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Golf Course Review Elkins Ranch Golf Course Fillmore California

Elkins Ranch Golf Course

Golf Course Review Elkins Ranch Golf Course Fillmore California

Reviewed by: sbarajasjr, San Diego
Played my semi-final GK Match against Kassper7 yesterday (7/8) for my very first visit to Elkins, walking away impressed and saddened, not at losing my match rather that this gem of a course is going away soon. All the descriptions of it are apt; tucked away in a nice setting, conditions stellar for what equates to a “muni”style track, and prices here being more than fair. Loved everything about this course because I kept my expectations low out of fear that it would be packed, hot, and in poor shape….it simply wasn’t the case to my surprise.

The Review

Tee boxes: Overall good but I remember a handful of holes in which the blue tees (played by our group) were a bit beat up. Some un-level ground and with walkers unable to fill divots made, the par 3 tees had their share of holes by the afternoon.

Fairways: Great shape with a healthy green color. This course won’t be shutting down and letting conditions deteriorate, that’s for sure. Better fairways here than RiverRidge played a few weeks ago. Good decent roll and only one bad lie all day that was no fault of the course superintendent.

Rough: More penal than it appears. Area under trees that line the fairways can get quite shaggy, enough to make me layup/punch out quite a bit. It won’t appear so visually, but there is a premium to staying in the fairway here.

Sand: In two green-side bunkers and there was inconsistent amount of sand; one had almost none, the other had some. Neither of the bunkers had great sand type, and only after getting to place my shot back after repairing a footprint did I get a shot at making it out.

Greens: Excellent greens here. They rolled slower than I thought, but very pure in my opinion. Left plenty of putts short, but if I was guessing the line right, the contours and undulation can’t be THAT hard to figure out. Some very large greens, others much smaller…all were in great shape.

ETC: Bare bone amenities (though from the looks of things this was probably the case even before it was decided they would close in September). Paid at the window on north side of clubhouse. Saw no cart attendant and no sort of food/drink availability anywhere. Carts available, but you can walk the course (back nine far hillier than front). Pace today was just under 4.5 hours, even as it seems we had an older twosome right behind us the entire round, minimal waiting if any in front.

Parting Thought

Layout is fun with some shades of Santa Anita/Diamond Bar on the front and CrossCreek/Woods Valley in some areas of the back. A fun track that will be sorely missed.

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Golf Course Review Poppy Hills Golf Course Pebble Beach California

Poppy Hills Golf Course

Golf Course Review Poppy Hills Golf Course Pebble Beach California

Reviewed by: dethman, irvine
Played here during a visit to the Monterey Peninsula. Course was in great shape, but some of the Covid precautions were questionable.

Golf Playing Conditions 8.99 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 8.99 GREAT

The golf shop is not open, so everyone is checking in in the back of the clubhouse. The same people checking you in are helping people ‘shop’ and bringing stuff like clothes out from the inside so people can see and decide whether to buy. So I stood in line for about 20 minutes waiting to check in when there were only 3 people in line.

Next, neither a golf cart nor range balls are included with their $250 rack rate. (not that I paid that, but still). Personally it seemed to be nickel and diming people a bit. I was walking anyway.

Also, a foursome checked in in front of me, and they all wanted to ride, but the course would only allow 2 people to ride in 2 carts, the other 2 had to walk. They were older golfers who just wanted to ride and willing to pay. There were a LOT of carts sitting around. I don’t get that.

Anyway once I got to the first tee things were fine. Great conditions all around, with almost perfectly maintained tee boxes and fairways, with tricky, somewhat slowish greens.

I don’t recall being in any green-side bunkers but they looked fine. A lot of side-hill fairway lies if you don’t know where to hit it. A very nice walk with a push cart through the Del Monte forest and sightseeing through the Monterey pines. Pretty decent pace of play at 4 hours with a noon tee time. Enjoyed it.

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Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf club Corona California

Eagle Glen Golf Club

Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf club Corona California

Reviewed by: coronagolfman, Corona, CA
Played Eagle Glen on July 8.

Golf Playing Conditions 6.06 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 6.06 GOOD

Greens: fast and smooth.

Fairways: holes from recent punching still showing and overall were very firm.  Firm to the point that on several holes drive hit into center of a sloping fairway could run off that fairway into lateral hazard area.

Tees: very inconsistent with roughly half of them in very marginal condition.

Bunkers: fairway bunkers very firm and green-side bunkers had some sand in them which is rare for courses in IE these day.

Pace of play was 4.5 hours. A bit of strangeness in getting round started as starter was putting outgoing groups to the 10th tee with explanation of a tournament being underway.

There was plenty of wind which helped cool things down on the course even though the temperature was in the low 90’s at 3PM.

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PICTURE ROUNDUP: GK Guru Visit Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake, Chula Vista California

Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake Chula Vista California Hole 15 with BCB in attendance

Click HERE for the latest Golf Course Reviews on GreensKeeper.org for Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake.  

sparky14   
Posted: 07/09/20 7:51a
Member Since: Mar 26, 2003
From: San Clemente
Played July 9 with Gurus JohnnyGK and Gary00. First time back to Enagic / Eastlake in 20 years. Some really nice views out here. Nice breeze made it very comfy out there, an easy course to walk.

Something you don’t see much of these days, a course actually making a serious effort to improve. They are adding bunkers, adding some length with new tees, increasing the size of some greens. Grass range is decent. Two large putting greens and a chipping green.

The course layout is a nice mix. Although it runs through a housing tract, there is a ton of space and the fairways are much lower than the houses and both sides slope towards the fairways. The result is the houses rarely come into mind at all, you’d have to be 50 yards offline in the air to risk a house.

The Review

Golf Playing Conditions 7.52 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.52 GREAT

Generally, the course is in good condition. Greens were nice, generally soft but you would get a firm bounce once in a while. Fairways are good, very nice grass coverage. The rough can be penal in spots with very thick grass. Bunkers were nice. There are many areas being worked on, so you will get a bad lie once in a while.

In all, I really enjoyed the layout, and this definitely looks like a course on the way up. The SD county rates seem reasonable to me and if I was in county I’d add Enagic to my rotation. A bit to long of a drive to get there from San Clemente to pay the much higher out of county rates for me though. But I do hope it is not another 20 years until I return. Recommended!

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Golf Course Review Mt. Woodson Golf Club Ramona California

Mt. Woodson Golf Club

Golf Course Review Mt. Woodson Golf Club Ramona California

Reviewed by: rudyclub, San Diego

Playing Conditions 7.32 GREAT
Playing Conditions 7.32 GREAT

Played 6/27/20 3:00pm. Last Tee time of the day, but heard they will be extending last tee soon. No problem getting 18 in.

Course is in over all great condition.

Love the fairway’s. Great coverage. Great roll & nice lies.

Greens were very receptive running a little on the slow side and a little bumpy in the afternoon.

You can really see all the footprints in the waning light. love twilight golf here with the great views of the valley. Easy recommend.

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Golf Course Review Marshall Canyon Golf Course La Verne California

Marshall Canyon Golf Course

Golf Course Review Marshall Canyon Golf Course La Verne California

Reviewed by: abbacat, Trabuco Canyon

Golf Playing Conditions 6.45 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 6.45 GOOD

Teed it up this morning with Kassper7. It’s been a couple of years since I last played here. Although they don’t offer a senior rate on weekends, it’s still very reasonable at $38.50. I walked the front nine but took it easier on the back with a cart.

The conditions were disappointing. Visually, it was very nice- green and lush. The bad part was that there was some serious over-watering happening. The fairways were good other than several deep muddy areas, but the greens were downright spongy. There were many spots of water pooled under the grass creating big bubbles that moved to the side when stepped on. I got the feeling they would erupt if punctured with a repair tool. The tee boxes were uneven and the bunkers thin on sand, but considering how poorly I was playing, it really didn’t matter.

The good part was this is a challenging and really fun course. When it dries out a bit, I’d like to give it another go.

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Golf Course Review Elkins Ranch Golf Course Fillmore California

Elkins Ranch Golf Course

Golf Course Review Elkins Ranch Golf Course Fillmore California

Editor’s Note:  Elkins Ranch Golf Course to close PERMANENTLY September 7, 2020.  Time is limited to really take advantage of one of California’s unique and memorable golf experiences.  Click HERE for additional information

Reviewed by: kviser, Saugus, CA

Golf Playing Conditions 6.70 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 6.70 GOOD

Back out again today. It’s good to see that they continue to maintain the course despite the imminent closure on Sept. 7, 2020. DKnight and I played from the white tees with another twosome. We arrived a little late and were sent out right away and caught our group on 3 tee. Check in was slow. We each received a cart and the senior discount. Calling the course is also quite the challenge. Several of my calls were routed through some outside service.

Everything is green here: tees, fairways, rough, greens. It’s pretty much every bit the municipal course it has always been, with Kikuyu grass/Bermuda grass fairways and rough. Greens are bent/Poa with occasional bits of Bermuda grass or Kikuyu encroaching in from the edges. They rolled true and were soft enough to hold any kind of shot. Speed was medium-I would venture to guess around a 9. I wasn’t in any bunkers, but Dean was in a couple. One was dry and soft. The other was wet and firm.

Good times today, although I did not play well. Pace of play was just over 4 hours. We did wait a little at times, but it seemed like a decent pace. Due to COVID 19, there are no rakes, sand bottles, or water jugs. Wear the mask when interacting with staff. You know the drill. I do plan to come back as often as possible before closing, so look for more reviews from me.

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ROUNDUP: GK Guru Visit Black Gold Golf Club Yorba Linda California

Black Gold Golf Club Yorba Linda Hole 10

Black Gold Golf Club

ROUNDUP: GK Guru Visit Black Gold Golf Club Yorba Linda California

Reviewed by: Rat-Patrol, San Diego
Out with the GK group, 6/25, on a warm day with some swirling winds coming up through the canyons. First time here and my initial impression was a good one. Seems like a nice facility, smallish range, putting green behind the clubhouse, nice clubhouse/restaurant area.

Golf Playing Conditions 7.55 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.55 GREAT

Once on the course conditions were good with the greens being the highlight. Big contoured greens that rolled smooth, on the fast side, a bit firm in spots and tricky. Loved the way the greens rolled but could not read them well enough to make anything from any distance. Bunkers were in good shape with a nice playable surface, fairways were great to play from, rough varied I did find a few thick spots, layout is fun, interesting and certainly makes you think (although IMHO the design was a bit ambitious making some areas difficult for the grounds crew to maintain and most likley in some areas a major undertaking), my cart had no GPS others did, but when everyone gets their own cart they needed to pull out the extras (mine had a logo from a Palm Springs area GC on it). Staff seemed accommodating, friendly and saw the snack cart multiple times. Upstairs snack bar was open and looked busy.

Overall a fun track with nice facilities in good condition worth a play.