Hi gents. It's been awhile. After 3 back surgeries, loss of my wife and marriage to number 2, it's been a few years of turmoil for me.

I've finally escaped California and moved to Prescott so StoneRidge is now my backyard. This course will challenge every player. I love the layout with the canyon like configuration. You will not be able to walk the course as it it extremely long between many holes (someone told me 6-8mi of travel). The course is always well maintained. Great food and POP is always good. Bring lots of balls as errant shots are typically not found. The best times are off season, before May and after September. The prime time months will be over $100 a round and hot for sure, but the off season affords some savings at $40-$50 a round. Hope that helps and if your ever in the area HMU and lets go play!

Also the $ should be at least $$ maybe $$$ for prime season.

Well I played this course 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely so I thought I'd take our skins game there. Boy was I unimpressed. We played from the tips the first time on a Friday. Perfect weather. Greens were lightening fast and true. The only complaint I had was a few wet spots. I used the Costco deal and thought it was a great place for $30.

Well we returned yesterday the 14th with 12 of us. First, if you use the Costco certs, you can't have more than 8 players. It didn't say that on the rules explicitly, but they honored it anyway which was cool. The course was very poor. It was very, and I mean very soggy. Mud everywhere. The greens were slow and terribly bumpy. The traps were water filled with standing water in many of them. About the best thing was the weather with little to no wind as this isn't a course you want to play when it's blowing.

We teed off at 8:30am and POP was 5 hours, YAWN!!!! We ended up with the cart GPS complaining we were 30 min behind and we were playing into the 3 groups in front of us. No Marshals to speak of and the one slow group, out for a Sunday drive I guess, backed the whole d%mn course up. I'm glad we only paid $45 ($30 for the cert and $15 for playing the weekend prime time). I would not have payed the $78 rack rate they charged for a weekend round.

The food was great and the staff was more than accommodating, but I came to golf not eat. All in all a C- at best.

I would shy away from playing the weekends and I would definitely buy the Costco deal and use it. The deal usually only runs from Nov-Feb but they are valid until Dec 2018 so if you have plans I'd buy the certs and sit on them.

Played in the Golf AM Tour this past Sunday the 29th of October 2017. It was in pretty good shape with the exception of some bare spots on the front nine's fairways. They were allowing us to roll the ball tee to green on the 8th and 9th holes. As this was my first tourney and I had butterflies galore, my score didn't reflect the effort for sure! LOL!! It is a very challenging track, we played the gold tees, and for $130 for the tourney I felt it was o.k. The greens were the biggest issue as they were terribly hard to read, but one secret is, everything breaks to Indio down the valley to the Salton Sea. Once I figured that out my last 7 holes were a bit easier and my belly felt a whole lot better. It has some punishing holes so bring some game, this place will humble the best players from the tips (black tees). As for the traps, well maintained and not to bad for consistency. Overall maintenance was very good.

Apple Valley is in pretty good shape. Sierra Management has taken over both Apple Valley and Green Tree courses. These folks know what it takes to maintain a course and both of these tracks have been greatly improved over the past 8 months.

Apple Valley, like Hesperia GCC, was once a stop on the PGA tour in the early 60's. While not as challenging as Hesperia, it is still a fun course to play. The greens are impeccable and the overall fairway and rough maintenance are very good. They do have a driving range and a full service bar and kitchen with great breakfast burritos.

The greens are stimping in the 10-12 range and the fairways are fairly hard so lots of roll to be had.

The pace of play is also very good. We finished out tournament round in 4 1/2 hours which is almost unheard of.

Again it is a bit cool in the morning, but around 9:30-10 is a great tee time to have.

Dan ...

Well, it's getting a bit chilly and that means the High Desert is not the best place for golf in the early a.m. That said, Hesperia is trying their best to keep up the maintenance on the course. Unfortunately, due to being short staffed this fall and a major turnover in staff, the greens were not aerified. This has left them in somewhat poor shape.

Hopefully they hold up this winter and with the cold the firmness is isn't affected as much. The rough is long but manageable. The fairways are the same. As in previous reviews, it ain't Torrey Pines, but it is still the best challenge from the tips at a little over 7000 yards in the High Desert.

The staff is always pleasant and accommodating. They too have suffered a big turnover so we have a number of noobs in the pro shop.

They're giving it the best they've got, but IMHO still fall a little short, but for $175 a month with cart for all of the golf you can handle, I can overlook a few of the shortcomings. If you want to come out on a weekday it's $17 to sample the course, and $10 more on the weekend w/cart.

Hope it's helpful!

Dan ...

O.k. Greens were aerated and are now mostly recovered. They are running 10.2 according to my stimp meter. New sharpened reels on the mowers have helped this tremendously as they were running a paltry 6.5-7.5 a few weeks ago.

There's been some changes in management and it seems that there's work getting done. If this place can get it together, we're going to have our gem back, so fingers are crossed.

Still the most challenging course in the High Desert and the best bang for the buck.

Don't expect any cart service, starters or marshals, that's still something they haven't figured out yet.

POP is less than 4 hours if you get out early. Can approach 4.5-5 after noon.

Come and play, test your mettle from the tips at 7004 yds.

See ya on the course!

I just played the SCGA Net Amatuer qualifier here on March 17th. I'm one of those poor saps who bought a rangefinder with slope. I don't use it too often where I'm familiar with the course, so I thought I could get away with it here.

Unfortunately all of the sprinkler heads I searched for were covered up. The fairways were a little thin, but that seems to be the norm because of the water conservation that has been mandated by the state.

The greens were phenomenal, firm and fast! After playing on 8-9 stimped surfaces this was a challenge!

It has been about 6 years since I played here and it appears that the overall condition has suffered some. I still think it's worth the green fee, ~$45 I think, and from the tips will give you some fits.

Pace of play was good, but then again we were all on the clock, so I don't know what the weekend track is like.

Dan...

O.k. So it looks like it has been awhile since anyone has updated this course so I'll bring you up to date.

First and foremost, the Parks and Recs for Hesperia have finally settled on a 5 year plus contract with the city to operate the course. This may be a big plus, but we will wait and see.

I play this course many times a week and skins on the weekend so I see it in every form it has.

Lately, while the minimal staff that is operating the course does their best, they are not very organized and sorely understaffed.

The fairways and rough are usually long on some but not all holes. The greens usually stimp in the 8-9 range (I built my own stimp meter). They will vary from hole to hole which drives me nuts, but adjustment is part of the game!

The pro shop is well stocked and the staff there and in the bar are very friendly and go out of their way to help.

The course is, and always will be, the best challenge from the tips in the High Desert bar none.

If you are looking for a Goose Creek or Sierra Lakes (when it's well groomed) you will be disappointed.

I volunteer quite a few hours at this course trying to help the maintenance staff keep up. There are a number of locals that are doing this and we are regularly telling the staff what needs improvement.

Since the departure of the Donovan Brothers Managment, the course has been in better, but not the best shape it could be.

Come test your mettle on the tee-box we volunteers resurrected on the 12 hole where Arnold Palmer lost a match playing from. It's a daunting 238 yds over a (now dry) water hazard to an unbunkered green. Par is a challenge there.

In all fairness to this and all of the other courses, the state mandated water conservation has impacted the "greenness" of this course as it has others.

The city has just begun a water reclamation project that will feed the golf course in ~2 years. All of the ponds will be filled once again and the fairways and greens should be coming back. The volunteers and members have contributed hundreds of dollars and numerous hours to reestablish the trees that were lost to the Bark Beetle and the snow a few years ago.

With all of that said, this is still the best bargain going for the challenge and if the maintenance staff can be augmented with enough people to keep up on the maintenance, this place can once again be a tough track to conquer.

In the meantime, you can be a member for ~$125 and month walking and ~$175 with a cart. Family membership is ~$225 with cart. Weekend rates are $27-32 and if you visit the Hesperia Parks and Rec homepage they have monthly specials. Put your name on their email list and you will get them each month.

I hope this helps folks and will give those looking for a challenge the desire to give it a go at least once.

If anyone has any questions or comments/corrections, please feel free to email me.

Dan...