I haven't played this course in years, but I will say this: everything I remember about Del Monte is that it looks like nothing and it will absolutely put your game to the test. This is truly historic golf, and if you play it, you'll see that it endures because it's real golf and a real test of the game. Don't let the seemingly straightforward layout fool you: challenge awaits on every shot.

Have fun and enjoy the oldest course west of the Mississippi!

Motored around the Ridgeline-Creekside combination on Tuesday morning alone in about three hours and found the course in spectacular condition. Greens are just perfect. Although they might consider getting them a hair faster, there's hardly a complaint to be lodged. Fairways were immaculate, rough substantial in places but also exceptionally groomed, bunkers solid, tee boxes in great shape if perhaps a bit shaggy... this course truly sets the standard for conditioning in this part of Ventura county. Get out and play!

Rustic is playing just great. Aeration with small holes begins tomorrow 6/5 and after a couple weeks they should be back to great condition. Today they were very firm and medium fast. The fairways are in excellent condition and running nicely, and where the rough is up, which is most places, it is thick, lush, and downright penal in places. Always a great value, and the pace today was not too too slow for a Sunday morning. Enjoy Rustic - the conditions figure to be great through the summer.

Played Ridge/Creek nines on Sat. 4/22. The Creekside greens still have at least a week to go before they're really healed from aeration, so they're still pretty bumpy and slower than the Ridgeline's greens. Fairways, rough, and bunkers are in great shape though the recent rains have left some bunkers a little crusty it seems. The tee boxes seemed a little shaggier and longer than usual but not to the point of being problematic. On the whole, the course is playing beautifully. I hadn't been out here in a couple months and the weekend greens fees are now $105, which is getting pretty high for my tastes. They do have a current Monday special going -$55, which is a major bargain. Wish I'd known sooner; I'd have taken a Monday off to play!

They maintain this course to a very good standard. It's not quite as perfectly manicured as Moorpark but it's close. Definitely a course to play on a serious discount if you can; there are just a lot of confounding and weird holes out there. I like the test of hitting from uneven lies, and on the front here you will always have a sidehill and up- or downhill lie no matter where you are. The back nine here is pretty bland in my opinion, and the front, now that I've played it a bunch of times, just seems overly gimmicky and sort of shoehorned in to the hill. Views are nice, especially the view from #7 tee, but I don't think the course is worth paying full-rate for.

They keep this course in excellent condition and the staff is incredibly attentive, highly professional, and really does go out of their way to make you feel welcomed and well-treated. That said, this course is located directly across the street from the McCarran International Airport, so it's VERY noisy, and it is packed in on a small plot of ground. Frankly, it's not worth even half of what they charge to play it in my view. Go with someone who's paying your way, go on a corporate outing, or find a way to get some other kind of discount.

Played my first-ever Simi Hills round on 3/1 and I enjoyed it despite getting tired of playing driver-wedge just about every hole. It's a pretty scenic layout with some decent shot values except that the par-4s are, as mentioned, almost universally driver-wedge situations. You can have some fun on the par-5's and the 3-par holes are a good mix in my view. This course seemed to me to be in very good shape for a muni; only one green was notably bad with a poor mix of bentgrass and poa annua. Poa seems to grow a lot better out there and they should just go with it. Fairways are good, bunkers are very firm-packed but generally pretty consistent, and only a few tees are noticeably not level. Worth $40 weekday with a cart, and a decent walking course.

Played Saturday 2/10, teeing off at 8:00am and finishing a few minutes before 1:00pm, largely thanks to the group in front who fell nearly two holes behind pace. No doubt this is a great walking course despite the distance between some holes, but I think guys who are 85 years old should probably get a cart for free. On the bright side, I hope I'm still occasionally walking golf courses when I'm 85. Rant aside, Rustic is in great shape right now. Greens are really firm and pretty quick, fairways are perfect as we've all come to expect. The rough remains problematic and is clumpy and spotty in a lot of areas - I guess you'd better just try keeping the ball on the short grass to avoid the frustration of horrid lies. I think spring aeration is coming up soon, either in the last week of Feb. or first week or so of March, so get out sooner rather than later. And for pete's sake, keep up with the group in front of you, would you? Thanks!

Played Sunday 1/22 in the howling wind. Canyon/Ridgeline nines both in excellent shape. The wind was so strong that it was literally almost unplayable in spots ( at the #2 green on Ridgeline, the highest & most exposed spot on that nine, we literally couldn't putt because balls would not sit still long enough for us to lift the ball mark, let alone set up and putt). It was also a lot of fun, though to hit 390-yard downwind drives! Any way you look at it, they're still keeping this course in fantastic shape. If you hear the words "wind advisory," bring several layers of clothing and a truckload of patience, as well as your knockdown shot.

Played my last round of 2005 at Moorpark because I couldn't get out at Rustic... and I've never seen Moorpark as crowded and slow as it was yesterday. Played Creekside/Canyon Crest and found the Creekside to be in amazingly great shape, Canyon Crest a bit less so mainly because the group in front of us (one of whom spent literally five minutes on his cell phone on the tee box at Canyon Crest #1 with the entire hole open in front of him, and then duck-hooked his tee shot into the crap) left plenty of ball marks for my group to repair. Anyway, I don't know how they're keeping this course so perfect through our cooler, shorter-days winter, but they are. Greens are in fantastic shape, fairways perfect, and the rough, though not real long, is super-lush. It's always a treat to play here. 2005 was a great golf year!

Valley course played typically tough this morning, and slower than I recall it playing. The fairways are in great shape and the greens are just what you'd expect at Robinson Ranch - fast, tricky, smooth, firm but receptive, and rolling a heck of a lot faster than the practice green, at least in my experience today.

Bring some game to this course, especially when it's windy, or expect a long, frustrating day.

It's playing really nicely - greens firm, fairways perfect considering the season, and I happen to really like the rustic quality of the bunkers and sandy waste areas. They're HAZARDS, they're not supposed to be perfectly-groomed sandboxes that offer no added difficulty. Pace of play remains problematic here, more in my view because of the thoughtlessness and discourtesy of the players than for any other reason.

On another note, I carry several of these small, two-pronged, fork-like objects which I use on every green to repair pitch marks. These are very handy tools known as "divot repair" or "ball-mark repair" tools, and they're available in most pro shops, sometimes even for free. You might suggest that your friends pick some of these handy tools up, and train them in their proper use! :-)