As Gary00 mentioned, played today 2/18 on a brisk/sunny day with semi-variable weather conditions. First time playing Pala Mesa after having driven past it hundreds of times and was glad to get out on... Continue »

As Gary00 mentioned, played today 2/18 on a brisk/sunny day with semi-variable weather conditions. First time playing Pala Mesa after having driven past it hundreds of times and was glad to get out on a weekday, meet a new GK member, and check another course off the list. Conditions were about as expected after heavier rains in the last week, including some heavy downpours the night before. The layout was a mix of Mission Trails and Shadowridge CC; tighter on the front, a bit more open on the back with houses around. Gary gave a good summary so I’ll just add a bit to it.

Tee boxes: As mentioned, they were okay, some better than others but nothing that was so egregious that it warrants a negative mark.

Fairways: A mixed bag as some were muddy and murky messes that required the lift, clean, replace tactic just to have an enjoyable round. A few fairways seemed untouched by rain, however as mentioned, very little roll and lies weren’t always pleasant.

Rough: Varied in its condition and length. I specifically remember being past the 9th green and finding rough equivalent to Torrey. Other holes had rough that was anything but, overall with the rains and rough length, it behooved anyone to stay on the fairways.

Bunkers: Plenty of sand on the course, however, the rains took their toll on just about every bunker! Some had inches of water and sand that was clean enough to hit from was packed and difficult to get those sand saves.

Greens: As Gary mentioned, the highlight of the round. They were smooth, quick, and sloped at times enough to make you scratch your head.

ETC: Carts has great GPS with Shark software that allowed your phone to easily hookup its Bluetooth; a nice touch. Staff was very friendly and food at the turn was fast and delicious (nothing like a freshly-made sandwich from a lovely person). Pace was slow at first and sped up as the round went on, even as our group in front slowed down; perplexing, but nice to not hit the 5 hour mark! Don’t think I’d go out of my way to play here again, but glad to get to play and make a new friend.