Whitney Oaks Golf Club opened for play in 1997 on land that was once part of the Whitney Ranch, a 19th-century Rocklin sheep operation established by George Whitney in 1857 and expanded to roughly 20,000 acres by his son Joel Parker Whitney. The course was designed by Johnny Miller with Santa Rosa-based architect Fred Bliss, and was completed by Live Oak Enterprises after the original Landmark Land Development project (Stanford Oaks) was abandoned in the early 1990s due to financial troubles.

On the course

The routing covers a 250-acre canyon-like valley in the Sierra Nevada foothills that was once vineyards and orchards. The 18-hole layout plays around 6,800 yards from the back tees, with bentgrass greens, dramatic elevation changes, narrow fairways lined with live oaks, and granite outcroppings that frame several greens. Water or wetlands come into play on every hole, and seasonal creeks cut through riparian habitat populated by deer, wild turkeys, beavers, and waterfowl. Each tee box offers five sets of markers to accommodate a wide range of skill levels.

Who it suits

One of the course's most unusual features sits near the 11th green: a granite pyramid mausoleum that Parker Whitney built for his family, adjacent to Joe's Fort, a 40-foot enclosure of piled native granite boulders that still show bedrock mortars used by the Nisenan to grind acorns. In 2005, BrightStar Golf Group took ownership and softened the course through green reshaping, expanded fairways, and improved green surrounds; the club came under new ownership again in 2023. Whitney Oaks suits shotmakers who favor strategy over distance — players comfortable with forced carries, sloping greens tucked behind rock, and tight tree-lined corridors will get the most out of it.

Architect: Johnny Miller · Opened: 1997