Del Paso

Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento was founded in 1916 and the original John Black-designed course underwent several large-scale renovations before a major redesign by Kyle Phillips in 2006. Ten years later, the club hosted its fifth USGA championship, the 2015 U.S. Senior Open.

Highlight holes at Del Paso include the par five 3rd (rated stroke index 1), short par fours at the 9th and 10th (the first of these holes plays to the smallest green on the layout), the par three 12th (with Lake Morrissey to the left of the green), and the 462-yard closing hole, where the sand-protected home green sits behind the curiously-named stream, Chicken Ranch Slough.

In The American Private Golf Club Guide, author Daniel Wexler had this to say about the Kyle Phillips renovation: “though occupying a compact site, the resulting layout is considerably longer and, while not overly difficult, rather more character-filled than its recent predecessors… one of the Sacramento area’s best, and proof that with the right architect, a classic course makeover is not automatically bound for disaster.”