Played here for the first time today, though I had been hearing about it for years. It's a Ted Robinson design, which is part of the reason I wanted to play it, as I love most of his courses that I've played. This is definitely on the easy end of the spectrum, as it's a short executive course, but it's a wonderful track.

Conditions are better than you will find on almost any executive course, and actually compare and even exceed conditions at many/most public regulation courses, and even some private clubs. Everything is lush, other than maybe the tee boxes, which have some divot damage, and some areas around the tee boxes, and maybe some of the greens, which are bare. But by and large, all the areas in play are very well-kept, especially the greens, fairways and rough. I didn't go in any bunkers, but from what I observed from afar, they look great, with quality sand, and no footprints!

For being such a short course, it really is a hidden gem. It has lush conditions, bunkers, water hazards, both mats and grass tees, isn't crowded or difficult to get on, and only costs about $10 (and is an easy walk)! You really can't beat the value, and the location is easy to access (minus traffic), as it's immediately off the Alonda exit of the 605.

Played The Oaks Club today for the first time, with Golfmoose/GK. The course is in great shape. Everything except bunkers were in great shape, with the greens being the highlight. As for those bunkers, I wasn't in any (except a fairway bunker on 18), but judging from the practice bunkers, they are firm and/or thin. Not sure if that's by design or not. And from looking at the bunkers on the course, I saw many footprints and other inconsistencies in the surface, which is a shame, because you would think a private course would be better with that. The rakes were kinda cheap, too.

As for the practice facility, I had heard great things about it, but honestly, I wasn't all that impressed. The putting green is fine, and the driving range is too, if hitting off grass. But they had us on the mats, which were not very fun to hit from, nor in the best shape. The chipping green is OK, but I've seen better. What's interesting is that I heard that their practice facility is significantly better than that of their sister club, Valencia Country Club; but if you ask me, it's basically the same.

As for the layout, it was fine for the first 13 holes, and then it got a little weird. There are back to back par 5s on 14 and 15, which have a TON of undulation from tee to green. #14 is a beast, playing over 600 yards all the way back, with an uphill tee shot to a fairway that stops at the crest of the hill, at a yardage that can make hitting driver off the tee a risky play. Then it goes way downhill before you get to the second part of the fairway, which goes back uphill, and has a tree in the middle, potentially blocking your approach shot. Just a very weird and challenging hole. #15 is similar with the uphill/downhill and somewhat split fairway, but not quite as hard to put it in the right spots. #17 is also a little weird, as it's a very short par 4, but with lots of slope, creating a blind approach if you miss your tee shot on the right side. Just kinda feels like they forced the holes into the terrain on the back nine, whereas the front is a bit more natural, in terms of creating high-quality golf holes.

All in all, it was fun, and the service was great. I would play here again, and thanks to Johnny GK for all he does to organize these outings!

Played Rustic for the second time ever today (Friday 6/3). It was a lot of fun, as was the case the first time I played it, which I think was around a year ago. Course is in great shape. Greens were slow if putting uphill, obviously faster if putting downhill, and medium everywhere else. Lots of undulations in these greens, with many also being protected by runoffs on any given side, making accurate ball placement important on approaches, pitches and chips. The other interesting thing about these greens is that most of the time, it’s difficult to tell where the fringe ends, and the green begins. There is a lot of similarity from fairway to fringe to green, which I would say is typical of a links course, which this could certainly be described as.

Fairways are in great shape, as well, as is the rough, for the most part (which is about as mild and non-penal as you will find). There *are* bare spots along the edges of the rough, but it’s hard to tell if those are by design, as there are several waste areas and other rugged features around this course (again, fitting for a links style). Speaking of which, I was only in one bunker, and it was of the somewhat rugged variety – small, along the edge of a green next to a natural habitat hazard area, with soft, granular sand, and no bunker rake in sight. In fact, I’m not sure I saw a single bunker rake on the entire course. I guess you don’t need them, with the kind of sand they use.

As mentioned above, this is a links style layout, which means it is very flat, with lots of natural habitat everywhere, and lots of shots that you can’t quite see where you’re supposed to hit it, which makes prior experience and course knowledge/familiarity a great advantage. The course doesn’t have much in the way of typical defenses, as the fairways are wide, the greens are big, and the bunkers don’t come into play as much as at other courses. As a result, the challenge comes from the undulation of the greens, the wind, and the semi-blind shots throughout.

The front nine is a semi-unique collection of holes, as it has three par 5s AND three par 3s. This makes for a nontraditional par 36. The back nine is more traditional, with only two of each, and five par 4s. Some of the par 4s on both nines are quite long, specifically, well over 400 yards (from the blue tees). But, you can get some good roll on these fairways, and some of the holes have an elevated tee, so they don’t necessarily play as long as the scorecard indicates. All in all, a fun track with great conditions that I look forward to playing again in the future.

Played here for the first time today, in preparation for an upcoming tournament. We had an early tee time at 7:20am. As a result, the course was pretty wet on the front nine, due to the morning watering. This made for lots of standing water in the rough, and wet/muddy bunkers, but I guess this comes with the territory of playing at that time. These issues certainly improved as the temperature warmed up throughout the round, and were nonexistent by the time we reached the back nine.

The greens were great: pretty smooth, maybe a bit slow if putting uphill, but not if putting downhill or with the slope. Some ball marks, but not too many. Fairways were good: maybe a little thin in some spots, but mostly fine. Rough was the same, and actually quite long in some spots, relative to other muni courses. There were issues with underlying tree roots in several areas of the rough, but you could usually see them, so it's not like they were hidden; just had to watch out. Bunkers were fine, just some unraked footprints, as is the norm these days. Tee boxes were the weak point of this course, for the simple reason that they weren't cut short enough, which made it more challenging than it should be to tee up your ball the way you're used to.

All in all, it was a decent track in all aspects, and is above average, compared to other county-run courses. If you are familiar with the LA City courses, I would put it on par with them, whereas most of the County courses that I've played are not as well-maintained. Perhaps I should mention that we played the white tees (6400). Blues here are 6700, and the scorecard has a black tee that measures 7000, though they did not have the black tee markers out. All that to say that it's longer and therefore more challenging than most municipal courses, should you choose to play it all the way back (in which case, the slope rating isn't overly high, at 128, but the course rating is respectable, at a 2-over rating of 73).

Played this course for the first time today. Went into it under the impression that it would be in half-decent shape, i.e., your average muni course. Expectations matched reality. It wasn't bad, nor was it great. In a word, it was average. Don't let that dissuade you from playing here, though, because there really isn't anything "wrong" with it, per se. Everything except maybe the bunkers could've been a little better, but nothing was horrible, or even bad, except for maybe the tee boxes (divots/bare spots and a tad of unevenness on some). The carts had no sand, which doesn't help the divots, and there was no beverage cart. But the layout is enjoyable enough, most holes are right in front of you on the front nine, with more doglegs on the back. Not overly long, nor overly difficult. In many ways, it's the epitome of your average county-run municipal course. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to avoid, either.

Sooo this course is kinda hard to rank...It's decent in some spots, and terrible in others...Let me elaborate:

The tee boxes weren't great. Many bare spots and/or divots, and some areas weren't level. For the most part, you could find a place to tee off, but you might be standing in a divot or patch of dirt.

The fairways were actually pretty good if you are in the actual fairway. But between the tee boxes and the fairways is often completely bare ground. This also goes for the sides of the fairways...

Which leads me to the rough. It's fine in some spots, but very spotty, with lots of patches of dirt.

As for the bunkers, I was only in one today, but it was fine. A bit thin, but what sand there was, was soft.

All in all, you more or less get what you pay for. Probably a bit overpriced at $20 walking rate for a nine hole course. Carts are dirty and don't have sand/divot mix. Driving through the course is like driving over a mine field. All of which makes it sound bad, but if you keep the ball in the fairway and on/around the green, it's not half bad. Especially if you do like I did and get a deal on Golfnow for $22 including cart.

I should also mention that they have a GRASS driving range, which is hard to find. It appears they've been using mats lately (they were today), but maybe that's to let the grass regrow, because the last time I used it, it was pretty bad. Dirt spots everywhere, plus dirty balls. The range at their sister course, Alta Dena (also grass), has been closed since mid-late January (might be open now), so that explains the extra traffic on their range, but not the dirty balls.

Played my hometown course today in a tournament with my traveling golf club. Grew up and learned to play here as a teen—and still live down the street—but haven’t played it much the last decade or so, due to my golf activity being intermittent, and playing other courses during the periods when I was playing. It’s changed ownership/management over the years, and I’ve witnessed conditions significantly deteriorate from what they were when I was growing up.

BUT I’m glad to say that it’s getting back into prime shape. It’s not quite there yet, as there are some bare/thin spots in the rough, the sand in the bunkers is pretty low quality (hard, thin, and very granular), and some of the tee boxes are (still) not completely level. But the fairways are lush, and the putting surfaces are in great shape. The greens are definitely the strongest area of the course (which goes a long way). They are smooth, have few pre-existing ball marks, hold shots well, and putt very true. They are still as diabolical as ever if you are above the hole, so shot location matters.

It’s not a long course, so it must rely on its greens, doglegs, and narrowness to present a challenge, in addition to hazards (barrancas, hillside). It does this very well, as I know many golfers of all abilities who are very frustrated by this course. Long hitters have little to no advantage here; it’s all about accuracy. But if that is a part of your game that you want to improve, then spend a few dozen rounds here, and I’d say you’re bound to improve.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that they do have construction actively taking place on the course. At the time of this posting, the only impact I know of is on the 11th and 17th holes. They are doing irrigation work on #17 DURING THE WEEK ONLY, which has resulted in #17 (a par 3) being completely closed, and #11 (a par 5) being split into a short par 4 and short par 3, with the par 4 having a temporary green cut into the fairway (which isn’t any good; I played it on Friday), and the par 3 playing to the normal 11th green. I’ve also observed evidence of a temporary green on the #13 fairway (also a par 5), so it’s possible they are alternating 11 and 13, when 17 is closed. Again, this is Monday thru Friday only (as of now). I know they have other construction projects planned for the next couple years, but I also know that they will try to have it impact play as little as possible. Construction is always unfortunate in the short term, but most of us know that it’s part of the longevity of any course, and makes for a better course in the long term.

Played today with Greenskeeper.Org & Golf Moose. Beautiful golf course that was in great shape. Not gonna lie, though, it definitely lived up to its reputation as a challenging track, and I was surprised to see such a difficult layout at a country club. Of all the Ted Robinson designs that I’ve played to date—which comprise many of my favorite courses—this is probably the most impressive from a difficulty standpoint, both logistically and psychologically. Would definitely play it again, though. As for conditions, everything was pretty exceptional, with the highlight being the greens. They were perfect: zero pre-existing ball marks, smooth, neither too slow nor too fast. LOTS of undulation, with many featuring multiple tiers. Fairways and rough were lush. A little brown/dead in spots, and bare/thin here and there, but not enough to be worth accounting for in my ratings. Tee boxes were exceptionally lush, to the point where they were “spongy,” i.e., grass doesn’t appear long, but 25% of the tee is below the top of the surface when you get it inserted into the soil. I heard this had to do with the type of grass being used, but whatever the cause, it made it pretty to look at, but a bit of an unusual surface to play from. All in all, a wonderful course that is certainly worth playing if you get the chance.

Played all three nines today at Steele Canyon—first time visitor—and this review will represent all three. It was a fun collection of holes. The three nines have both similarities and differences. Canyon and Ranch both featured more elevation change then Vineyard, which was more flat. But all had doglegs, all had hazards (bunkers, water, hillside/natural habitat), and all had undulations in the fairways and greens. Conditions were pretty good from tee to green; the only gripes I had were that the bunkers were poor in sand quality & coverage (mostly firm & thin), and the greens had minor ball mark damage (but still rolled pretty smooth & predictable). All in all, an enjoyable day, would certainly consider coming back on a future trip.

Played here today for the first time since last year. It’s in decent shape, though not quite as good as I remember it. Noticed several unrepaired ball marks on the greens. No sand (divot mix) in the carts (at least not mine), so that can be problematic with healing divots in the fairways and rough. Sand was ok in the bunkers, but many footprints, indicating that people are lazy with raking. Otherwise, it’s in fairly respectable shape. Not perfect, but not bad either. For $63.75 on a weekend, you pretty much get what you’re paying for. I also want to say that what this course may lack in conditions, it makes up for in the layout. Quite challenging, especially on the back nine. This is due primarily to lots of undulation, where many fairways slope either right or left, plus elevation change on many holes, as well as bunkers, trees, and some two-tiered greens. Just requires a lot of accuracy, especially off the tee, to avoid putting yourself in a difficult position.

Played Goose Creek yesterday (Sat 4/30) for the first time in several months, and only the second time ever -- first was sometime in 2021, I think in the summer or fall. I wasn't overly impressed the first time I played it, despite rave reviews. Coincidentally, it was more rave reviews that brought me back, and led me to think that they had made changes/improvements since my first visit. So I decided to check it out again.

Turns out, they were right. It's in great shape, in every area of the course. My ONE gripe is that people don't seem to be very good about repairing their ball marks, as there were several on some of the greens, beyond those of our group. But that's less of a criticism of the course, and more directed toward the clientele. From what I've heard, the owner(s) are raising the prices in an effort to get rid of the "hackers" in an effort to limit it to golfers are serious and respectful enough of the course to pay the high green fee.

I don't know if that's true, but when it comes to cost, it wasn't that bad. I paid $94 this time around (Saturday at 12:20pm with a cart), and while I don't remember what I paid last year (I think it was about the same, maybe $10 less and a couple hours earlier in the day), I think the course is worth every bit of $94 on a Saturday at noon. It's in excellent shape, so much so that if you put this course in Orange County or other high price tag areas, it would easily be over $100, maybe even approaching $200. Seriously, it's that nice. I'm talking Palm Springs and/or private club kind of nice.

As to the layout, it's great. Not overly long -- 6560 from the back tees (unless you get to play the "Goose" tees, which I've never seen out, and isn't on the scorecard). They label their tees with Roman numerals: IV, III, II, and I. I played the III tees, which is second longest, at 6150. From there, everything is easily reachable, and not overly challenging. Not a lot of rough to deal with, and what rough there is, is short right now. There are hazards alongside some of the holes, but the biggest hazard in my opinion is the fairway bunkers on some of the holes, just cuz they can be hard to avoid. But all in all, not too much trouble, except maybe on #18, which has water all along the right side, and which is their signature hole. Greens do have some undulation, though, so pay attention to the pin location. Also a lot of drop-offs on the edges of the greens, which causes even short approach shots to roll off, if not landed in the right spot and/or with enough spin or angle of descent.

Bottom line, go play it for yourself and see what all the rave is about! Bonus points for a good practice facility: Grass driving range (sometimes, I think, but not today), chipping green (no bunker), putting green.

Played this course twice last week. It's in noticeably good shape, especially the greens. They appear to be almost completely healed from aeration, such that they are smooth and free of hole punch marks, but still have a little sand on them. The rest of the course is lush and pleasant to play from, EXCEPT for the bunkers, which are inconsistent. Some are soft and fluffy, some are hard and crusty. Overall, though, I am very pleased with the current shape of this course.