The onslaught of triple digit weather in the valley is starting to show. The course is still in decent to nice shape but there are now some brown spots and thin lies in the fairways throughout the course. Greens have held up and still have plenty of life in them. Greens are receptive to approach shots and only a few had some bumpiness to them from ball marks.

Overall rating for the course is around a 7-7.5. As others have mentioned NO WATER on the course?!?! In two years they went from having bottled water in coolers stationed throughout the course to No Water at all.

Overall, it's a fun track with above average (for Muni courses) conditions.

Laguna Seca is one of my favorite layouts in the Peninsula. It's hard to believe it's been several months since I've played here. The track has numerous elevation changes with several risk/ reward holes. Three of the par 5's are grip it and rip it and the fourth has two water features that make accuracy and club selection critical.

Course offer plenty of scoring holes yest has a couple monster par 4's like the ninth hole which may be the second toughest par 4 on the peninsula.

Conditions were very nice today. All greens were smooth and rolled true. Greens here are deceptive. There is generally more break than it appears.

Fairways were decent with mostly green coverage and decent lies. There were a few brown and thin areas throughout the course. Tee boxes were much improved over the last time here. They were all level with good lush coverage.

Laguna seca is a great place for a lower cost add when coming to the Monterey peninsula

Finally made it out to Kings Country Club after several months of trying to coordinate the outing with a friend. Course is in very nice condition overall. Fairways were lush and green throughout with only a couple of brown spots throughout the course.

Greens were very soft and receptive to approach shots. A couple of the greens had some ball marks but overall not bad at all. Whereas most greens were fairly flat and manageable to navigate, the interesting part was some of the greens were huge and others were tiny. If you played here enough you would know which ones you had room for error on. But like I said, most were flat so pin seeking wasn't a problem.

The layout is completely flat with only one real water hazard coming into play. The par 5 13th hole is a blast with a moat around the green. I needed about 3-5 more yards on my drive to be comfortable to go for it in two so I had to lay up.

Most of the holes tend to dog leg left, heavily rewarding a draw. If you have a natural fade or a slice, I could see how this course would wreak havoc on a player. Course is lined with trees throughout offering shade in the high summer temps in the valley but also placing a premium on accuracy.

Sand traps were nice as were the tee boxes. Clubhouse has some nice style to it with a decent "café" type menu.

We had an early tee time so I didn't utilize any of the practice areas. Overall the course was fun and well groomed.

Hooked up with some GK'ers including JohnnyGK himself for a great late afternoon round at Ridge Creek. Because there were 5 of us I will not comment on everyone's wardrobe but will say I was I the official GK outfit with the dark green shirt, socks and matching green and white golf balls. JohnnyGK made sure I didn't get any points deducted by supplying me with the green tees.

Course was in terrific shape with the fairways stealing the show. They were 8.5-9 on the scale and were an absolute pleasure to hit from. Throughout the entire round we were impressed how green and lush the course was. No issues with the tee boxes. Sand traps were ok, some hardpan some with a little bit of fluff to them.

Greens, rolled nice and fast but did have several pitch marks throughout. They still rolled smooth for the most part though.

The course is a true links style track with some deep bunkers (both fairway and greenside) that at times make you pitch out sideways. Ridge Creek has a good mixture of tough holes that you just try to survive along with some shorter ones that offer good scoring opportunities.

The only disappointment was the restaurant closed before we finished.

Needed an AM tee time and Madera fit the bill. Hadn't played here in a number of months and conditions are right on track as usual. Greens are the highlight with above average greens for a muni course. They slope back to front with several being two tiered. Being behind the pin on the wrong section of the green can up the degree of difficulty for this course quite a bit. Greens roll true at a medium pace.

Fairways are a decent overall but do have a few thin spots throughout. Tee boxes were in much better shape sans one par 3 that was pretty chewed up. Sand boxes.....let's just say you don't want to be in the sand traps and leave it at that.

The one odd design flaw of the completely flat track (other than the placement of some of the tee boxes) is the placement of the water hazards. Madera has several lakes throughout the course but most of them don't really come into play. They are off (sometimes way off) to the side and mid way down the fairway so any decent and semi straight drive stays way clear of the water. There are no forced carries or water at the end of a dog leg making club selection critical. I'm a huge fan of water features on a course but these seem to be there just for logistical purposes of watering the course.

Anyway, Madera is what I call a standard Muni course. It's $23 to walk rack rate and often you can find deals at that price with a cart. For the price combined with decent conditions, it gets a thumbs up.

I can't believe it's been 6 months since I've played here. SJO is always a blast to play and the conditions never disappoint. The wind was up this afternoon making club selection a challenge on the already difficult (but fun) back 9. Greens rolled true and as I've said before seem to be the perfect blend between manageable yet challenging. They were rolling a little slower than usual (especially the front 9). I only encountered one un-repaired pitch mark.

Fairways were near perfect An easy 9/10. Just a perfect dark green lush playing surface that always presented a great lie. There were a couple of small areas that the wild boars had dug up. This course runs into that every so often. The two fairways that had been hit by the pigs were already under repair. The only dry thin area I found on the entire course was a patch on the 18th fairway near the dogleg bend, and it was about the size of a dining room table.

Tee boxes were excellent as well. Most were super lush and all were level. A couple of the par 3's had some divots but still no issues finding a clean hitting surface.

I avoided sand traps all day so I can't really comment, but usually they are the weak link of the track. Service is always friendly. I walked up without a reservation and the gal at the pro shop told me if I didn't want to hit any range balls, I could quickly get out before a foursome was going to tee off in about 5 minutes. Talk about having your wits about you! It was nice to see that she was aware that the course was wide open and encouraged me to "rush" out to get in front of a foursome.

I had clear sailing with a wide open course until I ran into a twosome on the 16th.

With so many great courses only 20-30 minutes away SJO is easily overlooked, but absent views of the ocean, it is right up there with the best of them.

Met up with a buddy for a round at Pheasant Run. I hadn't played here for about 6 months but always enjoy this course. It's a completely flat track surrounded by houses but has numerous water hazards to keep you on your toes. As mentioned before it's all about taking advantage of the Par 3 & 5's and surviving the long Par 4's.

Condition wise it's at its usual decent well rounded nice condition. Nothing over the top but above your average muni course. Greens were rolling Medium-Fast+. They were soft and held approach shots well.

Fairways were healthy and green. Maintenance does a great job in keeping water on them throughout the day. Whereas this makes for some wet, winter like conditions from time to time it really keeps the course looking nice in the midst of the triple digit heat wave the valley as been experiencing for the last few weeks.

Tee boxes were decent. Nothing to brag about but nothing to complain about. Sand traps were a tad under preferred or acceptable level.

There were a few holes that had some severe bare patches around the skirt area around the greens.

Pro shop is bare bones but the restaurant/bar is nice.

Played Rancho San Marcos on Sunday as part of our GK Cup matches. Had a blast of a time on a course that's quickly becoming a personal favorite (6 birdies in 3 rounds helps). The layout is super fun and dare I say the perfect mix between challenging yet very scorable. There are some wide open fairways with elevated tees that allow you to grip it and rip it. Yet there are some narrow doglegs with tree trouble that make accuracy with less than driver the ideal choice. Add in a couple of lakes and forced carries over dry (for now ) ravines and you can't help but come away with a smile after playing this track.

Condition wise we were forwarded that the summer heat has taken a bit of toll on the course. Still it was in nice shape around a 7.5 out of 10 overall. Greens were rolling fast. Again they offer a decent amount of challenge but are very manageable. There were a few unrepaired pitch marks on a few of the greens which must have been brought to their attention because they had a kid out repairing divots. Very cool to see that. There were also a couple of greens that had some small GUR areas. The damage may have been caused my wildlife. Regardless the pins were placed far away from these areas so they were pretty much a non factor.

I seemed to find great lies every time in the fairway (regardless of which fairway I was in).
Some of the bunkers were showing signs of the summer heat with crusty and/or hard packed dirt. Others were fine.

Staff was excellent and POP was whatever we wanted. We practically had the course to ourselves.

I used to always look forward to going to thie Santa Ynez region for cycling and racing. Now I think I'll start making regular plans to hang out in the area for golf.

Went out mid morning in a typical Pebble summer cool damp and windy day. Tee'd off at 9:30 AM and actually it wasn't too cold. We never saw the sun all day but temperature wise it certainly manageable. I'm sad to say but the course is in shambles right now. I'm not sure what has happened but the near perfect conditions a few months ago have now turned into a beat up Muni course.

The greens rolled true and fast. No pitch marks or diseases. However, they were hard as a rock and approach shots just would not stick. Greens have very small landing areas and even well struck shots that landed in the wrong part of the green would roll off.

Fairways were a HUGE disappointment. They were 45-55% brown dirt or super thin dead grass. Rarely was there a green lush lie in the fairway. Rough was patchy. A lot of the skirt areas around the greens were being prepped for new sod. Those area's were closed off GUR with a near by "drop zone".

Tee boxes were ok but nothing special as in the past. They were level but not as lush as normal. Sand traps were good for the most part. The first one I was in was perfect but the next one was thin. The others were all decent but not as nice as the first one.

A few years ago before I started playing golf, I remember noticing the huge amounts of brown grass Spanish Bay when cycling past the course. A friend of mine who works at the Spanish Bay Inn told me it was because the Pebble Beach company only has so much water for the three courses and they elect to keep Pebble and Spyglass pristine so Spanish Bay suffers. Not sure if it's true or not but it appears so by the conditions of SB.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the conditions of the course. Even at my reduced rate, it's way overpriced given the poor conditions. There is no way I would pay full pop for it right now.

Played mid day yesterday on a nice hot Central Valley summer day. Given the recent spell of triple digit heat the course was in fantastic shape. Maintenance crew were out all afternoon watering the greens and fairways. Greens rolled true and a medium pace. Most greens are pretty manageable with modest breaks and undulations.

Fairways were in great shape. I know Dragonfly prices are a little higher than most courses in the valley but when you see the shape of the course given the recent heat wave, it's worth it. Tee boxes were decent and sand traps are hit and miss. However, I did manage to get up and down out of the bunkers 2 out 3 times so I guess they can't be that bad.

Layout is flat, with a couple water hazards thrown in to keep you honest. A lot of people say it's a tough course but it seems to fit my eye and I always enjoy playing it.

A definite go to track when in the valley.

It's been awhile since I've played Hunter Ranch, and I forgot how challenging the course can be. Most of the holes run north/south so you rarely have a crosswind. It's either behind you or against you! Tons of elevation changes throughout the course with a good mix of tight narrow openings demanding accuracy along with several WIDE fairways allowing you to grip it and rip it. A few water features are thrown in to add to the accuracy challenge along with a mid iron par 3 over a mini canyon.

The course has plenty of trees throughout to offer shade during the triple digit summer temps. Condition wise the greens were smooth as always rolling at a medium-fast pace. They held approach shots decently. The score card has pin placements on them which is helpful in determining your preferred angle of approach. Carts are in nice shape. No GPS system but they do have USB ports to charge your smart device.

Fairways were decent enough. Some areas were very nice, however there were a handful of thin brown areas throughout the course. First cut of rough is very manageable, after that it's pretty much hardpan dirt.

Restaurant is a rustic western style ranch building with very good food. It's a very popular lunch stop for non-golfers.

Overall, it's a fun challenging course. Mid-week the course sees little play so you can get around quickly. Weekends....not so much! I know this is true for just about every course, but it's a much bigger difference between the two at HR.

After struggling with the driver the last couple of outings, I needed a cheap course to just work on my game. Headed to Links of Paso Robles for a 7:30 AM tee time and had the course to myself for the most part. There was a twosome a few holes behind me and a single about 4 holes ahead, that was it. Well, there was a large tractor plowing the weeds in between fairways that was kicking up a severe dust storm. Still, I was able to get around in 2 1/2 hours hitting 2-3 balls on most holes.

Conditions are all over the place. Tee boxes were either lush or half dirt half grass. Greens on the front nine weren't too bad. They were rolling smooth and faster than in the past. They did have a few brown spots here and there but the grounds grew did a good job keeping the pins away from those areas. The back nine is a different story. Most of the greens had large brown patches throughout.

Rough is a plowed field between fairways. Or if I was lucky enough to be ahead of the tractor, it was 2' tall weeds.

The course is doing a special on Monday's during July with $10 green fees. For that price it's worth going out to work on your game. For the rack rate of $47+ save your money.