Summitpointe Golf Club

When you put your car in first gear as you head up Country Club Drive, you should have some idea of what awaits.

Once you make it up the hill to Summitpointe Golf Club in Milpitas, you will be in for a treat. And your car should get plenty of time to relax before you head back down to Interstate 680.

Summitpointe is a truly unique design, with a heavy accent on hills - uphill, downhill, sidehill, this course has it all.

Just make sure you get a cart, unless you are training to become a pack mule.

You won't really need a cart on the first hole. You don't really need a driver, either, on the short but tight par-4.

The first real test, for you and your cart, comes at No. 2, a long par-5 straight uphill.

Head back down the hill at No. 4, where everything slopes right-to-left, including the green. Summitpointe is just 6,063 yards from the white tees, but carries a nasty 130 slope for just a 69.7 rating.

The fifth hole is a brilliant, long-but-downhill par-3 to a shallow green protected on both sides by bunkers.

Continue down the hill at No. 6 and then back up at No. 8, two long par-4s that play about as differently as par-4s can.

The back nine is flatter but features much more water, starting with the 10th hole, a short par-4 that doglegs right around a pond.

The 11th hole is a beauty, a short par-4 with a downhill approach to a green guarded by a hazard in front and trees on either side.

Back-to-back par-5s await at Nos. 14 and 15, along with chances to get two shots back. Both have trouble right, but neither is long and both feature fair greens.

No. 16 is another solid par-3, downhill and across a hazard.

Finish with a flourish at No. 18, a short par-4 with water right and an approach to an elevated, shallow, sloping green.

Summitpointe is an original course with plenty of variety. You should use every club in your bag.

The greens on the 1978 design are small by today's standards, but have plenty of slopes. Keep a stiff upper lip and pay attention to the flag colors.

Conditions are solid, although there are drainage challenges brought on by the abundance of hills.

The price is another plus, just $40 with a cart during the week, even on Fridays.

After 27 years, the word is out on Summitpointe, so you may be waiting on some tees.

But this is a truly different type of test, and one you should take at least once.

Just make sure to get your car tuned up before you leave.

Directions - Take Interstate 80 west to I-680 south. In Milpitas, take the Jacklin Road exit east. Turn left on Park Victoria Drive and right on Country Club Drive.