The Hills Course arrived first at Lincoln Hills Golf Club, opening in 1999 as a Billy Casper and Greg Nash design in the town of Lincoln, northeast of Sacramento in Placer County. It anchors what grew into a 36-hole public facility inside the Sun City Lincoln Hills active-adult community — and that setting is worth clarifying up front: while the surrounding neighborhood is age-restricted, the golf club itself welcomes public play, and anyone can book a tee time.

On the course

At 6,853 yards with a 72.5 rating and 131 slope, the Hills is the gentler of the club's two courses. The terrain is mostly gentle with a handful of elevation changes that keep things interesting, the routing follows a traditional out-and-back configuration, and the playing corridors run through the surrounding residential development without feeling cramped. Bentgrass greens sit atop rye and bermuda fairways, and the course's reputation rests on conditioning — reviewers consistently describe lush, well-kept fairways and tight, fast greens.

Who it suits

For golfers choosing between the two Lincoln Hills layouts, the Hills is the play when scoring and enjoyment are the priority; the longer, higher-rated Orchard Course next door is the sterner examination of the two. Mid- and higher-handicap players in particular tend to rate the Hills highly, since trouble is visible and the greens, while quick, reward a confident stroke.

Green fees include a motorized cart with GPS, and the facility backs the golf with a driving range, putting and chipping greens, a teaching academy, club rentals, and a clubhouse restaurant and bar. Combined with year-round playability in the Sacramento Valley climate, it all adds up to one of the more polished daily-fee golf experiences in the region north of the capital.

Architect: Billy Casper & Greg Nash · Opened: 1999