Late review.
I played as a solo walker on Monday afternoon, 9/21, and got paired with a solo cart rider. On front nine, we played behind an elderly couple, but they kept a great pace, such that we never really had to wait. After the first nine, the elderly couple dropped out, and we breezed through the back nine - total POP ~3 hours 10 minutes.

It appeared that the rains from the previous week did some good for the course, though there were some muddy spots in the lowest lying sections of the course (near the creeks and ponds). Tees, fairways and greens were all in rather good condition, though there were some bare/thin fairway segments in what I consider "non-critical" fairway areas - avoid those non-critical areas by hitting decent drives, and you would be rewarded with very good lies in lush fairways. Greens were smooth and rolled true - my putting was the only aspect of my game that showed up consistently for play in this round. I had to play from only one bunker, and it had thin sand over a hard packed base, but very playable - it appears the maintenance crew is doing work to improve the bunkers (breaking up the hard packed sand, and raking/spreading it around for better playing surfaces).

The rough, as usual it seems, was a veritable mixed bag, from lush and thick, to thin, to bare. Some areas were just a cut longer than fairways, and easily playable. Other areas had been allowed to grow, such that the grass was 3 to 5 inches deep, and very difficult to escape - a full mid-iron or hybrid barely advanced the ball more than a hundred yards. And then there were the bare dirt/hardpan lies, especially under trees - I found these surfaces long of the par-3 hole #4 and long of the green on the par-5 hole #5, among other spots. The best approach is to keep it in the fairway - easier said than done!

On the day, my game really got away from me, such that I gave up keeping score. However, I still kept a keen eye on conditions, which in the end I considered quite favorable. The condition of the driving range was notable, in that in the late afternoon all stalls were occupied, and the grass was in very good condition.

I'll be back for more, likely next Monday 9/28 to take advantage of the $20 all you can play promotion after 8AM.

Recommended.

Played holiday weekend afternoon golf on Sunday 9/6 as a twosome with my buddy Rolf - POP right at 4 hours, playing from the blue tees (6568 yards/71.3 rating/124 slope).
Course conditions surprisingly good (Nickesquire's pictures from Chino Creek Course on 8/31 accurately portray conditions on both of the courses). As my buddy noted, in this period of drought, superintentendents getting the water where it needs to be, thus "framing" the areas where your ball should be hit to and from. Tees generally level and lush, with minimal divot damage - most notable exception was tee box on hole 6, where there was some uneven ground on left side of tee blocks. Fairways in generally good shape, with all shots in fairway having good lies. Rough was the usual mixed bag - variable, from bare dirt, to thin, to lush near fairways, but generally lush and thick around greens. Bunkers were crusty, with firm raked sand - best to play as a chip instead of a blast. As usual, the greens were in very nice shape - firm but accepting of well hit shots, smooth and true to roll, at medium speeds.
For $20 as a weekend walker, couldn't ask for much more.

I participated in the GK Plays Event today at Goose Creek Golf Club, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. This was my first time playing the course, so I played without any knowledge or expectation. The course, for the most part, is right there in front of you, except for the green complexes. The green complexes are set up to receive approaches from preferred angles - the only way to figure them out is to play the course a few times. Wind was a factor in the late afternoon, but it helped cool an otherwise warm and humid day. Chilled water was available from water coolers adjacent to several tee boxes, and drink cart service came around several times on both front and back nines. Pace of play was under 4 hours 30 minutes - our group didn't have to wait, nor were we pressed from behind.

I played from the blue tees, which on this day were mostly set all the way back to accommodate USGA mid-am sectional qualifying. Tee boxes were level and lush, with only minimal divot damage on par 3 holes, but good teeing ground was easy to find - tees penetrated the ground easily.
Fairways were in good condition, with mostly uniform turf coverage. I played from good lies on all of my fairway shots.
Rough was generally lush, and not as deep nor as penal as I was expecting.
I had to play from 1 fairway bunker, and 1 greenside bunker. Both had adequate, well maintained sand. Rakes were distributed around each bunker for easy tending.
The greens, though difficult to approach on this day of USGA mid-am sectional qualifying, were some of the best that I have played recently. They held well hit approaches, while offering plenty of roll out for chips and pitches. Being that I played late in the afternoon, there were some footprints and ball marks, but otherwise the surfaces were smooth. Putts rolled true at medium to fast speeds - I really enjoyed putting on these greens!

I look forward to returning to play again at the Goose - recommended.

Hey GK'ers, good news (if you care about either of the El Prado courses) - Maintenance Alert can probably be cancelled.
Today (Monday 8/17), I paid a visit to El Prado to evaluate the condition of at least one of their two courses. I parked my car in their lot, and while still in my Birkenstock sandals, I walked across Pine Avenue to get a quick look at the second and eighteenth greens on the Butterfield Stage Course. To my eye, both greens appeared smooth, recently mowed, and ready for play.
I went back to my car, where I switched into my golf shoes, and then went to the pro shop. The attendant said that the greens on Butterfield Stage were indeed healed from recent aeration (2 weeks ago - August 3 & 4). After warming up with a small bucket of balls, I went to the first tee alone as a single, teeing off at 11:30AM. Though I did have to wait on a few shots, POP was good, and I finished in about 3 hours and 15 minutes, walking.
Tees were level, lush and generally free of damage (some divots, but nothing beyond acceptable). Rough was a veritable mixed bag, ranging from dry/dead grass, to bare dirt, to thick, lush and penal. Rough was thickest near the greens - that zone 10 feet or more from the fringe was in places as much as 5 inches thick. Fairways too were a mixed bag; in some non-critical areas, grass was dry/dead, while in others there was bare dirt, but in the critical landing areas it was mostly lush turf. Bunkers seemed much improved, with their edges recently sculpted, and the sand generally soft, but thin - a marked improvement over recent conditions. All of the several shots that I had to play from bunkers had acceptable lies in sand from which shallow blasts could be played. Generally, from tee to green, if you keep the ball in play, you will be OK.
Now for the best part. The greens have always been the best thing about the El Prado courses. Just 2 weeks earlier, the greens on Butterfield Stage were aerated over the period of a few days. Amazingly, they have recovered well from that procedure, and in my opinion are better than they were in May and June. Surfaces seemed quite receptive, neither too hard nor too soft. Well hit full shots held, and chips/pitches rolled out as expected (I had 11 holes on which I was putting from inside 8 feet). The greens were smooth and rolled true at medium to at times fast speeds.
What a pleasant surprise.
According to the pro shop attendant, the greens on the Chino Creek course, having been aerated 2 weeks prior to Butterfield Stage, are in even better condition.
Now, if golfers would just take the time to repair their ball marks on the greens!

As I left my home late this morning, I thought I was going to play River View, but as I neared the 91 freeway, I decided to head east instead of west. Heading east, I still wasn't sure of my destination, but I somehow settled that I would go to Los Serranos. In an unusual move for me, I elected to ride a cart today. Without any warm up, I went straight to the first tee of the North Course, and the starter sent me off alone, following a group of three. I hit my first shot right at 12:40PM, and by 3:40PM I was walking away from the 18th green - a great POP at 3 hours. A marshal made his presence known at least twice on the front nine, and once again on the back nine. Several water stations had good cold water, and I enjoyed cold beer at the seventh and thirteenth tees.

Golf course conditions were really quite nice. Playing from the blue tees, there were a few holes where the green, blue and white tees were all combined. Some tee boxes showed moderate divot damage (mostly filled with clean white sand), but good teeing ground was easy to find (likely the tees were left in the same position as they were for the past weekend). Tee boxes were level, with lush, closely mowed turf - no complaints. Fairways were lush and recently mowed - all of my shots from the fairway had good lies. Rough varied from thick to thin, but the many shots that I had to play out of the rough did not offer any particular problems. I found fairway bunkers three times, and greenside bunkers twice - sand was clean, raked and easy to play from. Best of all, the greens were in very good shape. They were smooth and firm, but held well hit shots. Putts rolled true at medium to fast speeds. Fortunately, there weren't too many unrepaired ball marks, but I fixed all that I found.

I'm glad I made the choice to play this course again.

I played the Chino Creek course on Monday, 7/27 after checking this site for any pending maintenance alerts - green light says go. The starter suggested that it was the less busy of the 2 courses, and charged a low $10 green fee to walk, so away I went. The tees and fairways were in fine shape, but the greens - they were by far the worst I have ever played on at El Prado. It appeared that some maintenance had either been done, or was planned for the very near future. Greens were sandy, shaggy, soft, bumpy and extremely slow. Straight 4 foot putts bounced offline by half a foot, and downhill putts would stop well short of the hole. At one point, I considered using an iron to chip on the green, but thought better of it. Disappointed is how I felt at the conclusion of my round.

Like returning home - I played this track on Monday 6/8/15 as a walk on single without a reservation. This is the course on which I grew up - literally, as my parents still live off the fairway of the 11th hole, just a gap wedge away from the 11th green. It is a tight, narrow course on which you really don't need to play your driver, but rather need to think about hitting shots to small targets. There are lots of sloping fairways, mature trees and undulating greens to make this relatively short track a challenge.

After playing three balls on nine holes of their impressive 18 hole practice green (which is in immacculate condition, and gives a good indication of greens conditions on the actual course), I paid the $22 green fee to walk, and was sent on my way to the first tee. Playing under sunny skies with light breeze and temperatures that reached mid-90's, I played alone, with a cart riding twosome ahead of me, and a solo cart rider behind. On the 12th tee, the twosome allowed me to play through, and I saw no other players ahead through the finish. My round was complete in just over 3 hours.

When playing this course, I know not to have high expectations about course conditions, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good conditions actually were. Tee boxes were level, with some bare spots and divots, but good teeing ground could be found on quality turf. For the most part, I stayed away from the rough, but it ranged from lush and thick, to thin and dry, to bare dirt. I had to play from three bunkers (saved par all three times), where sand was maintained, but consisted of a mixture of sand and small river pebbles (they get the sand out of the river, you know) - shallow blast shots worked each time. Fairways were in pretty good shape, with lush grass coverage and very few bare spots. Balls sat up nicely, making for easy to strike shots. The greens were the highlight of the course, as usual, visually appealing with excellent coverage and no bare spots. They were soft and receptive to well hit shots, but would roll out on well played chips and pitches. Surfaces were smooth and rolled at medium to fast speed. It was nice to find so few ballmarks needing repair, beside my own.

After my round, I made the short drive to my parents' home, where we sat in the back yard watching birds and golfers, while enjoying a few cold brews. A good time for sure.

Played in the afternoon as a single on Thursday 6/4, without a reservation. Ended up playing behind a foursome who let me play through on third hole, then got stuck behind a twosome on fourth hole. Was joined by another single on sixth tee, then we joined the twosome ahead on the seventh tee. Starting just before 2PM, finished in 4 hours, waiting on nearly every shot. Wind blew hard the entire round, making for difficult club selections. I played from orange "Championship" tees (6615 yards/71.7 course rating/125 slope rating).

Course conditions overall were quite good. Tees level and lush, with only minor divot damage on some par 3 holes. Rough was lush but not penal. I did not have to play from any bunkers, but others in the group seemed to escape from them without any trouble. Fairways were generally green and lush, with most divots repaired. Greens were in good shape, generally firm but held well hit shots, and rolled true at medium speed.

When in the area, this is a go to course for me. I enjoy the layout, with wide fairways, not too penal rough, interesting bunkers and waste areas, and large, undulating greens. Morning play is preferred, as the wind often blows hard in the afternoon. Deals on green fees, especially at this time of year.

Played on Wednesday 6/3, solo without a reservation. Check in was easy, courteous. Cart attendants were friendly, and directed me to the starter. The starter asked some questions concerning which of the courses I wanted to play, and if I wanted to join others or play solo, then allowed me to warm up on the range and practice green. After a brief warm up, I returned to the starter and he got me ahead of a group of 4 on the Palms Course. I teed off solo at 11:45AM, and at the first tee was the only time I saw other players ahead or behind, until I saw a group of two who were on the 16th green while I putted on the 14th green. Playing at a relaxed pace, I finished in just over 3 hours, under warm, sunny skies. There were abundant water fountains and restrooms all around the course, and drink cart service came around several times.

I really enjoyed the layout, with lots of undulating fairways, water features, dogleg holes and interesting green complexes. The course winds through a resort, with lots of condominiums, but didn't ever feel cramped. I played from the blue tees, but would have been comfortable playing from the tips (black tees).

Tee boxes were all in good shape, generally level with fine turf, and only minimal divot damage on par 3 tees.

Fairways were mostly fine, with some areas appearing a little burnt. Balls hit in fairway sat up, and were easy to strike, even from burnt areas.

Rough was lush, but not too thick, nor penal, so easy enough to play from. Palm trees, mesquites and willows provided obstacles that had to be navigated from the rough.

Three times I had to play from green side bunkers. All had clean, white well-maintained sand, perfect for playing blast shots. All bunkers had ample rakes, which were placed in sand with handles extending out to grass.

Though the greens were top dressed with sand, they seemed to roll true at medium speed. They held well hit approaches, and rolled out nicely on chips and pitches. On the third hole, I was able to hole out a great pitch off the slope to make birdie.

For $39 with cart and range balls, I would recommend this course.

On Saturday 5/23 I joined a couple friends to play my first ever round at this course. Check in was easy, and I was given a $38 rate based on my friend's booking through GN. Warmed up on the range, hitting off mats. We played as a threesome, getting out just ahead of a tournament, teeing off right on time at 7:40AM. My friends rode, while I walked. Course is walkable, but there are some long marches between some greens and tees, such as 4 to 5, 6 to 7, 9 to 10 and 14 to 15. We finished under 4.5 hours, keeping pace with the twosome ahead of us. Weather was cool and damp, with occasional light rain falling, and moderate breezes. Beverage cart service came around twice on the back nine.

I found the course to be visually appealing, except for the foot golf pins along the sides of many fairways on front nine - those were distracting. We played from blue tees (6446 yards/70.8 course rating/125 slope). Most of the greens sloped from back to front, and the green complexes were quite large, so there were big targets.

Tee boxes all seemed a little worn, with patchy turf, lots of divots, and in some cases very uneven surfaces - try to find the flat spot on the back of a turtle.

Fairways varied from lush, perfect turf to hard bare areas, with some muddy spots as well. Many fairways had areas marked as ground under repair. There were tons of divots left without repair, and I had a few shots that I had to play from old divots.

Rough was also variable, like the fairways. In some spots, there was bare dirt, in others lush turf, and farthest from the fairways there was some deep stuff - knee high!

I found one fairway bunker, and one greenside bunker. Sand was a little thin, and heavy from morning rain, but ultimately playable. I noticed some of the bunkers contained pebbles and small rocks mixed in the sand. My friends both played more from the bunkers, and complained about the thin sand.

The greens were quite nice in appearance, with good green grass coverage on the enormous sloping complexes. Surface conditions were soft, so well hit shots held easily. Unfortunately, there were many ball marks left unrepaired. Putts generally rolled smooth and true, though only at medium to slow speeds.

I enjoyed the layout, though conditions were a little rough (the rating will reflect such). This is a course that I would definitely play more often if I lived in the area.

Played an afternoon round, 12:20PM on Wednesday 5/6/15, as a solo walker, finishing in 3 hours 30 minutes. As usual, check in without a reservation was easy, and the gentleman who handled the transaction complimented me for my intention to walk. It cost just $10 - what a deal! I was sent straight to the first tee, and teed off without anyone to accompany me.

Tee boxes were all generally lush, level and had only minimal divot damage.

I did not find any bunkers during this round, but those that I saw appeared to be playable, with thin, maintained sand.

On a few holes, I had to play from the rough, which varied from thin to lush. Balls generally sat "up" in the rough, making it easy to make solid contact for good shots. Turf ranged from ~1-3 inches thich, and there were some bare spots.

Fairways were in generally good condition, and looked to have been recently mowed. Most of my shots played from the fairway had very good lies. However, there were some thin/bare spots starting to show where water delivery is sparse. Likely, these thin/bare spots will expand as the summer season approaches, unless beneficial rains fall. In transition areas between tee boxes and fairways, it was evident that a lack of water was leading to turf left to die - but these were areas easy to avoid with decent shots from the tees.

Greens were in better condition than they appeared. They looked bumpy, due to different grasses growing together on same green complexes, and "scars" from late March aeration giving a spotty pattern. However, the greens held well struck approaches, and rolled quite well, at medium to fast speeds, depending on location above or below the hole. As usual, there were far too many ball marks on the greens, but I did my part (on one green alone, I fixed my ball mark and 5 others).

Especially if you enjoy walking, El Prado presents a wonderful value golf opportunity, with 2 courses to choose from.

Played Oak Quarry for the first time on Tuesday 4/21, along with a couple new friends that I have met while playing other courses. Luckily, one of those friends is a member there, so he was good for information about the course. Played for $45 rate based on my other new friend being a fire fighter - nice return on my tax dollars.

Good hospitable service by all staff. Weather was overcast the whole time, with relatively cool temps, and a little breezy. Warmed up with a small bucket on the grass driving range, and wish I would have taken the time to roll a few putts on the practice green.

We teed off around 9:30, and finished in a little over 4 hours. Never had to wait, and were never pressed by those behind. Marshals were seen several times, and drink cart service came around 4 times.

What a fantastic layout! I now understand why so many love the course.

Tee boxes were in decent shape, mostly level, with good turf coverage. There were a few tee boxes that were chewed up, but a good tee spot could always be found.

Rough was lush with good coverage, not at all penal, easy to play from.

I had to play from 2 greenside bunkers, where sand was thin but very playable. It was evident that the sand had been raked by maintenance crew.

Fairways were lush, with excellent coverage, and balls sat up and were easy to strike. It appeared that most divots had been fixed, or filled from sand bottles.

Green complexes were very interesting, with lots of undulations, and there were a few tough pin placements, like the tiny high point on the middle left side of 13th hole. Though the greens were generally visually appealing, they rolled a little bumpy and slower than expected. The sixth green in particular was in need of a cut. My friend who is a member there stated that the greens were much slower and bumpier than usual.

It probably takes a few rounds to get the hang of this place, so I look forward to playing my next round at Oak Quarry - recommended!