Kern River Golf Course
CA 93308, California · 18 holes · par 70 · Public. Opened 1951.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 570 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 149. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 8, where the green sits 50 ft above the tee and plays about 17 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 2, where the green sits 25 ft below the tee and plays about 8 yards shorter.
- Driving-zone hazards sit on the left on 3 holes and on the right on 1: a tee shot missed left costs more here.
- 14 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Blue | White | Red | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 9 | 525 | 514 | 409 | 417 |
| 2 | 3 | 17 | 136 | 129 | 105 | 120 |
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 471 | 458 | 353 | 359 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 454 | 436 | 347 | 415 |
| 5 | 4 | 15 | 293 | 283 | 268 | 270 |
| 6 | 3 | 13 | 158 | 147 | 134 | 136 |
| 7 | 4 | 5 | 389 | 384 | 287 | 312 |
| 8 | 5 | 7 | 536 | 528 | 406 | 416 |
| 9 | 3 | 11 | 195 | 180 | 144 | 148 |
| 10 | 4 | 18 | 380 | 375 | 360 | 363 |
| 11 | 3 | 4 | 233 | 223 | 130 | 135 |
| 12 | 4 | 10 | 359 | 351 | 337 | 339 |
| 13 | 4 | 8 | 335 | 328 | 316 | 319 |
| 14 | 4 | 2 | 458 | 440 | 382 | 430 |
| 15 | 4 | 12 | 369 | 362 | 265 | 265 |
| 16 | 4 | 14 | 386 | 378 | 363 | 365 |
| 17 | 3 | 6 | 223 | 219 | 141 | 206 |
| 18 | 5 | 16 | 535 | 510 | 402 | 408 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Male | 6435 | 70.5 | 120 |
| White | Male | 6245 | 69.4 | 118 |
| Red | Female | 5342 | 70.1 | 117 |
| Gold | Male | 5242 | 64.9 | 107 |
Hole 1 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 519-18 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 508 · 525 · 537front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 24yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 32 ydswide at 253
- Green slope
- 1.5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker right: 238 to reach, 252 to carry
- Bunker left: 463 to reach, 474 to carry
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 6 yards shorter: the green sits 18 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 209 yards.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 238 to reach, 252 to carry. Drives that finish short of 238 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 32 yards wide at 253.
- Best lay-up: 70 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 32 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back to front, about 1.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 128-25 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 128 · 136 · 147front · middle · back
- Green size
- 23 × 29yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 2%falls to the right
In play
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 8 yards shorter: the green sits 25 ft below the tee.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from left to right, about 2%. Finish on the right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 473+5 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 455 · 471 · 484front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 20yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 37 ydswide at 244
- Green slope
- 3%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Dogleg right at about 264 yards.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 37 yards wide at 244.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back to front, about 3%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 46 · Par 37 · Par 48 · Par 59 · Par 310 · Par 411 · Par 312 · Par 413 · Par 414 · Par 415 · Par 416 · Par 417 · Par 318 · Par 5
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 23 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 2 par-5 lay-up zones
One-time purchase, no account needed. It unlocks in this browser; lost access? Email [email protected] with your receipt. Or join the free beta and get every course in the app.
Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].