Date of play: July 1, 2010. One o'clock start to get $45 twilight rate for our threesome. Although EV presents itself as an upper-tier daily fee course, one problem is the range. The balls, at $5 for a 30-ball bag, were excellent. However, the hitting areas are badly overused--virtually no grass left between markers; you're hitting from a battlefield of sandy divots. The irons-only range is good for warming up, but not much else. Started on #1 a few minutes early. Two marshals hovering near the tee were oblivious--kept up their personal conversation right through our tee shots. Course overall in good shape. Greens were quite healthy, but had the same splotchy poa annua as we saw a couple weeks ago at the Open. Approach shots held well. Playing in the afternoon of a warm day, the poa had grown enough that putts tended to hop/bounce--just like at Pebble. Pace of play was excellent: we had a couple brief waits on par 3's (less than 5 minutes) and we're never pressed by the slow foursomes behind us. Finished in 4 hours. Course has several very interesting holes and some the greens have severe undulations which presented extremely difficult hole locations. Overall, EV is reasonable value, especially at the reduced afternoon rate.

Played this locally owned/managed course twice last week. Off first tee right on the reservation time and finished in close to 4.5 hours both days. Good-to-excellent condition from tee to green; it's clear ownership puts a lot of money back into the course. Bunkers are always a good test of maintenance commitment; Indian Valley's are better than some of the local private clubs...clean, deep sand. Picturesque course sited in watershed, no adjacent houses. Only one truly flat hole. Three of the par 3's have substantial elevation change.

Excellent condition from tees to greens. This high-end daily fee course lives up to its hype...definitely good value, even for an $85 weekday rate. With exception of slightly elevated second tee, the first six holes are flat. Perhaps greatest weakness of the these holes, along with 11,12 and 18, is the absence of good sightlines. The first time on these holes is a bit like walking in the dark--tee shot targets are a bit unclear. Course guide notebook is very useful here. The aesthetic payoff is the hilly segments, holes 7-9 and 13-17. These holes feature dramatic elevation changes and narrow fairways wending through the oak forest. Greens are firm, fast and loaded with subtle breaks even on short putts.

This is an excellent course. Interesting layout, especially the first eight holes and the finishing stretch (16-17-18). In calm conditions, HMB is probably a fairly gentle test. But the prevailing winds usually blow in strong (and cold) from the Pacific. The cross-wind finishing holes become especially problematic. My favorites: 2nd, a short-4 par with a claustrophobic tee shot over a barranca to green-sized fairway; 16th, a downhill dogleg right par 4, usually played into brisk left-to-right wind, green guarded by water hazard. Greens were still bumpy from recent aeration, but look to be coming back very healthy. Dense rough places huge premium on accuracy; only the strongest golfers can play from this stuff. Special word about the groundscrew; they were always mindful of approaching players, equipment was turned off as we played through. Most courses make no effort in this regard.