We had a small group outing on a recent weekend, and as much as we like the course, I can't help but wonder why Los Verdes is always a six-hour round. Of the many years (at least 20) that our group has played there, we probably teed off on time about three times. Yes, they are always very late in teeing off groups. I know revenue is a big factor, but to pack a tee sheet so tightly that it takes six hours to play a round of golf is insane. One of our players who had never played Los Verdes commented that as much golf as he plays, he has never played a six-hour round. Eight minute tee times is not enough time for 5-somes. Unbeknownst to a lot of people, we tournament groups have to pay an additional per person surcharge, hence our cost to play any LA county course on the weekend is much higher than call-ins. So, it is a bit frustrating to wait on every hole which makes for a very long day.

What happened to La Mirada? After the renovations last year, I thought La Mirada was one of the best maintained courses locally. Everything was green, sand traps were filled with beautiful white sand, most of the fairways had decent lies with grass, hardly any hard pan areas. In the last few weeks, fairways are either very wet or muddy, big tractor tire marks imbedded in mud, no grass on some of the fairways, many ball marks on the greens (I repaired at least five on every hole!), horrible greens (on #15, my ball landed on a bumpy bare spot, so I had to move my ball marker off to the side where there was some grass and flat lie!), ladies bathrooms were dirty and smelly (I understand there is a sewer problem, but it hasn't been fixed.) This is truly a disappointment, especially since it is such a very popular course. Kudos to the young ladies manning the pro shop, they are sharp, personable, and efficient!

Played Santa Anita on February 19, two days after very heavy rain storms throughout the week. Almost canceled our tournament scheduled for that day, but since the predicted rain moved out of the area, we went ahead and played. It was very cold, but believe it or not, the course played very well. Not one bit of mud, no standing water, truly amazing after all the rain that we had. This is the course to play in the midst of our winter weather. Due to change in management, the pro shop was almost empty as they were getting ready for new merchandise to arrive. Much kudos to Daniel in the pro shop -- in spite of all the interruptions, he was so pleasant, so patient, wonderful customer service!

Haven't played Soboba Springs in many years until this past weekend. Wow, what a beautiful job in the renovations to the course and clubhouse. For sure, the price is unbeatable for the quality of this course!! Customer service is what I always look for when bringing in a group of players, and Bill met with my expectations, absolutely wonderful! Some of my members had never been there before, and they can't wait to play there again. Looking forward to the new hotel/casino presently in construction adjacent to the golf course. Hope it doesn't take too long to complete.

Last year was the first time I played at Rancho. Over the years, I had heard it was a "must play" course. I was amazed there was no pro shop, and the parking lot was ridiculous. Played it again this year, and did not remember the course at all. Guess I must not have been too impressed last year. Anyway, I do think they should have an ambassador to shuttle the players from the parking lot to the clubhouse. Also, everywhere we've played, the golf carts are usually parked very close to the clubhouse. At Rancho, you have to walk a bit to get to the carts. If they are not going to shuttle players, then they should allow the carts in the parking lot. Fortunately, before I parked my car, I dropped my bag off at the front of the clubhouse where people were putting. But after golf, it was a long walk to my car with my bag. And, I was not walking back to the clubhouse for a drink!

We had our club tournament there a week ago and were delayed about 45 minutes. Don't know whether this was due to overbooking or whether the golfers were just slow. The pace of play was very slow all day, and there was no marshal on the course at all. The course has come a long way, and it is much more enjoyable to play. Hats off to Irene in the pro shop!! Her very pleasing personality and wonderful customer service made up for the long wait.

Los Verdes is one of the most scenic courses around, but perhaps the worst in pace of play. First of all we play a tournament there every year, and only once do I remember ever teeing off on time. As a tournament group, we are assessed a tournament surcharge of $15 per person, but yet, we've been delayed anywhere from half hour to an hour. Yesterday it took my group 6 hours and 15 minutes to play 18 holes. We waited on every hole, the foursome behind us was very impatient, always hitting into us. There was no marshal on the course. I know revenue is key to any business, but to stack up the tee sheet as tightly as they do makes for a very unpleasant round.

I have not played Rio Hondo since they've made improvements, and I was pleasantly surprised. From the ho-hum atmosphere of the course, to one of scenic holes, and the wonderful restaurant, I definitely will play the course again. The one drawback is the price of $39 to walk on a weekday.

Haven't played Willowick for a few years until last week. It was in good condition, greens were good also. Bunkers were brutal, some of them were wet from oversprinkling, but all in all, it is a good course to practice. Price was right!

Customer service is most important to me. Unfortunately, Talega needs lessons on how to make guests feel welcome. My golf group played there very recently, and unbeknownst to us, they were setting up for a wedding with 200 guests. This course cannot handle tournaments and weddings at the same time. They are just not set up to host weddings. Since weddings bring in more revenue, we golfers were ignored. The clubhouse, bar, snack bar, and all the restrooms were off limits to us golfers. After golf, some of my golfers had to go to the shopping center nearby to use the restroom. We do our own scoring, usually in the clubhouse lounge where everyone can sit, have a drink, and mingle while our scorekeeper goes to work. No place to do it, so they set up two tables and three chairs in the cart staging area where the clubs were cleaned and carts passing through to the parking lot. Most of the players left since they did not want to stand for an hour waiting for the last group to complete their round. Staff members in the staging area were rude. All in all, a very bad experience as most of the players had never played there before and were so looking forward to this prestigious golf course. Very disappointing for a high-priced course, not worth $100. We will never play there again.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

Played Westridge 7/23 and though I like the course, I was somewhat disappointed at the pro shop, snack bar, and other amenities. I haven't played it in a few months, and it sure has changed. The pro shop -- not much of anything, especially for women. The snack bar -- one of my friends asked for a banana. No banana, so he asked for a hard-boiled egg. No egg, so he asked for a beer. No beer!!! On the course, no water in the jugs, but there was ice in there. Since I am obsessed with filling in divots, I could not do it, because the containers did not have any sand or fillers in them. Don't know what is going on at Westridge, but if they don't improve, they may find themselves with less players.

Westridge Golf Club Review
La Habra California Golf Course Reviews

A group of us played at Los Verdes recently, and the views were spectacular. However, we were delayed 45 minutes, and it took six hours to play. Just way too many people on the course, on the practice range, on the greens. It was like a traffic jam. We realize revenue is a big issue, but sending out 5-somes every seven or eight minutes, especially when guys with 20+ handicaps feel they must hit from the blue tees, is unacceptable. As one of my members said, "there is no way I am coming back here, I've been here for eight hours!" Two of my members could not finish their round because of evening commitments. When groups pay a $15 per person tournament surcharge, they should be allowed to tee off at their contracted time regardless of any reasons for delay. All others who called in a week prior for a tee time should expect to wait.