A group of friends and I heard some very good things about this course in my hometown, Yucaipa Valley. I believe our foursome played on Saturday, December 15th, 2007. We drove well over an hour to get there, and it was well worth the trip! On our arrival we noticed the course was quite busy as it should be on a beautiful Saturday morning. We also noticed that there was nothing resembling a club house other than a few portable structures that were linked together. Now, I am originally from Yucaipa, born there......a little time ago, but I know that this course is the only one in this immediate part of the Inland Empire. I am not sure why the Owner(s) of the course have not yet invested in a building plan for creating a state of the art Club House to keep up with surrounding areas. I understand all of what goes into this process, but this course has been there for almost 8 years! I have many colleagues and business partners who frequent these areas of Southern California and I try to bring them out to my "neck of the woods" every chance I get.
Anyways...
Back to the golf course...
The dining area inside was very small and had a limited space for a very busy day of golfers to eat and relax. Although we found the staff in the kitchen to be very efficient, very inviting and actually very funny! We ordered about $60 worth of food and beverages, and this was all before we even checked in for our tee-time!
We then made our way into the Pro Shop where we were expecting to take our place in line and possibly be late for our tee-time (we were running a little late!) To our surprise we were the only group in the shop waiting. The Golf Pro was very efficient as well and actually talked two of my guys into buying new golf shoes (not sure how that happened!) He also explained that it would be a very busy day and that we should ty to get to the tee ASAP and check in with his starter. $55 per person,in an area like this is flat out a BARGAIN! With surrounding areas being upwards of $100 per person, I would be more than happy to pay this every weekend to play golf with the guys. He then directed us the the cart area, gave us some cart keys and showed us where the first tee was.

Oh, by the way, for anyone who plays this course on a regular basis....Scrounge up $40 and invest in the Yucaipa Player's Card, I believe it's the blue one. You get a free round of golf the day you purchase the card and you also get discounts every time you play no matter when it is. On top of that you get five free baskets of range balls! I believe he said the card was good for a year, but I don't remember if he said through Dec. 31st, or fiscally. Either way a good investment of your $40. They also have another card that is free that we signed up for that gives you points every time you play the course. These points add up over time and give you discounts on green fees, cart fees and eventually he said you can get a free round, and all that for FREE!

So we eventually made our way to the cart area, where we were greeted by the cart staff, who were again, very courteous and helped us load our bags up and get us headed into the right direction.

We then made our way to the first tee where we talked to the starter and were reminded of what to expect that day. He gave us some inside knowledge on the course and told us of the food and beverage staff who would be out there to assist us if necessary.

I hit a great drive off the first tee and my round was off to a good start!

The course was in very good shape, although a few patches of grass, here and there that were dying, but it's probably due to the temperature changes and the time of year. We saw the marshal several times on our first nine holes and he stopped every time to see how we were doing and if there was anything he could do for us. We played the front nine in just under two hours! We had to wait on some of our shots but that was expected on a busy Saturday morning close to the Holidays.

We decided to hit the bathrooms on the turn and then quickly get to the 10th tee box to keep our place on the course. The back nine was in even better shape than the front, although not quite as challening for us. The pace seemed to pick up a little on the backside and we finished at an hour and a half, which made for a pleasing 3 1/2 hour round. We saw the cart beverage attendant several times and bought some beverages and snacks from her. She was very helpful and also very nice.

The staff at Yucaipa Valley and the conditions there made our day very enjoyable and we be back very soon to play again! Whoever the Manager is at Yucaipa should be very proud of his/her staff and should feel lucky to have such a fine group of people working for them! I have been to well over 1000 golf courses all over the world and the hospitality that we receive when we come to Yucaipa is second to none! I guess we live in a great area, where we are appreciated and taken care of no matter who we are!

Anybody who reads this, should take some time and try Yucaipa Valley and experience it for yourself!

Thanks a Million!