This is such a beautiful, peaceful, and tranquil golf course. Growing up in Carmichael, Ancil Hoffman Golf Course was the jewel of the community. And it still is. Thankfully. It has been lovingly taken care of and highly maintained to its present day perfect state of being in my opinion. Golfing at Ancil is truly a walk (or golf cart ride) along side nature and beauty. Having sooo many relatives and friends who call Ancil Golf their home course is no coincidence. They all love the Ancil history, appreciate the landscape of the course and yes the competitive spirit of the game. I have had the pleasure of walking the incredible fairways and being a ride-a-long with many a golfer. So I know the special nuisances and ambiance of the course. I was recently reminded, again, how blessed the Carmichael community is to have Ancil Hoffman Golf Course as their own very special place of joy! I returned to Ancil recently to purchase a gift card as a Christmas gift. Even though it was cold the sun was shining and the golfers were out in numbers. Turkeys and deer grazing about. And amazingly... I saw a flock of magpies flying from tree to tree. Such rare birds since the Nile virus took its toll. Made my day! The Golf Shop employees are such welcoming and professional people. I think Sam helped me with my transaction. Friendly, engaging and helpful. He thanked me for supporting Ancil Hoffman with my purchase. That is amazing! A thing of beauty is a joy forever certainly applies to Ancil Hoffman Golf Course. Come and enjoy! read more

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I gotta try this course again. It was raining, wet and somewhat miserable but not the courses fault. The holes were challenging just enough for myself (novice golfer), lined with trees, great tee boxes and not a lot of areas to lose balls. Which helps my game. It's a nice peaceful cove behind a neighborhood just next to the river. read more

BEAUTIFUL COURSE! Well maintained course . My first visit was very nice everyone was super friendly and helpful. My boyfriend usually is the one playing here while I take my walks. Definitely get a nice walk in. We've been coming back here ever since. Every visit we had we didn't feel judged, the employees and guest makes you feel so welcomed and wants you to do your best. read more

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Maureen, with all respect, are you sure you were at the right golf course mentioned just hours ago? Ancil Hoffman is a beautiful public golf course and a gem of an environment. The course is maintained exceptionally well and the staff are excellent at what they do. The brown patchy grass you referred to is Bermuda grass, it goes dormant in winter and thrives in the summer heat. Go to Northridge CC and you'll see that all their fairways are brown right now as they are Bermuda. Remember it's been winter. read more

Staff was very friendly... always a good start.. especially when you are out to have a good time! Course was fairly open and forgiving... it's a walkable course too. I plan to return. read more

Course was very well maintained. The lady who was the starter was super nice and helpful telling me a lot about the course when i mentioned it was my first time there. Would recommend this course we well priced will be coming back. read more

This course used to be so nice but no longer. The fairways are bare or patchy on every hole. The greens are bumpy and slow. The tee boxes are not maintained. It's too expensive for the poor course condition. It's very sad to see this beautiful course neglected and deteriorated. I don't see how it can be improved or restored by summer. What a shame. Someone should lose their job. Unacceptable. Maybe Lori D is correct. I'll check it out later this spring and if fairways are in good shape, I'll revise my review. But right now, the course is in poor condition and expensive. And yes, I played Ancil Hoffman Golf Course. read more

Looks like Ancil is back. The greens are beautiful, and the pace was great. Love it.. thank you read more

Following up on Feb review. Not much has changed sans the weather. That has improved the course some. Greens are very slow compared to years past, sand traps very inconsistent, they've repaved parking lot while neutering it of all shade trees, the signature #14 anthill hole is still never open and I'm not sure it's worth the 75 bucks I paid on 7/4. I'm quite sure it'll never be the course it was, but what is in the general senseof things? read more

Beautiful park. Great access to dip your feet into the river at the beach area. I say that I was disappointed with the bathrooms there was no paper towels or soap in the bathroom so make sure you have hand sanitizer. There are grills here if you wanted to do that! You can also reserve a table at this park. There is a nature conservatory with a trail we didn't go because it was too hot by 3 pm but I will be back to go it's beautiful there! read more

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Ok, I get it, 1 star is brutal for this hidden gem of a golf course. Out of my many years playing here and enjoying the well manicured course and challenging narrow fairways, I have to be even more brutal now, and here's why. I played on Friday, August 2, 2024, and I can honestly say I have never been more disappointed in how the course is being managed. July was arguably the hottest recorded month in US history for the area, but that does not excuse flooding the course, aerating in July, and laying sand all over the greens. 3 of the greens were downright unplayable, with mounds of dirt and sand on 1/3 of them. I don't know what's going on, but I'm pretty annoyed I payed nearly $70 for a round here, when I wouldn't pay a cent for how poorly the course is cared for. Cmon Ancil, get it together! This is just embarrassing, and downright wrong to charge the general public for your course management. Mather is in better shape, and that's saying something! UPDATE: Asa, I completely understand the need for damage control, and I get that your team may be trying as hard as they can, however, I am more concerned that you are still charging nearly $70 a round when the course is arguably at times unplayable due to the damage done. If anything, I would suggest taking 50% off rounds with the understanding that you are trying to Improve the playing surface, and prices would return to normal once the course has been corrected. I have played at Ancil for 2 decades and would love to continue to, but not when the course is this damaged. read more

I've always enjoyed my visits to Ancil Hoffman until recently. I was on the range with my son and the new pro started yelling and barading us from down the way. I've never been treated so rudely at any course and I've been golfing for over 20 years. read more

The course is poorly maintained and expensive. Many of the fairways are devoid of turf and you are hitting off hardpan or worse, wet mud. The tee boxes have never been in worse shape. The greens are playable, but much nicer at Haggin Oaks, Mather, or even Cordova. I can't believe I am comparing what once was one of the nicest courses in the area to Cordova. That is how bad Ancil Hoffman has degraded. Customer service is spotty at best. The cart girls spend a lot of time on their phones rather than serving golfers. read more

Beautiful golf course and nice patio event at the Main Event Bar and Grill. My husband and I had two beers from Fort Rock Brewing. The beer was a Pilsner very cold and delicious... We did not try the food, but it looked good. Service was good, location beautiful and music was the Young Harvesters a Neil Young Tribute Band. Nice nice, nice people and great music. read more

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It's unfortunate that I have had to write this, but managment needs to hear it. We had three tees starting at 11:00. There was a tourny in front of us between Ancil and Wildhawk consisting of multiple foursomes. Several of which were standing around and running their mouths instead of teeing off when called up. Our groups started 15 minutes late because of this. To add insult, we waited EVERY hole while the wanna be PGA pros screwed around. Our round took 5:44 to complete. There was no marshall or tourny director to get them moving. The bev cart was seen once at 13, so nothing was available. Without a doubt the worst playing conditions we have ever had there. It will be tough for our groups to return there unless people are informed of tournaments ahead of them. So hopefully someone in the food chain will read this and take heed. read more

A lot of goose poop and trees, but that's the charm of playing here. Greens are okay. Love the wild animals that live on the course.

Eric Eric Eric gave us the best golf experience we had in a long time he is what every golf course should have.Eric took care of us and made sure we had the best service and treatment in a long time.we had actually band this place due to rude and un professional customers service.That change today thanks to Eric he went above and beyond today we love this course but didn't like the service thank you Eric and management for giving us our best golf Experience. read more

Ancil Hoffman Golf Course - ERIC ERIC ERI THE BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE WAS BROUGHT TO US BY ERIC - Golf Near Me - Carmichael, California

This course in Carmichael is definitely not the same as what it used to be went there today with a group, all the fairways have brown patches I mean, big brown patches, and the greens are definitely not in shape at all but yet they still charge a premium rate to play along with cart what's up with that, these guys have really been sucking. I'm not sure who their maintenance people are nowadays but literally on every fairway there's huge brown patches like it's not being watered enough in the right spots. This place used to be all green everywhere. This needs a lot of help immediately and stop charging so high of premium to play there, there's a lot more course options read more

2 stars for an ice facility. Other then that the pace of play is horrible. 3 hours for 9, we quit half way through. Not fun. No Marshall's helping speed up play. Golf shouldn't take 6 hours for an 18. Sitting on a t box 10-15 mins waiting a time with 3-4 groups stacked is ridiculous. read more

Ancil Hoffman is in perfect shape. Everything from the fairways to the greens to the traps were immaculate. The rains that we have had have made AH a lush and beautiful place to play. Ancil Hoffman is one of the tougher courses in the region as it plays over 7000 yards, has tough greens, plenty of sand and virtually every hole is lined with massive trees. It hosts many of the region's amateur tournaments due to its length and difficulty. I have played it many times and last Saturday was the best shape I have ever seen it in. 16 is easily my favorite hole on the course. It plays 497 and at about 250 hundred out there is a massive Oak in the middle of the fairway. There are trees to the left and right and if you can get through that unscathed you have a postage stamp sized green surrounded by bunkers. Good Luck!! If you want a challenging, long course and don't mind playing in the trees head out to AH for an enjoyable round. read more

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If you accidentally wind up on this golf course whilst walking on a trail beware! You will be harassed by portly boomer men who will tell you that this is a "golf course and not a park." What an astute observation sir. You deserve a gold star. Why not help a fellow human out and try giving them directions out instead of opening your flapper and wasting air? read more

Course is great, albeit marshaling needs help. But the grounds keeping team should be commended for the job they do. Pro shop is another thing. I was set on buying a club today to find the sales person (name unknown) was rude and unhelpful. I made every effort as the buyer to find a solution to which I was shot down. I wasn't asking for a discount or anything free, I was ready to pay full price. It's a shame that I didn't buy from the great sales guy Robert who helped me a few weeks back- he is the standout there, assuming he's still around. Ended up cancelling my round there today and played somewhere else. Sure I'll golf here again- but they won't be getting a dime of my clubs, balls, accessories budget. read more

This course is amazing. It's usually in good shape. The greens are probably the best part. For a public and park course, the greens roll fast and true. The greens keeper can make this course play crazy hard with the right placements. The bad parts are the tee boxes and fairways. They are both not very well kept as the grass is usually long and there are many dead patches. The other downside is the general public walks around. It's kind of annoying. With this being said, it's one of my favorite courses and a must play in sac. read more

Very slow play. However the course was nice and the greens were fast, maybe a tad burnt.

Mackenzie golf course is wide open big fairways big greens. Lot of room. Still has lot of trees to deal with. Greens are tricky fast. Fairways are in great condition. Rough is not bad at all. Grip it and rip it. read more

The course is actually in really good shape. They keep it up pretty well. The only problem we had was the people working there. They all just seem like they did not like their job at all. We purchased the time through golfnow. It was included with cart but guy in front desk said it was mistake buy golfnow so we have to pay additional cart. Fee. It's your problem between golfnow and you not customers. They refused to honor even showed them confirmation email. Worst customer service ever. read more

I love this place! I've been coming here for a couple years now and Ancil is one of my favorite courses. I also take lessons here from Charles and I must say he's the man. If you want to improve your game then look no further. Take lessons from Charles. If not then enjoy this course. It's very well maintained and the greens are always just right. It's always peaceful and the staff and service is always helpful. I Love this Course! Thanks Charles for helping me with my game. I'll never be able to repay. read more

Called in once to make reservations, once to update them. Both times I mentioned that I had a buy one get one free coupon from the entertainment book, and both times they failed to mention that my coupon would be invalid (wrong time of year). I guess that could be chalked up to undertrained staff. My complaint is when I walked in, I explained my failure to read the fine print, and just positively criticized the problem where they did not mention the time of year, and the fact that i did not get a cart which would both make it invalid. The guy (Nick) working the cash register was very rude, no people or customer service skills whatsoever. He even got defensive and said "there's no way to train the staff when we have like 50 different coupons," he followed later with a very contradictory statement trying to make me look like a fool: "They all have the same dates which make them invalid..." Lol (foot in the mouth) Everyone else at Hoffman was very friendly. I even waited until Nick left the Pro shop to walk back in and by some tees from David. The course itself is awesome, I played my first round here 26 years ago. read more

Ancil Hoffman Golf Course - Deer - Golf Near Me - Carmichael, California

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Wow. Just wow. You guys may not have heard, but there's a pandemic happening. I am elated that our county has been blessed to keep golf courses operating, and I would think you would be as well. However... At check-in, the gentlemen behind the walk-up window chose to wear his mask around his chin and neck, literally failing to cover a single of his bodily orifices. Speaking of bodily orifices, this a-hole asked if I was over age 60. I'm literally 38. On the number 7 green, the Marshall drove up and announced himself as the "Covid cop." He was nice, charming and welcoming. He thanked us for practicing social distancing and for helping to keep the course open. He was a saving grace in the experience, but this begs the question... if you're able to audit your guest's behavior, why can't you start in your own pro shop? Course was in great condition, especially given the amount of play it's receiving. Thoroughly unimpressed with the pro shop staff, however. read more

Horrific Marshall and staff. Solid course but will not return due to ridiculous staff! Restaurant and cart staff was great. Never experienced such ridiculous behavior and disrespect from a golf course ever. Tons of better options in Sac. read more

We came here to use the driving range and we asked the front desk staff how long it stayed open. The boys told us that it closed at midnight and that we could just buy a ticket for the golf balls and come back later because the ticket code didn't expire until 12am. We came back after 8pm and the machine was locked up and closed. read more

Update: the manager of the course reached out to us and spoke to us about the issue. Obviously showing up to the course and not being able to play (original review) was very disappointing but it meant a lot that he took the time to reach out and hear our concerns, and he confirmed that the refund process was completed during that call. Obviously the original issue had a couple different parties involved but the follow through from the management made a huge difference in the overall experience. We have since played the course and enjoyed the round. Greens were well maintained and fairways in very good condition even with the hot weather Sacramento has been experiencing. Thank you again to the staff for their follow up with our issue. read more

This review is for the pro shop, Everyone in the pro shop is very accommodating and friendly, they anticipate what you need all the time and takes time to make sure you have what you need. The best is Golf Trainer Jimmie, it is only my second lesson with him and man I can not believe how golf can be so much better. Ever since I had my very first lesson, my game was sooo much better, he is very smart and patient with slow learners like me. If you don't get it the first time, he has endless ways and drills to make sure you're able to get it. I will keep coming back for more lessons from him, if you're thinking about getting lessons, make sure you get lessons from Jimmie! Exceptional! read more

Just left the course after 9 holes. Going to the 10th at 3 1/2 hours not because the course was busy but b/ the Marshall was not giving a shit. Call about 5 time and no one showed up. There was a hole and a half gap between the group in front of us and the group in front of them. Was told by the starter go get a replay. I was turned away and denied a replay at the pro shop. There excuse was they couldn't get a hold of the Marshall. The customer service is horrible. It sucks when you try to support a course and they just treat you like shit and don't care. Was going to set up a business tournament here but now I'll be looking somewhere else. Don't think I'll be coming back. read more

Made a tee time a week in advance to play at 2:05 on a Tuesday afternoon. Showed up and was told that the entire course (greens and fairways) had been punched the day before, something they neglected to tell us on the phone. They also said the back 9 was closed and we could play the front twice if we wanted (paying for 18, of course). Also a new piece of information. After finishing 9 and getting ready to go back to 1 to start again, we realized they put a local high school girls match off in front of us, making it virtually impossible to complete our round before dark. Pretty much the worst golf customer service ever. Plus, with the course being punched, the conditions were terrible. read more

Great course for the money and awesome views. First, on the golf side, this county course is not your mother's executive course. From the white tees, it's 6434 yards, from the blue, 6794, and the red, 5954. There are quite a few trees, so you have been warned if you have a hook or slice. Also, given the length, don't try this course as a beginner's course -- you will have a miserable time. On the weekend, it's $37 for 18 and $15 for a cart. There are discounted green fees during the week, but since I work, I wouldn't know about that. Second, the scenery. It's in the middle of a county park and you get more than your typical ducks and squirrels. There were wild turkeys near the tee box on 7, and yes, they look exactly like they do on the Wild Turkey label. Also, there was a doe and a fawn that ran right across the fairway, bounded through the green side bunker, and kept going. There are crowds on the weekend, but it's definitely a good time. I'm adding Ancil Hoffman into my rotation. read more

The course itself deserves four stars, but the way it's run drags the rating much lower. First, how on Earth does this place justify charging $61 for a round of golf? Considering the options that are in the region for half that price, the fee is ridiculous. Second, if you're going to charge that kind of price, you need to run the course like a place that merits that fee. Staff members are friendly enough, as long as all you want is a greeting in the pro shop and a kind word from the starter. If there's an issue, however, things can go a bit downhill. More on that later. On a recent round, our group teed off on time and were assured things were running to schedule. By the third hole, it was clear there was a major backup. We were on pace for a three-hour nine and a six-hour round. We completed the fourth hole and found one group on the fifth green, one standing on the tee, one sitting in their carts, and us. That's four groups on one hole. Before anything changed, the group behind us joined us, making a seldom-seen five groups on one hole. One of us phoned the pro shop to inform them a marshall was needed. "We don't have a marshall," was the reply. That certainly explained a few things. Eventually, a shop attendant agreed to ride out and see what was going on. On arrival, his priority seemed to be explaining that there was no problem. "People are just playing very slowly," was the explanation. Well, then. One of us tried to explain that "people playing very slowly" is precisely the reason a marshall is needed at peak hours, and that perhaps, if a six-hour pace is considered something to be expected, the course may be over-booked. This led only to repetitions of the employee's previous message, that the course was powerless to effect any change on pace of play. Most golfers -- and every marshall -- understands that pace of play can be speeded up tremendously by the mere presence of the marshall. He/she doesn't even have to say anything; just watch a group for a minute and the problem often eases. But at least on this day, the staff at Ancil seemed much more intent on disputing the existence of a problem than on solving it. As a hilarious footnote, on the back nine, a marshall did appear. She soared up to our group seconds after we teed off after another three-groups-on-one-hole delay and informed us that there "was a pretty serious backup" and that we needed to pick up the pace. To be clear, she informed the group AT THE BACK OF THE PACK that they needed to play faster. In 40+ years of playing golf, that was a new one for me. When you're waiting on the group in front of you, and they're waiting on the group in front of them, who is waiting on the group in front of them... and someone tells you there's a backlog, you can either laugh or cry. We chose to laugh. It's a pity this place isn't run better, because the course itself is beautiful. read more

Phenomenal course! Arguably the best municipal course in Northern California. I grew up learning how to play the game here, so I've recorded a few hundred rounds on Hoffman, and it's just as fine of a course now as it was the day I stepped onto the first tee for the first time. There's only water in play on the 3rd, 4th, and 10th hole (and really only in play on the 3rd and 10th if you absolutely shank your tee shot to the right). But the abundance and density of the trees on the course can add strokes to your score very easily. The course has undergone some recent changes over the last couple of years (adding a gold tee box to stretch it to 7009 yards, reworking the 14th hole), It was a challenging round from the previous back tees, but from the new tips, it's an absolute beast. This is epitomized by the 16th hole. The new tees make this a 495 par 4 with a slight dogleg right and a massive oak tree in the center of the fairway. The fairway itself is guarded by what is basically a miniature forest on both sides, so straying off by even just 15 feet will essentially have you resigned to playing for bogey. One of the other pluses of the course for me is the fact that it's a rather well-draining coarse, compared to others in the area. So during the winter, when you get an itch to play after a storm has passed through the area, you're not going to be worried about having to trudge through a muddy bog. I could probably go on for paragraphs singing praise for this course. However, I think I'll just wrap it up by saying: if you want a challenging round of golf in beautiful surroundings, you should definitely book a tee time here. read more

Played here again on 5/3/14 and took advantage of the online special again direct from their website. I'm writing an update because I had another better than average experience here. It started with my check in and asking for a course guide. The guys at the desk said they were out. Well, a few minutes later as I was out at the driving range Justin from the clubhouse comes chasing me down with a player guide in his hand. Talk about being super impressed! I'm not a big wig or nobody super special. I'm just your average joe blow golfer and I felt like I was VIP. Loren even remembered me from my last visit a few weeks back. Today Loren was the starter and he worked around my foursome being twenty minutes late for our tee time with a smile. You can play many golf courses in Sacramento but nowhere have I experienced the level of customer service I get here at Ancil. This has become my favorite course because of their service and the beautiful course filled with deer, geese, and some wild dog looking coyote thing I saw scrambling across the fairway. Oh I noticed the brand spanking new golf carts this time out too! I highly recommend Ancil Hoffman golf course where everyone is treated VIP style! read more

Went in for a "Couples Private Lesson Package". Pete was our golf pro instructor and he was SO good and so patient. I wish there was water close by the driving range but overall not crowded and the lesson was useful. read more