Timber Creek Golf Course

This could be a love-hate relationship ... but mostly love.

Timber Creek Golf Course in Roseville has two of the most diverse nine-hole layouts you could imagine, along with another nine-hole course that has a completely separate address and pro shop.

Constants are solid conditions, plenty of bunkers, and some of the biggest greens you'll see this side of Rancho Solano. Take some extra time on the putting green before you start your round.

The 1995 Billy Casper-Greg Nash layout, which used to be called Sun City Roseville, may provide a great chance to hit your target score, if you can resist the temptation to hit driver on most holes.

You may want to play from the black tees, since this is one of the few courses where even middle handicappers can succeed from the tips. Back-tee yardage is a mere 6,500.

The blues are 6,052 in length, with a 69.0 rating and a 119 slope comparable to most white-tee numbers (there are no white tees). Play the golds (5,629 yards) if you feel you must, but you'll probably keep the driver in the bag the entire day.

Your day starts ... most of the time ... on the Lakes Nine, although the lakes don't come into play until the third hole.

Club down at the start, because the first hole is a short par 4 that doglegs left, and the second is a very short par-5 with a hazard just 210 yards from the blue tees. You can score early if you can avoid the bunkers left on No. 1 and right on No. 2.

Pay special attention to the flag colors on all the holes, because the greens are so big that the difference between a red flag and a blue can be as much as three clubs.

Only very long hitters will be able to reach the water on No. 3, a short par-4 that offers the first real chance for most players to grip it and rip it.

No. 4 is a par-3 with five bunkers around a huge green. None of the 3s at Timber Creek is more than 175 yards, even from the black tees, but all are solid holes with plenty of trouble and big, undulating greens.

No. 5 is the longest hole on the course, and the best chance to let out some shaft. There is water left about 240 yards from the blue tees, but the fairway is one of the widest on the course.

The sixth hole is a beauty, a very short par-3 surrounded on three sides by water.

Finish the front side with three par-4s, including the ninth, where three sides of the green are protected by water and the fourth is guarded by a bunker.

Hopefully you scored on the front, because the back (Oaks) nine is much narrower. Scoring opportunities are still there, but you'll probably have to leave the driver in the bag.

Cheat left on the 10th hole, because a tree-filled hazard on the right is mostly hidden from the tees.

Back-nine highlights include No. 12, a short par-5 with an extreme dogleg to the right and a huge, sloping green; and No. 18, another 5 where all but the biggest hitters must lay up short of a ravine on their second shots.

Timber Creek is a thinking player's course, a good mix of tree holes and water holes, with lots of sand. There is great potential for trouble, but the big greens provide good targets even from long distances.

Conditions are solid. The price is right as well, just $45 with a cart during the week. It's one of the best deals around at $56 on the weekends.

Frustration can be the biggest challenge. The Oaks nine can kill your score if you aren't straight off the tees. And even if you are, there are only two or three holes where using driver gives you an advantage.

Be sure to bring an extra sleeve of balls. In addition to the potential water problems on the Lakes side, most of the wooded areas on the Oaks nine have been deemed environmentally sensitive areas and are fenced off.

If you need more action, the 9-hole Sierra Pines layout is just up the street. It is a standalone, par-36 course.

Directions: Take Interstate 80 east to Roseville. Take Highway 65 north. Take the Blue Oaks Boulevard exit west. Turn left on Del Webb Boulevard. The course is on the left (you will see the Sierra Pines nine first, on the right side of the street).