Played today (4/22/24) only a few days after it finally REOPENED after years of being closed for renovations. As you'd hope and expect, it's in pretty good shape, as good of shape as I've ever seen it.

Tee boxes were fair, with good coverage. My only complaint would be that they were a bit firm in spots, i.e., difficult to stick your tee in the ground at the desired h... » More

Played today (4/22/24) only a few days after it finally REOPENED after years of being closed for renovations. As you'd hope and expect, it's in pretty good shape, as good of shape as I've ever seen it.

Tee boxes were fair, with good coverage. My only complaint would be that they were a bit firm in spots, i.e., difficult to stick your tee in the ground at the desired height.

Fairways were great, very lush, with few unfilled divots and even fewer bare spots.

Rough was a little rough (pun intended). It wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't great. It was short, which is nice, but the coverage/lushness was spotty. I feel like that is in part due to the type of grass they use (which I don't know what that is). Of all the areas on the course, this was the weakest.

On the other hand, the greens were the best part of the course. They were a little on the slow side--despite also being fairly firm--but I reckon that's because of how new they are. They did appear like they'd been punched in the recent past--which I'm not sure why that'd be necessary, if they're brand new--so perhaps that was part of it, too. But they rolled fairly true, and the surfaces looked new, which is a cool sight to see.

Lastly, the bunkers. All things considered, they were good. I say it that way because they were difficult to hit out of with the type and/or consistency of the sand. Usually, you think hard pack/dirt/concrete when you hear about difficult bunkers. This was the opposite. The sand was heavy, yet very soft and light. Kinda like beach sand. It was also super white. If you ask me, this is all because it's brand new, and over time, it'll settle and compact. But for now, you need to hit close enough to the ball and with enough speed, if you hope to get it out, let alone hit a good shot (though I'm also a very weak bunker player, so maybe that shouldn't mean much coming from me, haha).
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Snuck out to Nado yesterday as a single, Sunday, April 21. Called the starter around 2:30 and he said come on out and I got right out when I arrived at 3:15. Got paired up with three really nice guys, as usual. $36 to walk twilight rate, non-resident. $30 resident rate.

Blue Tees were all pretty nice, no complaints. Fairly level and not too much divot damage. » More

Snuck out to Nado yesterday as a single, Sunday, April 21. Called the starter around 2:30 and he said come on out and I got right out when I arrived at 3:15. Got paired up with three really nice guys, as usual. $36 to walk twilight rate, non-resident. $30 resident rate.

Blue Tees were all pretty nice, no complaints. Fairly level and not too much divot damage.

Fairways were in great shape. Never had a bad lie all day and they provided good cushion with proper roll out on drives.

Rough wasn't very long, but it was "patchy", some low bare/thin areas next to some higher clumps of grass that could cause some issues.

Traps were in good shape, found one greenside bunker and it had nice fluffy sand. Found one fairway bunker and it was just fine. No problems.

Greens were about as slow as I've ever seen them. They're still recovering from aeration a couple weeks ago, so they were slow and bumpy. They did hold shots well, but putting was difficult.

POP wasn't too bad, finished 18 just in time before darkness set in. Total POP was 4.5hrs, which is acceptable at this course. (often times it can go 5 - 5.5 hrs). Customer service is always good. The starters are always great. Didn't see the beverage cart for some reason, but not a big deal, didn't need anything. Always recommend.
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Played Simi Hills this weekend for an SCGA tournament through Rancho Park Golf Club and was not disappointed in anything other than my driving and putting! In days past it used to be quite easy to get tee times at this little gem of a course, but that's not been the case recently, so I was thrilled to sign up for this event when I saw it on the calendar months ago.

I ... » More

Played Simi Hills this weekend for an SCGA tournament through Rancho Park Golf Club and was not disappointed in anything other than my driving and putting! In days past it used to be quite easy to get tee times at this little gem of a course, but that's not been the case recently, so I was thrilled to sign up for this event when I saw it on the calendar months ago.

I played from the gold tees and my group had a noon starting time under hazy skies that soon gave way to a beautiful blue and one of the best early days of the spring. The fairways are in very nice shape right now and you'll get very good roll on your ball on tight fairways. The rough was very playable and not too thick at all. Bunkers were in quite good shape and I had no problem getting the club underneath the ball, while the tee boxes were all in very nice condition.

The greens were super challenging for me on this day and I'm not exactly sure why, but they were quite fast and very difficult to read, but rolled true, held shots and their lines well. For the life of me I can't understand how I just could not get the pace down all day, but that's golf sometimes. But overall they are in excellent shape.

The layout at Simi Hills is very fun and engaging with each hole presenting its own unique set of challenges. And the usually dormant creek that runs through holes at the start of the back nine was an actual river - something I don't think I'd ever seen here before, so that was quite stunning and cool to see and listen to throughout the round.

Facilities at Simi Hills are very good but must admit that the driving range is very small with only probably about 18-20 stalls max. Strange with so much land around, but I'm sure there is a reason for it. I'm sure on normal days that's fine but with a large SCGA tournament it was difficult to find a spot to warm up.

POP was pretty solid throughout the day despite the tournament conditions, meaning we finished in about four and a half hours, and there was cart service throughout the day providing everything we needed. No GPS on the carts though in case you're wondering.

Always love coming out to Simi Hills and can't wait for the next tournament here again.
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Played Santa Anita for the first time in a while this past week and was very pleasantly surprised with the vast majority of the conditions, while the POP left a lot to be desired.

Three friends and I set off with a 10am tee time from the blue tees and found a course with fairways in much better shape than previous visits this time of year, and fast, clean greens that ... » More

Played Santa Anita for the first time in a while this past week and was very pleasantly surprised with the vast majority of the conditions, while the POP left a lot to be desired.

Three friends and I set off with a 10am tee time from the blue tees and found a course with fairways in much better shape than previous visits this time of year, and fast, clean greens that were in really nice shape overall despite the heavy play. The tee boxes are a little thin in areas but flat and level, while the bunkers could use another layer or two of sand as they're playable but a little too much on the thin side.

POP was a serious issue as we had sometimes up to four groups on a hole and the waiting on the par 3s was often excruciating. A marshal came over on the 4th hole asking everyone to wave up the next group, but this was quickly abandoned by all for holes 8, 12 and 15. Ultimately the round took just over five hours which is disappointing.

Was it worth it though? Absolutely. We played a classic old layout in mostly good conditions for just under $40 walking. That's an absolute steal and this course really does challenge you despite its 'flat' reputation. It's anything but once you're in the fairways with some very significant hills and mounding that can make an ordinary shot quite challenging. To this day this course continues to always have my number as I've not once ever broken 90 here. It makes no sense! Alas, we keep trying ...
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Played 4/20/24 2 pm $78. POP 4:15. Greens have mostly recovered from punching. No sand and only faint hole punches. Putts ran well with only an occasional bounce. Medium speed, but still a challenge with the slope of the greens. Fairway's in decent shape. Lots of coverage and a little on the shaggy side, but played fine. Rough was a little thicker and caused more issues then t... » More

Played 4/20/24 2 pm $78. POP 4:15. Greens have mostly recovered from punching. No sand and only faint hole punches. Putts ran well with only an occasional bounce. Medium speed, but still a challenge with the slope of the greens. Fairway's in decent shape. Lots of coverage and a little on the shaggy side, but played fine. Rough was a little thicker and caused more issues then they appear they will. Ball tended to settle down in it a touch. Very busy day and pace of play a little slower today. Lots of unrepaired ball marks on the greens. A course you really need to pay attention to the other groups around. Some of the Tees & even greens are in potentials errant shot landing areas. We had a few balls go cruising past us, one on a green while we were putting. Fun course and good one for high handicappers.
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