I was thrilled to find out Ventura County golf courses were open for business. I left my house in Rosemead around 07:20 am and arrived at 08:00 and teed off at 08:20. My buddy made a tee time for 08:... Continue »

I was thrilled to find out Ventura County golf courses were open for business. I left my house in Rosemead around 07:20 am and arrived at 08:00 and teed off at 08:20. My buddy made a tee time for 08:50 am but it seemed Matt was getting the groups out faster to keep the pace of play on time. They have implemented a lot of precautions for social distancing (markers on the floor, limiting entrance to use restroom and bar area, no ball washer) but they did have water fountains on a few holes (use at your own risk). They use the service window by the first tee box to pay for the round and to talk to the starter. It was a warm day and they allow golf carts for those who are disabled. My group of gymflake, Roger Cleveland, and a walk on Ken were off and running. The fairways are lush with the rough around 1-2 inches in the first cut. The greens for being punched recently were running fast, true, and firm but receptive and holding a well-struck approach shot. They don't use pins but only shallow cups with progressive hole locations (hole 1 front, hole 2 middle, hole 3 back, and so on). We just lasered the group in front of us to get an approximate pin distance so no big biggy. They were doing maintenance with grass cutting and watering throughout the course but it did not affect pace of play or interfere with shots. The course was in spectacular shape and you appreciate it as you walk the course. Overall a great place to play and this course holds a dear place in my heart as it was the first place I shot even par. The staff is accomodating and marshals make sure you keep the recommended social distance from other players but in a respectful manner. The driving range is open for business along with the club repair shack but all practice putting greens and practice areas are closed. No rakes in bunkers so are prepared to use your foot to smooth out the sand for the next poor soul who finds the same fate as you. The bar is open and they have a cute beverage lady who comes around frequently to quench your thirst. Pull carts are available to rent. I will definitely be back. Shot 82 and I'm happy with that for not playing in 6 weeks. =)

Social distancing in place! Check in outside through the window. No cash. Walking only, plan on bringing your own cart because they run out early. There are no rakes, ball washers, drinking fountains... Continue »

Social distancing in place! Check in outside through the window. No cash. Walking only, plan on bringing your own cart because they run out early. There are no rakes, ball washers, drinking fountains and most importantly, NO FLAGSTICKS! Pins are Front, Middle and Back, use GPS or if you can Lazer the guys putting on the green in front of you? ;) Greens are still recovering from areation and are a little bumpy and slow but in great shape, fairways are perfect, Rough is high and thick in some places as they haven't had time to mow everything, so keep on eye on where your ball goes! Very relaxing pace of play because everyone is walking. Tee times by phone or in person only! It was great to get out to play! Masks are a must at check in and perhaps on the driving range. I looked maxed out when I left at 1:30. 8-9 am not as crowded. But remember, right now everyday is a Saturday because no one is working!

Course is a little beat up compared to summer. Greens are in pretty good shape but a little bumpy. Fairways thin but mostly decent lies. Same with the rough. Traps have more sand than most places in t... Continue »

Course is a little beat up compared to summer. Greens are in pretty good shape but a little bumpy. Fairways thin but mostly decent lies. Same with the rough. Traps have more sand than most places in the valley. Enjoyable course, hopefully gets back to where it was last summer.

Played match play today with kassper7. We paid $47 to walk with a 9:48 tee time. Lots of winter dormancy and some tight fairways made for some good roll out. Overall conditions are fine to good. POP w... Continue »

Played match play today with kassper7. We paid $47 to walk with a 9:48 tee time. Lots of winter dormancy and some tight fairways made for some good roll out. Overall conditions are fine to good. POP was over 5 hours with a lot of waiting.

The greens were medium fast; getting faster as the day warmed up. Not a lot of ball marks and they rolled true without a lot of bumpiness.

Fairways and rough were thin to lush at times. Lots of good roll in the fairways. The rough is kikuyu grass and sometimes will check your ball up, especially if you are trying to run one up from the rough, so be aware.

Tees (we played the Silver) were a little on the firm side and thin at times. Overall, they were mostly level and finding a good place to hit from was not an issue.

Bunkers: I was in two; The back bunker on 6 was raked nicely and had a good amount of sand. The fairway bunker on the right side of 10 was okay with a little bit of soft sand over a firm subgrade.

The beverage cart came by several times throughout the round, but we did not buy anything. I like the course and I had heard that conditions were good. I agree, but it's all relative. There is winter dormancy, so it does not look very green. However, the course is playing nice right now and the greens are rolling very well.

Enjoyed our round as a foursome here at Simi Hills on Thursday morning (2/13). For some reason it was pretty crowded. Pace of play was between 4.5 and 5.0 hours. Overall, the course is in good playing... Continue »

Enjoyed our round as a foursome here at Simi Hills on Thursday morning (2/13). For some reason it was pretty crowded. Pace of play was between 4.5 and 5.0 hours. Overall, the course is in good playing condition. I really enjoy the layout here. It's challenging but fair. You can score well here if you can keep it in the fairway.

The greens were in fantastic shape. They were firm and on the fast side, and held shots nicely. Downhill putts were very fast. You needed to stay below the hole to have a makeable putt. Tee boxes were in fair shape, with lots of bare spots. But just stick a tee in the ground and you're fine. The fairways are dormant Bermuda. They are quite firm and thin, with lots of roll out. There is just enough cushion under the ball to give mostly good lies.

The rough was very spotty. It was mostly thin or bare with some clumpy areas. From 30 yards off the green, up to the green, it is quite thin with very tight lies. It was a challenge to get a wedge under the ball in many instances. I was in 2 greenside bunkers, and the sand was nearly perfect. Easy to hit from and nicely raked.

I enjoyed my round. In a month or two it should be more lush and very nice to play.

Played 12/1. after being on great shape all summer, fall/winter is taking its toll. Fairways were a bit spotty but mostly decent lies. Rough has a lot of uneven spots. Greens were pretty good, for som... Continue »

Played 12/1. after being on great shape all summer, fall/winter is taking its toll. Fairways were a bit spotty but mostly decent lies. Rough has a lot of uneven spots. Greens were pretty good, for some reason, much better on the back 9 than front. Sand traps in very good shape. Pace was great, staff here is super friendly.

Walked Simi Hills as a foursome on Monday 11/25 at 8:52am. This is one of my favorite courses in the area. I believe it's the best conditioned city-owned course around here. Though it's not as lush as... Continue »

Walked Simi Hills as a foursome on Monday 11/25 at 8:52am. This is one of my favorite courses in the area. I believe it's the best conditioned city-owned course around here. Though it's not as lush as it was during the summer, the course is in fine shape, and a pleasure to play.

Fairways are in overall good shape. There are some areas that are thin or bare, but mostly the fairways are a bit tight, but with good coverage and great lies. Many of the areas immediately surrounding the greens is quite tight, requiring well struck chip shots to get it close. The greens are fabulous. They were very quick today. All down hill putts were a challenge to keep from sliding well past the cup. They weren't crazy fast, but fast enough that you had to be very careful with your speed. They were very smooth. They were firm, but would hold well struck shots with spin. Shots coming in a little hot would roll off the back.
I was in 2 bunkers; 1 greenside and 1 fairway bunker. They had plenty of firm packed sand. Nice to hit from. Overall, Simi Hills is in very nice condition. I highly recommend playing it right now.

Met a buddy for a 10:45 tee off on Friday, 11/22, and we were paired with a man/woman twosome. The woman was a weak player but tried to keep it moving, picking up frequently. Pace on the course was su... Continue »

Met a buddy for a 10:45 tee off on Friday, 11/22, and we were paired with a man/woman twosome. The woman was a weak player but tried to keep it moving, picking up frequently. Pace on the course was such that we were usually in position so it didn't hurt anything. They were pleasant and called it after nine holes, so we continued as a pair. Course conditions were overall very nice for the SoCal public course category. On the front nine they were soaking sections on most of the tee boxes with sprinklers — usually the middle tees so the markers were usually clustered a bit forward, back, or split. Not an issue on the back nine. Except for a soggy one at the sixth, teeing grounds were nice — level and covered with short grass. Fairways were consistent, with the tighter coverage and rollout I've seen at multiple courses lately. There were some discolored patches scattered about but better than what I've seen other places in that there was a minimum of browned out or thin areas. Actually,pretty nice fairways. Rough varied from not punitive to a little problematic, was mostly green but had dry stretches. Bunkers were clean and I judge the sand quality as medium soft and very fair to play out of. Greens were in very nice shape and quick. Weather was very pleasant, a beverage cart was making the rounds and, while the pace could of been quicker, it was quite bearable at 4.5 hrs. I hadn't been out there in about a year and was glad I opted to return. Definitely recommended.

Played on Sunday, October 13 with a mid-morning tee time. POP was around 4 1/4 hours to play 18. Not bad for a Sunday. Not sure why it was a little quiet. There was a slight smell of smoke from th... Continue »

Played on Sunday, October 13 with a mid-morning tee time. POP was around 4 1/4 hours to play 18. Not bad for a Sunday. Not sure why it was a little quiet. There was a slight smell of smoke from the nearby fires over the hill from a few days before we played. Course is in great shape. The tee boxes had good coverage. Fairways also had good coverage from tee to green. Granted there were thin spots here and there and some parts of the fairways felt a little mushy from over-watering in that area. The bunkers were inconsistent. Some bunkers were a little thin, some bunkers had wet sand, while others had a lot of sand. The greens are recovering well from recent aeration. Most of the greens seem back to normal. Greens tend to roll a little fast today. It's been a while since we were last here. Love the new carts with the GPS yardage and hole displays on it. It's great getting distances to the pin and to some of the hazards. Love to watch the flyovers for each hole to see the layout of each hole. Had to remember to return the key to get your key deposit back. Love the layout on this course. A number of different challenges on this course.