Played Sun 3/14. Beautiful conditions. There was a frost delay so we got started about 1/2 hour late. Starter ran us off at hole #2 we were the first group out (was OK, they were doing what they could... Continue »

Played Sun 3/14. Beautiful conditions. There was a frost delay so we got started about 1/2 hour late. Starter ran us off at hole #2 we were the first group out (was OK, they were doing what they could to get everyone going as quickly as possible) said at end they would work us in to finish hole #1. By the time we got around, there were 4 groups on the hole. They offered to let us play #1 on Champions course, we didn't though. They did their best to make it work. We played in 4 1/2 hours. We normally would play in just over 3 hours, as we had no one to wait on, it was all us. Problem had a lot to do with the length of rough just off the fairway. There were many many times where 1 or more of us in the group had a difficult time finding our ball. This is NOT normal for us, all the length of rough. This I feel slows play and the grass in these area's seemed to swallow balls and hide them. I will add a little time maybe 1/2 hour to the fact that none of us had played this track before, we were probably a little slower than normal trying to understand the course and decide where to play our shots. Group behind us was a 3 some and was near us, but not waiting on very few shots (par 3's) so we kept this slower than normal pace. I would estimate a normal round with the layout and rough is going to be 5 hours at least on a weekend.

Now to the course. I have been jonesing to play this course for a couple of years, but not willing to drive that far or pay a normal weekend rate around $90. Got a discounted green fee of $65 on one of the sites so decided now was the time.

Layout is fantastic. The elevation changes, doglegs and contour of this track is phenomenal. You will play many shots in your bag if you hope to score. It is a little tricky the first time around, I think you really need to play it a couple of times to really know where to hit the ball. Rough as I mentioned seemed to swallow golf balls that were within a couple feet of the plush fairway. Not severely mi sh$t , but just trickling into the rough and it became an advanture to find. Many of the greens "looked" a little hairy with mixture of grasses, but overall they rolled very true and turned out to be very nice putting surfaces for the most part. Greens are a little tough in reading and getting the right lines. Putter error (me and my group) not the course. You will have a little challenge in getting the right reads. Good challenge though. Greens all have undulations that you will have to navigate and you definitely want to pay attention to pin position and play to the according location. Missing in the wrong spot will be very penal on almost all holes. Overall, I guess I would not recommend this course for a high handicapper. Not a lot of margin for error on many holes, some yes, but most no. You'll lose a number of sleeves of balls that way. Low handicappers will be adequately challenged. We played from the Blacks (they have Golds that are back all the way) and at 6800 was fine for our group (3 single digit handicappers & 1 mid teens). Fairways were in good shape as were the tee boxes (I attribute to the fact that we were back on the blacks where most folks would not go). Staff at the course was fantastic, did not see a Refreshment Cart on the course the entire day. Thought this was strange, don't even know if they have one. Half way house was open and food items were pretty good.

ISSUES WITH COURSE --- I would consider this an upscale course for So Cal. Given, it is home of So Cal PGA, but no GPS in the carts was unusual. Now, I carry my own, but just thought for an upscale course missing this was strange. Bunkers ---- COURSE SHOULD BE EMBERRASED, REALLY !!! The bunkers are just holes filled with DIRT and Rocks. Yes, there were large rocks in there. They have also covered over old Fairway Bunkers (which I am sure made the course play far more difficult) with Grass... HOWEVER, don't know how long ago they did it, but most of those should be ground under repair. The grass in those spots is rock hard and patchy. Our irons were litterally BOUNCING with no divots. This seemed really rediculous and when we ended up there, it was not pretty. Whomever did this work should provide a refund. It really is a terrible job of putting in grass.

Overall, I really did enjoy the course. For those of us in LA Country, it is a very long way out there. I had always heard it was worth the drive. I "kind of" think it is. But at a standard green fee around $90, with HORRIBLE bunkers (mind you, it appeared to be every single one, not just a couple) it will aggrevate you a great deal. But the general layout and conditions of tee boxes, fairways and greens was very nice. I definitely would not want to play this course in the wind. Slight breeze we had was tough enough.