Posted on

Golf Course Review St. Marks Golf Club San Marcos California

St. Mark Golf Club

San Marcos, CA

Reviewed by: demarv04, Phoenix
On vacation in the area and chose to play St. Mark this year based on some recent GK reviews. Paid $45 with tee time and range balls. The practice area is large with plenty of space. Range balls are limited flight.

We were paired up with another player from the area and he was a very friendly and big help around our first time on the course.

The Review

Golf Playing Conditions 7.18 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.18 GREAT

The course was in good shape overall. Tee boxes were consistent with really no bad spots or severe divot damage. Fairways were good with a few bare spots but nothing to make the course unplayable. The greens were a highlight to me being very soft and receptive to shots. I was only in one trap but the sand was nice and a bit on the wet side. I had to adjust to actual sticky rough around the greens as we don’t get too much of that in AZ.

As previous reviewers have said, the course is not going to kill you with length or forced carries. One par 5 was playing close to 600 yards but for the most part all the holes were playable from appropriate tees. Par 3s were of varying length which I enjoy as were the par 4s. Some driver holes some no driver holes. Fun dogleg holes where being able to shape your tee shot helped but wasn’t necessary. The course is mostly wide open with a couple water holes.

Additional Thoughts

The price and fun factor made this course very enjoyable to play and I would recommend it to the GKers who live in the area.

Posted on

Recent Golf Course Review Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club

Carmel Mountain Ranch CC

San Diego, CA

Reviewed by: lookylookitzadam, San Diego, CA

Golf Playing Conditions 5.24 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 5.24 GOOD

Played out here on 6/29/18 at 110am as CMR sent me an email to come out and play for free since the course is closing on July 8th, 2018 due to the inability to make profits and rising water costs. Previously I never really cared for this course even though it is only 10 minutes from home, however this time I thoroughly enjoyed myself so I am sad that it is closing.

Greens:

The greens were surprisingly soft and rolling very nicely. I had several plugged shots on the green on Friday which I did not care for. Where ball marks were repair correctly, the greens rolled very true and with a decent speed.

Fairways:

Fairways were so bare that I was easily getting 30-40 yards of roll-out on tee shots. Approach shots from the fairways were also difficult since it was almost like hitting out of a hard-pan waste area in some spots. If there was grass within a club length of a ball in the fairway we all decided to play it as “ground-under-repair” and place it on the grass. (Not official I know, but this was just a fun round).

Bunkers:

Lots of the bunkers looked so hard but the ones I found were all green-side and played nicely. They had about 2″ of sand and were well maintained.

Rough:

There is no rough…literally no rough. In place of rough you get pine straw or crushed rock; this makes for a really horrible sinking feeling when you stripe your tee shot (don’t forget about that extra 40 yards of roll-out) and watch you ball run all the way through the landing area, catches the “rough” and then accelerates way off the fairway.

Course isn’t worth checking out in its final days unless you haven’t played it (check it out, its really interesting layout but lined with houses) or you want to relive some nostalgic moments (but only if your memories come from before all the turf reductions from what I have been told)

Editor’s Note:  It’s confirmed that Carmel Ranch will be closing soon.  Now is the time to enjoy the course before it goes away for good this coming July 8.  Click HERE for the article.

Posted on

Golf Course Review Las Sendas Golf Club Mesa Arizona

Las Sendas Golf Club

Mesa, AZ

Reviewed by: sdscratchorbust, Scottsdale
Played here Saturday Morning POP 5 hours. Played a hot deal for $35

The Review

Golf Course Conditions 7.56 GREAT
Golf Course Conditions 7.56 GREAT

Definitely a poster child course for what you imagine as a Phoenix / Scottsdale desert golf course in the hills. The course is a little dried out as to be expected this time of year. Brown spots in fairways, some dried out area of elevated greens with no cover. The par three tee boxes have a lot of divots. The course is set for aeration next week so these are all standard leading up to a little course TLC.

Aside from the minor blemishes this is a fabulous course. It circles around a couple peaks of a mountain. The par threes here are heavenly. They are all of the shorter variety but are mostly elevated greens into a green cut into the mountain. Some very fun dogleg water holes such as 1 and 18.

The first starts off with the choice of hitting a long iron / hybrid left avoiding the water leaving a 200 yard shot or flying the water to leave a wedge in. The 18th par 5th is very similar. You can lay up left or fly a pond right to leave an iron second shot in.

Many other fun risk reward holes with the choice to layup safely or cut a blind corner over the desert and cacti to leave a wedge in. The course requires strategy and accuracy of the tee if you want to go driver but has generous safe landing areas for a wood/hybrid. The greens are elevated but not overly so. I would say the most challenging aspects is the fairway lies. While this course isn’t overly moundy like a Pete Dye course I noticed I had very few flat lies in the fairway requiring skilled approach shots to shoot well here.

My Thoughts

This is a beautiful demanding course but not brutally hard. Very fun to play I highly recommend it if someone wants to get out of Scottsdale and enjoy a beautiful course. Staff couldn’t be friendlier and they have a great grill and specialize in making from scratch milkshakes which I haven’t seen before.

Posted on

Golf Course Review Rio Hondo Golf Club Downey California

Rio Hondo Country Club

Downey, CA

Reviewed by: tksss32, L.A.
Played Monday 6/11 at about 0830. Course was open and we played the front 9 in about 2 hours, the back 9 got backed up and we played in total in about 4:40.

The Review

Golf Playing Conditions 6.05 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 6.05 GOOD

Tee boxes were nice and above average. Good coverage without much divot damage and mostly flat lies.

Fairways were in good shape with good lies.

I was not in any greenside sand, but I did find myself in a fairway bunker. No complaints. My playing partner did complain of a firm lie in a greenside bunker.

Rough varies from thick and lush to moderate/fluffy.

Greens are nearly fully recovered from aeration. Practice green still shows the most from the aeration, but I had no complaints as the greens rolled pretty true with slightly faster than medium speed.

Recommended at this time.

Los Amigos Golf Course Downey California Eat & Play GK Coupon
Los Amigos Golf Course Downey California Eat & Play GK Coupon
Posted on

Recent Golf Course Review Desert Willow Resort FIRECLIFF Palm Desert California

Desert Willow Resort (Firecliff)

Palm Desert, CA

Reviewed by: Nickesquire, Rancho Mirage, CA

ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens Firecliff Course with medium size solid tines 6/16 – 6/21, reopening 6/22 and then again 7/16 – 7/19, reopening 7/20.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Rode the Purple tees (6676/72.1/136) in 3.5H twilight. The weather was clear, fairly calm and around 105.

The Review

Golf Playing Conditions 8.59 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 8.59 GREAT

Picturesque emerald green layout with a generous amount of white sand, nativescape and water to keep players on their toes. From tee to green, the course was in excellent condition. The greens are transitioning back to Bermuda and were more spotty than the rest of the course.

The tees were excellent, level, lush with few divots.

The fairways are lush, firm and really nice to play from.

The rough is lush and mowed down. Good for POP, not penal and nice to chip from.

The greenside traps had good quality white sand and were well maintained. The waste bunkers are firm and much more hit/miss.

The Bermuda greens were just okay. Firm, fairly smooth and medium speed. They are about to be aerated and they look like they need it.

Additional Observations

Customer Service exceptional from when you drop your clubs off out front to when you pick them up out front. Cart gal out making the rounds. All grass driving range is included and above average. Good GPS on carts. Plenty of ice/water stations on the course. One of my favorite Palm Springs area public layouts, highly recommended.

Desert Willow Golf Resort Palm Desert California GK CouponDesert Willow Golf Resort Palm Desert California GK Coupon
Desert Willow Golf Resort Palm Desert California GK CouponDesert Willow Golf Resort Palm Desert California GK Coupon
Posted on

Golf Course Review Shadow Hills Golf Club SOUTH Indio California

Shadow Hills Golf Club (South)

Indio, CA

Reviewed by: mr8656, San Bernardino
6 June 2018
0730 tee time

Playing Conditions 7.08 Great
Playing Conditions 7.08 Great

First time of what I hope will be many more times playing at this very enjoyable venue. When making a good detailed review I feel the entire experience should be rated. First to mention, this is not my neighborhood track. It’s about a 60 mile drive but I have an good friend who lives in the community, like right on the 5th fairway, so I like to take turns and making the trip here and makes the round more enjoyable. We played as a weekday Twosome since he’s retired and I’m wishing I was, and the guys in our regular group are still grinding it out in the mines.

I arrived at about 0645 got checked in. Check in guy was very friendly and knew my buddy by name. $43 regular rate with complimentary use of the practice facility. All grass driving range with markers clearly defining the yardage. Large cups and ice machine available to load up with water. This is the Palm Springs area, it’s gonna get warmer as the day get longer. It was about 78* when we teed off and got up to 90* when we finished, POP was about 3:45. After a 20 minute warm-up we were heading out to the first tee.

The Course Review

Right away you feel the comfort of the course. I’m not going to say the course was overly difficult. The tee boxes were very well maintained as was the entire course. Fairway a little wet from the morning soaking, rough for the most part was not overly penalizing, the back 9 did seem a little thicker. The greens were mostly flat with gental breaks, medium soft and with good roll. Pin placements allowed enough room to make good approach shots. The bunkers are large with good fill. The front was a little heavy but the back was fluffier and more accommodating. My one lost ball found one of the numerous water hazards. I think the statigic placement of the bunkers and water hazard is what made the course more enjoyable to play. The fairways are generous and my first thought was to just grip and rip but after a second look I made better choices with my club selection. I also liked the the overall design. Short, medium and long at all the pars.

We finished our round in time to see the breakfast menu in the 19th hole, but I still opted for a couple of pulled pork sliders with a side of fresh fruit. There was indoor and patio seating available. We opted for an indoor table by the window with a great view of holes 9 and 18. The selections were plentiful and reasonably priced.

Parting Thoughts

In conclusion, I had a very enjoyable round at a new track and hope to return, weather permitting, real soon. Thanks to my buddy Duane for the invite and extending hospitality.

Posted on

GK Guru Visit Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California Recap

Tierra Rejada Golf Club Moorpark California

Glen Ivy Golf Club

Glen Ivy, CA

Reviewed by: sparky14, San Clemente

Played Glen Ivy on 6/12 with the GK Gurus. I haven’t been to Glen Ivy since 2010, interesting to see how the course has matured.

[su_row class=””] [su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]

Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California
Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California

[/su_column] [su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]

Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California
Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California

[/su_column] [/su_row]

Golf Playing Conditions 7.02 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.02 GREAT

Visually, growth in the native areas has blocked the view of landing areas on a few holes – so course knowledge will help. I recommend a yardage book if you are not familiar with the course as several holes are difficult to see where the proper line should be.

GI appears to be one of the few SoCal courses actually putting money into the course. Things are better than I remember from a decade ago. Even in June, when the hot season is in full bloom in Corona, the greens are green, plush and soft. Fairways and rough are good, but you can see the start of the heat effects as things are getting crusty. Sand was good, but again the top level is getting baked by the heat.

I enjoyed the course more than I have in the past. Lots of elevation changes, so many holes play much shorter than their posted yardages. If you get the ball in play, there are birdies to be made, and even more birdie putts that will lip out at the last second. Dang it.

Highly recommended.

[su_row class=””] [su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]

Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California
Glen Ivy Golf Club Glen Ivy California

[/su_column] [su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]

Tierra Rejada Golf Club Moorpark California
Tierra Rejada Golf Club Moorpark California

[/su_column] [/su_row]

Posted on

Golf Course Review Mile Square Golf Club CLASSIC Fountain Valley California

Mile Square Golf Club (Classic)

Fountain Valley, CA

Reviewed by: leef2020, Huntington Beach, CA

Golf Playing Conditions 5.95 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 5.95 GOOD

Played Thursday, 6/7 at 3:07pm with 3 others. POP was a very good 4hrs, 10mins with mild waits on the first 5 holes, then waiting only on each par3 the rest of the way.

The Review

Though the course is overall very good condition, the white tee boxes were easily the ‘worst’ part of the course. Unlevel lies on 7 of 18 holes, with the worst bumpy and mounded areas on the par3s – 5th, 8th and 13th. The par3 15th was level.

Fairways were mostly good, cut a little long, but provided decent roll and lies. Was very happy to see that after 20+ years they have finally made significant progress on the ‘new’ fairways for the new holes #s 14, 16 and 17. They have clearly added a significant amount of white sand in their efforts to improve the condition of these fairways. 14 is nearly perfect. 16 is at least 75% better coverage in the landing area and 17 is probably 40% better. Glad to see it.

Rough was penal, about 2-3 inches. Was in two greenside bunkers, #8 had white sand and #15 had brown sand. Other than lack of raking in one, the sand in both was good quality and depth.

Greens are totally recovered from their punching and were mostly smooth and firm. Did not hold shots easily, providing 15-30 feet of roll-out for the group on well-struck shots. Putted medium-speed and was tough for all in the group to hole 6 to 10-footers, as the grain / subtle breaks were tough to read. And, I missed a 2-footer that looked straight, but missed by 3 inches! (sigh).

Additional Thoughts

This is a great course to walk, mostly a flat course. Particularly since the cart fees for a single rider is $18. Twilight starts at 1:30pm and Super-twilight at 5:30pm these days, which does provide a decent deal on greens fees when walking.