Granite Bay - California - USA

Kyle Phillips designed the course at Granite Bay Golf Club when he was the lead architect for Robert Trent Jones Jnr. Situated close to the western shores of Folsom Lake, half an hour’s drive from downtown Sacramento, the layout is sympathetically routed around a natural landscape of granite outcrops, mature oaks and sparkling lakes.

The 18-hole layout occupies land that was once the preserve of the Maidu tribe, who used it for cattle and sheep grazing. Purchased by Henry Moss in 1963, the property was then sold to real estate developer George Dunmore twenty years later. Shortly after, Mark Parsinen and another couple of investors became involved and the golf facility finally opened in 1994.

Highlight holes include the par three 3rd which is played across water from tee to green, the short par four 6th and the water-laden par four 9th. On the back nine, the 416-yard 16th is regarded as the signature hole on the card, with a narrow wetland area protecting the front of the green.