We’ve been living in Santa Rosa for a few months now and I’ve played The Fountaingrove Club several times. The course isn’t long, measuring only 6,940 yards from the Black tee, but there is a lot of undulation and some long walks between holes. Yesterday I asked Erik Omlid, one of our Young Executive members, if he wanted to play golf. He likes to walk and was up for the challenge! When I got to the course, he was already there… He had already played 9 holes!
The tee sheet was pretty busy, but we were able to sneak out around noon. When we got to the first tee, I started tracking my steps. After our round, I felt like I had walked a lot more than I did. The front 9 ended up being 7,258 steps/3.23 miles. I will say, the front 9 is a much easier walk than the back. But I honestly felt I had walked more than that. Must be the back and forth and the undulation. That, or the fact I couldn’t find a fairway to save my life!
In the past I would carry my clubs, but we offer complimentary push/pull carts here at The Fountaingrove Club. Erik and I grabbed one of those and it really does make a difference. The golf carts have GPS and USB ports, but Erik has a rangefinder and I use an app on my phone to track distance.
After 9 holes we headed to the top of the hill for the best view in Santa Rosa. That view is the photo I used for this blog post. The hole is incredible, and while I made double bogey (I made three during this round, but who’s counting?) the view makes up for it. The hole measures 370 yards from the Green tee. With danger left and water right, I tend to hit 3 wood here. My tee shot went left into the junk. From there I punched a 4 iron to the right side of the fairway leaving only 65 yards to the pin. I missed the green left, hit a horrible bunker shot and walked away with a double. Like I said, I’d rather not talk about it.
The walk from 16 green to 17 tee is intense. When we made it to the top, I was out of breath staring at a 200+ yard shot straight downhill over water. I missed the green right and hit a great bunker shot, but missed the putt. It’s crazy how I remember every shot from my round… Even the bad ones.
When we finished 18, I looked and the back was 8,408 steps/3.74 miles for a grand total of 15,656 steps/6.97 miles. Based on how I felt, I am shocked it wasn’t more, but again, the undulation plays a part in that. It’s nice that we allow walking at The Fountaingrove Club, and I would highly encourage you walk the next time you play.
After golf Erik invited us over for dinner. We started off with a charcuterie board before enjoying burgers, fries, onions and asparagus. The burgers were incredible. He didn’t make your average cheeseburger. He made us O.M.G. burgers from Oliver’s Markets. SO good I can’t wait for my next one. After dinner we played Mario Golf and listened to some music. It was the perfect way to end the day.
I hadn’t written a “How many steps?” blog post in a while, but with so many golf courses in the Bay Area, I might have to start writing more of these. I enjoy doing them and always burn a lot of calories while walking a golf course. What course should I walk next?
