It was opening weekend in the Bay Area for a time-honored, slow-paced sport involving a small white ball that’s struck hundreds of feet into the air on sunny afternoons.
And we don’t mean baseball.
Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda unveiled its North Course to the public Saturday as part of a long-awaited plan to add another PGA Tour-level course designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. to Bay Farm Island.
“Our job — as stewards of this land for decades to come — is to do meaningful, long-lasting work that provides the highest-quality golf destination, and also leverages this amazing community asset to create broad benefits for everyone,” said Greenway Golf President Umesh Patel.
Golfers attend the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Moby, an amaltipoo dog, waits for a ride with her owner Melissa Brown, of Oakland, during the North Course unveiling ceremony is over at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Internationally renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. speaks from the tee 10 during the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under Robert Trent Jones Jr., Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Greenskeepers watch the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Internationally renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. is interviewed during the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under Robert Trent Jones Jr., Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golfers attend the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golfer Melissa Brown, of Oakland, and her amaltipoo dog, Moby, get ready to play golf as soon as the North Course unveiling ceremony is over at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Internationally renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. and golfers celebrate after he swung from tee 10 during the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under Robert Trent Jones Jr., Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
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Golfers attend the North Course unveiling ceremony at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2025. The project was made under the Internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Course Architects. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Corica Park is a 333-acre golf facility leased by Greenway Golf Associates (GGA) in 2012 to operate two 18-hole courses, a 9-hole course, a driving range and a clubhouse on Bay Farm Island. GGA hired award-winning golf architect Rees Jones to revitalize the South Course in 2018. Golf Magazine deemed the course the “best municipal course renovation” and one of America’s best city-owned courses in 2021.
In 2023, GGA hired Jones’ brother, Robert Trent Jones Jr., to oversee the multi-million dollar renovation of the North Course that began in June 2023. Friday’s opening marks the second time the Joneses have had adjacent designs at the same golf club, and the first time at a public facility.
The North Course will feature greens similar to courses in Australia and Scotland, with rolling fairways that offer a firm and fast play style to challenge golfers’ strategy on the course, GGA said in a press release.
“The beauty about Scottish golf is that it’s played on the ground. Part of this philosophy is integrating interesting contours in the fairway,” said Mike Gorman of RTJ II Golf Course Design.
The grand opening to the public will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29; the public will have the opportunity to walk the back nine and putt on new greens. Food, drink, music, and other recreational activities will be offered as part of a community day for the public.
“Corica Park—like all municipal golf courses and open public spaces—belongs to everybody,” Patel said.
