The first time I played Hidden Valley, I HATED it. I told my buddy I would never go back. Honestly, I never wanted to go back because it can be an almost brutal test of shot placement and putting. Tha... Continue »

The first time I played Hidden Valley, I HATED it. I told my buddy I would never go back. Honestly, I never wanted to go back because it can be an almost brutal test of shot placement and putting. Thankfully, I reneged, and have gone back several times since, and absolutely love it. After a lot of range time, that is. I last played there April 8th. You may recall it was brutally windy. Brutally. Don't waste your money on their range, and their pro shop is comically stocked, but the service is always excellent. Take some time on their putting and chipping green. Pace is everything out here! The tee boxes aren't all that level, but I know they're working on it. Pick your tee wisely, even if you have to be a few yards further back than you would like. Too often, playing out here, (as with most courses) the golfers around me are always on the wrong tee box. The black tees are scenic and make you feel pretty masculine, but you'd better have a big game under your britches to back it up. I always play them, and often regret it as soon as the first hole. I hate seeing fellows have such a miserable time on such a solid course. You really have to place fantastic approach shots to give yourself even a chance of 1 or 2 putting. Bunkers. What can I say? They've definitely turned south. I don't like complaining about things like this, especially as I know the maintenance there knows they need to be fixed. A lot. This is just a friendly warning. It's a huge undertaking, cut them a little slack and take a drop. I should have when I found the back left bunker on the 4th hole, picked out all the visible rocks around my ball, hit a well struck thump near the hole... to find out a hidden rock took a little gouge off the face of my new lob wedge (a cast Ping, so it's still very playable) and peeled the cover off a brand new Callaway Hex Black Tour ball. It must have been one hell of a rock I hit. I steered away from the bunkers the rest of the day (usually a smart plan in any situation) but would definitely have taken a drop if that plan didn't work out. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water just yet...The greens are ALWAYS AMAZING. They roll so true, play with a lot of slope (God help you if you land on the wrong tier on some of these holes), so respect the break. They always have some sort of good online deals, pace of play is generally very good, and there are some awe inspiring views from tee to green. Bring a rangefinder if you have one and hit 'em straight!