Paradise Valley the “Best Golf Course in Solano County for 2011!”\u00a0 Located conveniently close to Interstate 80 only a few miles apart, these are two engaging golf courses in attractive surrounds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The approach to Paradise Valley’s par-four 2nd green. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Rancho Solano is the older of the two layouts built in 1990 by Gary Roger Baird and was originally intended as a private club course though it opened as and has remained public.\u00a0 The routing traverses relatively hilly terrain and meanders in the hills through a real estate development with mostly generous setbacks, and the countryside ambiance and views are very enticing.\u00a0 Anyone who has enjoyed Rancho Solano will remark about the big, fast greens with few flat putts, and the large scale of the course\u2019s features.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The nicely appointed Rancho Solano clubhouse is the backdrop for the 9th green, just one of many large and challenging putting surfaces there. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In contrast, Paradise Valley opened a few years later in 1993 and was designed by Robert Muir Graves and Damian Pascuzzo.\u00a0 It sits in a flat valley site surrounded by hills directly adjacent to Interstate 80.\u00a0 Though also squarely situated in a residential area, housing really never makes much of a visual impact or intrusion into the Paradise Valley golf experience as it borders only a few holes.\u00a0 Trees, bunkering, and water all affect the challenge, but the track is very playable with the layout extending nearly a hefty 7,100 yards from the tips.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Water guards the par-three 15th at Paradise Valley. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

From a golf course perspective, both Rancho Solano and Paradise Valley feature a modern, attractive upscale golf experience that on one hand is attractive and in good condition while also being playable and versatile in its challenge.\u00a0 Each has a distinctly different look and feel to them that features nice variety \u2013 or a change of scenery to be precise.\u00a0 Trying to pick one over the other is like debating which is better, vanilla or chocolate.\u00a0 In rating courses, these two rate out the same, and squarely above most municipal offerings<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Oak-studded hillsides and attractive natural water hazards are a recurring theme at Rancho Solano. \u00a0(Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Picking favorite holes, at Paradise Valley the wooded par-four second, the short heavily bunkered par-four fourteenth, or the beastly dogleg right finishing hole with its ponds to the right at 467 yards from the tips get my votes.\u00a0 At Rancho Solano, there are an abundance of beautiful vistas and the par-four 11th<\/sup> and par-three 12th<\/sup> with water fronting the greens makes them the most challenging at probably either course.\u00a0 Otherwise, Rancho Solano is slightly shorter, but tighter at 6,688 yards.\u00a0 Yes, the huge putting surfaces at Rancho Solano effectively putt much smaller.\u00a0 Get above the hole or on the wrong sector of the greens and you must summon exceptional skills to two-putt.\u00a0 Do expect to leave a few putts out there your first trip or two around Rancho Solano.\u00a0 Otherwise, the par-fives provide your best opportunities for birdies at Rancho Solano.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The approach over the water to the 429-yard par-four 11th at Rancho Solano is the toughest of either course in my opinion. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In any successful golf operation, people ultimately make the difference.\u00a0 Both Fairfield golf courses are thoughtfully managed by Kemper Sports.\u00a0 Jim Wagner is the Head Golf Professional at Rancho Solano while Daryl Parenteau is his counter-part at Paradise Valley and the service is friendly and attentive throughout.\u00a0 Rancho Solano features a full clubhouse with room for weddings and such, while the smaller Paradise Valley facility features a larger pro shop and a bigger sports bar.\u00a0 Both popular eateries appear to do a nice non-golf walk-in business.\u00a0 While both courses feature practice ranges, the one at Paradise Valley is lighted making for longer availability.\u00a0 The best part for the City of Fairfield is that both operations are operating at a positive cash flow and provide income to the city \u2013 something unfortunately not many can claim.<\/p>\n

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Attractive native areas are abundant at Paradise Valley as illustrated by the par-three 3rd hole. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When all is said and done, golf is all about the quality of the course and the service.\u00a0 The city of Fairfield, California is blessed with two healthy operations and very enjoyable golf course experiences.\u00a0 They are most attractive assets to the locals who can partake in topflight golf without venturing away.\u00a0 And if you are like me traveling between San Francisco to Sacramento, both Paradise Valley and Rancho Solano make for a delightful stop-off or destination.\u00a0 I give a \u201cbig two thumbs up\u201d to Fairfield, California for they are doing things right!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> This picture of the approach to the par-four 3rd at Rancho Solano demonstrates one of at least 36 reasons why the City of Fairfield, California has two real golfing jewels. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Paradise Valley is one of two excellent and well-run City of Fairfield, California golf courses.\u00a0 Shown here is the marvelous… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":6950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2247,17],"tags":[597,90681,182435,153178,754,153180,153181,113610],"class_list":["post-6949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-course-reviews","category-courses-and-travel","tag-california","tag-fairfield","tag-damian-pascuzzo","tag-gary-roger-baird","tag-robert-muir-graves","tag-paradise-valley","tag-rancho-solana","tag-municipal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2012\/01\/Paradise-Valley-hole-14Large-.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6949"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14880,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6949\/revisions\/14880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}