Golf Course Review Callippe Preserve Golf Club Pleasanton California
Reviewed by: Glass03, Dublin
Golf Playing Conditions 7.88 GREAT
I teed up around 11am on 5/11/20 (single) and played a full round in under 2.5 hours (with cart). Not too many players in front of me, but each group I encountered allowed me to play through.
The club did a great job of posting info on their website and informing players of the changes they made to ensure the health and safety of its customers due to COVID-19 which I really appreciated.
Fairways and greens were well maintained and greens were firm.
Sand looked very good/plush but, due to COVID-19, there were no rakes and I didn’t hit out of the bunkers.
Tee boxes were in pristine condition.
It’s a challenging course due to the heavy rough on the shoulders of the fairways, crisscrossing ravines, and strong wind gusts out of the NW (particularly on the front 9). Back 9 is more technical with tighter fairways, but it’s just as gorgeous. This is an awesome course and I highly recommend it.
Golf Course Review Sterling Hills Golf Club Camarillo California
Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks
My first round in 9 weeks and my first experience with golf COVID-19. Teeing off at 12:30pm Monday 5/10 joined by GDR23, Kviser and RGM2525 we had a super time.
Pulling in I’ve never seen so many cars in the Sterling Hills Golf Club parking lot on a Monday non-holiday weekday. Upon walking up to the clubhouse I noticed it was closed off the public entrance with open doors and check-in taking place at the cart staging area. We chose to walk but had someone in our group had a physical issue they could have opted for a cart.
Range balls were available for players with mats and spacing on the range.
At the first tee was a staff member with mask and gloves on giving us guidance. Out on the golf course mask was not required and pins had the foam pool noodle insert about halfway down the cups to allow the ball to drop. No rakes in the bunkers nor ball washers as expected. Personally I hardly felt COVID-19 disrupted all day as a walker plus I got great exercise on a golf course I almost always ride.
Felt amazing to be playing with friends on a beautiful day on a fun track.
The Review
Golf Playing Conditions 6.39 GOOD
Conditions were overall very good.
Greens mostly soft, rolling smooth at about medium speed.
Fairways mostly lush with some minor dry areas and good coverage all around. The fairways were a blend of warm and cool temp turf so I would expect a minor transition period moving into the summer months.
The rough is mostly kikuyu with mixtures of other grasses and mostly lush. There are many elevated greens and tight pin placements so be glad you spent all that time in COVID-19 backyard quarantine with your lob wedge!
Bunkers had quality sand with some containing non-raked footprints (no rakes makes that understandable).
Tee boxes (played the blues) had good coverage. Little inconsistent from box to box as far as levelness and turf height but overall in good shape.
The Bottom-Line
4 ½ hour pace a play with a little bit of waiting.
I took a bunch of photos of the golf course I encourage you to check out here on GK.
Looking forward to my next round at Sterling Hills already.
Golf Course Review Costa Mesa Country Club LOS LAGOS Costa Mesa California
Reviewed by: stickboy, Placentia
Golf Playing Conditions 6.48 GOOD
I teed off at about 11:30 on Wednesday, the first day the course has been open since closing due to the pandemic. Only players with tee times allowed on the property. No practice facilities open. Masks required only in the clubhouse area. No food or beverage. Walking only. Flag sticks on greens. Restrooms on course are open.
The course was in GREAT shape. Lush and green all over. They had obviously maintained the course while it was closed. The fairways were a little long, but the rough was cut to a fair length. The bunkers were OK, considering. The greens were not as quick as usual, but I think they might have put a little extra water on them, thinking it was going to be hotter.
This is a great course to play after a layoff, as there is lots of room off the tee. Pace of play was around five hours, but that’s pretty standard when you tee off late morning.
Golf Course Review CrossCreek Golf Club Temecula California
ALERT: COVID-19
Reopening on 4/23 with social distancing requirements due to COVID-19 precautions. Greens were NOT aerated during closure and they have decided to skip aeration this spring, according to pro shop.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.
Reviewed by: basketball13, san diego
Golf Playing Conditions 7.68 GREAT
What a nice setting to knock off the rust! Had a tee time of 740 on Thursday 4/30 for 54.00 booked on their web site. Check in was very easy. Carts were staged next to check-in. Range was open but only for playing golfers. It was $6.00 for a small bucket.
Covid conditions the same as everywhere else but masks were only mandatory at the clubhouse once your round began it was optional to wear.
Course conditions were VERY good. Fairways a 9. Tee boxes a 7. Bunkers a 7. Greens were spongy and a bit slow but very good 8. There is construction on #1 so every body started at the forward tees and were asked to lay-up on the 250 par 4(so not to slow down the start). Tee times were 10 mins apart. Restrooms on the course were open and we saw the cart girl twice.
2 key points after 3pm it is walking only and that is because of the lack of carts. It seems the carts can only get enough of a charge to go twice during the day. The course was beautiful today and I was able to knock off a little rust.
Golf Course Review Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake Chula Vista California
Reviewed by: Long4par, San Diego
Playing Conditions 8.63 GREAT
Played yesterday in the AM. Course has gotten even better since my last review. IT IS GREEN. I don’t think I saw one brown spot on the course. Tees were level and good to hit from. They are adding 5-6 new tee boxes throughout the course. Should make the course a little longer.
Fairways were lush green. They probably need a trim but with the recent rain they may be waiting. No brown spots and easy to hit from. The rough is getting tough. Not unfair tough but enough where you have to think about what you are doing. This is a nice change from most SD courses where you would be lucky to see grass taller than 1-inch.
Sand was great. Nice white sand has finally settled in. Not to fluffy but enough sand to take a good swing and not worry about breaking your wrist.
Greens had fully recovered and were nice and smooth. They are on the fast side and you need to pay attention.
The biggest issue I hear is the course is surrounded by houses, which is true but the conditions make up for it. I have been hearing the new owners are not worried about money and are trying hard to make it one of the nicest courses in SD. If you are in SD it is worth giving it a try.
Golf Course Review Hunter Ranch Golf Course Paso Robles California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
Trying to book a tee time today proved a bit difficult with the rain, course closures and aeration all going on at once. Managed to get out and walk Hunter Ranch this morning and avoided the rain.
Golf Playing Conditions 7.51 GREAT
Course was very wet. No issues with the greens as they were dry and rolled smooth at a normal pace. However the fairways were soggy. No roll whatsoever and even though the recent rains have “greened” up the fairways they are still considered winter thin. Most of Hunter Ranch is on rolling hills which helps drain the course to make it playable.
It’s been a while since I walked Hunter and it’s very doable but there are some steep little short climbs to tee boxes etc. Other than that it’s not bad at all. Being that it was CPO, I was more than happy to walk.
Overall, conditions given the rain were very decent. I was only in one sand trap and it wasn’t too bad. Rough was definitely taller and thicker than last time I was here a couple of weeks ago. POP was under 3 hours. No one in front of me so I just cruised along.
Golf Course Review Spanish Bay Golf Links Pebble Beach California
ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens 4/5 & 4/6.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.
Reviewed by: sbarajasjr, San Diego
Golf Playing Conditions 8.98 GREAT
Played here yesterday (3/15) as the venue for my GK Cup match with Alex R. on what turned out to be a wonderful day after some severe downpours the night before and right until tee off time. My first time playing ANY Pebble Beach Company property and as you would expect, the place is golf heaven. Even with the course getting nearly 2″ of rain in 24 hours, it drained exceptionally well and was very playable sans a couple of areas of naturally sunken land that collected water, but who cares when it’s Spanish Bay. Alex’s review touches on all the important things, so I will offer a first-timers perspective.
Tee boxes: All things considered, outside the first tee box, all others were level and because of the rain, easy to drive the tee into the turf.
Fairways: Amazing to see how well conditioned they were. Rarely a bad lie (if any) and the run offered on drive was more than fair on a rainy day.
Rough: Tough and the ESA/waste areas were punishing. This course put a premium on accurate drives.
Sand: Bunkers were understandably wet and even so, I still had two sand saves today. Nice white sand in every bunker.
Greens: Amazing. I could seriously stop there but they were so beautiful and pure, some of the best ever (even if they were wet).
ETC: No carts today as course is CPO. Twosome we played with had a forecaddie and he was friendly, even if a bit loud at times. Everything about the course is class and staff was very friendly from start to finish. An amazing outing.
Golf Course Review Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club Dinuba California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
Played Ridge Creek mid-morning under the threat of rain but the day turned out to be absolutely perfect. The unseasonably warm (and dry) temperatures have the dormant grass starting to come back alive.
The Review
Golf Playing Conditions 7.11 GREAT
Fairways remain a mixture of green and brown color but present a fine hitting surface all around. Tee boxes were similar in nature with all being nice and level and most divot free. Even the two short par 3’s had good grass on the tee boxes to hit from. Greens at Ridge Creek are medium plus in size and all have some minor to moderate undulations making long lag putts tough but doable. The good news is that the greens at Ridge Creek are soft and very receptive to approach shots. In fact it’s very easy to get a lot of spin on well struck iron or wedge.
The greens did have a few repaired and unrepaired pitch marks (come on folks, bend down and fix your ball mark). Having said that I don’t remember either of us having a putt affected by a pitch mark.
I was in about 4 bunkers total between green-side and fairway. All were pretty much hard-pan dirt. One did have a thin layer of sand on the top and one had several pebbles throughout it. Course wasn’t overly busy but we did wait on the group in front of us for must of our shots, yet POP was at around 3.5 hrs. so no real complaints.
Ridge Creek is a true “links” style course with a premium on accuracy over length. Get off line and it’s lost ball city in the deep weeds/grass and bushes between fairways. The fairway bunkers are also to be avoided at all costs as it is often lob wedge to come out to avoid the steep ledges.
I always enjoy my round at Ridge Creek and look forward to the next round here.
ALERT: COVID-19
ALERT: Aeration
