Salinas Fairways Golf Course opened in 1957 on roughly 140 acres adjacent to the Salinas Municipal Airport in the Salinas Valley. The course was designed by Jack Fleming, the Irish-born architect who served as San Francisco's longtime golf course superintendent and was a protégé of Alister MacKenzie. Fleming designed dozens of Northern California courses between the 1930s and 1960s, including the Fleming 9 at TPC Harding Park, Gleneagles at McLaren Park, and Almaden Golf & Country Club. Salinas Fairways is one of his Monterey County contributions, built as a municipal course for the City of Salinas.

On the course

The layout is a par-72 regulation course that plays roughly 6,784 yards from the back tees, with a rating of 71.9 and a slope of 119. The terrain is largely flat valley floor, making the course easy to walk, and the routing sits between the Gabilan Hills to the east and the Pacific influence to the west. Fairways and greens are Kikuyu grass, a warm-season turf common to coastal California municipal courses. Water and sand hazards are in play on several holes, but the greens are large and only slightly undulating, keeping the course accessible to mid- and high-handicap players.

Who it suits

In 1998 the city invested more than $3.1 million in a renovation overseen by architect Stephen Halsey, who rebuilt the irrigation system, added new lakes, and upgraded the practice facilities, cart paths, and parking. Halsey's other California work includes Coronado Municipal, Balboa Park, Palo Alto Golf Course, and Modesto Municipal. The course is operated under a long-term partnership between the City of Salinas and Sierra Golf Management.

Salinas Fairways suits walkers, beginners working through clinics and lessons, and Monterey-area golfers looking for a full-length round at a municipal price point rather than the resort rates of the Peninsula.

Architect: Jack Fleming · Opened: 1957