Foxtail Golf Club

If this is downtown, let's all move to Rohnert Park.

Don't be surprised when you exit Highway 101, travel two blocks and pull into Foxtail Golf Club. Yes, it is that close to the freeway. And no, you'll never know it, once you cross the four-lane road to the first tee of the North Course (wait for the green light).

Foxtail has undergone complete overhauls of two courses in the last three years, and the changes have gone way beyond the name change from Mountain Shadows.

The renovation has raised plenty of eyebrows, particularly on the North (formerly the Redwoods) Course.

The result is a fun track that probably will yield one of your better par-72 scores, and won't drain your wallet, either.

Architect Gary Linn put almost $3 million into the North Course, improving on the 1978 Gary Roger Baird track - Baird also designed Rancho Solano in Fairfield.

Foxtail doesn't have nearly as many hills as Rancho Solano, but enough dirt was moved in the renovation to keep this from being a totally flat muni track.

The 67.7 rating and 115 slope from the white tees - a mere 5,846 yards - should make even high handicappers lick their chops, but there are challenges. And if you want more of a test, blue tees add more than 500 yards but still provide a relatively tame 6,394-yard course, with a 70.3 rating and a 121 slope.

One caveat, especially if you play from the blues. Bring your A game from the tee box, because Baird and Linn combined to put fairway bunkers on almost every hole, most on the left side where right-handed faders aim.

If you can fly the bunkers, or control your driver enough to bypass them, the course is yours for the taking.

There is good variety in distance on the holes, and doglegs left and (eventually) right.

Colemen Creek comes into play on seven of the holes, providing another interesting, if not necessarily daunting, challenge. Remember, you don't need to overpower this course - the shorter, smarter play is the best play, and will keep the threat of water and bunkers to a minimum.

The par-5s are fun, two very short and two long. The 12th hole may be the best on the course, a 553-yard (from the blues) dogleg left. There are no bunkers to worry about off the tee, but the approach must carry Coleman Creek and hold on the course's smallest green (depth-wise) at just 16 yards.

The par-4s won't kill you, with only two more than 400 yards even from the blues. The 10th is a beauty, a short dogleg right with water all the way down the right side and four big bunkers down the left.

An added treat, particularly in this day and age, is the par-3 fare. There isn't a 200-yarder in this foursome, even from the black tees, meaning even duffers can have some fun teeing up short irons.

Foxtail may not make you say "Wow" very often, but it should make you smile. And you can play it three times during the week (with a cart) without dropping $100 ... combined. Even the yardage book is a solid investment at just $2.50.

A couple of notes: The North Course has handled the rains pretty well, but there are still some soft spots. Also, the driving range is being renovated, so hit balls elsewhere, or wait until the end of April to head west.

Directions - Take Interstate 80 west to Highway 12. Take Highway 121 west to 116 west. Take Highway 101 north, and take the Golf Course Drive/Wilfred Avenue exit. Turn left on Commerce Drive and right on Golf Course Drive.