I played Friday afternoon, riding as a single, 2:15 tee time. No wind at all on this day; it is a factor as it does get windy here. I paired myself up with another single at Tee 1 and we played at a good pace until hitting a backup on Hole 3. One group of three let up pass, but the real backup was three groups ahead of those guys there was a fivesome of local yahoos dragging ass. Amazingly, I was not at all upset with the situation. My playing partner called the starter and we ran some ideas around. The course was just crowded and skipping ahead wasn't an option. We got our change to pass the fivesome at Hole 14 tee. Overall POP was 3:45.

Overall course conditions were lush. The weather is getting hotter and they are watering a lot. There were some overly wet areas and those were not clearly marked, so there was some cart damage in a couple of spots. However, it was minor.

Greens: The ran fast and smooth.

Fairways and rough: Good rollout and great turf under my ball in almost all cases. Some areas of rough were very lush around the back of some greens.

Tees: We played the blue tees and all were level with the exception of Hole 7 which was slightly tilted to the left side.

Sand: All the bunkers appeared to have a nice layer of white sand. I was in three, and had no trouble hitting out.

Great local hangout for a relaxed round of golf. The starter is very relaxed about afternoon golf times. If it is not busy, you could just go. The bar and restaurant seem very busy so that is usually a good sign of decent food/service. They have a great selection of beers on tap as well. It looks like I'm going to be coming back here more often as the days get longer.

I played today in the SCGA event, sponsored by Woodford Reserve. We did receive a comp drink in the morning and there was another Woodford cocktail later at the turn for $5; Not bad.

I have always liked this course. I find it exciting and difficult. Many of the holes proceed up and down a mountainous/canyon terrain and it is like an adventure because of all the blind shots.

The course is in decent winter condition: dormant Bermuda fairways and a nicely overseeded rough that was mowed to a manageable 1"-2". The fairways had plenty of root zone although they were mowed very tight allowing for a lot of run out on most drives.

The bentgrass greens were great: fast, smooth, and very few ball marks to fix. It was difficult to hold shots from well off the green if you don't generate a lot of spin or come in with a high pitch. There were some difficult pin positions today and the greens are mostly large and undulating with all kinds of breaks.

Tee boxes were nice; we played the Silver (Medal) tees and it was plenty of golf at 6440 yards and a 72.1 rating/130 slope. Lots of forced carries over junk or valleys to the fairways. Many of the approach shots were to elevated greens.

Bunker sand was good. It was a nice, light colored, fine grain sand that was great to hit from, except for the greenside bunker at Hole 4, which was a little wet.

I arrived early enough to take advantage of the great practice area. Lots of room on the driving range, pyramids of balls, a sand/chipping green, and a large practice putting green.

Our group had a good time. It was nice to take a day off of work and it was an especially nice day weather wise. Being so close to home, I would say it was worth the $95.

Thanks to Johnny for the Guru round. Nice country club set in a very ritzy neighborhood surrounded by agricultural land. The clubhouse and pro shop were really nice. The course and personnel were all great: super friendly and professional. Members seemed nice as well. The practice area is small, but fun with an elevated range and ridiculously fast ppg. The greens on course were as fast.

Greens were very nice and very fast. Play way more break. If your speed is good you could drop some putts.

Fairways were very good. Looked like dormant Bermuda with dye or they might have been recently fertilized. Cut tight and expect lots of roll. There were many undulations and elevation changes, thankfully mostly downhill, making it harder to spot your ball from the cart path.

Rough was dormant Bermuda. It was varied from deep and thick to thin and bare in a few spots under the trees.

Bunkers were all very nice. Good amounts w light, soft sand.

Tees were mostly good. We played the white tees. A few were partially sanded and some of the par 3’s were a little beat up. Mostly good and fairly level considering it’s a very hilly course.

If you get a chance to play here, go for it.

I played in the GK event yesterday. This is one of my favorite courses and I have some fond memories playing here. It has a great vibe and a really cool western/mining theme to it. It kind of reminds me of the old Robinson Ranch here in Santa Clarita, only better. I had played here many times in the past; probably more than 10 years ago. It's still good.

Greens were rolling fast and true. To me, they seemed a little on the firm side, but my ball striking is not super crisp so it's most likely just me.

Fairways and rough were very nice. It has that cool winter contrast of overseeded fairways and dormant Bermuda rough. The rough had enough root zone and length to keep slightly errant shots in play for the most part. My problem was I could not keep many of my shots straight enough to do that.

Bunkers had some small pebbles in them, similar to Mojave Resort but not as bad. There was nice sand in the two bunkers at Hole 16, but that's it as far as I noticed. Still, not too bad to hit from.

Tees boxes were very nice. We played the Silver tees at about 6091 yards. It was a good distance given the extreme elevation changes and frequent forced carries.

The front nine plays down canyon toward the Colorado River, then back up to the clubhouse area. The back nine plays up toward the mountains and then back down to the clubhouse. It can get windy out here and many of the tees and greens on the back nine are a bit more exposed making for a real challenge if the wind is up.

Good customer service and good food and drink in the club house. It's a very nice venue and there were ample chairs and tables to accommodate our group inside. I hope to come back here more often.

GK event last Saturday. What a great day: beautiful weather and good course conditions. We were in the first group out and, due to some cancellations at the course prior to our event, we were sent out a little early. Nice winter conditions with overseeded fairways and dormant Bermuda rough making for a nice contrast of color.

We played the combo Gold/White tees. They were all level and had good coverage of overseeded Bermuda. Lush at times with occasional divots. I never had to search for a decent place to tee from.

The fairways were great to hit from except for the occasional tight lie. There were sand/seed bottles on the cart.

The rough was good to hit from as well. It was dormant Bermuda and although it appeared to be mown tight, there was a good root base to give some cushion.

The greens were very nice. They rolled quick and true. Not too fast but enough to keep you on your toes for those downhill putts. I thought the greens were on the firm side, but I did fix a few small ball marks here and there.

The bunkers looked nice; however, they almost all had small rocks in them. I swear they had someone pick up a load of sand from the Colorado river, lol. Maybe it's just the liners were worn out or non-existent. At any rate, I would say the bunkers were not as nice as they could be. The pebbles were small enough to not cause too many issues.

Overall, I thought the course was nice. The clubhouse is on the old side and feels dated. There's a nice wood deck patio outside that we enjoyed after the round. The course personnel were friendly and helpful. The golf carts had coolers and ice in them when we arrived, and the starter had our carts lined up and ready well in advance of our tee times.

Back again yesterday morning; tee off at 8:40, payed $47 to walk. We finished in 4.5 hours. There was a CA Junior Golf tournament being held later in the day and the course was trimmed up nicely for it. The greens, fairways and rough were in as good as shape as possible. Lots of roll out on drives. The rough was barely longer than the fairways in most areas and were not at all penal. Greens were all good: smooth and fairly fast. The only real drawbacks were the bunkers: almost all were a thin layer of sand over hard pan. The tees were somewhat firm but mostly level with ample areas to hit from.

Sunday, 9:40 AM tee; $47 Walking. The golf course was relatively uncrowded. It was a quick check in and we teed off on time. POP in about 4:35. Overall nice conditions. Some tees were hard but all were level. The greens ran fast and rolled true. The fairways and rough were firm and there was lots of roll. The turf was nice in most places with some thin areas here and there. Bunkers were mediocre with most just a thin layer of sand over hard pan. Snack shop and starter office are just the bare minimum. Good times with old friends.

I played in the GK/GolfMoose event this past Monday. What a gem of a course. The course itself is high up in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the San Fernando Valley and has many holes running deep into some canyons throughout the property. I got there kind of late so I did not get to use the practice areas.

Greens were fast with plenty of undulations, mostly tilted towards the front. If you were putting downhill, look out! I saw a few roll off of some greens. They rolled so fast and true. I love putting on this type of green; however, this was not really my day for aiming or judging the pace. It took me a while to dial it in and I never made a long putt.

Fairways and rough were plenty green. I mean deep, dark green. The rough was not too penal in most places; more often than not, my ball sat up nicely. I actually had more problem hitting from the fairways as it was tight and very wet in the low areas. It was cart path only, so we expected it. On the bright side, you never had to walk too far as the fairways were pretty narrow. Bottles of sand/seed mixture were on the carts or available on the course.

Bunkers had really good, soft sand. It was fine and light colored and easy to hit from. Plenty of rakes to use as well.

Overall impression is this would be a great track if you played it regularly. It is very challenging because of the narrow fairways and elevation changes throughout the course. I am happy that I was able to take advantage of this opportunity to play here. I would do it again.

Nice morning in Palmdale, CA today. It was a relatively balmy 50 degrees at 8:40 a.m. when I arrived for my 8:56 tee time. I paid $49 to ride. Starter allowed me to head to the tee and join a twosome or just go out alone. The fellas asked if I'd like to join them and that was a plus. Good POP at 3:20, although we waited on the foursome ahead of us all morning.

Greens: Soft and medium fast without any bad areas. Very few, if any, ball marks to fix. They all rolled true and there was no bumpiness.

Fairways and rough: It was a light green color overall and relatively good lies everywhere. The fairways were somewhat tight and allowed for a good amount of rollout on most drives. There are areas with a lot of divots but mostly they are filled in with mix. The rough was cut to about 1.5 inches and mostly was not penal at all. This course is all fescue grass and doesn't really have dormancy, but it's not super green either. Overall, it was decent.

Tees: We played the blue tees and they were mostly level; the ones that were uneven were not terrible, though. Good grass coverage, even on the par 3's.

Sand: The bunkers looked and played great. There were ample amounts of clean, white sand. I was in three and they were fairly easy to play from. The sand was light and soft. There were at least two or three rakes at each bunker.

Great course conditions and customer service. I saw at least one or two grounds crew fixing irrigation heads on the front nine. Except for the pile of soil, you wouldn't know they were there. Friendly folks and a nice day on the course.

Played on Sunday, 12-26-21; $42 walking. No carts today as the course was saturated from the recent rainy weather. Plenty of areas of standing water and very soft turf conditions throughout the course. The pace of play for us was about 4.5 hours thanks to the group directly in front of us. My two playing partners had only heavier cart bags and one push cart so they ended up buying a new carry bag for $199. Ouch!

Like I said, the course was saturated. Note to self, in the future do not book anything in the Sepulveda Dam Basin (Woodley, Balboa, or Encino) during or after rainy weather. The Los Angeles River runs through this area and the drainage is not good. It's about the lowest part of the valley and there's going to be standing water and wet turf.

Now, with my griping out of the way, let me tell you that the conditions were so-so. It was playable. The starter said the previous day they did allow carts but the golfer did not adhere to cart path only protocol. Actually, there aren't any continuous cart paths, so it must have turned into a free-for-all.

Greens: 6/10: They were okay; soft, and medium fast. A couple of bumps here and there, but okay.

Fairways and rough: 4/10: Wet turf is not easy to make great contact. It was a guessing game for me if I could even make good, ball-first contact. Not my best, so I'm rating it on the low side as this is a flat course without proper drainage.

Tees: 6/10: Mostly good; not too wet and fairly flat. Some were moved up, but I wish they all were.

Sand: 3/10: Well, it was wet. Some (a lot) of the bunkers had standing water. Otherwise, it was hard packed with foot prints (rakes were available).

Overall, it was a nice day otherwise. Beautiful skies, fresh air, and open spaces. Did not expect such wet conditions but I really should know better as I grew up in the Valley. It did not rain that much, but this is LA, right? Back to StormWatch 2021!

Played again last Sunday, 12/19/21, with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. 8:30 am tee time, sub 4.5 hr. POP. Customer service, as the kids say, "Meh." As I checked in as the fourth of our group, the starter asked if I was the fourth. I said yes, but he was looking at the guy behind me in line. Hey, I'm short but not that short! He seemed confused as I tried to scan my player card and I had to tell him a second time that I was with the 8:30 group. Whatever. The walking rate is $47 with a senior card.

Greens: Good overall. Soft and medium to medium-fast roll. A few ball marks to fix. There was occasional bumpiness, but not bad. It definitely appeared that someone ahead of us was dragging their feet at times, though.

Fairways and rough: Decent coverage and a nice greenish tint considering it's nearly winter and it's almost all kikuyu grass.

Tees: All tee boxes looked level and mostly had good grass coverage.

Bunkers: The sand looked well groomed and I found only one bunker on Hole 9 greenside. It was a thin layer of soft, nicely groomed sand over hard pan. Noemi seemed to have no problem getting out of the two bunkers she was in, so I assume it was all decent. Well, I skulled it. The other guy who hit into this same bunker as me went easy and left it in on his first try. I'm not sure what's worse.

Overall impression of the course is it's in fine condition for a popular muni. It was not too crowded for a Sunday; I question this as it's very difficult to get a tee time online. Makes you wonder if we are getting gas lamped. Nice GPS on the carts, although I did walk. It's a nice walk at about 7 miles total, with a handful of small hills. Decent bloody Mary at the bar. No beverage cart. I can recommend this course.

Played yesterday with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. Sunday, 9:10 am, 4.5 hr. POP. Decent customer service. I walked for $47, I think.

Greens: Good overall. Soft and medium to medium, fast roll. Lots of ball marks to fix. There was occasional bumpiness, but not bad. It could have been someone ahead of us dragging their feet.

Fairways and rough: Decent coverage with some overly wet areas. The further off the fairway you got, things could get sketchy for your lie, but that's usually the case with most golf courses. It's almost all kikuyu grass here; it's thick enough to hold you ball up most of the time but you could end up in a divot and get a poor lie.

Tees: We played the whites. Those tees are up a bit; I would say it's playing where the forward tees were before they went to four separate tees. All tee boxes looked level and mostly had good grass coverage.

Bunkers: The sand looked well groomed and I found only one fairway bunker early on. Others seemed to have no problem getting out, so I assume it was all decent.

Overall impression of the course is it's in fine condition for a popular muni. It was not too crowded for a Sunday, maybe because it was Halloween. Check in was quick and the starter seemed pleasant enough. Nice GPS on the carts, although I did walk. It's a nice walk at about 7 miles total, with a handful of small hills. Decent bloody Mary at the bar. No beverage cart seen. I can recommend this course.