I had the opportunity to play Grayhawk Talon for a $35 rate due to a coworker having the White Tee card. Heck of a deal given the quality of course.
We teed off around 1006 with both courses fairly busy on a Saturday morning. Raptor seemed to have more playing going on than Talon. Only one range was open and it was packed before the round.
Talon is a bit tighter ... » More

I had the opportunity to play Grayhawk Talon for a $35 rate due to a coworker having the White Tee card. Heck of a deal given the quality of course.
We teed off around 1006 with both courses fairly busy on a Saturday morning. Raptor seemed to have more playing going on than Talon. Only one range was open and it was packed before the round.
Talon is a bit tighter off the tee than Raptor. Still fun, playable and challenging. Talon has some fun holes including the last three holes to finish. Conditions were good but the course had a number of areas marked as GUR. I also noticed a large number of turf replacement throughout the course. A few bunkers were also marked as GUR with free drops. Tee boxes were good with a couple uneven lies and bare spots. Fairways had a number of bare spots but the "summer preferred lie" was invoked by the club. I didn't really have to take advantage of that today but my playing partners did. Bunkers were ok and a bit dried out. Greens were in very good shape and consistent through the round. They were a joy to putt on because of the speed and consistency through the day.
Beverage cart was around quite often and they do have a number of water stations throughout the course.
Grayhawk is the type of course I don't play very often but it's definitely worth it go give Talon a try with current conditions.
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Played a twilight Friday round at Montebello this week for $32 with a cart with three friends for our 30-year high school reunion weekend. POP was actually pretty good as we found a sweet spot between groups and didn't get held up at all until the 12th hole.

Overall conditions at Montebello are quite playable but far from lush. The greens are running at med-fast speed... » More

Played a twilight Friday round at Montebello this week for $32 with a cart with three friends for our 30-year high school reunion weekend. POP was actually pretty good as we found a sweet spot between groups and didn't get held up at all until the 12th hole.

Overall conditions at Montebello are quite playable but far from lush. The greens are running at med-fast speed and are in pretty good shape all things considered. Nothing too tricky about these greens but you do have to dial in the varying speeds based on some bumps here or there. Held shots well though.

Fairways were mostly okay in majority of areas but definitely some thin lies to contend with and lots of dirt/GUR areas that you'll want to avoid. Rough is of varied height but nothing too difficult to contend with at all. Tee boxes were in good shape for the most part, but the bunkers remain very thin and grainy like the first and only other time I visited Montebello two years prior. That's fine in the fairways but not so much near the greens.

It's very serviceable golf right now with some pretty cool holes that will challenge your game, some really long par 4s that will require more than one good shot per hole and a few elevations and water features that keep things interesting throughout the round. I'd come back again in a pinch.
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Played here at 7:12 Tuesday morning, 8/14 with rob1563. Great fun and thanks to Rob for getting me the OB Sports rate! We got sent to the tee early but a few groups were stacked up waiting to start, so we began right on time. Hot temps but tolerable. Service was good and beverage cart came around a couple times. Pace was good at just over 4:00.

I found the conditions t... » More

Played here at 7:12 Tuesday morning, 8/14 with rob1563. Great fun and thanks to Rob for getting me the OB Sports rate! We got sent to the tee early but a few groups were stacked up waiting to start, so we began right on time. Hot temps but tolerable. Service was good and beverage cart came around a couple times. Pace was good at just over 4:00.

I found the conditions to be surprisingly good for mid-August. I'll get the bad out of the way first: A few greens are starting to dry out, resulting in some occasional dead spots. Fairways are a little spotty sometimes and browned out in some areas. But otherwise, I thought things were quite good considering the time of year. Greens held full shots well and rolled mostly smooth about medium speed. Fairways and rough had good coverage. I wasn't in any greenside bunkers but the fairway bunkers I was in were good. Tee boxes were decent, a little inconsistent but fine.

Design-wise, I felt the course felt similar to nearby Badlands (RIP) and TPC Las Vegas, but lacking some of the drama those courses deliver(ed). Like those courses, it offers some great mountain views. The desert areas at Angel Park aren't too severe, and it seems you can often find your ball and play it. Overall, it's a decent mid-range option in the Vegas area, but not a "destination"-type layout you'll remember vividly.

I made a Flickr photo album of 35 photos that can be viewed by copying and pasting this URL: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmounAhx
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