Catching up on a review I wish I posted last week because The Oaks at Valencia was in the best shape I have ever seen it. Check out the photos I just posted with my review.

Ran a Golf Moose/Greensk... Continue »

Catching up on a review I wish I posted last week because The Oaks at Valencia was in the best shape I have ever seen it. Check out the photos I just posted with my review.

Ran a Golf Moose/Greenskeeper.org Private Course Event on 5/15. Big event of 120 players that The Oaks at Valencia easily handled. The staging area for events is one of the better ones I’ve experienced. A large driving range spread out with an excellent practice green and short game area. Golf carts stagged a few steps from the range and close to the clubhouse. Both the #1 and #10 tee boxes easy walking distance from the stagging area. The Oaks at Valencia makes the day very relaxing for players and did a super job assisting our outing team.

I’ve played The Oaks at Valencia twice prior to our event and once when it was TPC Valencia. I have always enjoyed the layout but thought conditions could be better. Playing conditions this time were gorgeous. Very lush and groomed tee boxes, fairways and rough. The greens ran medium fast, smooth and a little firm. Bunkers were all well groomed with quality sand.

Teed it up with GKers rgm2525, GDR23 and mark_6m. Great time as always! Got to see some fantastic shots out there by those guys and the laughs non-stop.

I highly recommend playing The Oaks at Valencia. This is an excellent private course experience.

Played The Oaks at Valencia CC Private for the 2nd time this morning 5/15/23 as a part of the GK/Golfmoose shotgun outing at 10am under warm conditions around 90 for a high and a nice one club breeze ... Continue »

Played The Oaks at Valencia CC Private for the 2nd time this morning 5/15/23 as a part of the GK/Golfmoose shotgun outing at 10am under warm conditions around 90 for a high and a nice one club breeze that kept things a tad more bearable. Pop was 5 hrs which was OK in regards to the huge shotgun today. Paired with buddies John, Ron and Mark and we had a great time on this Omeara layout! Range on turf[big range]. Putting green in great shape and they have a seperate chipping green/bunker area. All staff encountered very friendly. Did not eat there but very cool cart gal that looped around the course several times. Did notice that there were no water jugs on the course so byo and good thing there was a drink cart today. Greens were firm rolling beautifully and would say semi receptive. They putted around a 10.5 on the stimp. Different size greens depending on the hole but they do have some massive size ones and some skinnier ones like hole 14. Rated 8.5/10 Fairways were in great shape bordering between a 8.5/9 out of 10 and they were thick with no roll. Most drives I hit today that were high and long got 1 yd of roll. Rated 9/10. The rain has really made these lush! Tees mainly level and lush and in good shape. I believe they have 5 different sets of tees here. Rated 8.5/10. Was in one fairway bunker that was perfectly raked and compact. Rough was very lush up to 3 inches and a club grabber. Rated 8.5/10. Layout has native areas usually lining both sides of every hole. I love the back nine here. My favorite hole is number 10 a sweeping elevated dogleg left framed by mature oak trees. Other than hole 3 which is quirky and hole 14 which is quirky I enjoy the layout! Recommended!

Late getting to this review.

Ran a Golf Moose / GK Private Course outing on Monday the 20th last week. Before I get into the golf course, from an outing organizer perspective, The Oaks at Valencia... Continue »

Late getting to this review.

Ran a Golf Moose / GK Private Course outing on Monday the 20th last week. Before I get into the golf course, from an outing organizer perspective, The Oaks at Valencia has an outstanding staging area to put on an event at. With a huge driving range, practice putting green, clubhouse, snack bar and cart staging area smack in the middle of it, it was exceptionally easy to keep track of all the players providing them an excellent/convenient way to start their day. The staff was very professional/helpful with bag drop/check-in/set-up. The clubhouse is gorgeous with a nice large parking. Loved it.

As for the golf course experience, besides having a blast with GKers GDR23, mark_6m and briggslaw, I found the track very fun and challenging. It’s a Mark O’Meara design which gets some flack due to some blind tee shots and a ruthlessly difficult hole 14 Par 5 where you have to lay up off the tee then hit two difficult shots around oak trees to reach the green in regulation … but the truth is the golf course as a whole, especially the green complexes, is very fun and beautiful. It does not take long to understand why it’s called The “Oaks” as just about every hole blends the hillsides and oak trees in wide varieties. It’s truly unique layout molded very well into the landscape.

Playing conditions were excellent with exception to the bunkers which need new sand. The greens were smooth, mostly firm, and medium speed. Fairways lush full coverage bermuda turf. Rough mostly lush and not very penalizing. Tee boxes in great shape, level and well groomed.

The Oaks at Valencia is a club I’d love to do another outing at and recommend it to anyone considering a membership or has a chance to play.

Check out the photos I posted!

Good Times.

I played here today with the GK/GolfMoose event. Not a lot to add to the previous reviews. Mostly great conditions from tee to green. We played the Silver/Medal tees, all level and lush. Fairways and ... Continue »

I played here today with the GK/GolfMoose event. Not a lot to add to the previous reviews. Mostly great conditions from tee to green. We played the Silver/Medal tees, all level and lush. Fairways and rough in great shape with good thick turf. Bunkers were just okay with footprints and thin, damp sand. Greens were very nice. There was one small area on one of the greens that looked like there was a problem, but it was nowhere near the pin placement. I had a great time today and I enjoyed the group I was placed with.

Played The Oaks Club today for the first time, with Golfmoose/GK. The course is in great shape. Everything except bunkers were in great shape, with the greens being the highlight. As for those bunkers... Continue »

Played The Oaks Club today for the first time, with Golfmoose/GK. The course is in great shape. Everything except bunkers were in great shape, with the greens being the highlight. As for those bunkers, I wasn't in any (except a fairway bunker on 18), but judging from the practice bunkers, they are firm and/or thin. Not sure if that's by design or not. And from looking at the bunkers on the course, I saw many footprints and other inconsistencies in the surface, which is a shame, because you would think a private course would be better with that. The rakes were kinda cheap, too.

As for the practice facility, I had heard great things about it, but honestly, I wasn't all that impressed. The putting green is fine, and the driving range is too, if hitting off grass. But they had us on the mats, which were not very fun to hit from, nor in the best shape. The chipping green is OK, but I've seen better. What's interesting is that I heard that their practice facility is significantly better than that of their sister club, Valencia Country Club; but if you ask me, it's basically the same.

As for the layout, it was fine for the first 13 holes, and then it got a little weird. There are back to back par 5s on 14 and 15, which have a TON of undulation from tee to green. #14 is a beast, playing over 600 yards all the way back, with an uphill tee shot to a fairway that stops at the crest of the hill, at a yardage that can make hitting driver off the tee a risky play. Then it goes way downhill before you get to the second part of the fairway, which goes back uphill, and has a tree in the middle, potentially blocking your approach shot. Just a very weird and challenging hole. #15 is similar with the uphill/downhill and somewhat split fairway, but not quite as hard to put it in the right spots. #17 is also a little weird, as it's a very short par 4, but with lots of slope, creating a blind approach if you miss your tee shot on the right side. Just kinda feels like they forced the holes into the terrain on the back nine, whereas the front is a bit more natural, in terms of creating high-quality golf holes.

All in all, it was fun, and the service was great. I would play here again, and thanks to Johnny GK for all he does to organize these outings!

Played the Oaks Club at Valencia private CC as part of the GK/Golfmoose outing this morning 6/20/22 at 11am. First time playing this track. Paired with Johnny, Mark and Jeff excellent playing partners... Continue »

Played the Oaks Club at Valencia private CC as part of the GK/Golfmoose outing this morning 6/20/22 at 11am. First time playing this track. Paired with Johnny, Mark and Jeff excellent playing partners in 4 hrs 30 minutes with the temps in the upper 90s and about a 15mph breeze. Great run event at a very nice facility and clubhouse in the hills of Valencia. All employees encountered were friendly and accommodating. Beautiful course with mature oak trees, lots of up and down rolling hills, native vegetation on every hole usually on both sides of the Fairways. It had its share of blind shots but no tricked out holes other than number 14 where driver is not really the play for longer hitters. I really enjoyed the back nine here. I loved the tee shots on 17 and 18. The greens were rolling pure probably close to 10 on the stimp meter. They looked faster than they actually putted and our group left multiple putts right in the jar just a foot short. Healthy greens that were receptive on approach shot. Omeara did a good job with some skinny greens, wide greens and undulations throughout the green complexes. Rated 8/10 Fairways had nice coverage for summer in this hot area. Mostly lush and in good shape, Rated 8/10 Tees were level and in good shape and lush. Never encountered a unlevel teeing ground. Rated 8/10 Was not in any of the bunkers but my playing partners were and they described them as inconsistent in sand texture where most were firm and crusty and one had an ample amount of beach sand. Most did not look raked Rough was thick just off the fairways and was a darker green which was a nice contrast visually from the fairways. Good shape Rated 8/10. If I lived in the immediate area I would consider a membership here. I enjoyed the round immensely.

I played today in the SCGA event, sponsored by Woodford Reserve. We did receive a comp drink in the morning and there was another Woodford cocktail later at the turn for $5; Not bad. I have always l... Continue »

I played today in the SCGA event, sponsored by Woodford Reserve. We did receive a comp drink in the morning and there was another Woodford cocktail later at the turn for $5; Not bad. I have always liked this course. I find it exciting and difficult. Many of the holes proceed up and down a mountainous/canyon terrain and it is like an adventure because of all the blind shots. The course is in decent winter condition: dormant Bermuda fairways and a nicely overseeded rough that was mowed to a manageable 1"-2". The fairways had plenty of root zone although they were mowed very tight allowing for a lot of run out on most drives. The bentgrass greens were great: fast, smooth, and very few ball marks to fix. It was difficult to hold shots from well off the green if you don't generate a lot of spin or come in with a high pitch. There were some difficult pin positions today and the greens are mostly large and undulating with all kinds of breaks. Tee boxes were nice; we played the Silver (Medal) tees and it was plenty of golf at 6440 yards and a 72.1 rating/130 slope. Lots of forced carries over junk or valleys to the fairways. Many of the approach shots were to elevated greens. Bunker sand was good. It was a nice, light colored, fine grain sand that was great to hit from, except for the greenside bunker at Hole 4, which was a little wet. I arrived early enough to take advantage of the great practice area. Lots of room on the driving range, pyramids of balls, a sand/chipping green, and a large practice putting green. Our group had a good time. It was nice to take a day off of work and it was an especially nice day weather wise. Being so close to home, I would say it was worth the $95.

Made it today to The Oaks Club at Valencia for a SCGA member outing. An absolutely stunning day with no wind in sight. Our group played from the mixed black/silver tees (72.8/132). We started off on h... Continue »

Made it today to The Oaks Club at Valencia for a SCGA member outing. An absolutely stunning day with no wind in sight. Our group played from the mixed black/silver tees (72.8/132). We started off on hole 8 in the shotgun style and group behind us. The course is in very good shape. The tees are perfect and the greens are as good as you are going to find right now. The fairways were in parts dormant, but they were trying to come back. It has been so dry this season, that they have cut away a significant amount of the large grass in the waste areas. So the guys I played with found some shots that normally they would not. Unfortunately, my luck was not so great finding those wasted balls. The total POP was just over 5hrs, as we waited on nearly every hole, yet some epic scenery as it was as clear for miles. It was totally worth it to come out to this place and give it a whirl for $95. Would I look into a membership here? Yes, if I lived close this would be a great place to be a member. The facility is clean and newly renovated. There seemed to be some sort of work being done to the back of the clubhouse, but I couldn't tell. This course is so challenging and that is what I would want if I were going to join a private club. Definitely would play here again and would recommend anyone who wants a challenge.

We got to play The Oaks Club again today and it is always a super fun but tough round!! Greens are fast and there are many blind shots to greens. It was 104 deg today so a walk would be tough!! We ... Continue »

We got to play The Oaks Club again today and it is always a super fun but tough round!! Greens are fast and there are many blind shots to greens. It was 104 deg today so a walk would be tough!! We rode in carts and was still exhausting!! I love the staff at the Oaks and the food and beverage at the Midway Cafe is AWESOME!!! Christian the head Chef is Great and super nice!!. If you ever get a chance to play this course it's well worth the challenge!!