Tag: golf course review

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Golf Course Review Oak Valley Golf Club Beaumont California

Oak Valley Golf Club

Beaumont, CA

Reviewed by: weeman68, pasadena

Playing Conditions 6.02 GOOD
Playing Conditions 6.02 GOOD

Winter conditions throughout.  The only thing thriving is the rough after the rain (and that’s not necessarily a good thing!)

The Review

Fairways are dormant and gray with many sprouts of poa 4/10.

Tee boxes generally fine but a few were shaggy and 3 or 4 were noticeably crowned 7/10

Rough was very healthy, US Open stuff with the ball frequently sitting down so you couldn’t see it till you were over the top of it. 9/10.

Sand was firm to compacted at times (after the rain) and needs some grooming 7/10.

Greens were slow and very bumpy (one had fungus at the back) and did not track well at all 4/10.

Our Reviewer’s Take

They were disappointing for such a course and for what otherwise would be memorable, contoured surfaces to putt on.

Editor’s Note:  Playing Golf in the Near Future?  Visit Greenskeeper.Org for your latest golf course information, maintenance alerts, photos and tips all under one room.  We are the definitive source to help you determine where you will play your next round of golf.  Be in the know.  Know Before You Go with Greenskeeper.Org.

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Golf Course Review Morongo Golf Club Tuckwet Canyon (LEGENDS) Beaumont California

Morongo Golf Club Tukwet Canyon (Legends)

Beaumont, CA

Reviewed by: weeman68, pasadena

Playing Conditions 5.67 Good
Playing Conditions 5.67 Good

Skipped across the road to Morongo after Oak Valley (they have remodelled the bar/restaurant – nice! But the pro shop took a hit when they did so and is now kinda pokey – not nice!)

Zipped around in about 2.5 hours as a single. Finally – a more or less green golf course!

There were a few patches here and there of dormancy and a few bare areas too, but overall conditions tee to green were good. Sand traps were still flooded in places and generally firm/crusty with decent sized rocks in them. Just like at Oak, the rough was penal, US Open stuff (but not as severe as at Oak).

Greens were better here, but they contain about 50% poa and that affected the line and speed noticeably at times. Still, I paid 25 bucks on a Sunday afternoon so I am not too fussed. (18 greens is trashed at the parts that border the water hazard fyi – no grass, just dirt.mud.)

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Golf Course Review Encinitas Ranch Golf Course Encinitas California

Encinitas Ranch Golf Course

Encinitas, CA

Reviewed by: sbarajasjr, San Diego

Playing Conditions 6.85 Good
Playing Conditions 6.85 GOOD

Played here yesterday with GK member Jon P. at the SCGA One Day Series 2-person better ball tournament. It was an absolutely fabulous time out there and we actually did quite well (-10) and tied for 3rd in a full field. This was my first time playing here (amazingly) and I was quite impressed with the course. In spite of the fact it is so short, you never really feel the lack of length as a hindrance. There were some very quirky and enjoyable holes, other crazy ones that made you think, and course knowledge here is definitely a plus. Overall I would absolutely come back here. Conditions weren’t prime (as the last reviewer mentioned) but that did not take away from a great day. The review…

Tee boxes: Perhaps the least positive part of the day. Most of the tee boxes were fairly beat up (probably from the amount of play before us), but I distinctly remember at least three holes in which it took more than a minute to find good turf to drive my tee into. Also, there were more than a few boxes that were uneven and slope in one direction.

Fairways: Good overall, though there were quite a few unfilled divots out there. More importantly though, there was grass to hit from on 95% of shots, ample roll, and visually it wasn’t some gross yellow-tinged patchwork of dirt.

Rough: Thick in certain areas. Penal at it’s worst but from a scale of 1 to Torrey, closer to 4-5; made you club up, but no issues getting the ball out. More penal than rough were the OB/red stake areas that are scattered around the property.

Bunkers: Was in quite a few today but they were good! A mix in terms of sand consistency, but never was it that hard to get out. Fairway and green-side bunkers all had good quality and ample amounts of sand. A few had some d%mn sand, but it turned out to not be soaked.

Greens: The highlight of the round. Some of these green complexes were just insane (think Redhawk at its worst), while others were just run of the mill. All had fast speeds, tricky breaks, and good conditioning. They were challenging and offered some head-scratching putts all day.

ETC: The Encinitas Ranch staff was very friendly; the SCGA rules officials were a little less than friendly, but alas they couldn’t ruin the day. Staff said they pride themselves on pace of play, and even though SCGA outings are notoriously slow, today the front played at 2.45 and the back at 2.15 so there you have it. Carts with plenty of juice and color GPS that were super useful on blind shots. Course layout was fun. Good clubhouse/grill and cart attendant out and about. Ample parking lot and not to difficult to find on the map. Overall had a wonderful time and would recommend.

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Recent Golf Course Review Goose Creek Golf Club Mira Loma California

Goose Creek Golf Club

Mira Loma, CA

ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens 3/26 & 3/27.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Reviewed by: BrianH, Westlake Village

Golf Playing Conditions 7.90 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.90 GREAT

Played the Goose Saturday morning the 24th with a 9:15 tee time with a friend and one his friends and were joined by a nice single. POP was right around 4 hours playing at a leisurely pace with nobody in front slowing us down and nobody pushing from the back. The customer service was on point with a very friendly check in, down to the marshals, and the beverage girl who we saw multiple times.

I was a little concerned that the course would be a little soggy with all the rain we saw for the previous week in Ventura County, but the course either drains well or they didn’t get a ton of rain as things weren’t soggy in any areas and no puddles in the traps.

The Review

The fairways were in great shape, the ball rolled out nicely on drives and had great lies all day long, but there were some divots in some of the main landing areas. Played the whites since my buddy and his friend aren’t long off the tees and they were in great shape. A few divots on the par 3’s but that is to be expected. Grass was a great length and always had a flat spot to hit from they do a great job of moving the tees around to keep everything tip top.

Sand traps ranged from being compact to super fluffy it depended on the trap and the lie, but I would say they were all in good to great shape.

Rough was mostly about 2-3 inches in length, but the ball seemed to set up nicely so it’s not like you had a terrible lie and you could get the club on it.

The greens were outstanding. A well struck putt held their lines and the greens had few ball marks. It was a little confusing since I usually play in the morning and the greens seem to speed up throughout the day as they dry out, but for some reason the opposite happened hear and the greens slowed down as it got closer towards noon.

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Goose Creek Golf Club Mira Loma California GK Review Guru Visit - Looking back on Hole 9
Goose Creek Golf Club Mira Loma California GK Review Guru Visit – Looking back on Hole 9

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Goose Creek Golf Club Mira Loma California GK Review Guru Visit - Hole 10 Approach
Goose Creek Golf Club Mira Loma California GK Review Guru Visit – Hole 10 Approach

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Bottom-line

I great time was had and I can’t wait to return, highly recommended.

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Recent Golf Course Review Torrey PInes Golf Course (SOUTH) San Diego California

Torrey Pines Golf Course (South)

San Diego, CA

ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens on the South Course 4/10 & 4/11.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Reviewed by: divotnjay, Coronado

Golf Playing Conditions 8.40 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 8.40 GREAT

Punished myself in the wind on Sunday. Walked on as a single and got right out, showed up at 8:55 and got paired up with 3 great guys (all brothers) at 9:10. POP was phenomenal!! finished at 1pm, incredible, never waited on the group in front and never pushed from behind. Perhaps the chilly windy day kept some people away and maybe the ever increasing higher green fees ($78 for resident to walk). Course is in overall good condition.

Teeboxes were just fine. Great coverage and level, never an issue.

Fairways were darn near perfect, had great lies all day.

Bunkers were nice, not perfect, but never had an issue getting out, found a few of them, one was plugged about a foot below the lip on 14 right hand side of the green, was able to get it out, though.

Rough was surprisingly cut down and wasn’t too much of an issue, easiest I’ve seen it in a long time.

Greens were pretty good. They held shots if they were struck perfectly, but they seemed a little more firm than usual, most had some roll out. They were their normal fast speed, but they were tough to read, none of us could seem to get a handle on them. None of us holed many putts beyond 5FT, crazy. Quite a few greens had many unfixed ball marks, kind of upsetting. Number 4 is temporary about 50yds short of the normal green, It’s not really a green at all, it’s the same as the fairway and it’s not marked very well. Oh well, I finally made a par at 4, lol. I’d be pretty pissed if I paid $200 and had a temp green, though.

Saw the bev cart a couple of times. The pins were in super difficult positions. It dawned on me late in the round that they seemed to be placed in similar Sunday positions to the Farmers/PGA spots. Very tough with long irons to go for the pins. Overall, had a great day and I need to get out there more often.

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Recent Golf Course Review River Ridge Golf Course (LAKES) Oxnard California

River Ridge Golf Course (Lakes)

Oxnard, CA

ALERT: Aeration

Golf Playing Conditions 7.38 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.38 GREAT


Will be aerating the Victoria Lakes Course greens 4/23 – 4/26, reopening 4/27.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.

Reviewed by: kviser, Saugus, CA

I played here last Friday morning, teeing off a little after 10:00. I had a free birthday round and was walking, so no charge at all!

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River Ridge Golf Club - Hole 7 tee box
River Ridge Golf Club (LAKES)- Hole 7 tee box

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River Ridge Golf Club - Hole 16 greenside
River Ridge Golf Club (LAKES) – Hole 16 greenside

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The course was a little wet in most areas and the right side of hole 1 approach was saturated enough to have standing water despite being on a hill. Green speed displayed on the starters shed read 10’-10”, but I would say it was slower than that. No severe ball marks or damage of any kind on the greens or anywhere else. Many bunkers had to be drained and raked. I saw at least one Greenskeeper working on it; I was in several bunkers and mostly they were all drained and raked except maybe one left of hole 11. Tees were nice and level. Overall the course is in good winter condition with a mix of dormant warm season grasses and some greener poa and rye.

One of the best value courses around. Recommend you play it before aerification.

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Recent Golf Course Review Torrey Pines Golf Course (NORTH) San Diego California

Torrey Pines Golf Course (North)

San Diego, CA

Reviewed by: weber2323, San Diego, CA

Golf Playing Conditions 7.91 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.91 GREAT

Was 3rd off yesterday and the pace was fantastic. Finished in less than 4 hours and the group behind us was teeing off on 14 as we were walking up 17. I’m not sure if they let someone play through but even as we finished on 18 there was no one on 17.

I think the rains from last week slowed down the pace and firmness of the greens so that took some adjustments. Balls didn’t roll out as much on approach shots and my first couple of putts were pretty short. They were still great however and will probably get quicker as the weather is turning nicer this week. So its probably back to “normal” later this week.

Fairways I probably shouldn’t rate as I was playing out of the rough for most of the day. However they did provide some roll. A few places of divot damage but nothing too bad. Don’t really remember any bad spots in the fairway thou so overall very nice to hit from.

Rough was not too penalizing although the ball could sit down. I was able to get some hybrids on a few shots since the ball was sitting up. You’ll find a few dead spots out there and some lush spots.

Found a couple of bunkers and was in the fairway bunker on 7 and that sand was so soft. My feet basically sunk right in but that was the exception. Other bunkers I played seemed pretty normal, not too soft and not too compact.

Tee boxes were normal. Plenty of room to tee it up even on par 3 and all seemed to be generally level.

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Recent Golf Course Review Costa Mesa Country Club LOS LAGOS Costa Mesa California

Costa Mesa CC (Los Lagos)

Costa Mesa, CA

Reviewed by: NutNButCup, Buena Park
Teed off Wednesday morning at 7:20 finishing in 4 hours.

The Review

The greens were in good condition. They rolled with medium/fast speed and were smooth. The greens were a little firm so had to allow for some extra roll out with full shots and chips.  The fairways were in decent winter condition with a few thin spots.  The rough was majority good with some thin/bare spots.  The two bunkers I was in were heavy, wet, and a little thin at the bottom but playable.  The tee boxes were fair to good.

Bottom-line

It is an enjoyable course to play and the staff was friendly.