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R15 should be more accurately written as R (subscript) 15, but I’m not quite sure how to do that on WordPress, so we’ll leave it at that. Located conveniently at R & 15th Street in Sacramento, the geonomous bar/grill/lounge has a number of flat screen tvs for sporting events. I headed over there to watch a couple of World Cup games.
The glass doors are red tinted, which give the interior a nice shaded look and thankfully doesn’t detract from the appearance of the food. A U-shaped bar greets most visitors, with televisions above the bar and around the walls, though the bar (annoyingly in my book) does not have a brass rail at the foot. A separated room contains 4 pool tables and the back of the bar is an attached eatery (Café Bernardo), whose menu is probably the same, but I ate in the bar side for the WC games.
I will give a high thumbs up to the calzone, though it may be salty for some. The dough is cooked crisply while still retaining moisture from the cheese on the bottom. The goat cheese/mozzarella ensemble brings an expected flavor with an unexpected one, and comes away with a pleasant feeling. The calzone is stuffed with Black Forrest Ham, which may contribute to the salt overtaste, but still good stuff.
Unfortunately the pizza needs a fork to be eaten properly. Taste wise, the chicken, cheese and asparagus combine to a smoky, salty feeling. However, structurally, the middle of the pizza detaches from the outer crusts too easily, resulting in essentially a bread piece in one hand needing a fork to scoop up the toppings. If you don’t mind that, go for the pizza as well.
Service was excellent, the servers helpful and the bartenders quick on a refill. The lunchtime crowd was sparse at best, even for World Cup games. The Italy/Paraguay had about half-dozen total and Brazil/North Korea perhaps an even dozen. A few office buildings in the area provided the crowd, and I have the feeling more folks headed to the Cafe side. If I lived downtown, I would head over there during the night, but given there’s a plethora of street parking and a cheap parking garage across the street ($2/hr), it’s an easy place to head to for lunch. They do offer valet parking for $5, but do not validate the garage.
Edit/Update-So I’ve made this my World Cup bar since it has side-by-side tvs and excellent food. I ought to give credit to Cafe Bernardo for the chow, since they’re the ones with the kitchen. And I’ve tried the Reuben (the fries are excellent, crunchy and salted well) and the pan-fried noodles (basically a chicken chow mein with cashew and vegetables). I thought I was ordering the Thai noodles, but I was mistaken, so something else I’ll have to sample in the next few days.
Bit of a mediocre round. I put a ball OB on the 4th and ended up with a triple, but hunkered down and finished the side even by holing out a pitch from 12 yards on the 9th. My short game has been spot on lately, and I was surprised that I hadn’t made a few by now. Birdied the 10th and 18th by hitting driver, 3-wood to the front edge of both greens and getting up and down well from there. Had about a 30 yard pitch to the flag on 10 that I put to within 3 feet, and then missed my eagle putt by about 4 inches on 18. (10 was playing upwind, 18 down). Decided to go double/triple on 15 and 16 by missing a 2 footer on 15 and then playing around too much in the woods on 16 while also flubbing a 95 yard pitch shot. Thankfully I put my next pitch to within 4 feet. Erase out the chip in along with the dumb mistakes and this 83 could have been a 76, easily.
Good round, I got up and down a lot to save par, and my lone birdie was on the No. 3 handicap hole. Had a dumb 3-putt on the 10th, which I attribute to the hole being on the topside of a slope and the greens having finally dried out. Since I normally tee off around 7am, it takes a couple of hours for the dew to burn off and the greens to harden up. I also had a lot of good hooded 4-iron shots out of trees that put me into some good spots. Punched out of the woods on the 11th to the green, out of the woods on the 12th to the fairway and out of the woods to hole-high on the 15th. Put a 3-wood just short of the green from a little over 245 out on 18 to get up and down to save the 78, my career round at Ancil.
I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, I was turned onto Shaz Indian by the following review from the Sacramento Bee a few months back. It is located near Haggin Oaks Golf Course, which is the home team for Mira Loma, so it was nearby after a lot of practices.
What little I can add to the review is that the lunch buffet is plentiful, though only “white people” hot. I’ve had dinner there twice and can confirm the lamb biriyani has a wonderful nutty consistency and the naan is as big as most dinner plates. Get a lhassi to counteract the capsaicin in the seasoning.
Wonderful stuff.
Good round today, though I missed two putts within 3-feet. Both were on slops, and that’s a bit of an excuse, but not much of one. I teed-0ff at 7:15 or so and ended a little over 3 hours later. I played about 45 rounds at Ancil last year and didn’t break 80, so this is a nice result. However, I still only converted one of my eleven GIRs into a birdie, and about six of those were makeable birdie putts.
Plus I got to say hello to this little guy in the morning:
Lost a ball with the dumb quad and had a few double bogeys that were more because I hadn’t played the course in a while. Only made one birdie attempt of about six from less than fifteen feet, and did that on the 18th for a bit of redemption.
I think I’ve mentioned that I’m a high school golf coach. And should be for another few months, until the details of AB1025 go into effect. But until then, I’m still around.
The kids are playing for the championship title in a match tomorrow. This would be the first time Mira Loma has had a boy’s golf title and only the second time we will have gone to the playoffs as a team since I played. And the last time we went as a team? I was a coach then too.
Perhaps I might know what I’m doing after all.
Some upcoming reviews:
Mather Golf Course
Sunset Whitney CC
Yocha-de-he GC
Red Hawk GC (Lakes & Hills)
Arrowcreek CC
It probably isn’t fair that I’ve only had three dishes at Seritella’s and try to rate the restaurant: pizza, lasagna and polenta, but the breadsticks could be considered a meal in their own right. This is a great place for a carb load meal, but perhaps not for a recovery meal after a round at Ancil.
I’ll start off with the pizza and breadsticks. Seritella’s keeps a bread/dough staffer working the pizza ovens ensuring carbo-goodness. A large pizza is on the pricey side (about $17 for one topping and another $2.50 for additional toppings), but I’d suggest the Red Devil combination for the meat eater. They do have vegetarian and other exotic options, but I mainly stick with the Red Devil.
The lunch lasagna special is good-sized (8″x3″) and smothered in in-house marinara. Combined with a house salad, I left happily. Sadly, I can’t remember much about the polenta.
What I will say though is that any place that can make killer lasagna and pizza will have everything else going for it. The two owners, Robert & Bonnie work the restaurant alongside their servers and bussers, keeping a truly owner-operated joint. Sorry I can’t say much more, but I will endeavor to experiment with some additional plates and report accordingly.
There are two great things about Ancil Hoffman. The first is the name, a former Sacramento County supervisor, Ancil is not exactly common in circulation. The second is the fact it is easy to play the course with just one ball. However, it will end up well scuffed, marked and yellowed.
Ancil is my home course, mainly because it is challenging, punishing errant shots and forcing the player to hit good shots with some precision around the greens. At only $28 for a walking rate ($20 twilight), it is also slightly more expensive than some of the other munis, but the course experience is worth the extra two bucks.
Built in 1965, many locals have been playing since its inception and both the course and the clientele have aged in tandem. Trees were brought in to give the course definition, and the original golfers will recall when their shots could clear the woods. In time, the trees have turned into a timber jailhouse, and the best advice I can give is if you get into the tress, just get out at the first opportunity. These branches are stronger than any shot and be sure to have enough altitude if trying to clear the top, anything that clips the twigs will be brought down easily.
There are five hazards on the course. The first is that the first and tenth holes tee-boxes are located about 12 yards from eachother, the main pro-shop and practice green. Most locals are curteous enough to keep it to a quiet murmur, but there is occasionally someone that doesn’t realize how far their voice carries. I generally tee off before 8am there, so the course is generally quiet. The second hazard is a lake that sits between the first and tenth fairways (the fairways angle away from eachother by about 70 degrees) and will only come into play for those that shouldn’t be on the course.
The first hole is a slight dipped and dogleg right par-4. A 3-wood from the 348 tee will place you near the 125 marker and between two fairway bunkers that guard short right and long left from the tee. The green lies about half a club uphill to a back to front sloped green, so adjust the club accordingly.
The second hole is a par-5 that plays 592 from the edge of the main teebox, and somewhere in the 630 range from the back tees that were recently constructed. A tree grove protects the right side of the hole, so be sure to aim left. If you somehow get in the grove, consider yourself drawing the unlucky card out of the Community Chest and just punch out to the fairway. Two solid shots will put you at the throat of the fairway, I’d suggest leaving it between the 125 and 100 markers, as there is a slight gully crossing the fairway at 95 yards out. The green is large and the only difficult approach shot will come if the flag is sitting behind the right side bunker, as it is sloped and will bounce a bit. The greens throughout Ancil generally hold well but won’t provide much backspin, so fire and let it sit.
Both the second and third holes sit on the general upwind direction, which can make matters toughers. A power fade from the tee is necessary for the third, as the hole is an uphill dogleg right shot. A berm crosses the fairway at 185 out from the green, any good drive will need to be at least 220. The fairway is well protected with a grove on the left that will collect a draw and more trees to the right will knock down a fade onto a slope. The third hazard on the course is also there; a concrete water gully stradling the third and fourth holes. Only a high slice off the tee will bring it into play. I’d suggest most golfers aim on the left side and hit their power fade. This green is two-tiered, with white and red playing short, blue long. Pay attention to the flag as you’ll need to add about 7 yards to the distance due to the elevated green.
The fourth is the only “tight” fairway. At only 339 yards, the long ball types will hit a driver to within 30 yards of the green. However, there is out-of-bounds on the left side as well as the aforementioned water gully on the right. A 5-wood will place you on the 125 marker and in safety. Be warned though that there is a cart path going down the left side of the fairway and will give some extra pop to any shots in that area. The green has some interesting breaks, as there is a slope on the right side middle and left long. Again, from 125 out, you should be able to fire at the flag and shrink the green.
One of the things I don’t like about Ancil is that 3 of the 4 par-3s play at 200 yards. The fourth, fifth and sixth holes are also downwind, helping the distance a bit. With two tee-boxes to choose from at different elevations and depths, the fifth hole can play between 175 and 210. The green is narrowly shaped, with a drop-off on the left and bunker/wasteland/2nd hole rough protecting the right side. It comes with a back to front slope, so you’ll need to carry the shot to the flag.
A great drive is a must for the sixth. Hope for a stiff tailwind to help on the 438 yard par-4. A grassy gully crossed the fairway at 180 out from the tee, so be sure you can hit a shot that far to have a fair chance. The tee box alignment favors the right side, which will leave an approach shot that needs to go over or through a number of trees and towards a short greenside bunker. Aim for the left side or hit a draw to open up the shot to the green.
The seventh hole teebox leaves you coming out of a chute. Two large trees guard the right side about 40 yards and on the left side about 60 yards out. Any golfer that normally carries a wicked curve off the tee may want to hit a 3-wood from the tee. A large tree sits at 240 out on the right side and is an appropriate landmark, however there are two interesting barriers on the hole. A lateral hazard meanders down the left side of the landing zone and normally doesn’t come into play, but a hook from the tee will find you in the area. Not perhaps wet, but definately in a hazard. There’s also a tree grove that abuts into the fairway at the 230 mark, any drive down the left side will have to go around the grove with a 20 yard bend or over it with an 8 iron. This green is also small. Not deceptively small, but literally. I paced it off to 19 yards deep by 17 wide, so attention to the flag is not as important as actually hitting the green. The ball will roll up well, so hitting short and let it release will be a good strategy here.
The eighth and ninth are straightforward shots. Keep an eye on the wind as the two holes play in opposite directions. Both greens are deep and the only tough pin placement is a back/right location on the eighth as there is a bunker in that area that needs to be cleared. Any shots just over will hit a slope and be difficult to control.
One of Ancil’s better attributes is that the second nine is a continuation of the first. Newer courses like to have different experiences across the two halves, requiring a change in gameplay. Not so here.
The tenth opens with a reachable par-5. I say reachable because I’ve gotten it on once in the fifty or so times I’ve played the course in the last year. A pot bunker guards the landing zone on the left side, but a bailout to the right will leave you across the pond in some trees. Long rough sits along the left side, but will only result in a 6-iron approach shot. A well struck drive will be between 230-250 out from the green, depending on how much roll the fairway deigns to give. Play an approach shot to the 110 marker and fire in from there.
There are a couple of ways to play the eleventh. A short dogleg left par-4, a long drive can clear a bunker guarding those that want to cut the dogleg at 110 out. A 3-wood from the tee will leave golfers in a collection area and add another club to the second shot, generally from an uphill lie. Another grove guards the left side, so if you’re aiming at the bunker, hit it straight or a cut. The green has a back to front slope, but elongated. Keep an eye on the placement, and try to stay below the hole for an easier birdie putt.
The twelfth is the fraternal twin of the sixth. This time, it is a 440-yard shot into the wind. There aren’t any surprises on the hole, and I’m generally happy with any shot that leaves me a good chance for an up and down to save par. The same grove on the left of eleven is here on the twelfth, but will only come into play if you duck one in.
If the twelth is the fraternal twin of the sixth, the thirteen is the cousin of the third. Same hole shape, but 30 yards shorter and no elevation change. Either aim left and hit a power fade or aim over the bunker and hit a draw. Either will place a golfer to the 110 mark and an easy wedge into the green.
The fourteenth is the only short par-3 on the course, and soon to be remodeled. It is a 127 yard uphill shot. I always hit a 9-iron to the middle of the green, but because it is about 30 feet up, any high shot has a better chance of backspin. Another strategy would be to club up to an 8 and hit a 3/4 shot to allow for the spin. The toughest pin placement is on the left side behind a bunker, as the green naturally slopes to that direction, but the keepers don’t play that spot except in tournaments.
This hole will be undergoing some changes shortly. The powers-that-be decided to relocate the green to a small grove at the base of the hill and will be adding a pond. The green will become the tee-box for the fourth hole, elongating it by about 20 yards, but that distance will be negated with the elevated tee.
The fifteenth is the point furthest from the pro-shop, and woe be upon anyone with a shotgun start here. The hole itself is not difficult, a severe dogleg left with trees guarding everything. Everything here includes the fairway as there is a tree short right of the green that will protect that approach shot. Hit a draw 3-wood from the tee, and if you don’t have that shot, then place it in the fat of the fairway. The green is eleveated and protected by a bunker short left and an oak tree to the right. Most shots should be unaffected, but if you found the tree grove on the left from the tee-box, walk into the fairway to check out your angle to the green for the shot into the green.
Sixteen is a monster. Measured at 449 from the tips, it is a slight dogleg left with an unobtrusive 80 foot oak tree planted 210 out from the tee box. Actually, I should call it the Oak Tree. You’ll see why. The best strategy is to aim at the tree and miss, the excellent golfers will go over, the others will stay under. The worst shot would actually be to hit a fade into the alley, as the dogleg will block the approach shot. Try to stay on the left side of the fairway. If the flag is in the front, stay below the green is there is a bit of a false front, a chip shot in will almost always be an up and down if approaching from underneath.
Check the tee placements for the seventeenth. It can play between 160-185 depending on where on the box the blues are placed. The wind may knock down a shot too, but being long is good here as there are two bunkers short of the green. I’d also suggest walking to the right side of the teebox and leaving your clubs to save a bit of a schlep. The eighteenth comes back, so just grab your putter and driver and save a few pounds of baggage.
Our finishing hole is another reachable par-5, but only in daylight. If playing at the end of the day, the change in temperature and air pressure will knock down shots, and of course, a drive down the middle is a must. Akin to the seventh hole, the eighteenth is a chute style drive, with trees guarding the left side (tenth hole) and right side (seventeenth). The woods end about forty yards beyond the landing zone and leave two shots into a slightly uphill green. Again, check the pin placement, as the green is about 40 yards deep and a high shot will sit and/or spin back a tick. The driving range on the right will not come into play, and a safe bailout would be towards the left side of the fairway.
A few more notes. The course is marked every 25 yards from 200-75 in. Some holes have barber poles, those are more for aim off the tee than anything else. If you have a GPS, bring one. Ancil is also managed by Empire Golf and discounted tee-times are available if you sign up for their newsletter (use a junk/spam e-mail address) and search for some slots. Twilight rates start at 3pm, and with daylight savings time in effect, it is possible to finish in the light. During the summertime, I head out at 745 and finish before noon when the heat would make it prohibitive to play.
As for chow, I’ll have a writeup of Seritella’s, a nearby Italian/pizza restaurant that has been in that location for the last 40 years.
It says something about a golf course when it’s listed along with an olive oil farm on Google Maps. I had the pleasure of being invited by Steve Pajak, the golf editor at the Sacramento Bee, for his On Tour series.
The course should be divided into three parts: the first nine, the second nine and all eighteen greens. The front is a placement game, none of the par-4s are above 400 yards and a driver wil get you into more trouble than a shot towards the fairway. The first seven holes are all doglegs, with some elevation changes from tee to fairway. If you look at all but the slope/rating for the course, you’d think it wouldn’t be anything unusual. 6479 yards from the Blue tees, the first nine is even less than 3000 yards. However, the 147/72.3 numbers on the right side of the scorecard come from the greens.
The opening hole is an uphill dogleg right where a power fade is the ideal shot, the second hole a downhill dogleg left with an elevated green that adds a club to the approach. That green is severely sloped back to front and one of my playing partners had to hit his putt from the back and ended up eight yards off the green.
The third hole is almost a chip shot downhill to a green with a lake in front for some protection. With the elevated tee box, target a few yards behind the pin and let the spin take care of the rest.
The green on the fourth hole is the focal point. I didn’t pace it off, but the green is approximately 50 yards across and 12 deep. With a bunker across the front and two on the backside. The pin was towards the front of the green when I played, but I put my approach shot in the front bunker. I decided to fly it 20 yards past the green and had to hit a pitch shot from the top of the hill back down which put me across the green again. Thankfully I drained the last chip shot to save a bogey.
Be warned for the water hazard that crosses the sixth fairway. My GPS told me it was 225 to clear the weeds, but the 45° weather and crosswind left the 3-wood wet. My playing partners used either a 5-iron to lay up or a driver to get across. Either/or would work, and be sure to shoot to the flag.
The seventh hole is supposed to be the toughest on the course, with a 190-220 yard downhill shot to the landing area with another 120-140 downhill shot to a large green that is supposed to be surrounded by water. Right now it’s a 5-wood, 8-iron and 3 putt with an empty marshland surrounding the green. The green itself is large, quick and protected by an olive tree grove on the high side, but not necessarily difficult. Fire at the pin to shrink the green and it should be easier.
The eighth and ninth are the first two holes where a driver can be used and target golf doesn’t come into play. With straight shots off the tee, and some rescue areas for errant shots, these two holes are only notable in that first nine ends 1-17-3 on the handicap rating.
The second nine opens up the course and transforms it from a target course to an open links style format. It felt moreso like that since the skies were gray, the grass a dormant rye, and the trees down to a bare winter bark. A quick tip from the pro on the tenth hole, aim down the left side and hit to the eighth fairway. The hole is down the left side of a longer par-5 and this takes the woods to the right out of play.
The eleventh hole is a similar go/no-go akin to the fifth. Either go with a driver to clear the waste area or a five iron to lay up short. This green is the rare front to back slope that makes the approach shot easier (when not muffed). Aim short and let the bounce/roll take care of the rest if the pin is in the middle or back, take a club and a half less if in the front.
Golfers may recognize the twelfth hole as the driving range. It’s also the only par-4 over 400 yards, with OB and access road on the left and a waste area on the right. The approach shot leaves an uphill approach guarded by a creek short, OB long and a waste collection area on the right.
A hidden bunker greets a good drive on the par-5 double dipped thirteenth. The hole is a dogleg left that heads over a hill with a bunker on the right side. The downhill second shot needs to clear a waste area for a 150 uphill shot to the green. I’m happy I parred the hole after going into the bunker, left side rough and two putted. The green is somewhat cock-eyed to the fairway as it originally called for a much more severe angle to the green, but the actual construction took a softer turn.
The next two holes are notable due to their elevated teeboxes and requiring a target shot. The fourteenth is a 195-yard par-3 that played shorter due to a tailwind and elevation change. Steve hit a 175 shot to four feet and my push found a stone-lined bunker short right and popped into the water. At least I put my chip to within a few feet and saved the bogey. The strategy for the fifteenth is easy, aim at the tree and miss. An olive grove protects the weak side and a waste area on the left. There’s also a small creek in front of the green protecting any short shots to the elongated green.
The eighteenth is a consummate finishing hole. Check the GPS as a hidden waste area lies at the 260 mark taking the driver out of play unless you can hit a 290 drive on the fly. Aim towards the 150 post for the second shot to line up an approach to the green. While hidden from the fairway, aim to the right side of the green, as the pro demonstrated the severity of the slope. All shots will collect to the right side of the 45-yard wide green, and the pro hit a couple of pitch shots towards the back left corner from 20 yards out. All of the shots trickled down most of the way of the green. Aim right and putt uphill, as each shot will collect there anyhow. The course also has a scoreboard set up behind the green, with plans to place bleachers for viewing. The scoreboard will be linked in to the on-cart scorecard so finishing groups will have their scores flashed up.
The greens truly define the course. They’re slick, sloped and large. The carts come with GPS and show distances to the front, back and pin. Pay attention to the pin location as the greens can be shrunk down by firing at them. The greens also hold shots pretty well, but anyone with a high shot will have some additional spin because of their speed and slope. You may want to club up and hit a three quarter shot into the green to minimize backspin causing the ball to slide off the front of the green. This isn’t too bad of a thing though, as uphill chips are easier shots to handle than downhill putts.
I ended up in bunkers on #1, 4, 13, 15 and 16. The sand is compact and the landscape netting pokes through in a few spots. One of the downsides of the course is a stone-in-mortar wall that affects some bunkers. There isn’t a local rule in place yet clarifying their status, whether they are an immovable obstruction, an integral part of the course or an integral part of the bunker itself. I didn’t have to hit a shot in or near the rocks, but I couldn’t imagine trying. Anyone ending up in them would need to take a drop out of the area.
A few additional notes about the course. The course has an interesting backstory, which Steve researched pretty well. Come with provisions as the clubhouse is pretty light on those. Our deal included a made to order sandwich from a local deli and additional sundries. It does, however, sell olive oil and artisan soaps. The soaps are for a planned spa facility and the oil is literally made from the olives on the course; I think we walked away with a few bottles in the end. One of the legends of the course is that the owner got into a tiff with the county and maintained his course was a agro-tourism destination and did not sell tee times. However, you could buy a bottle of olive oil and get access to the facilities which happened to include a golf course. A bottle was $100. Genius.
The 12th hole currently doubles as the practice area. A warm-up facility will be added when the course is complete, but the practice green is insufficient for players to get the full scope of the greens on the course. The speed is similar, but it lacks the different slopes, bumps and especially the distances you’ll have to putt to.
I’m not sure if it is the newness of the course, the fact they can’t advertise much due to restrictions on play or the general weather conditions, but it was wide open. One of the members of our group tried to make the tee time at 10AM, we were told it was taken and asked if we wanted the 10:15. When we showed up on the first tee, we found ourselves behind the only other group on the course for the day. Thankfully they let us play through on the first but it still took us 5 hours to finish the round.
In the end, I shot a 90 with 6 penalty strokes and 3 3-putts on the front, which accounted for too many extra strokes. This is the type of course that will humble a good golfer, and challenging enough to make me want to come back to improve and maintain a respectable score.
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