I finally got around to playing the newly renovated San Juan Oaks. In short not much has changed. But that’s a good thing because I really liked this course before it shut down for 2 years. Condition wise the course was in great shape tee to green. Greens were firm and fast. I’ve said it before, the greens at SJO have the perfect blend of enough undulations to challenge you but nothing ridiculous.

Fairways were lush with good coverage throughout. Some of the areas leading up the greens were tight lies but still had good coverage. Tee boxes and sand traps were all good to go.

As far as the layout is concerned nothing really changed. they swapped the 9’s so you now tee off on what used to be #10 and then head up into the hillside. They used to do that on occasion before so no real change. What has changed is the split fairway on #4 (old #13). It is now a single fairway with just the one on the left. The fairway on the right is completely gone with 3’ weeds now in its place.

Other than that I did not see any changes to the course. There might be a new fairway bunker on #10 (old #1) but it’s been so long since I’ve played here, I can’t fully remember if it was there before or not. In fact the new housing development doesn’t really come into play. There are houses along the right side of the long 1 mile entrance road as you come in but nothing alongside the course. At least not as of yet. In fact you can’t see any of the houses from any part of the course. . I have no idea why they closed this place down for 2 years. The clubhouse / restaurant has been completely remodeled and now features full on dinners (or at least that’s the plan).

The price has gone up to $125 mid week and $175 weekend. That includes a cart and warmup range balls. SJO is a fun and challenging layout with great conditions. POP was a little under 4 hours.

Played Spyglass Hill on Tuesday afternoon on an overcast but warmish day. Being local and knowing the head pro has its benefits. There had been a shotgun tournament earlier in the day and Patrick gave us the option of going off the back nine which was wide up. My buddy and I were joined by a single and the three of us had the entire course to ourselves. By the time we came around the front nine it was cleared out and we finished in about 3 hours. Course is in excellent shape as you would expect. Fairways, tee boxes and sand traps are as close to perfect 10’s as you can get. Rough was thick and penal. I don’t know what it is about the rough at Spyglass but it’s like swinging through Velcro!

Greens were a little on the slow side. My guess is they slowed them down for the earlier outing. My buddy is a caddie at PB/Spy and he said the greens were rolling very fast a few days earlier. The slower (normal speed) greens helped tame the greens.

They are still doing work on the 15th green (short par 3) so that hole is closed. They have now moved the tee boxes Waaay back on 14 and made a temp green just in front of the pond. Then they added a tee box off to the right for a short (120 yard) Par 3 over the pond to the original 14th green which is now the 15th green during the maintenance. They have add some golf carts for walkers to take from the 14/15th green to the 16th tee as it’s now a bit of a hike. You then leave the golf cart off to the side halfway down the 16th fairway so the next group can use them. It’s a nice touch of customer service.

Spyglass is a tough track which is always a pleasure to play.

Played Del Monte this morning with a former co-worker who was in town from Texas. The original plan was to play Poppy Hills but there was a tournament going on so we opted to Del Monte. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We tee’d off at 9:30 with a couple other locals. Course is in great shape Tee to green. Starting with the small greens that for the most part are single tier but they have just enough slope in them to keep you honest. The greens rolled smooth at a very fast pace. I played Spanish Bay last week the greens here were much much faster.

Fairways present a tight lie which is great for roll out. Still plush enough to get good contact and they were green throughout. Tee boxes were level and lush as well. I wasn’t in any sand traps but I did rake a few for my buddy and they were all great. Plenty of nice and fluffy sand. Rough was very manageable.

They have done some reworking of a few of the bunkers. Mainly on holes 9 and 10. They have reshaped them and added some nasty lips and mounds to negotiate. Gone are the church pew style bunker/grass on hole 10 and now it’s just an ugly bunker with mounds of grass. Not sure what the purpose of that was. Maybe easier on maintenance crews?

As far as customer service is concerned. One person (Don A.) who is in the pro shop, is a complete jerk (enter other explicit here). The rest of the team are great. This used to be a “locals” course but they seem to cater towards tourists who I guess are paying the outrageous fees. I used a couple of free vouchers so obviously it was worth it. But for $135 rack rate? No way. $75 would seem like a fair price for this place.

very disappointing conditions. In short avoid this place. I’ve played here dozens of times and the last couple including earlier this week have really been poor conditions. The greens have multiple brown/dead areas on them and the skirt area around the greens are atrocious. Mainly hardpacked dirt with a few patches of grass here and there. Fairways were the only decent part of the course. Fairly lush with a good amount of rollout. Tee boxes were pretty chewed up. Bunkers were a mixture of gravel pits and others were excellent with ample fluffy sand throughout.

Prices at Dragonfly have gone through the roof in the last 5 years. The price and conditions just don’t match up. There are better options when in the area.

Conditions are pretty identical to my review from last year. I played on 5/7 with a 7:50 AM tee time and this time around it was a little busier. Still finished in about 3.5 hrs but had to wait on most shots. The only thing I’d add from my last review. Bring bug spray!! There was a 3-4 hole stretch that was horrible. Other than that. All good. Fun, unique layout that really takes advantage of the mountain slope. A very doable Muni course and the appropriate price point for conditions and layout.

Played Reflection Bay Tuesday morning in pre-summer conditions. Temps got up to low 90’s by the end of the round. Unlike SoHi which has thousands of trees on the course so you can find shade, Reflection Bay is pretty much wide open desert golf. That is Desert golf with some elevation changes and great views of the lake!

Overall, course was decent. Not great by any means but certainly playable on all levels. The greens had been punched about a week earlier so they were bumpy and a bit unpredictable speed wise. I’d say they need a good two weeks to fully heal.

Fairways were decent enough, tee boxes were fine and sand traps were good to go for sure. The kikuyu grass around the greens isn’t my cup of tea but I imagine if you get used to playing on it, it’s ok. I’m not sure if the disappointment in the conditions was just natural let down after playing near perfect conditions (except for the aerated greens) the previous day or if it was a genuine “conditions need to be better for this price point”. The layout is fantastic with views galore all while being a challenging track.

POP was pretty slow for the first nine and then we zipped through the back nine once we got around the “bachelor party foursome”. Most of the staff were very friendly and helpful.

I’m sure I’ll play here again sometime down the road but it’ll be at the bottom of the course rotation for the time being. And I’ll also call to make sure the greens haven’t been punched recently.

Payed on Monday 4/21 in perfect Vegas springtime weather. Greens were aerated a week earlier so they were still rolling slow and in the healing process. Everything else is at a 9-10 rating which is what you’d expect for what is rated as a top 3 course in Nevada. SoHi was designed to mimic Shadow Creek but with a private CC setting. It has a ton of water features throughout the course and with the thousands of mature pine trees surrounding the track you completely forget you are in Las Vegas. At least until you get to the 11th tee box and have a view of the Strip. There’s a reason this is an all time top 5. (Maybe top 3) golf course of mine. Just absolutely phenomenal.

Played a couple of rounds at The Quail the last couple of days. First yesterday afternoon with DeepSea14 and then this morning with SDF. Quail always has great conditions and is known for the best fairways in the business. These last couple of days were no exception.

Even the grass on the driving range is perfect. Speaking of the driving range, it’s nice that the range is right next to the clubhouse, starter, parking lot and first tee. No driving for 5 minutes to get to the range and then rushing back to the first tee. It’s all right there. Having said that, the range does frequently limit you to 200 yard shots. This go around it maxed out at 250 so that was nice.

Greens rolled smooth at a fast pace. Not wicked fast put definitely faster than the standard medium-fast that most roll at. Greens have just the right amount of undulations and breaks to keep things interesting yet not be ludicrous. I only encountered a couple of un-repaired pitch marks throughout the two days of play.

Fairways are just pure bliss at Quail. Rarely will you find better fairways anywhere. The rough was perfect. Deep and thick enough to stop rollout during an off line drive but still plush enough to be able to get a clean shot. All courses should use the rough a Quail as their standard. It would rob you of serious yardage if you hit it during your drive but you still had a good lie to hit your approach shot.

Tee boxes were level with great coverage and divot free. Sand traps were ok and very playable but nothing to brag about. The best way to describe the bunkers is that if you encountered them on a muni course you’d be happy but on a high end course you’re disappointed. Staff is always friendly at Quail (minus one encounter at the end of yesterdays round).

Weather was just shy of “it sucked”, honestly these last two days were the coldest days I’ve ever spent at Quail. Even the car event in October that started at 6am wasn’t as cold as it was today! But that won’t stop me from going back.

Weather on the peninsula lately has been gorgeous. I took the opportunity to get out around Noon on Sunday. I normally don’t like playing on the weekends but it was just too nice not to play. I opted to ride (in order to rest my legs for the bike) and with having to wait on every shot it was nice to have seat available. The POP aside which was a little over 4.5 hours but felt closer to 5.5 hours, it was a great day. Conditions continue to remain steady at Laguna Seca. Fairways were excellent. They matched that of Poppy Hills from last week. Greens were smooth, but a bit on the slow side. Not sure if it’s because they are still recovering from recent aeration or it’s just the normal speed for here now. Greens at Laguna Seca are sneaky. they don’t look wicked but they can sneak up on you.

Tee boxes had good coverage yet there are a handful that need to be re-leveled. Nothing extreme but getting to the point that it needs to be addressed. Bunkers were the weak link on the course. Only 1 out of 4 that I was in had decent sand. The rest were hard packed dirt and one was mud.

It’s still a super fun layout and with prices the same (maybe even a bit lower) than they were 4 years ago, I have no problem recommending this track.

I played Coyote Creek Thursday morning teeing off at. 6:45 AM in the semi-dark. Coyote always has consistent conditions. Regardless of time of year, this place remains a rock when it comes to conditions. Greens are firm but roll true. Due to the super early morning start, the greens were a tad slower than usual but still rolled at a medium-fast pace. Fairways were pretty identical to Poppy Hills in that they were nice and lush throughout the entire course.
Tee boxes were level with good coverage and only a few divots. Sand traps were the weak link. Some were nice but a handful were in need of some sand as they had thin coverage.

The Tournament course at Coyote is pretty much cart only as there are some long transfers. The Valley course if completely flat and very walkable. I’ve mentioned it before, this is a good course to stop at during a trip up/down Hwy 101 and you need to get out and stretch your legs.

Played Poppy Hills a couple of times in the last two weeks. Both times were excellent weather with the sun shining and hardly a breeze. I first played the day after they aerated the greens. That aside, the rest of the course was in fantastic condition with everything at an 8-9 on the rating scale.

Played on 3/18 with Deepsea14 and a couple of friends. Greens were still healing which surprised me a bit. Most were rolling fairly true at a medium pace but most were still showing signs of the recent aeration. Greens at Poppy Hills are firm so, it takes a great approach shot to get it to stick.

Fairways were easily rated at an 8 and good even be considered in the 9 range. Very lush and a pleasure to hit from. Due to recent rains, the fairways were a little soft and I would occasionally get a stuck ball or minimal rollout of a foot or so. this was about the only thing keeping the ratings from being a 9-10. Tee boxes, rough and stand traps were all of high quality. Nothing to complain about. This is a fun and challenging course with a number of peaks of the ocean when it’s clear. I really need to play here more often.

After a couple of bike rides this week it was time to get some sun on the legs and go for a walk with the clubs. DeepSea14 joined me mid day at Baylands for a great afternoon of golf on the links style course. Unfortunately, the course was in poor shape. Greens were fine in that they rolled fairly smooth at great medium fast pace. Greens were a tad on the firm side but not too bad. Green complexes here are multi tiered and definitely offer some challenge. Fairways were pretty beat up. Just short of horrible. Very patchy grass with several thin and dirt areas throughout. Tee boxes were beyond horrible. In fact horrible would have been welcomed. Most tee boxes were 98% dirt.

The two sand traps I was in were both ok, One was half filled with a lot of fluffy sand while the other half was a bit thin. Still very playable and acceptable. POP of play was right at about 4 hrs. No one in front or behind us on the front nine then we caught the Bay Area traffic on the back nine and waited on every shot. But not too bad. Right now, I can’t recommend this course at the price range but I’ll try again in a month or so and see if it improves.