Manteca was the place to be this past weekend for golfers with aspirations of climbing the amateur ranks of the California golf scene.

Manteca Golf Course hosted the 36th Annual Manteca City Stroke Play Golf Championship over Saturday and Sunday. Ideal weather conditions, ample turnout and quality golf made the annual Northern California showcase a definite success.

The tournament took on its onset back in 1977 when the Manteca Golf Course brain trust decided it was a quality opportunity to develop and put on the tournament. Over the past 36 years, the tournament has practically taken on a life of its own.

Golfers from all over the region showed up to the par-72 course in hopes of gaining Northern California Golf Association points for the season’s schedule. A victory in the individual stroke play tournament lands a player 125 points for their NCGA total.

The course was in pristine condition throughout the two-day event, setting up scoring opportunities for players playing well in each day’s rounds.

“This time of the year is when everything is growing well, so if the course is ever going to be in great shape this is the time,” Manteca Golf Course’s Alan Thomas said. “May, June and July is usually the best times of the year for us. We have a great maintenance crew and those guys work hard and get the course in great shape.

“(It is) much better than other public golf courses.”

The tournament has been a platform for some of the state’s best golfers throughout its history. Over the past 30-plus years anywhere from 80 to 150 golfers have been committed to the tournament. Local players who just want to see where their games’ measure up, to amateur players with hopes and dreams of playing professionally.

The tournament was geared down into three flights, with the Championship Flight for scratch golfers, the First Flight for the 1-12 handicaps, and the Second Flight for all the 13-and-up handicaps in the tournament.

“The more known the tournament’s become, the more popular it is amongst the best players in Northern California,” Thomas said. “So having this tournament for 36 years, we’ve had a lot of exposure and we’ve got players coming from all over; they come from quite a distance to play this event. We send out about 1,400 entries to players who have played in our tournament in the past.

“We are definitely happy with the turnout; a lot of good players.”