Enjoyed a fun round with some GKers, both local and some SoCal guys who came up for the day. Our group may have been a tad slower than I prefer but as we had the course to ourselves I just let myself enjoy the day and after we let a pesky threesome :) play past we cruised around in 4hr-ish.

Overall great design with a lot of undulations and movement created out of flat farmland.
Conditions are very good even during the hot hot hot summer.

Tees - were lush with a few being so lush (not uncut) it was hard to stand the tee upright
Fairways - were actually cut a bit longer than the normal tight firm conditions and were all in good shape
Greens - were all smooth with few to no ball marks depending on hole locations, they are running quite a bit slower than normal due to summer which on these very large greens is a welcomed relief
Bunkers - are DEEP even in the fairways and are plentiful in numbers. On this course they are the one area where conditioning can lack, they can range from firm to soft sometimes within the same bunker and numerous of the nearly 200 bunkers have critter damage -nothing terrible but it does stand out when the rest of the course is top notch.

Being in the center of the Valley farmland, burrowing critters can be a nuisance. You can see their presence in areas. The maintenance crew has done an excellent job keeping them relegated to the edges of the course and kept the playing areas clear so they are more of a visual problem and rarely in play.

All of the greens and green complexes are in very good condition. Greens are on the slow side but running smooth and receptive to approaches. The fairways have thin firm conditions with bare areas in many spots. The "rough" is bare dirt/weeds that for the most part has been completely cleared. The tee boxes range from fair to quite poor as many have very little grass and a few had basically none.

The wind was blowing extreme the day we played so the wide open nature of the course made it enjoyable and reminded me of why this is touted as a "links" (yes I know links are the strip of land between sea and terra firma).

Played Zeb's Southern California Charity Classic on Friday 7-29-16

Fantastic time playing with sixpez again and meeting JohnnyGK and roarksown1.

This was the first time I have played either course here in decades. Several items stood out. First was the lack of trees from what I remember, which really opened up the course and made it more hacker friendly. Second was the very good overall conditions for such a busy course(see Johnny's review or my rating for specifics). Lastly was the welcome back to SoCal poa and kikuyu, here in CenCal we have almost no poa and only sporadic kikuyu so it was really a fun experience playing an entire course with those grasses again, yes the afternoon bumpy greens do bite, but it was fun nonetheless. I posted a pic of team GK so it should post soon. Thanks again gents for a wonderful round.

Just a quick and happy update.

The course has come back to mostly normal conditions.

There are still browned out edges, but that is due to water conservation. The rest of the course is green and playable.

The greens have come back almost completely from whatever had eaten/destroyed them. There are still several greens where you can see the damage, but I would estimate that 2/3rds of them are completely healed and the few that weren't are spotty instead of completely damaged.

Played on 7-16-16

My last review extoled the return to better conditions. I am sad to say that since my last round here they have gone backwards.

The greens were shaggy with areas of severe ball damage, although compared to where they were in the recent past, they are playable.

The tees were hit and miss with some bare areas and some that were not mown at all for IDK how long.

The fairways were the biggest step backwards with anything from dead areas to soggy muddy overgrown wet areas.

The bunkers, usually rock hard but at least smooth, had been fluffed but then were left to return to being rock hard and now had the added trouble of having the crusty furrows. Many had standing water in them (when it averages 100 degrees with no rain this is a big problem)

I still recommend this course as the layout and price are good, but I am not sure why they can't seem to get the conditions back to previous levels.

I tried several times to do a rating - not sure why it isn't appearing.

Played on 7-17-16

The course conditions continue to improve. The greens were running slower than normal, which was good because the pins were set in extremely difficult (ridiculously fun) locations for the City Amateur that morning. There were two greens that had fresh gofer damage. Gofer not Golfer.

They are in the process of building a new short game area.

Once again there were juniors on the practice areas and the program is certainly one of the best in the area.

Nice to see this fun course continue to move forward.

Played on 5-25-16

Played a late afternoon round and the pace was fantastic, would have been under two hours but I caught groups the last few holes.

Still the same fun scenic course with conditioning issues. The narrow tree lined fairways, small greens, and the holes with the river always place a premium on accuracy over length on this relatively short course.

There were the extremes of soggy wet areas of fairway all the way to dry bare areas. The tee boxes had good coverage but there are a lot of uneven areas. The greens were rolling smooth with slow/medium speed and were the best conditioned part of the course.

The mosquitos in a few areas of the course were completely out of control. I had half a dozen bites and several dozen confirmed kills by the time I surrendered to the little beasts. I then drove back to the clubhouse after the seventh hole to purchase bug spray. The staff was prepared with not only spray for sale but also cans for free usage. GREAT customer service to provide them, the staff here is always one of the best. The asst pro told me that mosquito abatement was scheduled to come out so it shouldn't be an issue for long.

Played 4-21 with sixpez on one of his normal golf binges. Absolute pleasure to finally meet Keith, whose blog has been a great source of info and entertainment. All the course details can be read in his review and I just need to add that -- the keep your eyes on the ball quote can be attributed to my "mystery lost ball" as well as a few other times when we literally drove right next to balls without seeing them the first time.

Played on 1-16-16

This is just a quick winter update for more specifics see older reviews.

The course has a great setting, a solid and challenging design and best of all we pulled a hot deal for 20$ including cart. The look of the white trunks of the sycamores is really a nice aesthetic touch with all of the leaves missing this time of year.

Typically in above average condition the results of winter and the rains have had an impact. Dormant fairways have been further damaged by the rains and cart users who drive in soggy areas. Greens are still good with only slightly more marks than normal and speeds also slower due to wet conditions. The bunkers were surprisingly good with fluffy consistent play (they must have worked them recently). The tee boxes show the most damage with many bare/torn up areas and a complete lack of grass on a few of the back boxes. These are temporary, not normal, conditions and I still recommend a visit

We played after an NCGA event. The course was in fantastic condition and was set up with thicker than normal rough (wiry wrist breaking stuff) and many greens had difficult pin positions.

Overall-- The great design combined with the improved conditions make this one of the best places to play in the area.

Pace-- 4.5 hours on a Sunday after a tournament in tough conditions and as a fivesome.

Course Conditions-- The greenskeeping work by the new owners and the tournament setup was a pleasure to play.

Staff-- Friendly and helpful.

Value-- Though above average area rates the quality makes the price worthwhile. (you city dudes would think it's a steal)

Food-- Limited but good, this was built as a players course so the shop/bar is small. Not sure if there are plans to expand.

Facilities-- Great practice facilities and everything is well maintained.

I highly recommend a round or several for local players and for travelers this is one to put on your list.

Played a charity tournament, thank goodness it was not a normal round. This is a course we typically go to several times a year. The layout is decent, the price is usually good for the return and the crowds are normally small.

I will keep this short as I don't want to bash(excessively) a course I like. The fairways were un-mown and were more like 1-3" rough. Four of the, I believe six, water hazards were empty and dozed. (the huge amount of balls visible was amazing and surprising that they hadn't been collected.) Many of the greens were horrendous. Huge areas of fungi? and dead spots and damage and invasive grass. They are obviously struggling mightily with the conditioning, shame because it is fun to play.

I do not recommend this course at this time.

Overall-- Secluded between railroad tracks and orchards, this is an ideal setting for a course. The lack of houses is one of my favorite aspects of this club. The older design is short compared to modern courses, but that does not mean it lacks challenge. Narrow fairways lined with mature trees place a premium on driving accuracy. Small well protected greens demand precise iron play. The fast smooth surfaces of the greens combined with the undulations/slopes makes putting testing and fun.

Once again an older design that proves that a course can challenge better players without bashing average/recreational players over the head. Why can't so many modern designers seem to figure this out?

Pace-- As with most private courses, members police themselves and rounds are always well paced. We played in under 4hr.

Conditions-- The greens were slightly softer than normal due to recent heat wave. There were areas where the course was allowed to dry out due to the drought. Typically this course is in top condition.

Staff-- Treated me like a member. Enough said.

Value-- Few courses in the area match the value for quality vs cost.

Food-- Great menu, well prepared, something for every taste.

Facilities-- Everything is in fantastic shape. Large banquet area, patio area and bar/grill area. The clubhouse was rebuilt in the recent past due to fire. The range is good on the tee ground and dead in the target area, which is only because of water conservation efforts.

I highly recommend this course.