Posted on August 2, 2018July 30, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Recap: Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California

Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club

Dinuba, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

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Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California Hole 1 Green-side

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Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California Hole 13

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Great time Wednesday teeing it up at 3:30pm with GK’ers Alex326, cencalhack, rgm2525 and CenCalGolfer33. Finished in 4 ½ hours. Would have been quicker but we let some singles and a twosome play through.

The Review

Golf course was in excellent condition. Fairways a 10 for me. So lush with perfect lies all day. Greens were in great shape although very soft so there were many marks since each shot left a big ball mark and too many golfers decided not to fix theirs. Never bad enough to impact your putting much but hurt to look at the scares on such nice greens. Last time I played the golf course the greens were firm so this was a change. Also they were faster last time but given the forecast is 10 days of 100+ temps, I understand the need to keep them a little longer. Tees super lush in great shape. Rough, oh boy, you don’t was to find the secondary rough, its very long fescue and unless you get lucky your ball is bye-bye lost. The primarily berumada rough was just cut so we got fortunate because with all the heat and humidity I could see it being brutal sticky difficult to hit from under normal circumstances. The bunkers greenside in good shape with quality sand. The fairway bunkers pretty firm which I don’t mind.

Personal Thoughts

I love this golf course. The layout is a blast. Great ball striker grip and rip track. Ample room to find the fairway but spray a shot, any shot, the golf course makes you pay big time with very tough bunkers and as mentioned very difficult rough. The greens are challenging yet fair. Nice, big and undulated. There is not one let down hole. I wish this golf course was not 3+ hours from me but I gladly make a day trip once or twice a year to play it from SoCal. Treat yourself to this gem one day.

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Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California Hole 4

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Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California Clubhouse & Practice Area

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Practice facilities are very large and loaded with everything. They even have a some dedicated wedge zones with green complexes. It’s awesome.

Restaurant is excellent with a view of the 9th hole. This was the first time I did not eat there when playing the golf course because we finished so late.

Staff very friendly and professional.

Check out the photos I just posted. We played under a red sun due to the fire near Yosemite – however smoke did not effect the day, it was high in the atmophere.

Highly recommended.

Posted on August 1, 2018July 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Aviara Golf Club Carlsbad California

Aviara Golf Club

Carlsbad, CA

Reviewed by: rn4nz, Oceanside

Played today with friend at 1pm on a GolfNow deal at the twilight rate of $170, which is a steal for this track at that time.

The Review

Short and simple since a reviewed it a few months back.

Tee boxes, fairways, greens, sand and rough are ALL immaculate, as usual here.

There WERE a couple greens that were sanded and mini punched, which still played fine. Disappointed nobody mentioned but not enough to complain about. Other than that though, greens we’re soft and receptive to all approaches but still rolling true and pure, and fast fast fast. Perfect elite level stuff, as usual.

By FAR AND AWAY the biggest difference from last visit was the rough, which played more reasonably difficult than the next to impossible it had prior. Not only was it much shorter, but more importantly it was MUCH THINNER than they had it set up for the LPGA’ers. Right now it’s a great test, but you can still FIND YOUR BALL AND HAVE A CHANCE TO REACH THE GREEN. Couldn’t say that before, it was simply TOO DEEP AND THICK for the amateur.

Final Thoughts

Service was ELITE again, everyone over the top friendly and professional.

It’s ridiculously expensive on rack rate, but this course will NOT disappoint.

World. Class. Golf.

Posted on July 31, 2018July 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review San Juan Oaks Golf Club Hollister California

San Juan Oaks Golf Club

Hollister, CA

Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca

I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I’ve played here. SJO is always a blast to play and the conditions never disappoint. The wind was up this afternoon making club selection a challenge on the already difficult (but fun) back 9. Greens rolled true and as I’ve said before seem to be the perfect blend between manageable yet challenging. They were rolling a little slower than usual (especially the front 9). I only encountered one un-repaired pitch mark.

The Review

Fairways were near perfect An easy 9/10. Just a perfect dark green lush playing surface that always presented a great lie. There were a couple of small areas that the wild boars had dug up. This course runs into that every so often. The two fairways that had been hit by the pigs were already under repair. The only dry thin area I found on the entire course was a patch on the 18th fairway near the dogleg bend, and it was about the size of a dining room table.

Tee boxes were excellent as well. Most were super lush and all were level. A couple of the par 3’s had some divots but still no issues finding a clean hitting surface.

I avoided sand traps all day so I can’t really comment, but usually they are the weak link of the track. Service is always friendly. I walked up without a reservation and the gal at the pro shop told me if I didn’t want to hit any range balls, I could quickly get out before a foursome was going to tee off in about 5 minutes. Talk about having your wits about you! It was nice to see that she was aware that the course was wide open and encouraged me to “rush” out to get in front of a foursome.

Parting Thoughts

I had clear sailing with a wide open course until I ran into a twosome on the 16th.

With so many great courses only 20-30 minutes away SJO is easily overlooked, but absent views of the ocean, it is right up there with the best of them.

Posted on July 30, 2018July 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Troon North Golf Club MONUMENT Scottsdale Arizona

Troon North Golf Club (Monument)

Scottsdale, AZ

Reviewed by: sdscratchorbust, Scottsdale
Played here last night at 4:00.

To give the course a fair shake it appears the course has seen some effects from the recent monsoons.

The Review

The greens are surprisingly soft this time of year. Most likely from all the recent rain. They were rolling a medium to medium fast. However the greens have seen a lot of play. They have been pelted. The front nine greens are the worst. They are beat up with ball marks. At first I thought it was because people weren’t repairing their ball marks but then as the round progressed I noticed almost every pitch was leaving a divot and they were very difficult to repair due to the soft moist greens. Only this half is open and coupled with the monsoon softness the greens are heavily devoted.

The bunkers are superb here, consistent high quality. Not fluffy but very evenly maintained. The tee boxes are moderately worn too. They were lumpy and have the divots of a lot of plays. Some uneven tees but nothing dramatic. Fairways were lush because of the rain but there were lots of damaged areas. Fairways are a little beat up. Lots of residiual brown areas from when it was dried out before the rain. Also it appears they dug holes and added additional drains in low area of some fairways to help it drain so there is some damage from those.

Fortunately most of the damaged, heavily played holes were in the front half of the opening nine. Once you made the turn, and especially once you climbed to the mountain holes it gets pure. The Bermuda has grown in nicely in the shaded holes and fairways were lush on those holes.

Additional Comments

I can see why people either love or hate this course. Although I disagree with those who hate it. This course is desert golf that embraces the extreme. The monument rock in the middle of the fairway is sweet. The lava rocks sprinkled in the approaches is an awesome visual effect. The opening 9 is nothing too special past the first 3 holes but once it makes the turn uphill on the back nine this course is absolutely spectacular. The 12th, 14th and 15th holes are world class amazing holes. The 15th is absolutely stupid beautiful and amazing with it’s views.

I do agree 18th could use a little more substance as it’s quite easy. I personally love the minimalist finish. It’s the perfect complement to the first. The first hole is on the ridiculous side and makes you nervous about what you are about to embark on, then the 18th is an easy landing back to reality after the breathtaking finish to this course.

Final Thoughts

It’s the adult big brother to the Boulders in my opinion. The greens aren’t overly difficult. The course isn’t too tight and the approaches aren’t overly demanding. You have to play this course in control and strategic and can’t go driver every hole. The course isn’t too long and the short par 4’s balance out the two long 470+ plus ones which are quite demanding.

This is far and away the best course I’ve played out here and it is a must play to any golfer. I think it’s a spectacular display of golf course design and ingenuity.

This is a course I will pay to play during winter to see it in mint condition as it would be worth the winter rates.

Posted on July 29, 2018July 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Tahoe Donner Golf Course Truckee California

Tahoe Donner Golf Course

Truckee, CA

Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA

Took a side trip to Truckee for the final day of my 1K adventure. You’ll see why in my next review. The morning warm-up round was at Tahoe Donner. I was able to line up a media rate thanks to my blog, so it was well worth it at $65 instead of the normal in-season $100+ rack rates here and everywhere else in town. We teed off at 7:30 as a twosome (third group out), but played through the 2 foursomes ahead. We had the back nine to ourselves. We weren’t in any huge rush, but even “slow playing” we were done in about 3 hours.

The Review

The course is in nice summer condition. It is very lush and green throughout here. Tee boxes good. Fairways very good for the most part. A few weak spots here and there, along with a number of roped off GUR areas where they have laid down new sod. Rough lush, but generally not too penal. Greens very soft and receptive, rolling at medium speeds. Speed really varies here whether you are above or below the hole. Uphill putts pretty slow while downhill putts could be fairly slick. I wasn’t in any bunkers, but they looked to be very well maintained.

Final Thoughts

This is a very enjoyable and pleasant overall layout. It doesn’t feature any huge changes in elevation (except maybe the drive on 18), but it rolls up and down through the trees with a beautiful mountain golf setting. Very scenic as one would expect in Truckee. Layout mostly right out in front of you and not overly challenging (perhaps depending on what tees you play). Still with plenty of character. It doesn’t get the notoriety as some other Tahoe courses get, but it’s a solid course that I would easily recommend to most.

Posted on July 28, 2018July 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Coyote Hills Golf Course Fullerton California

Coyote Hills Golf Course

Fullerton, CA

Reviewed by: ocgolfer19, Lake Forest

Played late Wednesday evening as a single, teeing off around 5:00 pm. $15.00 rate using my players club membership, which also included a drink.

Overall the course is in pretty good shape. The greens were a bit bumpy that late in the day, but not too bad. Fairways were good, mostly green, great coverage. Tee boxes level and clean. Typical divots on par 3s, especially that late in the day.

Only played nine holes (got hungry), and pace was about 2 hours for the 9.

This is only the 2nd time playing here, and I thought it was a bit easier this time having a better idea of where to aim and proper club selection. No grip it and rip it here.
Unfortunately my family and work commitments only allows for infrequent golf, and I’ve decided 9 holes late in the evening is better than nothing, so I’m sure I’ll be back out here a few more times during the summer. Can’t beat the price for this course.

Posted on July 26, 2018July 18, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Peacock Gap Golf Club San Rafael California

Peacock Gap Golf Club

San Rafael, CA

Reviewed by: BSF, Novato, CA

Quick note about Marin County Golf: There are 3 18-hole, public golf courses and as with the real estate around here, the prices are not commensurate to the quality of the product. You pay 30 – 35% more for arguably inferior tracks than surrounding counties (excluding San Francisco). If you are a bang-for-your-buck golfer, you might want to skip Peacock Gap & Marin County entirely and play some of the stellar courses in the neighboring counties (i.e. Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa).

The Review

That being said, Peacock Gap has definitely stepped up its game in the past few years & has become a quality place to play. They have an all-grass range, a comprehensive practice area , and an excellent restaurant/bar. they have really improved the course, from the tee boxes, to the bunkers, and especially the greens over the past 2 years or so. It’s a very short course (less than 6,300 yds from the Back Tees), with mainly wide fairways & receptive greens. Definitely a great place to shoot a low number, however it is not a cupcake. There are little tidal creeks woven throughout the course & come into play on most holes. Holes 2, 5, 9, 11, 17 & 18 all require your attention & the greens, which used to be slow & flat are medium-fast & undulating.

A note on the greens: They were originally slow, flat & a joke (pre-2000), they then tricked them up like Mini-Golf around 2005 or so (some of the older pictures on this site show the “half-pipe” or “Taco” greens), however within the last 10 years, they converted all of the weird ones back to actual ones you can putt. They also hired the greens keeper from the Meadow Club (GD top 20 Course in California) to work his magic: shaggy, slow & fungal became smooth & medium-quick & a pleasure to putt.

Parting Thoughts

I played an afternoon round on 7/6. The majority of the tee boxes were lush & flat. The fairways were nice, thin in a few places (especially #14), but that was the exception rather than the rule. The rough was lush & fair, although there are a couple of areas where they let the rough grow up so much that if you hit into them, odds are you will not find your ball. I found my way into a couple of bunkers & they were acceptable. The greens were smooth & rolling medium-fast. PoP was 4 & Change, but not expecting much on a beautiful Friday Afternoon. The staff was friendly & very accommodating.

Posted on July 25, 2018July 18, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Rustic Canyon Golf Course Moorpark California

Rustic Canyon Golf Course

Moorpark, CA

Reviewed by: weber, coto de caza

Golf Course Playing Conditions 6.53 GOOD

Had not played here in quite a while (Over 5 years) so was excited to return. I’ve never played well at this course, and sad to admit, today was no different. Without local knowledge, it was a real struggle for our entire foursome.

Great pace of play – teed off at 8:30am and never waited once. In all fairness, our group played collectively so poorly, I’m not surprised we never caught the twosome in front of us, but then again, we were never caught by the riding twosome behind us. ( We are all walkers & seniors)

I was disappointed in the areas surrounding the greens which had been recently punched. Because of the “furrows” it created, made it nearly impossible to putt from off the greens, which is the most unique feature of this course Greens were just OK, but much too slow for my taste. I know this course is highly regarded by almost everyone, but while it certainly is a wonderful track, for me to make the 110+ mile drive, there are other courses I would choose to play. (La Purisima tomorrow being one of them)