Golf Course Reviews
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All I can say is WOW. Here as part of a stay and play package I wish I booked more golf days. One of the top 5 visually beautiful courses I have played. Staff perfect. Conditions OUTSTANDING!!! Most of it looked like no one plays there. Probably the best conditioned golf course I have played. Visually spectacular, set in a peaceful serene area of Carmel Valley, quiet with some nice houses set back enough and gorgeous landscaping with wood chips and beautiful plants throughout the course. Greens recently aerated and already healed. Nice grass practice range, perfectly level and trimmed tee boxes, flawless fairways, tough 2" super lush rough, gorgeous greens with nary a mark anywhere. Sand was THE BEST I have played in west of Florida. Felt like they took it right from the beach. Carts are EZ-go with the soft brake. Such a pleasure over yesterday's round pushing 3-4 times to try to get the brake set. No GPS or cart service and didn't notice water but didn't look. Wasn't hot. This is a fairly straight forward course with well placed deep bunkering with thick tall grasses bordering the bunkers. Greens are small and not overly undulating but still have enough subtlety to make them fun. Too bad I seem to have forgotten how to hit a golf ball. You can score well here. Such a pleasure to play this course. Nice swag at the pro shop and excellent food at the restaurant. This is a top notch facility in all areas.
13 Likes.
Played 3/19 with TeaGal. Always a phenomenal experience here. This place has just nailed down how to run a golf course. First time on Firecliff after the redesign. Can't say what I remember or don't about it previously now. Sort of like when someone cuts their hair, you kinda forget how they looked before. Whatever they did, it is still an excellent course and bunkers are obviously in great shape. Tee boxes near perfect, fairways near flawless, greens amazing, rough perfect. Service always, always 100% on point. I love this place. My favorite course to golf, anywhere, anytime.
12 Likes.
Finally got to play here with TeaGal and we were paired with a really great guy from PV and his nice and very good 13 year old son. We all struggled a bit, me more than the rest. Pro shop, lot guys, everyone was very nice and friendly. Pace of play was good all day. Just a touch of a wait here or there. The 5 hour round really seems accurate on a course like this with foursomes. Talking with the guys that work there and understanding and hearing about what they had been through with water restrictions for the past few years it was really nice to see that the course was lush and green and in all it's glory like it had always been before the drought and the severe restrictions that were imposed on them. This course, with the tradition and history that it has definitely deserves to look pristine at all times. Fairways, greens, sand, and rough are all really good, nearly perfect. Greens firm and fast. Land a perfect approach, ball rolls 35' back down an undulation or off the green. Literally the hardest greens I've ever played. They are having a collegiate championship next week and the course is currently set up for a stern challenge. Rough probably 3+ inches and with the deep kikuyu grasses it was just really hard to hit out of. Unfortunately I was in the rough a lot of the day and even when in the Fairways they are challenging with uneven lies through most of the course. Upon initial glance, this course does not look that hard but everything moves everywhere here and your left to right, right to left fairways and undulated, large, firm, sloped greens... well... Bring your "A+" game.
No GPS but most of the course is in front of you. Ball/club cleaners and USB connections on new carts.
Just a few critiques... all of us we were very confused several times during the round...
There are different scorecards at the starter booth and are a touch confusing with different cards for different setups, starter even said they were confusing, no beverage cart, no bottled water at the turn/restaurant, no signage (maybe missed?) for how to get to hole 10, confusing menu at the 9th not listing all items for ordering, again noted by bar staff... easily fixable items that could be addressed in one day and should be when charging over $200 a round. That said however, there is a relaxed comfort here. Like a local, friendly course that doesn't need to be perfect as opposed to a resort course that is expected to be. This is not a resort course. Kinda feels like any other locals course and while we were confused the first time, we would be fine with it all tomorrow. A must play. Just go when you are playing well.
16 Likes.
Had a wonderful time Sunday with TeaGal, abbacat and Johnny GK. Thank you Johnny for setting up the round for us. Here's my review... Found the waste areas dry with combo of weeds, dry grasses, and a lots of small medium and large rocks. Areas under trees had some leaves and thick exposed tree roots. Lakes were deep in most spots, water a little murky. Hard to find my dozen balls I lost. Sand typical heavy but decent enough. Tee boxes nice and level. Rough good and plentiful. Food at the turn yummy and nice service. As for the fairways, you might want to refer to the previous few days reviews since I wasn't really on them. They looked decent tho. Even though I played my worst day of golf, maybe ever...
TeaGal had her best round ever, which crazy enough topped her previous best round ever that was right here on this same course like three years ago!! Crazy.
9 Likes.
Played yesterday afternoon and the more I play this course the more I seem to like it. Sunny but cool with a nice steady breeze perfect playing conditions. Johnny just gave a great review from the previous day so I won't get into too much detail other than my one complaint. We were two hours and 20 minutes in after six holes. Don't know what happened to slow it down so much but it didn't look like it was getting any better. 2 to 3 groups of golfers on every hole ahead of us and a group of six!? behind us. We just decided to call it a day after the sixth hole. We would've pushed to seven hour round at that point and obviously we can't play until 8 o'clock at night.
12 Likes.
Played 7/24. From my last visit a few weeks ago or so, course is definitely showing signs of summer. Fairways were very blotchy with different mixes of conditions, some green some mixed. Playable for the most part but stills one bad fairway lies just behind grass clumps. Rough about the same. Greens good but slower than previous. Some marks from that day but still good. Sand good as usual. Still well playable, just not as good condition as a few weeks ago. Staff good as always. Pace of play decent for a Sunday 4.75 hrs. Still probably the best of the LA county I've played so far.
6 Likes.
TeaGal and I met up Sunday with abbacat and her friend Jim (fun, nice guy) who we're trying to convince to come to an outing and join up with the greatest golfing community in the world!!! First time here. Nice looking place and very good service throughout. Now.. Being that regular rate is $130 and there aren't overly accessible discounts anywhere I could really find, A couple of my comments are based off that rate and what is expected for a course of that cost.
Had a "breakfast sandwich" before we started. I do not recommend this. Put a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich in your microwave before you head out the door. It will taste better than this. Also the chili dog at the turn was OK... ish but the chili dog that I had at Santa Anita last week absolutely destroyed it.
Tees were mostly level but a little long and had a ton of divots on them and were chewed up like a driving range but hasn't moved its location all week. Even the par fives had a bunch of divots where you wanted to put your ball. Some tee boxes were fine but in general not great.
Fairways were nice, just some browning in a few areas not really a big deal to me.
Rough was good as well about 2 inches but the type of grass that really catches your club and twists it when you get into it so pretty difficult to hit out of. Not a complaint, just an observation.
Greens are healing from being needle punched and were a little bumpy and medium/slow but not bad. A few divots here and there but nothing to be overly picky about.
Sand was horrific. Actually I would just call it waste bunkers all of the course. There were rocks up to 2 inches in size in them along with tons of pebbles and various sizes of rock. They were hard and not even worth hitting out of because you would ruin your wedge. A few to have decent sand only to have the club strike absolute hardness a quarter of an inch below. Bunkers in this condition borderline unacceptable for any type of course let alone of course with this type of rate and reputation.
Carts were nice with the soft brake that is definitely a pleasure by the end of the round to not have to be jamming the parking brake down every single time you stop. However, there is no GPS, water cooler or ball/club cleaner on them so they are basic. Some people may not care about those amenities, but if I'm paying fees in the range that they are charging I would think that that stuff would be on the cart. Range balls are not included in fees.
All in all, I did find this a nice place. Tees could be nicer, sand is terrible and the food at the turn could be better. That's all. To me, there should be more stuff on the cart. But that's just me. All in all it's not terrible and I don't mean to sound like I'm slamming this place. I would say play here and try it. Their club card looked like a good deal. It's worth the $75 card member rate. I just wouldn't pay $90-130 to play here though.
11 Likes.
Well, I finally gave in and played here today. Not really a fan of the LA County courses so I try to avoid them as much as possible. I tend to find the people rude, the day of golf long and dangerous with typical fairways going back-and-forth and people hitting in and out of your fairway. However, I was pleasantly surprised today with Santa Anita. Shocked with a very acceptable just under 4 1/2 hour round on a busy day with many foursomes and a clientele that is famous for six hour rounds. Pro shop cordial enough, started on time.
Teeboxes average, some crowned a little, some divots, grasses varied, but all playable enough.
Fairways pretty typical of LA courses with some varying types of grass throughout but on a whole actually really nice and plush here today. That was a big surprise to me as I went in with low expectations.
Rough basically like the fairway just a little longer in some spots but again most lies were pretty solid minus a couple occasional holes that I was in.
Sand was actually pretty decent. A little hard underneath on a couple of the flat greenside bunkers but there was definitely sand in them and better than most courses in the SoCal area.
Have to say, this was another pleasant surprise.
Greens were a big surprise. Really nice, almost no divots whatsoever. Medium slow I would say and definitely slower than the practice green though which was definitely medium fast. Took a little while to get used to and believe that they really weren't as fast as the practice green was. You know how that goes.
Carts are basic with no amenities on them and no cart girl on course. But there are plenty of bathrooms, water stations and good food at the turn with very polite girls cooking.
Two reviews previous to mine definitely give a great idea of the courses conditions. It is not a premium course. But it is definitely one of the nicer if not the nicest LA County course I have played. Additionally, unlike most of the county courses, it does not rely on length to be the difficult factor. While no holes are overly memorable, they are definitely challenging with sightlines to the greens, undulation, bunkering and just general good layout. I pretty much used every club in the bag and was never bored throughout the round.
I hear rounds can be very long here, and I can see how that could happen, but that wasn't the case today and we had a real good time.
14 Likes.
Played here this past weekend. I have always liked this course. A bit of no frills. Even though there's a restaurant, it never seems to be open. No cart girl. Just a nice golf course always in consistently nice shape, no matter what time of the year. The price is always great with super deals to be found everywhere. It's a links style, about 5 trees in sight, not too challenging, but not that easy either. Greens are large and seem flat... ish but have so many subtleties that they really present a strong challenge. You honestly have to be really on with your putting to putt well here. The great thing is that the greens are basically the same summer or winter. I've never seen a course so consistent with it's conditioning year after year, regardless of the season. Really the only course that I can actually say I have ever played that the typical course advertising that says challenging for the expert but fair for the novice actually holds true.
Tees were mostly level, a few moderately crowned, something I hadn't remembered before.
Fairways nice, consistent and not too soft or hard. Very nice.
Rough just a bit longer and easily manageable. Not a bare spot.
Greens almost fully healed. A few bumps, no big deal. Receptive of good shots, slower than normal.. Expect them to be a touch faster once fully healed. Nary a ball mark.
LOVE the fringe here. A perfect transition on every hole from green to fringe to rough/fairway.
Sand... Used to be horrific hard rock/dirt. Then they actually dumped too much in a year or two ago. Had felt like your foot was going to sink to China. Still quite a bit in there now, a few rocks... Grr.. But so much better than they used to be. Still.. almost too much sand, dare I say. But hey, I'd rather have too much than not enough, so thank you management for the sand!
Very nice practice area and a great view of the mountains all day.
Pace of play is generally awesome here. Foursome finished in 3:40 taking out time. Never saw group ahead or behind. A great day of golf.
14 Likes.
Had a great time at the GK plays event Sunday with TeaGal, mswhsu and Sixpez. Had played here twice before and liked it more this past round than I had before. Course was in real nice shape. Greens were fantastic! Fast, true, consistent, receptive, awesome! Fairways good, rough decent enough. Sand good, not great, not bad. I unfortunately found myself walking around the teeboxes a lot trying to find a level area and a lot of divots on the par three's. If I had one critique of the course I would definitely say it was the teeboxes. Everything else was either good enough or really great. As for the staff... A+++++. I remembered Brent from past rounds and I think my last comment on him was if I owned a golf course I would steal him from Cross Creek and make him my GM. So impressed. Cart girl was great and came in to cook for us after the event. Delicious burger, hot, juicy, charred on the outside, great bun, pepper jack cheese... freakin awesome! I am definitely going to start playing here again.
11 Likes.
Played 36 holes an group golfer deal here on 4/30. I am happy to say conditions were excellent. The last time we were here was in December and they were struggling with getting to the standard Palm Springs winter conditions everyone expects. Something to do with staying open late for a big tournament and not having enough time to really get course ready. When we played in December they even plopped two of their staff on hole three to explain the conditions to you and give you the reason why they marked in perfect condition. I was actually super impressed with that. Go true when we played in December they even plopped two of their staff on hole three to explain the conditions to you and give you the reason why they marked in perfect condition. I was actually super impressed with that. Go Troon!
I always like this course. Think Pete Dye lite. More of the resort course design a typical difficult Dye design but still has all those features that make one of his courses so cool.
Greens were excellent and actually quite fast. Teeboxes super level and perfectly lush. Fairways excellent with rough a little thicker and good sand.
This is always a decent course and you can find good deals to play here throughout the year.
12 Likes.
Played 4/24. First a little background... Forgive me if this is already in other reviews and for the length but I feel a need to expand. Summerly is one of my favorite layouts by far. Bringing others here who have never played it is hysterical watching a scratch golfer shoot a 95 and want to throw his/her clubs in the drink (or burm) is definitely a sight to see. Many people do not give this course a chance. It is true links golf in all its imperfect glory. That said, the course has gone through a number of ups and downs. It IS on the upswing now but does have a bit still to go. Course was wonderful when I first started playing, somewhere in 2011 and after it had gotten flooded out and was healing well. Conditions improved, worsened, and eventually were neatly unplayable even for the biggest Summerly fan (me). I swore off the course until I heard better. Then the course went under as the owner was allegedly involved in a Ponzi scheme. Now, with new owner putting a million dollars into bringing the course back to shape, I was super excited (TeaGal does not share the same excitement for Summerly as I do) to try it again. So here is the short of it... It is coming along well. You can see the attempt, and some success, for bringing the course back. I am pretty confident it will get there. You don't sink all the money into sod, sand, etc to just let it go. It does still have a way to go, but it's getting there. Also, prices are still fair, a big plus.
Tees were decent. Grass, mostly level, bit of unevenness to the turf on them but easily playable.
Greens were good. Medium speed and not many ball marks. Firm.
Fairways were good in most areas, never really great, but way better than I had seen in a long time. Some holes pretty decent. A few no so much. 15 is being sodded so is temporarily a par 3. No biggie. What used to be almost complete hard pan/dirt is at least now mostly green. Still a hard surface under it though but not too big a deal for a sweeping swing like I have.
Rough is kinda what it is, not much, desert, variable grasses. I would assume this is the last part to be addressed during the reconditioning.
Sand traps still have a lot of rocks and need better sand.
I've never seen water in the Burms but boy what a great feature that would be!
Pro shop girl was nice, starter as well.
Nice looking metal dividers between spaces on the range with cut out course name a nice touch toward a more upscale experience. A few easily fixable misses...
Unfortunately I wrote them down as we were playing and lost the paper, but something to this effect... Make sure cart girl is fully stocked, make sure there is soap in the men's room, make sure there is water in the ball cleaners, have water at the range to clean clubs, and a couple more I forgot. To the staff.. I love your course and want you to succeed. Make sure all the little things like this are done well so the "experience" is great. As the course comes along, all the other things will be in place for an exceptional experience.
18 Likes.
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