I played my first gkreviewguru round with gk legends Itslikeimsayin, kevbig, and Nickesquire. We teed off at about 7:15 on a beautiful Thursday morning, (blue skies and very little wind), and didn't wait to hit a single shot all day.

The layout here is a nice mix of short and long holes. Most tee shots have a reasonable amount of usable landing area, though a couple tee shots are tight, and there is quite a bit of thoughtful bunker placement that makes one think about club selection on the tee.

I thought course conditions were very good, all around. Although many of the tee boxes were punched or being re-sodded, the teeing areas we used were still level and had good grass coverage. Fairways and rough were very good, for the most part. I did have one sketchy lie in the fairway, but that's acceptable considering the fact that it's the middle of summer. Bunkers were well groomed with consistent sand.

The greens had lots of ball mark scars, but they putted at a consistent, medium speed with little or no bouncing. There is just enough contouring to make the greens challenging, but not ridiculous.

Customer service was excellent across the board. Every employee I dealt with was efficient, positive and professional. I will definitely be back, and I recommend this course highly to those of you who have never played Black Gold.

I had to play THIS gk plays, because La Purisima is one of my favorite courses anywhere. It's not just the layout, but the unspoiled beauty of the area. This was the easiest the course has ever played when I've played it, with light wind and the greens at a reasonable speed.
Conditions weren't perfect, but they were very good in the parts of the golf course where you should hit the ball. The greens are so challenging that there is an added sense of accomplishment when you two putt from long range.
If you haven't played this course, it's worth it to work a round at La Purisima into a trip up or down the California coast. It is a classic.

Bizarre ... Surreal ... Weird ... Wacky.
My friend and I teed off, as a twosome, with a 7:48 tee time. Didn't wait to hit a single shot all day. Done at 10:45. Under three hours. Nuts.
Course conditions were pretty decent, all around. Greens were a little wet, but it was a pretty hot and humid day, so better safe than sorry.
Lots of juniors and oldsters there. Ladies day started at 8am. A good, short course for all three of those demographics. $25 to walk.
A sneaky, tricky course.

I teed off Monday at around 11:45 for my birthday round. They charged me $40 to ride, but that included range balls and anything I wanted from the restaurant menu. I ordered the prime rib, so it turned out to be a very good deal. As for the course, I really like the friendly layout and the challenging greens. I would play here often if the green fees were lower. Course conditions were good, but not perfect. Good coverage in the fairways and rough, but not nearly as lush as in the past. Teeing areas good. Bunkers great. The greens were fun, as usual, though not lightning fast or smooth as they can be. I had to fix many ball marks throughout the round, and the sixteenth green had been recently punched. Pace of play was about 4 1/2 hours. Service was great, in keeping with a higher-end golf course. I like this place, though it may be a year before I can afford to come back.

I played a second round Thursday, teeing off at around noon with noted gkers rgm2525 and Nickesquire. It was the first time I had walked 36 holes in a day since several years BEFORE the famous dog "Hector" was born. Customer service was great, as always. Sadly, course conditions have gotten significantly worse since my positive review of only three weeks ago. Large sections of grass on several fairways are recently dead or dying. It's like a recurring nightmare that won't go away. The greens were very nice ... that's part of the torture of this place. In a way, I guess it helps to see The Links at Victoria as more than just a golf course. Maybe Victoria's greater purpose is to forever remind us of the permanent damage we humans can do when we are careless and stupid with the only planet we've got.

I teed off Thursday at dawn with gk "gold vest" members rgm2525 and Nickesquire. There was a little confusion at the first tee, but the starter did a fine job straightening everything out and moving us on our way. The fairways, rough, and sand were muni-good, with decent greens on every hole except 2,3 and 8. Pace of play was spectacular, as we didn't have to wait at all and finished in around four hours. A really fun round .... I just wish my short game would have joined us.

I drove straight from Goose Creek to Las Vegas after the gk plays at Goose Creek. I played Conestoga on Wednesday, using the free round I had won at the Indian Wells event. The staff was very professional and helpful to a first-timer.I teed off at about 8am as a single, and joined a twosome on about the fifth hole.

I liked the layout, as there was enough room to drive the ball, but enough challenge to make one think. There were two holes (from the gold tees), where you run out of golf course if you hit too much club. My advice; hit one club shorter (maybe two) than you think you should hit. I can't remember which holes, but they'll give you a yardage card.

The greens were good summer Bermuda, a little slow and tricky to putt if one is used to bent/poa annua. The area immediately surrounding the course is beautiful and undeveloped (so far). Pace of play was about four hours.

All in all, a very good course. I could definitely see including it in a loop with Coyote Springs, Paiute, and Wolf Creek for a "North of Vegas" golf spree.

Yes, it's been a week since the gk plays at Goose Creek. I guess it's hard to write a review of a course that has been so thoroughly well reviewed. It's like writing a review for "Citizen Kane". I played poorly, but the course, the service, and the entire facility were fantastic. If you haven't played this fine layout, make a point of doing so. Thanks to Johnny and the staff at Goose Creek making it happen.

I teed of at around 10:30 on a Thursday. It was the first time I'd played "The Beast by the Blimp" in a while, so I was anxious to see if there was any progress on the experiment they're doing where they try to grow grass on a golf course. Now, for those of you whom have never had the pleasure of getting to know stickboy intimately, let me inform you that I was born and raised in the charming little hamlet known as Carson, California. Not only that, The Links at Victoria (then known as Victoria Golf Course) was the first regulation golf course I played in my now infamous golf career. So, when I speak of course conditions at Victoria, I come from a place of pain and human degradation most people will never know.
That being said, it is my opinion that The Links at Victoria is in the best condition in which I have played it since I played it as a pretty young sophomore at Carson High in 1974. With the exception of the eleventh hole, which is still pretty bad, I would say the fairways have decent to good quality grass covering 70 to 80 percent of the important areas. The rough, too, is growing in well and is quite punitive in some areas. The tee boxes are good and the greens ran smooth and medium fast.
In short, I would say that Victoria has reached the point at which it can be considered nearly equal to the other L.A. County courses ... which is amazing.

I teed off at 6:30 am on Wednesday and we played as a twosome in a little under three hours, never having to wait for a single shot. I had never played the #2 course, so I wanted to check it out. I thought the layout was "sporty" and lots of fun at just over 6,000 yards from the blues. The conditions from tee to green were very nice. It was wonderful to feel soft grass under my feet after so many rounds at Los Verdes. The tee boxes were fine, though a couple were a little uneven. I really liked the greens. They were smooth and true, but not overly fast. This is also very easy course to walk I see why the #1 course is the more popular "big brother" of the two courses. but I liked the #2 quite a bit.

I teed off today, Wednesday, at about 6:30. Nobody mentioned that the greens were punched when we made our tee time. The starter forgot to mention it when we paid full price. No sign alerting customers, Greens were bumpy and unputtable all day. I asked the starter after the round if they were going to sand the greens, as well. He was too busy taking someone else's money to answer. Give the greens two or three weeks to heal. A pretty fun layout. I just hate it when they pull that shady stuff on customers.

I got froggy and decided to play a second 18 on Thursday afternoon, teeing off at about 4pm. I had played this course about twenty years ago, when they called the nines the Red, White, and Blue nines. They changed the names to Indian, Mountain, and Royal, (I played The Indian to Royal Course). Otherwise, everything is the same as I remember it . The short holes are pretty narrow, the longer holes are a little more generous off the tee. Course conditions were fine, though understandably dry and crispy. The greens were recently out of aerification, but putted pretty well. This is one of those layouts popular with people who are short and straight or enjoy hitting many different clubs from the tee. Straight is more important than long, for sure. I wouldn't make a special trip to Palm Springs to play here, but its a fine option for a second round of the day.