Kicked off 2019 at one of my favorites in northern San Diego County with a GN Hot Deal for $33 at 1130 on 1/1/19. Hadn’t played since the La Costa GK outing and was trying out some new swing thoughts ... Continue »

Kicked off 2019 at one of my favorites in northern San Diego County with a GN Hot Deal for $33 at 1130 on 1/1/19. Hadn’t played since the La Costa GK outing and was trying out some new swing thoughts – joined Carlsbad locals Ralph and Chris, and we had a relaxed, enjoyable round in about 4 hours. It was pretty windy when we got started, but the blustery NE wind dropped to almost nothing by the time we reached the back nine, and we had perfect weather coming in.

The course is in decent shape. Greens were a mixed bag. Some were OK, some had light/dark areas scattered across them, some had large turf patches evident. Most were firm with good coverage, but all were bumpy and rolled at medium speed. With the windy weather there was a lot of small and large debris on all greens, but not too many ballmarks.

Fairways are dormant and tight – you get some good rollouts downhill, but we also had good strikes rolling back toward us on the uphill holes – frustrating! Many unfilled divots in all the fairways. We liberally used the sand provided on the carts, but the refill rack on #10 tee was populated with empty bottles. There is only scattered use of entry/exit gates for carts onto fairways, and the entry areas being used are badly worn down and bare. Rough was generally cut low and easy to play from, but also wasn’t much of a deterrent for offline shots running on into hazards or other disasters.

There was plenty of sand in all bunkers encountered. Tees were level, and par-3 tees were not too torn up, divot mix provided on some of these. The course has also placed sand bottles on some par-4 tees, but all of these were empty when we came through.

Carts are basic – no GPS, a cooler with just ice. The carts did have a ball washer/club cleaner, which is handy. The driving range is on grass, but the left side of the hitting area is sloping behind a right-handed player. There are few targets; the ball machine was not working. The clock at the range is a nice touch, but it was not adjusted from daylight savings time. No cart girl today, and the snack bar is a drive from the playing route.

I really enjoy the variety in this layout and the opportunity to let the driver rip on many elevated holes. As usual, #s 6 and 17 are beasts – all uphill, and into that NE wind on #6 I still had a hybrid to reach the green after 2 solid shots! There’s a lot of trimmed and untrimmed debris lying around waiting to be cleaned up, and the main creekbeds are choked with growth and debris, which would improve the aesthetics here but really doesn’t affect play. To decrease maintenance costs, the course is doing some turf conversions, primarily in the areas around tee boxes and leading out to fairways. They’ve replaced turf with crushed rock and the look takes some getting used to, but is effective.

Still recommended.

This is a difficult review for me because I really like this golf course and the staff is always fantastic. However I need to be objective and truthful, so I am sad to say the course was in the worst... Continue »

This is a difficult review for me because I really like this golf course and the staff is always fantastic. However I need to be objective and truthful, so I am sad to say the course was in the worst condition I have seen it in. The greens were a mixed bag. Some were actually good, while others were borderline unputtable. The fairways are so thin/tight, the ball would run forever, then when it reached the rough, it was a mix of thin grass or no grass at all. Many of the tee boxes also need serious attention. The best feature of the course are the bunkers, which is not to say they were great, but by far the "jewel" of the course. I have concerns as to why the course is now in such poor condition. It's a wonderful course and one of my favorites. I hope that this is not an indication of possible closure? I sure hope not ! Given that San Luis Rey Downs and Fallbrook, the two courses proximate to GC of California have met their demise, I hope GC of California can turn it around and return to the course I remember it to be.

Tee off Thursday at 9:40 and finished in 4:40 playing behind a tournament group. Foursomes and tee times 10 minutes apart helped with pace. I enjoyed the layout of the course. Nice variety of holes. T... Continue »

Tee off Thursday at 9:40 and finished in 4:40 playing behind a tournament group. Foursomes and tee times 10 minutes apart helped with pace. I enjoyed the layout of the course. Nice variety of holes. There were a few holes that were somewhat narrow off the tee but overall most holes had a fair amount of room off the tee. The difficulty of many holes comes from the approach to the green. Several holes have a hazards to cross short of the green. A couple require a shot through a narrow gape of trees. The greens have good amount of undulation but nothing extreme.

The greens for the first 4 or 5 holes had some real issues. The small patchy spots throughout, were slow/medium speed, and bumpy. The remaining holes were much better with only minor thin spots but rolled pretty good with medium/fast speed. All the greens held shots. The fairways were thin but playable. Shots ran out a bit more than expected. The rough along the fairways was a mixed bag of good, thin, and bare. The green complex rough was mostly good. The bunkers, greenside and fairway, were in good condition. The tee boxes were mostly good.

The club house is very nice. The driving range is grass and there is a short game green with bunker. The staff was very friendly and informative about how to play a few of the holes. I booked on the course website for $54 and upon check in they provided me with a yardage book.

See my previous review a few weeks back--save for ONE THING-the greens. In the time I've been away the greens have taken a crap! Sand piles aND repairs. Mottled and bumpy in many areas! Real garbage a... Continue »

See my previous review a few weeks back--save for ONE THING-the greens. In the time I've been away the greens have taken a crap! Sand piles aND repairs. Mottled and bumpy in many areas! Real garbage at spots to putt on. Want good greens guys? Head over and talk to whoever is the greenskeeper at Hemet Golf Club. If I was a member I'd be livid with the situation Fix your greens! Otherwise it's a beautiful and very challenging track with its hard and fast nature.
Get out there and hit it if you can get it. Just don't be too surprised on the greens.

Played yesterday on this formerly private club. It had been awhile and I had forgotten what a gem this farm is. Played firm and fast although greens were very receptive on approach. Fairways narrow in... Continue »

Played yesterday on this formerly private club. It had been awhile and I had forgotten what a gem this farm is. Played firm and fast although greens were very receptive on approach. Fairways narrow in spots and played VERY firm and super tight. If you don't like hotting off shaved firm turf....do not come play here. Some areas are barely grass w some dirt showing through. Some fairways have slope that requires you to shape shots into them to kill the rollout. Great green complexes. Greens rolled true and w a med fast speed. Greens overall in nice shape w some dead/sanded areas here and there on a few holes. Careful there are a lot of tiers to greens. Very challenging if above or below holes. Some roped off under repair areas....they do a good job of indicating areas under repair here--best I've seen in a long while-appreciate that guys.
Fantastic views from spots on the course of the adjacent rivet valley. Some holes bring you through forested creek areas riCH in flora.
All in all a VERY firm and challenging layout.
Customer service greatly improved from the late time I played where they seemed a bit snooty (shortly after going oublic?)
Hit it if you can get it!

Sub four hour round on a beautiful day for golf. The course is still healing from maintenance from tee to green. The staff was a little confused on check in for us - but finally got it right. The t... Continue »

Sub four hour round on a beautiful day for golf. The course is still healing from maintenance from tee to green. The staff was a little confused on check in for us - but finally got it right. The tees had been plugged and were thin, dry and slightly beat up. The fairways also have been plugged and were pretty dry and very tight, which provided great roll but made good contact difficult. The rough was pretty long but not real thick if one could locate their shot. The traps were fairly good with okay sand but quite a few rocks and pebbles. The greens were about half way healed from being plugged. Most putts were very slow and somewhat bumpy. The course just looks like it needs more water to progress to better condition. I would give it a couple weeks if they start putting more water everywhere and it should be nice.

Played GC of California for a late birthday round with a neighbor. Short and sweet, it was awful. This course is one I have always highly regarded as being a quality, well maintained and manicured tra... Continue »

Played GC of California for a late birthday round with a neighbor. Short and sweet, it was awful. This course is one I have always highly regarded as being a quality, well maintained and manicured track that I thoroughly enjoyed, but it currently has the appearance of a course that is being 'let go', which is a shame. I hope that's not the case, but winter conditions can't be the only explanation for why it looked so ragged and trashy throughout.
The tee boxes were fading and disheveled, the fairways were tight and dormant/dying/dead, and the rough was just a bunch of trashy dead patchy mess. I literally had the feel all day like I'd been duped, given the 'ol bait and switch, because this course has never felt or played this way in my past experiences.

Unlike everything else about the course with the exception of the first green which was an absolute bumpy mess, the greens progressively got better with many in excellent condition. That and the good customer service were the lone saving grace for a course I used to love and now will not return to until it's restored.

So disappointed, GCofCa was a hidden gem for a long time, but it's just a messy looking muni now. Only paid $30 dollars on a GN discount and STILL felt robbed.

Was excited to play Gc of California as it is one of my favorite courses. However, pulled into the parking lot and it was 33 degrees. However - NO FROST DELAY ! But carts on path until 8:30, which... Continue »

Was excited to play Gc of California as it is one of my favorite courses. However, pulled into the parking lot and it was 33 degrees. However - NO FROST DELAY ! But carts on path until 8:30, which was just about at the finish of my round. 33 is just plain cold, particularly in a cart and with carts on path, makes for a tough day. Greens were good, not great. Nice to see that #1 green has improved. Fairways being dormant and somewhat frozen allowed for some additional roll, which was nice because the ball does not travel all that far in freezing temperatures. Greenside bunkers all had great sand, lots of it and well maintained. I just really like this course. Fits my eye! Staff is always wonderful and accommodating. Despite the weather and poor play on my part, had a nice time and enjoyed the round, which is testament to the golf course!

Played 2-11-18 with David, Matt, and Jim using an Underpar deal and getting around the course in a little under 5 hours. Tee boxes were mostly level with descent coverage with some minor divot damage ... Continue »

Played 2-11-18 with David, Matt, and Jim using an Underpar deal and getting around the course in a little under 5 hours. Tee boxes were mostly level with descent coverage with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways had not fully filled in from whenever they had last been punched so you could end up with the ball sitting in a little depression, but they were mostly in good shape with a fair amount of roll out. Rough was cut very low and had some bare spots. Was in one greenside bunker that was nice to play from. Greens for the most part were in good shape, rolling fairly smooth with medium pace and semi-soft.