Posted on October 26, 2018October 21, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Visit Golf Club at Terra Lago (SOUTH) Indio California

The Golf Club at Terra Lago (South)

Golf Course Review Golf Club at Terra Lago (SOUTH) Indio, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

Played with sixpez and Nickesquire Thursday morning. Was my first time playing Terra Lago after all these years. It pleasantly surprised me. I knew not to expect excellent playing conditions typical of the higher end Palm Springs golf courses which I have been accustomed to playing. Also the South golf course was fresh out of over-seeding. What surprised me was how interesting, challenging and flat out fun the layout was. As a first time player that loves shot value, this course is loaded with them. Risk/reward tee shots, intimidating bunkers, lots of doglegs, forced carries over water, tough green complexes, hazards on both sides of every hole, elevated tee shots, a fantastic signature par 3. It was a blast.

The Review

As far as conditions, very good. Interestingly is after the round I talked with the Superintendent who informed me the greens are not over-seeded with rye but rather Poa. That they are tiff Bermuda surfaces that do well the majority times of the year but need a cool grass added for winter play. This explains why the greens rolled so well. They are basically all Bermuda with some Poa sprouting through. I was told the greens right now are as slow as they get and to expect them to gradually become faster and firmer. Makes me want to head back there for sure. With all those undulations and tricky pins, must be diabolically fun when they are running faster.

Fairways in very good shape mostly lush with some thin spots. Rough mostly lush green-side and adjacent to the fairways with occasional thin/bare areas. Bunkers, well groomed but in many cases very firm and depleted of quality sand. Fairway bunkers overall in poorer shape than the green-side bunkers. I did find a couple in decent shape and got used to the firm texture. Tee boxes in very good shape with exception to the gold tees on the 17th hole.

Service was friendly and excellent all day. After the round I grabbed a bite to eat in the restaurant. Decent burger with tasty fries and great view of the signature holes on the North Course.

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Golf Club at Terra Lago SOUTH Indio California Hole 14

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Golf Club at Terra Lago SOUTH Indio California Hole 16

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Final Thought

Overall, I’d play the South Course again and want to try the North Course. If the track was manicured better and in the kind of conditions of a PGA WEST, Desert Willow Golf Resort or Indian Wells Golf Resort the layout would be on par with most of those playing experiences. Granted the courses I mentioned do have higher levels of service and amenities but my point is this place has great bones with a ton of upside potential. It looks to be moving in a positive direction. CHECK OUT the photos I just posted. Recommended.

Posted on October 1, 2018October 1, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Visit Paradise Valley Golf Course Fairfield California

GK Guru Visit Paradise Valley Golf Club

Golf Course Review for Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 2

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 3

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Next up on my 36 hole day yesterday in Fairfield was Paradise Valley Golf Course. The golf course also provides very great conditions and contrasts Rancho Solano Golf Club excellently for a second 18.

Teed it up again with Alex326 and BSF at 1:30pm. Brandon unfortunately could not join for the next 18 so we went out as a 3-some. Great time.

Before our round although we grabbed a bite to in grill/sports bar. I had a delicious Clubhouse wrap that was so big that I finished it out on the course. Recommend making a little time before your round to eat there.

For our twilight round we waited a little here and there but overall pace of play was around 4 ½ hours.

Greens, in great shape, little bit faster than Rancho Solano, mostly smooth and little bit more firm. Not as undulating and certainly not as big but definitely challenging. The greens are better guarded by bunkers and pins can be set in tough spots. You need to be careful not to be behind the pins out there. They can be slick coming back. Star of the show from a conditions standpoint and given the high amount of play this track gets, impressive.

Fairways, firm, mostly lush with occasional thin spots. It’s a level golf course so you get some good run out.

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 14

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 12

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Rough, cut low, about an inch above the fairway height, mostly lush with occasional thin spots. Green-side rough is more lush and a little longer than adjacent to the fairways.

Bunkers, quality sand, little firm at times but in good shape.

Tee boxes, we played the white tees which get by far most of the play so they had some divot damage but driving by the blue and black tees, they looked near perfect, so to mixed feelings here about how to rate them.

Service excellent, very friendly staff, and talkative. Saw the cart girl many times. Everyone had a good attitude.

Highly recommended.

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 17

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Paradise Valley Golf Club Fairfield California Hole 18

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Posted on September 23, 2018September 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Review Rancho Solano Golf Club Fairfield California

Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California Hole 7

Rancho Solano Golf Club

Golf Course Review Rancho Solano Golf Club in Fairfield, CA

Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca

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Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California Hole 2

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Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California Hole 5

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Played Rancho Solano on 9/12 with the GK crew. This was my first time playing here and What a fun course! Track has elevation changes, water features and great conditions throughout!! Course design offers the option of grip it and rip it without too much risk of being heavily punished. Yet it has enough trees and water hazards to keep you honest and make less than driver a viable option at times.

The Review

Greens are HUGE and have several big undulations throughout. Three putts are easy to do on these greens. All but a couple of greens were in fantastic shape rolling smooth at a medium-slow pace. Just a couple of greens had some brown spots on the edges but again the greens are so big the brown spots were 40-50 feet away from the pins

Green side bunkers had excellent soft fluffy sand. Tee boxes were flat and lush and the cart gal came around a number of times.

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Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California Hole 9

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Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California Hole 11

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Final Thought

I really enjoyed this course and highly recommend it.

Rancho Solano Golf Course Fairfield California GK Coupon

Posted on September 21, 2018September 19, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Visit Corica Park Golf Complex (SOUTH) Alameda California

Corica Park Golf Complex (South)

Golf Course Review for Corica Park Golf Comples South Course Alameda, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

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Corica Park Golf Complex SOUTH Alameda California Hole 10

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Corica Park Golf Complex SOUTH Alameda California Hole 11

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Squeezed in one more round on the NorCal trip teeing it up around 3:00pm at Corica Park Golf Complex South Course on Thursday. This was my second time playing the course and I enjoyed the layout even more. Great variety of fun holes with not one letdown. Last time teed it up for a shotgun start on the 13th hole during its grand opening. This time starting on hole 1 playing as it was designed felt better. The front nine is pretty open allowing you to grip and rip. The back nine quickly contrasts the front with tighter layout bringing many trees and at times OB in play. The closing stretch 15-18 is fantastic. Two signature Par 5’s (15 & 17) reachable in two with a tough final hole Par 4.

The Review

As for the conditions, it’s in great shape.

Greens, bent, were smooth, fast and firm. The only bumps you run into are not properly repaired ball marks but due to how firm the greens are the ball marks are not deep. These are huge greens with many undulations and very challenging. They were a blast to play.

Fairways, santa ana bermuda (does not go dormant) mostly lush, full coverage, except some spots in front the greens that are being worked on, firm and tight. Exactly how they should be for this Australian links design.

Rough, just adjacent to the fairway, santa ana bermuda as well, lush and tight like the fairways. Secondary rough is either 4 inches to foot tall fescue or California wild bent grass. Looks beautiful and is very challenging to escape from. Was in great shape. Although many of the California wild bent grass around the green complexes since I first played it have been cut down a little or been trampled down. This is actually a good thing from a pace of play standpoint. The times I hit my ball into the wild bent grass during my first round it was very difficult to find.

Bunkers, great shape with quality sand. Better quality sand on the back nine than front nine.

Tee boxes, cut tight, mostly lush and firm.

POP, finished in 4 hours.

Customer Service: Friendly & Professional

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Corica Park Golf Complex SOUTH Alameda California Hole 12

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Corica Park Golf Complex SOUTH Alameda California Hole 13

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Final Thought

Love this place. I’m going to see about doing a GK Plays here in 2019. Check it out!

Posted on September 14, 2018September 11, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Match Play and GK Guru Roundup – Indian Wells Golf Resort (PLAYERS) Indian Wells California

Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players)

Golf Course Review Indian Wells Golf Resort (PLAYERS) Indian Wells, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

ALERT: Overseeding
Will be overseeding 9/27 – 10/10, reopening 10/11 and likely cart path only until 11/25.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Played Sunday 9/9. I knew I needed to pick a place special for the GK Cup 12 semifinal so did not hesitate to contact Indian Wells Golf Resort. Always, I mean every time I have ever played here, on either golf course, the playing conditions and service have been outstanding. This time was no different.

It was a scorcher so teeing it up at 10:00am pretty much gave us the course to ourselves. We did finally see a group behind us on the back nine. Despite the heat, and the extreme heat the area has been getting this summer, Indian Wells Golf Resort Players Course was in fantastic summer shape. Greens, bermuda, rolling smooth, firm and moderate speed (certainly not slow as you might expect from bermuda greens this time of year). Fairways, bermuda, lush, perfect lies all day. Rough, bermuda, lush, full coverage, cut down to just 2 inches uniformly throughout the course. Tee boxes, bermuda, lush, level and cut just below fairway height. Bunker high quality sand, both greenside and fairways, firm and compacted at times, I sampled quite a bit of them, adjusted right away to the firmness and they played well for me.

We were playing a competitive round having to putt out and concentrate more so we finished in just around 4 ½ hours. Had it been a casual round, I think we could have finished in under 4 hours.

First time experience here, we warmed up on the small driving range in the wash below the bridge leading to the golf course first tee boxes. Sounds bad but actually was gorgeous. Level, perfect bermuda with a nice backdrop. Note, I’ve been in the wash quite a few times while playing the Celebrity Course hole 9 doing the hill climb out of it. LOL. Much better experience hitting range balls instead!

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Our GK Gurus Visit

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Course Indian Wells California Hole 3 Green-side

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One more note, they will be starting overseeding maintenance on 9/27 so expect the golf course get drier as they lead into it.

Super time as always with GKers!

Posted some photos so please check them out.

Posted on September 11, 2018September 11, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Visit & GK Match Play: Indian Wells Golf Resort Indian Wells California

Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players)

GK Guru Visit & GK Match Play Roundup at Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells, CA

Reviewed by: HmtGolfGuy, Hemet, CA

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California Hole 2 View from Tee — Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Hole 2 View from Tee

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California - Hole 11 Fairway View — Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Hole 11 Fairway View

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Played 9/9 with Johnny, Matt and Robert for the GK semifinals. Conditions for this time of year with the heat we’ve had were excellent. Customer service was the usual – meaning it was outstanding! Helpful and encouraging without ever being “pushy”, this place should host clinics on how to take care of golfers.

As noted by previous reviewers, almost everything is in great shape and well maintained, with one exception – the bunkers (I was in enough to know!). Thin layer of soft/dry sand but underneath it was damp and VERY firm, making a normal “blast” shot almost impossible. Only two options: 1) “muscle up” and take way more sand than you want just to insure you get out on your first shot, or 2) try and nip it off the sand with a lob wedge taking as little sand as possible. Sand quality itself is good, they just need one deep dig/rake and they’d be fine.

Additional Thoughts

To me, the best way to describe the difference between the Celebrity and Player courses is this: If I was picking a course to play 3 or more days per week for pure enjoyment it’s Celebrity hands down. Still a solid challenge, it’s more visually pleasing and seems to have a more relaxed vibe. If I want to check the state of my game, I’m hitting up Players.

Big shout out to Johnny for getting this set up, other than the heat it was a great day. Get out here soon though, maintenance is starting on the 27th.

Definitely recommended (at least if it’s below 105 degrees or so!)

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California - Hole 6 Fairway View — Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Hole 6 Fairway View

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Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California - Hole 7 Fairway View — Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Hole 7 Fairway View

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Posted on September 1, 2018August 31, 2018 by Vic Flores

GK Guru Recap Sun City West Golf GRANDVIEW Sun City West Arizona

Sun City West Grandview Golf Course Arizona

Sun City West Golf (Grandview)

Sun City West, AZ

Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA

We had a fun time on Grandview for the GK Plays. We had a really good turnout with a number of AZ GK’ers in attendance and a lot of new faces, as well. Good to see the Arizona GK crew growing each year. I was in the 9:30 group and it was a good overall pace of play around 4 hours total.

As others have already noted, the course was in good overall condition. For good value courses, they sure do a great job keeping these in really nice shape throughout the summer season. Tee boxes, fairways and rough were all good and consistent. The newly remodeled bunkers had really nice new sand. The greens were firm. Rolling way too slow for my tastes, but consistently conditioned and obviously kept longer to survive the heat.

This was my second time playing Grandview. It’s a solid course and will give you your money’s worth every time. Not a destination course in an area loaded with spectacular and dramatic layouts, but a good value pick. Always friendly people in this community and just a positive overall vibe.

Sun City West Grandview Golf Course Arizona GK Coupon

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

GK Guru Recap The Boulders (NORTH) Carefree Arizona

The Boulders (North)

Carefree, AZ

ALERT: Overseeding
Will be overseeding 9/17 – 10/7, reopening 10/8 and likely cart path only for 2-3 weeks after reopening.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

Great time on Friday teeing up with GK’ers Daveygolf123 and rjmart at The Boulders Resort North Course. Since there was very few golfers playing, we joined up at times to make a fivesome (not allowed) with GK’ers sixpez and mpisarski01. Tons of fun.

Regarding the golf course, I think we caught the perfect storm…at the wrong time. The place got absolutely slammed the night before by monsoon rains/micro bursts. It was very wet, there were busted branches, washed out bunkers, downed cactus, and areas being cleaned up after flooding. To the golf course’s credit the grounds crew members were hustling and all over the place. Also you could tell the fairways were being less tended to with overseeding approaching (not uniformly lush as expected). So I need to circle back and play this track again. It was however in very good shape. Greens being the highlight mostly smooth, firm and moderate speed. Something tells me had they been able to cut and roll the greens instead of dealing with storm damage they would have been much better.

I’ve seen photos of The Boulders for years, however those signature pictures are almost all taken of the South Course, not the North “members” Course we played. The North course is still a very good fun layout but does not have the “wow” effect of the South Course. I snapped a few pics anyway.

Service was excellent. The Clubhouse feels like a country club and they even have a separate looker room for The Boulders members. The breakfast burrito was outstanding, thank you GK’er rjmart for picking that up for me. I did not get a chance to use the driving range but it looked nice, all grass and lush. Word of advice, use the bag drop. The members parking takes up the majority for the front parking lot and the walk from the back lot to pro-shop is long (especially in the summer).

To repeat, I need to play this place again and catch it when it’s in its typical condition. I also need to play the signature South Course. Maybe 36 in one day? That would be a blast.