Played Barona on July 9 at 2:00 - first twilight time. The rate is $70, but only $56 if you join Barona's casino player's club (membership is free and the pro shop can do it for you). Plus the starter got us out 30 minutes early. Course is in pretty good shape, except for some thin spots on the fairways. Considering how hot and dry and windy it is in Lakeside, that's to be expected. Great greens - firm and fast with lots of undulations, but they putt really true. The Nationwide Tour Championship is coming here in '07 and '10 - those boys should have fun on these greens. Note: If if matters to you, the beer cart only serves on the front 9 for liability reasons. Service is available on all 18, though, and the carts have a great GPS. Long drive to get to Barona, but the course is so worth it!

Played on Sunday, July 2 at 9:18. Pretty slow round for Arrowood, where they usually do a nice job maintaining pace of play. Our four-some played behind a pretty slow THREE-some and pushed them all day. Front nine was brutal, then the marshals got in gear and the back nine picked up. The course is still in great shape, but half of each green was punched a few weeks ago so balls that land on that half stop dead and those that land on the other half bounce forward - tough to gauge. The punched half has recovered pretty well, though, in terms of putting. The starter indicated the 2nd half of each green would be punched after the July 4 holiday, so make sure to check before you book a tee time. Still a great course where you can score well (often without using driver) if you can keep it in the fairway.

Played Tijeras at 2:30 on Monday, June 12, for a $60 rate. The course is in great shape, with two notable exceptions ... the greens and the bunkers. The bunkers are some of the most inconsistent I've ever played. Some have pretty normal sand, others are like spun sugar the sand is so fine. In the latter bunkers, any shot that lands there will create a "crater" for the ball to sit down in. Not to mention none of the bunkers anywhere on the course had been raked, so footprints were everywhere. The greens were really firm, which is surprising compared with so many other locals courses. They were also really, REALLY bumpy - putts were wobbling all over the place. It's OK to play here during the week, maybe for the $60 twilight rate, but the course conditions don't warrant paying one cent more than that.

Played Twin Oaks on Sunday, June 11, at 2:40. Got a little attitude from the pro shop when asking about the large group of five-somes teeing off in front of us. Needless to say, it was a slow day. Excruciatingly slow. Very disappointing that the starter acknowledged the pace of play before we even teed off, as if there was nothing to be done about it. Never saw a single marshal all day. Nice pace-of-play program, JC Resorts - we barely finished before the sun went down. Anyway, on the plus side, there's a great grass driving range for warming up. The course is in really good shape, but the greens are a little bumpy. Also, I fixed 4-6 ballmarks on every green - still can't figure out why no one does this on any course in the SD area. Saw the beer cart only once all day, but the operator was really nice. Twilight rate of $45 with cart is a bargain at this course, but bring your patience and be prepared to wait on every tee. With competition from Arrowood and other courses nearby, it's amazing Twin Oaks doesn't try harder.

Played Cypress on Sunday, June 4 for $82. A bit pricey, considering Monarch Dunes is right around the bend in Nipomo. Still, this course is in outstanding condition. Couple of tee boxes were a little bit up and/or uneven. Fairways, rough and greens were great. Greens are firm, but will hold a shot - they putt really true if you can find the right line. Bunkers had good sand, but most (including the fairway bunkers) were incredibly deep. Some greenside bunkers could hide a 6-foot golfer. Look for a coupon or special to play this course on the weekend - for a better rate, and almost no homes on the course, try Monarch Dunes.

Still one of the best, if not THE best, conditioned courses in North San Diego County. Greens are still a bit too firm, but perfectly smooth and quite a bit slower since they aerated a few months ago. Only gripe about course conditions is the sand in the bunkers is pretty inconsistent from one hole to the next - firm and damp on some holes, "spun sugar" on some others. Guys in the pro shop always seem to be in a bad/grumpy mood, but the starter, marshals and bev. cart girls are awesome. Maybe the pro shop guys are ticked they have to stay inside all day? This is an outstanding course for what they charge.

Tough call to keep playing here - the course seems to have taken a beating lately. Fairways are OK, bunkers are pretty hard/firm, some tee boxes are still way too crowned, etc. Surprisingly, the worst aspect of this course on May 3 was the condition of the greens. I say surprising because they aerated within the last couple of months, but these greens are REALLY beat up. Very bumpy, lots of old pitch mark "scars" and unrepaired holes. Given the condition of the course, it's amazing they get as much play as they do (and get away with charging what they do). I'm not biased against E-Ranch - I'm a member of their men's club and I just wish they'd take better care of the place.

Played Wednesday, April 26, at 8:22 and finished in less than 4 hours. Got a $45 coupon rate vs. the regular $69 greens fee with cart. Greens are still in great shape - soft enough to hold shots and allow for spin, lots of subtle slopes. Many tough pin positions today - most were within 3-5 paces of the edge of the green. What's up with that? Looks like they aerated the fairways - you can still see the punch-holes, but the fairways are in decent shape. Within a couple of weeks this course should be pristine.

Played on Easter Sunday, April 16, as a two-some (walking) and finished in 4 hours after playing through one slow four-some. The course is still cart-path-only, so despite the rolling terrain it's better to walk - less time back and forth to the cart for clubs. Only gripe is that it's impossible to refill divots with mix without a cart, so the fairways and some tee boxes are getting hacked up a bit. The layout is beautiful, though, and very challenging - especially on the greens. They're firm, so it's hard to hold a shot. They have tons of subtle and not-so-subtle breaks and mounds and undulations. They putt perfectly true, though, if you can figure out the break. I've played here twice since the course opened and over two rounds I've seen a beverage cart twice on the course. That needs to change, but otherwise go play this outstanding track before all the houses get built around it.

Played Sunday, April 9, at 9:45 - pretty slow considering not too many people were out (Masters Sunday). Nonetheless, this course is probably the best-conditioned in North County. After recovering from aeration, the greens are unparalleled ... firm, but will hold a shot, and putt much truer than other courses in the area. Fairways were lush, bunkers were in good shape, everything was perfect. Really good test of golf, too - played with a buddy who had never played there before. He shot 83, with a couple of birdies and couple of doubles - shows you how tough the course can be, but also how manageable it is. Play it now while it's in great shape!

Played in a three-some on March 22 and got around in less than four hours after the slowest-foursome-in-the-history-of-golf finally let us play through after an agonizing front 9. Never saw a single marshal (or beverage cart) all day, which made the slow first nine even more of a pain in the rear. Despite that, the course is in fantastic shape. Greens are small with a lot of subtle slopes - very difficult to putt if you're not on top of your game. Played for $45 with a coupon vs. the normal $69 weekday rate, and I'd do that again in a minute based on the course's condition.

Went off at 6:12 on March 15 and finished in 3.5 hours as a three-some. Not sure what people are whining about re: this course. Tee boxes are immaculate. Sure, the fairways lay dormant right now but in no way are they dead and brown and like linoleum. They're simply tight, forcing you to trap your iron shots which you should be doing in the first place. Greens are recovering nicely from recent aeration - one of the few courses I've played in SoCal with minimal ball mark damage. Only gripe was the greens were a bit slow, but they putt really true. Be prepared to hit 'em straight - every fairway is bordered by environmental hazards on both sides, meaning you can't fetch a wayward tee shot. Iron off the tee (even from the blues) is a good call on many of the shorter par 4's, especially if you haven't played here before to know how tee shots will roll out. Can't wait to play here again now that I have some "local knowledge" - what a great track for the price on a weekday!