Posted on October 16, 2018October 4, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Yocha Dehe Golf Club Brooks California

Yocha Dehe Golf Club

Golf Course Review Yocha Dehe Golf Club Brooks, CA

Reviewed by: sbarajasjr, San Diego

Played here 10/2 with GK member molebio (Nat) as our first stop on a quick Nor Cal visit. I had read plenty about Yocha on Keith’s blog and various other sites but I was still blown away. The moment you know it’s a Troon property, you expect something nice and just like Classic Club or Maderas, I was not disappointed. This place just screams class and the course was spectacular. I won’t gush too much now, however it quickly became a personal favorite. A note on the review…It rained a fair amount before our tee time and we got quick a soaking from a cell overhead that eventually passed, so fair thee warned that this was taken into consideration.

The Review

Tee boxes: Good shape overall. A really great mix of tee options for skill levels of all types. A fair amount of turf to place the tees and although the rain made the ground soft, it was very playable.

Fairways: Wonderful condition. If they drain and play this well in pouring rain, I can only imagine how amazing they must be in high season. Cut perfectly and the cut patterns were visually stunning. Consistency of the grass was also excellent. Can’t fault the course for rain, but you can praise their staff for doing a great job of avoiding standing water and performing preventative maintenance to make sure the course was playable in that kind of weather.

Rough: No joke, this grass was Torrey tough. It was thick and sticky, with the height enough to hide a white golf ball easily and quickly. It was penal and brutal.

Sand: Unfortunately you can prepare everything else on the course to drain a bit except for the bunkers, so the rain made the sand into oatmeal and shot shaping was nearly impossible. I get the feeling these bunkers are normally pearly white sand that’s the perfect consistency.

Greens: Excellent condition. Again, given the rain, they ran very quick and even on roll. They were a beautiful green color and the undulation was challenging.

Parting Thoughts

ETC: Everything about this property was amazing. The staff is what you would expect from Troon; attentive, courteous, and friendly. From bag drop to club cleanup, the staff at Yocha we’re the cherry on a delicious sundae. The carts were great with good GPS. Water in coolers as well as fridges everywhere on the course. What more can be said about the layout; one of my favorites. Highly recommend anyone who can make the trip and play here, you will not be disappointed.

Posted on October 15, 2018October 4, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Angeles National Golf Club Sunland California

Angeles National Golf Club

Golf Course Review Angeles National Golf Club Sunland, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

Had a meeting at Angeles National on Tuesday that pleasantly turned into 15 holes of golf. Been a while since I’ve played it. I was also curious how it looked after the brush fire damage from last year. Have to say looks even better. I love how they’ve incorporated wood chips, gravel and landscaping (lots of blue agaves which I dig) into the layout. Plus it’s nice to get a free drop from those wood chips bordering some of the fairways 😉

Golf course was in great shape for this time of year. The fairways are light green, excellent coverage, a few thin spots, firm and dry. Which is to be expected. I talked with the superintendent Matt before the round and found out the course in built on very rocky terrain where they only have about 6 inches of top soil. What this means is the fairways roots can only go so deep and doing a deep fairways aeration is impossible as the rocks will break the machine. However they do 3 shallow holes aeration on the fairways per year to keep them healthy. I thought they played very well and enjoyed the extra roll.

As for the greens, really good shape, not as firm, smooth and fast as some of my previous visits but I expect them to speed up and roll better moving forward due to coming cooler temps. It’s a hot climate so makes sense to not cut them down yet. My favorite aspect of Angeles National are the green complexes. They are very big yet diabolical. They allow you to get creative with all the contours to play a large variety of shots. On every hole you can find a spot where you enjoy practicing your short game for hours. Makes the golf course a blast.

Tee boxes in great shape. Lush, cut tight and level.

Bunkers are well groomed but need more sand.

Rough, there really is not much. Through the green the golf course is pretty much fairway height. Definitely puts more demand on the tee shots and approaches to keep it in play.

As for the views and ambiance of Angeles National, love it. Yes there is some freeway noise but that becomes unnoticeable, at least for me, after a couple holes. The backdrops of Angeles National Forest Mountains are stunning. You feel like you are on a desert golf course at times. The clubhouse is beautiful. You know you’re at a high end golf course from the level of service and amenities that immediately greet you. They have an excellent driving range and practice facilities.

Check out the photos I just posted.

Recommended!

Posted on October 14, 2018October 3, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course Sacramento California

Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course

Golf Course Review Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course Sacramento, CA

Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA

This was the last/bonus round today. Got there around 4:00 and it wasn’t too busy out. Just some scattered groups (mostly twosomes/singles) on the course. Ultimately finished in about a 2:20 pace. $23 twilight rate with a cart.

Course conditions were okay, with things playing better than it looked with the grass pretty dappled green/brown. Tee boxes fine. Fairways adequate. On the thin side, but generous roll-out and I usually had a pretty decent lie. Rough decent. Bunkers good. Greens good. A little bumpy late in the day, but fully healed from aeration and in nice shape overall.

This is a really, really fun muni course! It was designed by Perry Dye and has a lot of the Dye family hallmarks (mounds, moguls, water hazards, railroad ties, collection areas, etc.). There’s even a mini Sawgrass island green 17th, but it’s only about 100 yards and much less intimidating. The fun part is the layout is short. Par-71. Played the blue tees at around only 5,700 yards. It’s a Dye-type design, but it’s one where you can really score well. Target golf, but you may not need driver off of many tees and you’re hitting shorter clubs into the well-protected greens. I really enjoyed this course and would recommend it as a Sacramento value gem.

Posted on October 13, 2018October 3, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona California

Eagle Glen Golf Club

Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona, CA

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

First thank you everyone that came out to be a part of the GK Cup 12 Final and those that participated this year! Also want to thank Eagle Glen Golf Club for hosting our GK Cup Final. I always felt it would make for a fun championship due to its challenging layout, awesome closing holes and excellent clubhouse which includes a restaurant overlooking the property. Worked out great.

I was in the last the group, the finals group, teeing off at 11:00am. They were running a little behind and we teed up closer to 11:15am. Pace of play was slow as they had a full tee sheet Sunday morning. But wait, it was Ryder Cup Sunday, oh yeah, it was over when everyone woke up, so let’s go golfing!

I thought the golf course was in very good condition. End of September can be a challenging time to find a well-conditioned golf course in Southern California due to many in maintenance, prepping for maintenance or dried out from the summer heat. So given Eagle Glen aerated their greens in the beginning of September, I was confident they would be healed and I was right. With exception to the very first hole, as I had the same feelings as Itslikeimsayin’s review, the remainder of the greens were rolling moderately fast, mostly smooth and holding shots. The rest of the golf course played mostly firm, was light green, had occasional light brown/thin turf, yet overall provided a good surface to play from. I was only in a few bunkers and they were well groomed with quality sand.

After the round we got together in the restaurant to celebrate HmtGolfGuy’s GK Cup victory. I could not help seeing the patty melt Itslikeimsayin was about to dive into (there I go again referencing Mark’s review, feel like such a copy-cat! – lol) so I ordered it, super good tasty. Seemed they only had one, maybe two staff working the bar/restaurant so service was slow however professional. I’ve ate here before and always enjoy the food. If it was not so hot Sunday I would have liked to be out on the balcony looking over the course, its good dining experience.

Thank you again to everyone that came out!

btw – was also a very special day for me, please see my Pebble Beach forum post 🙂

Recommended!

Posted on October 12, 2018October 3, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Moorpark Country Club Moorpark California

Moorpark Country Club

Golf Course Review Moorpark Country Club Moorpark, CA

Reviewed by: Burcham5, Valencia

Rode the blues at 1:20 (Canyon Crest/Ridgeline) with my three sons, Pace of Play (POP) was 4 hours 37 minutes. Greatest day golfing I ever had. I have never played this course.

Recently I played Tierra Rejada, Rustic Canyon, Knollwood and Olivas Links. This was by far my favorite.

It was aerated last week and some of the greens still showed it, but the layout is my favorite. As far as the conditions, the tee boxes were level, but a couple were overgrown, fairways and rough lush, sand traps great, from a far thank god. The greens that made a comeback from aeration rolled true. I’ve learned that this is maintenance season so everything isn’t going to be perfect. Golfing is really about who you play with. I’m lucky my boys like to play. I definitely will be back and highly recommend it. Milton the starter is the best.

Posted on October 11, 2018October 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Hemet Golf Club Hemet California

Hemet Golf Club

Golf Course Review Hemet Golf Club Hemet, CA

Reviewed by: adigitalg87, Hemet

Played 10/2 at 11:22 . Pop was under 3 hrs. $25 thru their booking system. Course was in good condition. It looks like they are really watering it. Everything was wet. Some tee boxes need a lot of work. Fairways were nice. Rough not so penal but very wet. We played a green-side bunker as a Ground Under Repair (GUR). Another wasn’t to bad to hit out off. Greens were on the slow side but rolled nicely. Overall a great layout and a lot of potential.

Posted on October 10, 2018October 10, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona California

Eagle Glen Golf Club

Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona, CA

Reviewed by: Itslikeimsayin, Aliso Viejo

Played in the second group out on GK Cup Final day this past Sunday. Started around 10:45 and finished around 4:20. I didn’t realize pace was that slow until the 18th tee, so I guess mpisarski01, roarksown1, kassper7 and I were having a good time. Weather started off very nice, medium temp with a nice breeze, but then became scorching hot for the last 10-12 holes.

Conditions are good overall. The first green scared me a bit with quite a few thin patches, but the rest of the greens were much better. Greens were medium-fast, mostly smooth and accepted full shots really well. I kept getting fooled on uphill putts that were faster than I anticipated. Fairways don’t look super lush but they played quite nice. I had good lies all day. Rough was maybe a little more ragged, but not bad. Tee boxes were fine. The first bunker I was in (on the hill behind the 4th green) had virtually no sand in it, and even my delicate swing sent my ball way too far and into the hazard. Sorta frustrating. The rest of the bunkers I was in were much better.

I had forgotten how enjoyable this layout is. I really loved it Sunday and look forward to getting back out there again soon. Thanks to Eagle Glen for hosting the GK Cup Final and thanks to Johnny for setting it up. Patty melt in the bar afterward was very tasty, too!

Posted on October 8, 2018October 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Emerald Lakes Golf Course Elk Grove California

Emerald Lakes Golf Course

Golf Course Review Emerald Lakes Golf Course Elk Grove, CA

Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA

This was my second round this morning. I had a pretty tight window, but thankfully the course wasn’t too busy. I had bad timing as multiple groups were backed up on the first hole when I arrived, but the pro shop guy was awesome and told me it should be wide open in front of them. He let me jump ahead to the 3rd hole. By the time I got back around to 1, it was open and I was able to zip around the 9 holes in the pace I needed. $24 with cart a bit steep for 9 holes, though this would normally be an easy walking course on a normal day.

I have to say the conditions at Emerald Lakes overall were the best I’ve played so far on this trip (including 2 private clubs)! This place is lush and green from tee to green. Some of the tees on the short par-3s and par-4s are a bit chewed up, but fine. Fairways fantastic. Rough lush and well-kept where it matters. Bunkers were beautiful with soft sand and perfectly raked. Greens soft and receptive, rolling smooth at medium speeds. Very impressed by the conditions of a relatively inexpensive par-33 course that obviously gets plenty of play.

The layout is fun and short. A few weak holes, but mostly pretty enjoyable for an executive design. Mildly interesting green complexes and some good contours, with a couple big water hazards coming into play. Recommended as a great local short course for casual/novice play.