1st off today and POP was 2.5 H. (Went back out and played 9 more). Played Mountain/Desert. Started out cold, but warmed up nicely when we made the turn (so the ball was not carrying at all, early). E... Continue »

1st off today and POP was 2.5 H. (Went back out and played 9 more). Played Mountain/Desert. Started out cold, but warmed up nicely when we made the turn (so the ball was not carrying at all, early). Every tee box was level and clean, on both 9's. Mountain fairways were fine for lies, but little roll due to cold and wetness. The dampness made the rough hard to play out of on the Mountain 9. Bunkers were fine and no complaints (both 9's). Greens were great. Mowed, no divot marks and chipped and putted great all round (both on the Mountain and the Desert). Desert 9 fairways were a little long, due to recent overseeding and will be mowed shorter this week. So very little roll but provided great lies. Last time I played here, I played Valley/Mt and was happy to play the Desert this time. I am very impressed with the design they did on the Desert 9 after such destruction from the fires. This is a fun course to play, given that the 3 nines are (IMO) totally different, requiring many different shots, during the round. Customer service was excellent at all levels. If you plan to go and play early, be aware, that upon exiting Sand Canyon Rd, there is a huge backup from the light (lasting a few minutes) to the stop sign (maybe 200 yards), as commuters are taking a short cut through the hills. Once past the stop sign, maybe a 1/4 mile to the entrance. Don't want anyone to be late for their tee time, OK.

this review is a few weeks overdue but i played SC CC for the first time since the ownership/name change (well really the first time since 2011) on saturday 9/14 or thereabouts 1st thing in the AM. go... Continue »

this review is a few weeks overdue but i played SC CC for the first time since the ownership/name change (well really the first time since 2011) on saturday 9/14 or thereabouts 1st thing in the AM. got paired with 2 guys from the local christian university and we flew around teeing off some time between 6:30 and 7. i had really been looking forward to coming back here b/c i loved the rob ranch valley course, was always a great challenge. the pictures on social media of sand canyon were good, better than the reviews here. unfortunately, i think they've overdone it in making the place too green so to speak. for $90, the greens were way too slow and way too many of the tee boxes from the back tees were unplayable. especially the 16th hole, that was unacceptable. there was a hole on the front 9, i believe 6, that used to be a hole where you could only hit a 200 yard club off the tee from the tips b/c the ball would run out. now the ball doesn't run out, so got duped a bit there. i thought the bunkers were fine and fairways were good enough. rough is rough, i never grade the rough to be frank. its called rough for a reason, it doesn't need to be consistent. nevertheless, for $90 i did not like the value. to be totally fair, as the day went on and the moisture evaporated a bit, the greens did speed up. yet, they were never fast enough for that price. i really think they've gone overboard with the watering. for context, i played valley/desert, so the original valley course. back to some of the tee boxes, the grass was just way too thick. on a couple holes you would've needed a mega-gigantic tee to hit off of them. my recommendation for sand canyon is to get those tee boxes in order and stop over watering for the sake of having green grass. brown is beautiful. better boxes and ever so slightly quicker greens and this place goes back to the top of LA area daily fee spots in my view.

Like many, I had been scared off playing here since it reopened as it sounded like the new name "Sand Canyon" was an unintended piece of anti-marketing, not intended ironically or otherwise. So it was... Continue »

Like many, I had been scared off playing here since it reopened as it sounded like the new name "Sand Canyon" was an unintended piece of anti-marketing, not intended ironically or otherwise. So it was (literally) with some trepidation that I booked a Sunday am round at the rack rate of 90.

As a frequent player here back in the day when it was Robinson Ranch, I didn't know what to expect based on recent GK reviews and the local word on the street, but upon driving up the long wind to the clubhouse I was pleasantly surprised to see acres of mainly green on what was the old front nine of the Mountain course on the right. The back nine of Mountain to the left has been allowed to go totally to pasture and the native grass and fauna has invaded completely. In fact, you wouldn't know there was a golf course there until just a few years ago were it not for the cart paths still visible snaking through it.

All that said, my shorter review is this: the course is back! While not perfect or pristine, it is clear they have been working on it and some parts are actually better than they used to be when it was Robinson.

As alluded to, the back nine of Mountain was sacrificed no doubt as a cost-saving, water-saving move. That saddens me as I think it was the best nine out of the original four, containing the most unique holes, elevation changes and variety (I am thinking of 11, 13, 15-18 for those that remember the layout). It was also longer than mountain front 9 which is probably why it was calved away. In one sign of favorable maintenance, what they now call the 'Desert' 9 (the old back nine of 'Valley') was closed for over-seeding! A a result, I played 'Valley' (the original Valley Course front nine) followed by 'Mountain' (the old Mountain course front nine.)

At only around 6200 yards from the blues, I felt this combo was a bit under-powered than under the old routing - still, this is Robinson Ranch so it's still plenty challenging!

Valley was generally much greener and in better overall shape than Mountain. The Valley tees were a bit shaggy with a lot of gouges on par 4's and 5's so I am not sure who was skying their drives but the crown of someone's driver was suffering some abuse. Fairways were generally lush with most of the bermuda recovered and some in-growth from other grasses here and there. Greens looked very good, but they were nappy in spite of just being cut, very slow (7.5 - 8 optimistically on the stimp) and very bumpy. Putts did not track well. Didn't visit any sand but it looked reasonable and had been groomed for the most part. Only one or 2 bunkers had some weeds in them and looked a little thin and forlorn.

Mountain was less green overall but still favorable lies in the fairways; here they have cleared out more extensive areas to reduce watering. So it looks pretty rough at times, but none of these sandy areas are really in play. Gone is the water feature to the right of 12 too, replaced with agave and other desert plantings. Had it still been here I would have lost the only ball I played the round with. Otherwise, I could now hack it out back into play. Also, from 12 on (and especially 14 & 15) the mountain greens - which were faster and a bit smoother - had some pretty visible issues. A lot of plugging and some limited aeration was visible. 14 was the worst affected with about 40% of the surface bare or clearly under repair. Tee boxes on Mountain were also dry, shaggy and sometimes crowned. I wondered whether they were being killed off for an over-seed.

I would rate Valley at about a 7-7.5 overall and Mountain around 6-6.5. Highly playable and the most notable improvement over the old management regime was that the rough on both 9's is now well established at around 1-2 inches on average. Players who frequented the old course would know (and lament) that an integral part of the design were the mounds surrounding many fairways which were supposed to work in tandem with the rough to deflect balls back into play and to keep them out of the numerous native areas lining the course. A testament to this improvement - as noted above - is that I played 18 with the same ball. Unheard of, really, for this place.

Things that still represent deficits? The carts have no GPS which makes a course this tough hard to negotiate. Local knowledge helped me a lot. And, there appears to be no way to book other than through their web utility, so no discounts can be had. I would prefer to pay about 70 max here on a Sunday at prime time, rather than the $90 I did. Also, no marshal which you would expect on a higher end course. While not very busy, pace was still a sluggish 4 hours 20 minutes on what is now a shortish course.

But overall I am happy to report this place is back! If, like me, you were avoiding it due to recent reports, go back out and give it a whirl (and try to get on Valley/Desert combo (the old Valley 18) as it has more length and coherency to it than the 2 nines I played).

Played this morning (Valley 9/Mt 9) in a POP of 3. We were first off and the only issue we encountered was maintenance was slow and we were fast (Mt 9 greens not mowed until we got to # 9 our 18). The... Continue »

Played this morning (Valley 9/Mt 9) in a POP of 3. We were first off and the only issue we encountered was maintenance was slow and we were fast (Mt 9 greens not mowed until we got to # 9 our 18). The Valley 9 was being cleaned in front of us and we had no issues. We had not played up here for many years (when it was Robinson Ranch). Glad we came back. Hard to remember what the course was like, but you can see how they did change/reroute some of the holes on the Valley 9. Mt 9 had no changes. No idea about Desert 9, as it was closed for maintenance. We found the course to be in excellent condition (though wet from overnight water/dew). Tee boxes were all level/clean (both 9's). Fairways had good coverage and good lies (not much roll being wet). On the Valley 9, they have cleaned/cleared a lot of area, thus you have some long carries from tee box to fairway (leaving you with desert/chips etc. if you don't make the fairway). You also have a few creeks and drainage areas, that can come into play. Not the case on the Mt 9. There you have green from tee to green (with many sand traps, OB and water, though not much water in the ponds). Rough was playable on the Valley and there are numerous OB desert areas to contend with. Mt 9 has very little rough but lots of OB if you do not hit the fairway. The greens on both 9's were just great (even the wet ones). It looks like they have put in all new greens and they are big, undulating and I suspect fast when dry (never saw any divots or old ones either -outstanding). Bunkers were all clean and very playable on both 9's. Enjoyed the round very much because you are playing 2 different courses, which keeps you interested and entertained for all 18 holes. Customer service was excellent at all levels. Still the large clubhouse, but we did not have time to sample the food. Brand new carts (comfortable and fast). Though the course is a drive, we will be making time to go back again, as it is a great course to play. Very quite early AM but was crowded when we finished. No issues with traffic up the 5 (as we went early) but did find some traffic when we exited onto Sand Canyon Road (??) and we were only 3/4 mile away from the course. Must be a shortcut for locals? Highly recommended.

The course is coming back nicely. They are still doing work but very playable from what it was a few years ago. Greens are great, a little slow but smooth. Fairways are thickening up and the rough is ... Continue »

The course is coming back nicely. They are still doing work but very playable from what it was a few years ago. Greens are great, a little slow but smooth. Fairways are thickening up and the rough is there than it has ever been. Bunkers on the valley/desert combo were just redo this week and are in great shape. They just got new carts last week are have a cooler and ball washer on them. There are some weeds growing in around the tee boxes where they removed a lot of grass but I assume they are putting all the work into the nuts and bolts of the course. Nice to see it’s coming back to life.

Played here on Saturday the 14th. I have played this course a number of times over the years. Let me start off by saying that the course is probably in the best shape I have seen it in the last 4-5 ye... Continue »

Played here on Saturday the 14th. I have played this course a number of times over the years. Let me start off by saying that the course is probably in the best shape I have seen it in the last 4-5 years. Is it still rough around the edges..... yes but you can see the constant work being done to improve. Greens while slower than I’m use to here are also purer than I have seen them in some time. Tee boxes were lush but in need of a mowing, my shirt tees for irons on par 3’s were barely long enough to hold my ball above the turf. Fairways were the greenest I have seen in many years. Rough is still mostly non existent with the exception of around the greens. Bunkers were in need of some more sand but mostly playable, I found 4 of them! I’m told new carts are on order and you can see the new planting’s going in around the course. The bones are there and the work is being put it, time will tell how the course and the crowds respond! My biggest complaint is the understaffing. I remember under previous ownership there always seemed to be guys around to lead you to the tee, clean your clubs or even just answer a question. We ended up going off alittle late because we were expecting to be notified when we were up but never were. They still have some issues and some growing pains to work out but from what I’ve seen I have faith that they can get straightened out. Still a challenging course and the green hills right now make it a scenic one too! At $90 it might be a bit of a stretch but $70 after 2 is a decent price. If you wrote this course off during the bad years give it another look.

Played Sand Canyon last weekend for the first time with a group so green fees were a bit steep but I see a $69 for 2 deal on Golf Moose which is a decent price for this course. The layout: winding ... Continue »

Played Sand Canyon last weekend for the first time with a group so green fees were a bit steep but I see a $69 for 2 deal on Golf Moose which is a decent price for this course. The layout: winding and narrow with ESA on both sides of most fairways which I'm not a fan but without that local rule I can see how things can get pretty slow here, and slow is was with a 5+ hr round. I'd say it's walkable if you're in decent shape as there's some hilly holes with mild elevation changes. Beautiful surroundings right now, mostly green shrubs and not many homes along the course. Challenging only due to the narrow landing areas causing many layup tee shots and very few drivers were pulled out of the bag. Greens mostly flat-ish and easy reads albeit very slow by most standards. Overall conditions, unfortunately, are not very good. Lot's of hard pan, especially along the edges and into the 'rough'. That would mean many tee balls would roll into the ESA cuz there's nothing to slow them down. My higher hcp buds lost several balls and I lost a couple myself. Bunkers playable but dry beach sand. You can see the bones are intact here and it would be a different course if the fairway and rough had better quality turf (and more of it) and they cut the greens to give putts some speed. Sorry to say that I cannot recommend this course at time but if I lived nearby it would suffice.

Played Sand Canyon on Friday mid-morning Dec. 22. There was a one hour frost delay in the early morning. So the course was a bit backed up. Our round took just about 5 hours to complete. We played the... Continue »

Played Sand Canyon on Friday mid-morning Dec. 22. There was a one hour frost delay in the early morning. So the course was a bit backed up. Our round took just about 5 hours to complete. We played the Valley/Desert nines. This is the original Valley course when this was called Robinson Ranch. The course does have a different look since its' remodel. It has a more open feel, since quite a few trees and brush areas were burned in the fire a year and a half ago. Also, some of the bunkers on the course have been removed (the first hole right side fairway area comes to mind) and there are now quite a few areas of waste bunkering that were added. The Desert nine (original back nine of the Valley course) has a very different look than before. There used to be trees and shrubbery that completely obscured any view of holes 4 - 7 (where "Death Row" is). You can now see all of those holes while playing the first several holes of the Desert nine. Between these holes (that run in opposite direction), there is now vast waste bunker areas with some palm trees and rock work. This part of the golf course is particularly open and has an entirely different feel from what it is was before. Now onto the conditions. Overall, the course is in fair winter condition. The fairways are thin and firm and are a mix of green and brown. They are playable. Not rock hard, but firm. There were several areas on each hole that were marked as GUR and cordoned off by green and white wooden stakes. I would describe the fairways as decent muni condition. Tee boxes are OK. The one fairway bunker and one greenside bunker I was in had plenty of firm sand. They had been watering certain areas and that was evidenced by some soggy turf in spots. The greens were medium fast without too many unrepaired ball marks. However, we experienced our balls being bounced off line a few times when putting on a few of the greens. But for the most part, the greens rolled well enough and were firm. Although there are changes to this course. It still plays very much like it did when it was RR. This is a very unforgiving course. Many holes require a tee shot using a club other than your driver. I got a hot deal from GN for $32 with cart. It was worth that price. But the $70 rack rate is way too high for me. The course just isn't that enjoyable or well conditioned. I would much rather play a course like Simi Hills, which is more interesting and in much better shape. By the way, the Mountain nine was closed for aeration.

Played a Sunday morning round here on 9/24 with the 2 for $69 coupon (paying $10 extra for Sunday tee time). To simply express the value, I wouldn't pay normal weekend rates to play at this course, ye... Continue »

Played a Sunday morning round here on 9/24 with the 2 for $69 coupon (paying $10 extra for Sunday tee time). To simply express the value, I wouldn't pay normal weekend rates to play at this course, yet.

We were told to play Mountain 1~9 and then play Valley 1~9 for the back nine. Mountain 1~9 was a mess, still a lot of work needing to be done on the course. Fairways were okay, with bare spots in certain areas. Greens were in a bad shape, however. 1 of the greens had bare spots covering half of the green. Also, all of the greens weren't cut short enough, we could never get a true roll on any of the putts. Some greens looked like they were intentionally not mowed, we didn't know we should putt or chip.

The back nine on Valley was a lot better, with fairways and greens in much better conditions. We had a bit of trouble going from very slow greens to fast greens for the back nine.

Considering the distance from LA and coupon price of sub $50, it wasn't a bad value for a round of golf. But purely speaking from the course conditions, it's no better than other municipal courses in the area.