Poplar Creek Golf Course

Raised nearby, used to hop the fence and jump into the waterways to get the golfballs to take home, clean them up and then resell to golfers,
the Marshall was heavy and slow, so out running him was easy.
From breaking in with my brothers and their friends was great fun and now I play this course with my wife so many years later (with a smile).
It’s changed for the better but still miss the Sand Bar restaurant.
So many people play golf in a rush or get upset when «times» are not perfect.
I really don’t care how long it takes to tee off or the length of play.
Glad to be alive and enjoying life.

I like Poplar Creek. When my golf game is in a rut, and I need a pick-​me-​up, Poplar is a good course to go to to get it back on track. Sure, it is an easy muni course, but at least you can get some exercise and walk the course while shooting a low score. I think my lowest score here was an 81 or 82 and I’m a 16.7 handicap. Course is usually in decent condition, and although it can be a little pricey, it is located on the peninsula so you don’t have to drive very far.

Another 25 round logged. I must say the pace of play is fine, the place is getting greener, the staff from June to Mark to the bar to the pro Jeremy are always awesome! Excited for the summer rounds as the rain has helped this place get plushy!

I try not to give 5 star reviews, but this course deserves it.
This review is for the golf course.
Me: 11.7 hdcp
Before going into pros and cons, I want to highlight my experience:
When I played, the par 3 hole 7 was under repair and closed. However, because the 18^th is a very deep green, they put 18^th’s flag in the front and stuck an extra flag in the back. They also added a makeshift tee box to the middle of the 18^th, and basically gave us a free makeshift par 3. I know that sounds a little silly, but it’s managements way of giving us back a hole since we missed one. Of course it’s not the same as having an actual hole, but the mere fact that they ATTEMPTED to give us our money’s worth in any way possible spoke huge volumes. And the Marshall on the 18^th approached each group and explained what they were doing. Many courses would just say screw it. We’re under repair and you knew that. But they went out of their way to make it happen AND direct traffic appropriately. This above-​and-​beyond service is what separates a good business from a GREAT one, and it’s things like these that should really be published on Unilocal.
Pros:
–Beautiful course, especially for being right in the middle of the city.
–easy to find
–strategically placed hazards in landing zones
–definitely a feel-​good course. It is a shorter course that you can get many birdie chances on if you just play smart shots instead of trying to drive the green. The green, however, *is* reachable on two holes on the front. Two of the par 5’s are also reachable in two.
–friendly staff. I read some reviews regarding rude staff, but in my two rounds here, I encountered friendliness. They also had that positive chipper «today is golf day» vibe in the pro shop that you always yearn for whenever getting ready to head to the first tee
–they have a snack shack at the turn. AMAZING. Many course designers/​builders don’t realize that just driving the cart 200 feet to the pro shop at the turn takes away precious time and slows down play. It also causes confusion for groups NOT stopping. Their snack shack is close to the clubhouse but it’s conveniently between the 9^th green and 10^th tee. You can piss, grab a beer, a hot dog, and prep for the 10^th without skipping a beat or feeling like you have to rush through the 10^th to catch back up. Oh, and they sell mini-​liquor bottles at the shack in case your round has gone bad to the point of no return. They really wanna make sure you enjoy the day. One way or another.
Cons:
–they have a restaurant and patio with seating overlooking the lake and 18^th green. There’s NOTHING better than finishing your round, eating a burger and watching people play. With beautiful scenery. This is a pro, not a con, but I couldn’t think of any cons. So here’s another pro.
Tldr version:
Come here and play. The end.

Never have written a review before. Ever.
Went here to play hookie from work one nice day and ended up not playing! Basically got kicked out for bringing my clubs into the pro shop. I know clubs, bags, etc get stolen daily from public golf courses and I have a brand new $ 600 driver. The older gentleman behind the counter suggested I put them over near the door so I could keep an eye on them. Cool. Next thing I know the head pro (who came out of nowhere) told me to take my bag outside. What? Who? I said ok. Are you going to pay me if my bag gets stolen? «NO». Well then I said I’d keep them close to me. It was then that he said that if I didn’t take them outside he would. OK big head pro I mean little 5 ft. 5 man. Take it easy. I’m just trying to watch my stuff while I pay an overpriced green fee for your course.
So then after leaving I went and tried to speak with his boss Tim. Who wasn’t avail. No biggie. I wanted to explain what had happened. Thought he should know. Left a message with NO CALL BACK. I guess Tim and Dana are best buds.
I’ve been coming here for 25 plus years. No more. I can see why other people wrote that they have a rude staff.
A suggestion to you for a future customer not me: If someone is a longtime, paying customer that wants to keep his valuable belongings close to him while he pays, why not suggest that you might watch them instead of threatening to «remove my clubs for me»? I’m sure it would have taken only a few minutes to pay. Customer care at it’s best.

The fairways are under repair but the greens were in great condition for the end of November. Played 9 on a Monday and it was $ 19. Nice little course. Get what you pay for. The clubhouse is big and seems nice. Good pro shop and there is a bar and grill on the course.

Not even close to worth the price, and I’m a San Mateo resident. The greens are bumpy, spongy, and inconsistent. I can understand the drought but even so the fairways are crap and the rough is mostly dirt or dead grass.
I can drive 20 mins farther to San Leandro, pay less, play a MUCH better course, and get breakfast lunch & 2 beers with the round! And that’s what I’ll be doing from here on out

The course is not bad. However, the staff at pro shop don’t care about service unless you are one of their buddies.

I have played this course few times and I think its pretty good. I also go to their driving range which is in decent shape. However, few days ago, I was practicing short game at one of the short game greens and a guy comes out and tells me politely that I should go to the pro shop and pay $ 6 to use the short game area. I think its ridiculous that you charge $ 6 just to use the short game area. Also, the same people who pay there to play are the ones using the short game area.

This isn’t your greatest golf course you’ve ever played but it’s a good deal and tons of fun. Very flat and easy with some trees. Usually tons of people there so get a tee time in advance. I will definitely be back to Poplar.

I’m taking refresher lessons here from Mark Roberts. This guy is great, he’s tentative and he gets to know you. He really makes the game of golf enjoyable. For the first time I think I might like this game. Mark is very patient and he knows how to explain things in a simple format that anybody can understand. My Game has improved so much. Thank you Mark.

The course was nice enough, but I have never felt so harassed by the RUDE staff as I was on Sat. Yes we had a few beginners with us and they got off to a bad stat on the first hole, but to run out of the club house and tell us to pick up the pace was just RUDE! In the end we never lost site of the group in front of us, and still managed to finish in under four hours!
I will Never play here again

We played on a Thursday afternoon at 3:30 pm. Our tee time was delayed by 7 minutes. After our first hole, we waited on every shot on the front nine. The back nine was slightly better. Needless to say it was a long round.
There were bare spots in the fairway on some holes and the greens were slow. I hope the pace of play improves in the future.
The front desk staff was friendly so that was the highlight of the day.

PACE OF PLAY IS HORRENDOUS!
Look, I lived in San Mateo for most of my adult life, I golf at least once if not twice a week and was here on Friday night for twilight and this past Saturday on ⁵⁄₉. Friday afternoon was not so bad, but Saturday was just god awful.
By the 3^rd hole, there were THREE groups of 4 waiting to tee off. That is disgusting and blasphemous for a round of golf. The Marshal enforced a «get to the green, then let the next group tee off» on the 7^th hole, which helped place a gap between the groups, but still I was appalled and how the timing was so off here.
I get it, it was Saturday. However, 12 people milling around a tee box waiting to go is just plain awful and there is no one to blame but those running the show.
Perhaps put a better spacing between the tee times would help, but in all honesty, the price of $ 49 (
) with cart at 1130 was not worth it. Id gladly pay MORE to have a shorter wait time. I mean, 10 mins between finishing the hole in our group and teeing off does not mesh well for anyone.
I am sure I was not the only one who felt this way on Saturday.
Tee time: 11:30 AM
Finished 18^th hole time: 5:45 PM
SIX F*%* HOURS.
My money is going to a different course.

Probably the worst golf course in the state. AVOID AT ALL COST.
I went to play full 18 hole course game today and they did not mention anything about some of the course was being closed. After few hours of playing, we could’t find hole 6 and 7. We were super confused and started our way back to the tee shop to ask whereabout the missing hole 6 and 7. The staffs were started to smirk and make fun of us for being lost. They didn’t apologize and only reply i got was that «we should’ve check the sign.» There were no signs. They still charged the full amount even though 2 whole course was missing.
Very unhelpful and rude staff. I have no idea why this golf club has 3 stars. this place does not even deserve one star. I’ve been to close to 50 different golf courses and this is the worst golf course I’ve ever been.

Played here on a Sat morning 8am tee time with 3 guys (paired with a random 4^th). We actually had a pleasant experience compared to what looks like poor reviews. Although we had a bad pace of play (group in front of us was playing SUPER slow) it wasnt the course’s fault as these guys were 1 – 1.5 holes behind the group in front. What was their fault as no marshal was around to reset them. Either way, we played about a 4 hour round at a pleasant pace.
Greens are actually well maintained here. We played during the aerating special but it had been 2 – 3 weeks already and we didn’t notice anything. Fairways were nice too, in fact, I found all the grass surfaces to be pretty good shape and without tons of chunks. Sand could be desired, definitely was hitting out of beach wet sand.
Greens here seem slow, so not sure if that is normal, but I was tricked a few times. The course is a safe course for most people: you won’t lose too many balls, you can drive your ball from the box and be confident if you can keep it somewhat straight you’ll be able to play the 2^nd shot. The back 9 picks up a lot more yardage than the front, and more wind.
Food prices are good on the course ($ 2.50 for hot dog, cheap soda, beer, jerky).
Overall, we had a great time and no complains.

I really used it have fun playing here but now it seems like I have less fun here than I used to. Really it just comes down to what you get for the price and inexperienced players taking a long long time on many holes. 3 groups stacked up on #2 and #3 is common, usually no Marshall in sight. Commonly you will see people waiting for the group in front to clear (especially on the drivable par 4s). Dude, you just hit your last 3 drives a total of 50 yards! Hit the ball!
This place is super convenient to me but if its not a good rate on golf now or free, I’m passing.

I can’t believe that there is now a $ 6.00 an hour charge to play at the practice facility; I.e. hitting the golf ball in the net that is 10 feet in front of you. It use to be free. What a rip off. The area is unkept and unsightly. For a public golf course there is no interest in being realistic with their prices. The fees are way to high to play 18 holes… trust me it is not worth it.
Although it is close to home, I will play elsewhere.

I’m a 10 handicap and I’ve played Poplar Creek probably 8 – 10 times per year for the last 7 years, primarily because it’s close to where I live. After today, I’m not coming back.
Quick summary…
Clubhouse/​Food: The clubhouse is decently stocked, and the restaurant serves pretty good food. Service depends on the day, best bet is to sit at the bar where you’ll get more attention than the tables.
Driving Range/​Practice Facility: No range. There is a short game practice facility available at a fee, and a putting green to warm up on (no chipping on the green though).
Course: Flat and simple. The hardest element of the course is the wind. The back 9 is tougher than the front, particularly when the wind is up. They have started planting more trees but it will be years before they really are a factor in the difficulty.
Greens: Well maintained considering how many rounds are played here, but speed of the greens varies throughout the year and tend to the slow side. More frustratingly, the speed of the greens can vary even between holes.
Fairways: Landing areas are reasonable well maintained considering how many rounds are played here, but there are significant patches of dirt on half the holes.
Bunkers: Not good. It’s a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ as to whether you will find clay during your swing and skull your ball into the face of the bunker. Regularly frustrating…
Value: Overpriced for what it is.
Tee times: They online booking system works well. Unfortunately, the starters rarely get people out on time — in my last 5 rounds, the average has been 20 – 25 minutes late, and once it was 50 minutes late.
Speed of play: Terrible… absolutely terrible. They advertise a 4 ½ hour round, but in my experience plan on at least 5 to 5 ½ on weekday afternoons, and on weekends and holidays you might even reach 6 hours. Marshals are non-​existent most weekdays.
Now to the story behind why I’m not coming back… I walked on today (Friday) at 12:50 and was given a tee time of 1:22 with another twosome. We teed off at 1:31 (I know because I sent a text message right before pulling my driver out of the bag). It then took us two hours to finish 6 holes. TWO HOURS. Every hole there were three groups stacked at the tee waiting to hit. I went to the clubhouse and asked for a rain check for the back 9 holes and they said no. I complained about the pace of play and the starter didn’t even apologize. I returned to finish the round. The front 9 took a total of 2:57 to finish. The only reason we played in 5:18 total was because multiple groups in front of us just walked off the course at the turn after being so frustrated with the constant waiting.
At the end of the round, I again complained to the starter. He proceeded to tell me that I didn’t tee off at 1:31 (he said I teed off at 1:45 which is not true). When I asked why there weren’t any marshals, he said there were (none of the three groups in front of us nor our group saw one in over 5 hours and trust me, we were ALL looking for one). I explained that I played Poplar regularly and this is a constant problem… his answer? «Yeah, well, that’s kind of how it is.»
At a minimum, an apology for pace of play should have been forthcoming, and instead I got told that I was wrong about my start time and how long the round took. So much for customer service… These 8 – 10 rounds a year are going to be spent at a different course from now on.

I really liked this course. Nice and flat, plays long with only a few par-​3s. The fairways were a bit mushy in spots today, but that can only be expected after the rain we just had this week.
There were THREE tournaments this morning, so there was a bit of a back-​up. I think we teed off about a half an hour after our original time. The front 9 was slow, but things were moving pretty nicely on the back.
The overall layout wasn’t superbly challenging, which is why I like it. We played five and a half hours today, and it felt like it. Play a championship course and that same five and a half hours feels like 24. It’s easily walkable — my legs are still throbbing. But, of course, in a good way.