Played the Lakes/Valley combo with a 7:30 am tee time. Customer service was excellent. My playing partner skipped out at the last minute due to having a lesson later in the day. Pro shop didn’t ba... Continue »

Played the Lakes/Valley combo with a 7:30 am tee time. Customer service was excellent. My playing partner skipped out at the last minute due to having a lesson later in the day. Pro shop didn’t bat an eye and since I was now a single gave me the option of going out early so I joined a twosome of locals who were walking the course for the first time and realized how easy the course is to walk.

Usually the Lakes 9 is the premier track but I’d have to say it was well below the Valley. The greens on the Lakes were still only about 50% healed from aeration and were very bumpy. Greens on the Valley were 85-90% healed and rolled smooth at a medium plus pace. The surprise was the condition of the fairway and tee boxes of the Lakes nine. Fairways were thin and spotty. Definitely still in winter condition and well below others in the valley. On the other hand the fairways were on the Valley side were much better. They were still below others in the area but acceptable for sure. I know the Lakes side gets the majority of the play which is why the tee boxes have more divots.

I was in a bunch of sand traps (mainly on the valley side) and all were acceptable with a decent amount of sand. A couple had wet dirt in them from the morning watering but they were still predictable and acceptable. In general, I’d say that the bunkers everywhere in the valley right now are the best I’ve seen them as a collection.

POP wasn’t an issue as we were the second group out. Being that we were walking the group ahead had carts made it just enough that we didn’t have to wait on them.

Valley Oaks is a 27 hole parkland setting course just off Hwy 99 in Visalia. As an alternative option to others in the valley it passed the test but if I was only going to play one in the area, I would skip this track and choose one of the others.

Ridge Creek is definitely a go to course in the valley.

Played Valley Oaks this morning in a match play event with a 9am tee time. 2 of us walked while my teammate and another rode. Smoke is ... Continue »

Ridge Creek is definitely a go to course in the valley.

Played Valley Oaks this morning in a match play event with a 9am tee time. 2 of us walked while my teammate and another rode. Smoke is pretty heavy in Visalia right now. Unlike Ridge Creek on Wednesday which was fine, today was in the uncomfortable but doable range. Any worse and I’d say it would be unbearable.

Greens were in good condition. Rolled smooth at a medium fast pace and easily held well struck shots. Greens are the highlight of the course for sure. Fairways were ok. A lot of thin areas throughout the entire course, but offered a predictable hitting surface for the most part. Tee boxes were ok on the par 5’s, decent enough on the par 4’s and horrible on the par 3’s. A couple of the par 3’s were so chewed up it looked like the markers hadn’t been changed in weeks.

Bunkers were ok. Most had a thin layer of sand that allowed for a proper bunker shot.
Valley Oaks is a pretty straightforward course that’s decent enough, especially with the good green complexes but it’s nothing special. With the smoke in the area right now, I will probably avoid it for a while.

I played Valley Oaks this afternoon playing the Lakes/Valley combo. In short the conditions are almost identical to my last review. Even when I played here a couple of time in May the course was in ... Continue »

I played Valley Oaks this afternoon playing the Lakes/Valley combo. In short the conditions are almost identical to my last review. Even when I played here a couple of time in May the course was in similar condition, so kudos to the maintenance crew for keeping things consistent throughout the year. Greens rolled smooth and easily held well struck shots. Fairways offer a decent lie but aren't the prettiest to look at. Where as they have an overall brownish tint to them, they offer good roll out and a solid hitting surface. Fairways to have some thin spots here and there. Sand traps... Here I go again. Rakes are back in the bunkers but NO ONE is using them!! If it's a genuine COVID concern then use a rag to grab the rake, but please rake footsteps. Other than that it was a good day out on the course with moderate temperature (high 90's) for the valley.

I was in Visalia Friday 2/5 and got in a round at Valley Oaks before my meeting. I played the Lakes/Valley combo which is the most popular. Conditions are what you would expect for this time of the y... Continue »

I was in Visalia Friday 2/5 and got in a round at Valley Oaks before my meeting. I played the Lakes/Valley combo which is the most popular. Conditions are what you would expect for this time of the year. In short, Greens, Tee boxes and sand traps were all nice but the fairways were the weak link.

Greens were in very nice condition. They rolled smooth at a medium-fast pace. Greens at Valley Oak are fairly tame so, you can go “flag hunting” on most holes. It’s not often I’m “Disappointed” with 32 total putts and two birdies, but I definitely felt like left a couple out there.

Tee boxes were also in nice shape. Lush, level, fairly divot free and a nice emerald green. If anything, the grass on the tee boxes might have been a little long but after last weeks rain and the abundance of sunshine this week it’s understandable.

Sand traps were a pleasant surprise. Decent quality sand in all three bunkers I was in. Sand was only about 2-3 inches deep, but very playable.

Fairways: Well, this was the weak area of the course. Grass was very thin throughout the entire course. It offered plenty of roll out but didn’t promote optimal ball striking conditions. Fairway grass was 90% dead/dormant brown with a little bit of light green mixed in (probably from this week’s unusually high temperatures).

All in all, Valley Oaks is your typical winter muni course right now. Greens alone make it acceptable and it’s a super easy course to walk. One thing I do like about Valley Oaks is that tee boxes are short transfer away from the greens, yet far enough that people on the tee & Greens aren’t disrupting the other with normal talk/chatter. POP was under 3 1/2 hours. I started out as a single and joined the 3 some in front of me at the turn.

With tree lined fairways (some tight, some more open), Valley Oaks offers an alternative track to that of Ridge Creek down the road or Dragonfly, all at a bit cheaper of a price.

I was planning on playing Ridge Creek today but had to be in Visalia for business to I opted to play Valley Oaks. Overall conditions were average muni like shape. Greens rolled nice and smooth at a... Continue »

I was planning on playing Ridge Creek today but had to be in Visalia for business to I opted to play Valley Oaks. Overall conditions were average muni like shape. Greens rolled nice and smooth at a medium pace. A few of the greens had some unrepaired pitch marks but most were clean. Greens at Valley Oaks are fairly docile with a general back to front slope or a small ridge in the middle to separate the green into an upper and lower level. There’s just enough slope in the greens to make you pay attention and to prevent them from being a snore fest.

Fairways were in ok shape. Decent coverage with some brown and thinning spots mixed in. Rough was horrible. Very patchy and thin from place to place. Tee boxes were level but most were heavily riddled with divots. Even the longer Par 5’s had a number of divots in them.

I was only in one sand trap (on the edge) so I can’t really comment on their condition. Tee’d off mid morning so I missed the early crowd (but caught up to them with 4 holes to go). I was still able to finish in 3 hours. Course is completely flat with minimal transfer distance so it’s an easy walk. Even with the fires in the area, walking wasn’t too bad.

COVID- Plastic rings in the cups, based on other groups, I assume single rider carts. No rakes and only two patrons at a time in the pro shop. Range is open (mat) as is the putting green.

I played the Lakes-Valley combo. The lakes has a couple of water hazards that come into play in three of the holes plus a fun Par 5 with a creek and trees in front of the green that make it all about angles trying to get on in two. The valley nine like it’s twin sister the Oaks, is flat with some nice dog legs to keep it from being completely boring. All three nines are tree lined with some fairways being tight and others having a generous landing area.

Conditions at Valley Oaks continue to disappoint. Some friends suggested we play there today as one needed to stay close to home. I should have stayed home and gone for a bike ride. I will start... Continue »

Conditions at Valley Oaks continue to disappoint. Some friends suggested we play there today as one needed to stay close to home. I should have stayed home and gone for a bike ride. I will start with the positives. The greens are in nice shape. They held well struck shots and rolled fairly smooth with only a few pitch marks here and there to get in the way. Greens rolled at a medium slow speed.

As for the rest of the course…. Garbage. Fairways were thin, brown and patchy. Rough was only about 1” tall but very patchy. Most of the time your ball would find a low spot and sit down in an indentation in the ground if it missed the fairway.

Areas around the green were just as bad. I had more double bogeys today than bogeys and I was playing fairly well (8 pars & a birdie). It was just if you missed the green the ball would be in a horrible lie. Usually in a thin, part dirt, part grass/weed that was sporadic in its coverage and probably sitting down in some type of old gopher hole indentation in the dirt.

Tee boxes were atrocious. Yes they were level (course is completely flat so that’s not hard to do) but the tee boxes were torn up bad. Not just the Par 3 boxes but almost every tee box had dozens and dozens of divots throughout.

The one sand box I was in was actually decent. POP was ok. We set our own pace on the front nine and then had to wait for a twosome couple, numerous times on the back nine.

We did the Sunday late morning $30 tee time and for that price with the quality of the greens on a weekend, it’s not too bad. Just know that outside of the greens, the rest of the course is garbage. Conditions were so bad, that by the time I got to a decent photo oppertunity, the 7th hole par 3 with a lake in front of it (which was our 16th), I totally forget to take a picture and post it on the GK App.

Average Muni is probably the best way to summarize Valley Oaks right now. Greens were smooth but did have several divots throughout. Speed was medium. Fairway was very thin. Even the Lakes nine wh... Continue »

Average Muni is probably the best way to summarize Valley Oaks right now. Greens were smooth but did have several divots throughout. Speed was medium. Fairway was very thin. Even the Lakes nine which is their premier 9 of the three was mediocre at best. Rough was thin and patchy and tee boxes were ok. Sand traps were actually decent. Better than they have been in the past.

We got the last "early bird" tee time and went off just before 8am for $30 with cart. For a weekend near prime time the course is worth the admission fee.

Valley Oaks could be part of an AT&T commercial right now, because the course is "Just OK".

As most know, Valley Oaks has three 9 hole layouts. I played all three today and boy were they different in quality. Started off with the Lakes which is the "premier" 9 hole. No issues Tee to gr... Continue »

As most know, Valley Oaks has three 9 hole layouts. I played all three today and boy were they different in quality. Started off with the Lakes which is the "premier" 9 hole. No issues Tee to green. Good coverage all around. Nothing super but a solid muni course with an overall rating of a 7.

Next up was the Valley 9. Fairways were a bit thin in places and greens had a ton of pitch marks. Tee boxes were ok, however the Par 3's were a bit chewed up.

On to the Oaks and conditions got even worse. Fairways were very thin throughout with the greens being riddled with pitch marks and bumps. Tee boxes were thin with several bare spots.

Overall I'd rate the course at a 6. I met up after the first 9 with a couple former co-workers who are just starting to get into the game so it worked as a track to chill and get got up on the gossip.

Valley Oaks offers a decent change of pace to mix in with other courses in the area but for the prime rack rate, Dragonfly and Ridge Creek offer better courses. both in layout and conditions.

Pretty much identical to my last review except the fairways have improved. There are still a few winter thin areas but for the most part the fairways have grown in and are in decent shape. Greens ro... Continue »

Pretty much identical to my last review except the fairways have improved. There are still a few winter thin areas but for the most part the fairways have grown in and are in decent shape. Greens roll nice and smooth, though they tend to hold a straighter line than you would expect when reading breaks. All but one (par 3) tee box were in excellent shape.

Only real complaint was the marshal. We were behind a couple of slow groups and when I pointed it out to the marshal for the second time, he just said they are from out of the area. ?? I realize that 90% of marshals are out there just to get free golf. I'm good with that, but they need to remember their primary job is to keep the pace of play moving a long. Or at least let the groups behind play through.