The hometown rundown on every public track that matters—no velvet-rope country-club nonsense.
How this list works
- Area covered: Sacramento, Placer, Yolo & El Dorado Counties—easy day-trip radius for Sac-area golfers.
- Access first: If you can’t book it with a debit card, it’s not in the main lineup.
- Prices: Weekend prime-time walk/ride rates unless noted. Where a club uses dynamic pricing, I quote the current public window or the county’s published cap. All fees can slide—always check the course site before you swipe.
- Tiers: Budget (< $50), Value ($50-$80), Premium (>$80). Pick your pain level.
Budget-Friendly Fairways (< $50)
Mather GC – Rancho Cordova
$48 weekend 18-hole walk ($64 w/cart)
Military-base bones, forgiving fairways, shade everywhere, and brisk muni vibes.
Pro Tip: I don’t know if I should share this publicly or not, but you should book a tee time at Mather during the annual California Capital Airshow (usually early June); watching F-35s rip overhead while you stripe a drive is peak Sacramento-golf swagger and I don’t know if anything gets more American.
Cherry Island GC – Elverta
$35 weekend 18-hole with Players-Club card (cart included)
Flat, get-what-you-see routing; perfect for “haven’t swung a club since last Labor Day.”
Ancil Hoffman GC – Carmichael
$42 “standard” weekend county rate; $46 premium/holiday cap
Classic oak-lined park-land that punishes wild tee shots but lets the short-game artist shine.
Value Plays ($50 – $80)
Haggin Oaks – MacKenzie Course – Sacramento
Dynamic: recent bookings from $40 twilight to mid-$70s prime
Dr. MacKenzie design without the Augusta invoice and a lighted range for post-round grind.
Teal Bend GC – Garden Highway
$79 Sat/Sun (cart in)
Tree-free wetland layout—bomb-and-gouge heaven with legit wildlife cameos.
Wildhorse GC – Davis
$68 prime + $10 cart; $52 twilight
Links-flavored front nine, tree-tight back nine, and college-town beers five minutes away.
Apple Mountain GR – Camino
$79 weekend 18 w/cart
Foothill elevation means cooler temps and dramatic downhill tee shots—bring the rangefinder.
Lincoln Hills (Orchard & Hills) – Lincoln
Public rack via Resident membership: $60 weekend before 11 a.m.
Twin-course retirement community that still lets the rest of us in—pace is better than you’d think.
Turkey Creek GC – Lincoln
$79 weekend prime (cart in); $59 twilight
Granite-quarry carries, slick greens, and no housing-track backdrops.
Premium Splurges (>$80)
Whitney Oaks GC – Rocklin
$87 weekend prime; $62 twilight
Johnny Miller greens that break harder than your New-Year diet—bring Advil and a sand wedge.
Morgan Creek GC – Roseville (semi-private)
Green-fee window $95 – $250 per NCGA directory; public play usually ~ $95 weekends
Kyle Phillips design, country-club conditioning, and the fastest greens in the county.
Yocha Dehe GC – Brooks (Cache Creek Casino)
Dynamic pricing: $79 weekday late to $200+ Saturday prime
Resort-level service, pure bent-grass putting surfaces, Troon-card discounts if you’re savvy.
Worth-a-Look Dynamics
Bartley Cavanaugh GC – Freeport
Full dynamic model—rates float daily; think sub-$30 twilight to low-$70s peak
River-side links feel, shortest of the city courses, and the most forgiving on the wallet if you snag an off-peak slot.
Final thoughts
Sacramento’s 2025 public menu runs from $35 muni strolls to casino-resort splurges, all inside an hour’s drive. Whether you’re ducking out after work or lining up a Saturday money game, there’s a track—and a price point—that won’t make you feel like you need a lobbyist to get a tee time.
Grab your sticks, double-check those dynamic rates, and let the hometown handicap hunt begin.
