Played here for the first time on Thursday, 6/21 with Larryq2001, taking advantage of a 1-day special, 2 golfers for $50, incl. cart. Check-in was smooth, but when we got to the 1st tee, there was a line of 3 groups waiting in front of us. So, we ended up teeing off about 25 minutes after our 11:14 tee time. POP after playing through a slow group on #7 ended up being about 4hrs 15mins overall, not counting the initial wait. Putting green was verticut, but greens on the day were not, but did putt at similar speeds.

Course overall was in good condition. Other than one crowned tee box on the 2nd par3 on the front, thought the rest of the white tee boxes were pretty level, with good enough coverage. Thought the fairways were really good, providing plenty of roll. Rough was bit inconsistent, and a few times had a tuft of longer/different grass sitting behind my ball.

Was in 3 bunkers and three un-raked footprints! Aside from golfers not cleaning up after themselves, they were generally damp and not cared for in the morning by the grounds crew.

Greens were very green, soft and generally receptive from lots of watering. A Typical number of unrepaired ballmarks on the day, but otherwise rolled very smooth and at medium speed on average. Several of the greens have some wild up/down slopes to contend with, and putts were of course pretty fast coming downhill.

No cart lady on the course, and they could really use another water station on the back9. It was low-90s with a wind helping, but really was getting beat up by the sun by the 16th hole. Bring extra water bottles!

Very much enjoyed the Dye (not Pete himself) layout, and though there were maybe 2-3 holes that are a bit too tight or uphill too much, found it pretty playable and fun. Had a great time with Larry of course, and look forward to a return visit.

Got a $50 Sr. rate via their site for Tuesday at 1:44pm, amongst a hap-hazard array of lower and above-normal pricing on consecutive tee times. This price included $10 for 'Taco Tuesday' for a pair of small tacos, and a beer or margerita, making it a great value.

Was paired with a nice h/w couple, they were sending everyone out on #10, and POP ended up at 4hrs 15mins, keeping pace with the group in front, and with no one pushing us.

Course is undergoing bunker maintenance now until August. And, it's a mess, frankly. They did have yellow 'crime scene' tape around bunkers only on the 8th and 9th holes, which I took as an opportunity to 'go for it'/ignore the hazards (free drop). However, I was in two other bunkers and got a good look at many others, Frankly, it seemed that they have stopped daily maintenance on all of them - some looked like they had not been touched in at least a week, probably more. Water-caused trenches in many, ungroomed, mostly firm and ugly. Hopefully, the grounds crew is just sorting things out, and that this is not the norm for the coming months!?!

The tees were very nice, green and level. Rough was cut short 1-2", not penal, nicely green and decent to hit from. Fairways were good overall, mostly firm with good roll-out and decent lies. Alternating patches of wet, well-watered green areas with browning/thin areas. Some punching in spots evident attempting maintenance. CPO only on #s 3 and 6.

Greens were kinda OK. Mostly good grass coverage (a few thin spots evident) well-watered, very soft and holding shots well. Rolled decently at medium-speed, but plenty of unrepaired ball marks due to their softness. Have played much worse here.

Cart girl and marshal were by a few times. Very good service after the round, with free chips/salsa as part of the 'taco tuesday' deal.

Played Glen Ivy for the first time Tuesday, as part of the GK Guru group. Great time with the guys during and after the round. POP was just 3.5 hrs, and really, the time went by too fast - I wanted to keep playing the course! Really enjoyed the course overall, and playing from the white tees, felt it was a good, but fair challenge for a short-hitter.

White tees were mostly very good - level and nicely cut and green. Only exception were 3 of 4 par threes with mounds and bumps to deal with in the entire teeing area. I find this to be a common problem at a few courses. Really needs to be addressed here.

Fairways were pretty good overall, getting very good lies and very good roll. Caught a few tight/thin downhill lies on approaches and did not play those well.

Rough around the greens was nice and easy enough to get a wedge through it and on line.

Departing from some other views, I did not enjoy the sand in the traps. It was a thin, crispy dried clay/sand combo and I air-mailed two shots back/back. Hmmm... wonder why i didn't care for it!?! These were just different enough so that my poor sand-skills were amplified. :)

Found the greens to roll very nicely, not many bumps and bobbles. Held shots decently. Green and well-watered, they were a bit slower than I expected, and left a few too many short. Very good overall.

Burger and service in the bar afterwards was great. And, wandered over to the pro shop later and scored a great deal on a rare 100% cotton golf shirt in my size for $19.99. Got two! Gent in there was very friendly and helpful.

Don't know when the putting greens and/or driving range will be open, but it looks to be well off into the future months, imho. They do have a small, but good-looking bit of putting green turf in place, so perhaps they will have that open sooner? Thanks to Johnny for setting it up! Hope to be back soon!

Played Thursday, 6/7 at 3:07pm with 3 others. POP was a very good 4hrs, 10mins with mild waits on the first 5 holes, then waiting only on each par3 the rest of the way.

Though the course is overall very good condition, the white tee boxes were easily the 'worst' part of the course. Unlevel lies on 7 of 18 holes, with the worst bumpy and mounded areas on the par3s - 5th, 8th and 13th. The par3 15th was level.

Fairways were mostly good, cut a little long, but provided decent roll and lies. Was very happy to see that after 20+ years they have finally made significant progress on the 'new' fairways for the new holes #s 14, 16 and 17. They have clearly added a significant amount of white sand in their efforts to improve the condition of these fairways. 14 is nearly perfect. 16 is at least 75% better coverage in the landing area and 17 is probably 40% better. Glad to see it.

Rough was penal, about 2-3 inches. Was in two greenside bunkers, #8 had white sand and #15 had brown sand. Other than lack of raking in one, the sand in both was good quality and depth.

Greens are totally recovered from their punching and were mostly smooth and firm. Did not hold shots easily, providing 15-30 feet of roll-out for the group on well-struck shots. Putted medium-speed and was tough for all in the group to hole 6 to 10-footers, as the grain / subtle breaks were tough to read. And, I missed a 2-footer that looked straight, but missed by 3 inches! (sigh).

This is a great course to walk, mostly a flat course. Particularly since the cart fees for a single rider is $18. Twilight starts at 1:30pm and Super-twilight at 5:30pm these days, which does provide a decent deal on greens fees when walking.

Played Monday, teeing off as a 3some about 10 minutes after our scheduled tee time. POP was 4.5 hours, waiting on the 3some in front most holes, which was waiting on the 4some in front, etc., etc. Still, a good enough pace on a mostly warm afternoon.

Since playing here a month ago, really seems about the same except the greens are nearly healed. Not sure why, but the greenskeeping staff seems to ignore a number of aeration holes which did not receive sand initially, and pretty much each green now many weeks later have a few spots where a number of punch holes still exist, perfectly round and empty of grass or sand. Very odd. Unrelated to this, the greens were a bit wobbly on putts, caused by the afternoon growth. Speed was medium-fast and generally held shots well.

Was in a few greenside bunkers this time, including #s4, 8, &10 and the sand was nice, perhaps a little deeper before hitting a base than I like, with about 1 1/2 - 2" of fluffy sand.

Found the rough and even the greenside fringe to be inconsistent in cut lengths/grasses.

I enjoy this course due to the use of a number of clubs in the bag. I find the front to be tougher than the back due to more elevated 2nd shots into the greens. Instead of 'adding one club', it seems I need to add two for the elevation difference. Don't miss the tree that used to be in the middle of the fairway on #10 at all. Noticed that they have now cut down a number of others to the right of the hole, creating a more open area to bail out to off the tee, when considering the tight OB markers on the left side of the hole.

Played Friday, teeing off as a 4some 15 minutes behind our 1:57pm tee time. POP was just under 5 hours, with a bit of waiting on about 4 holes throughout, but we moved at a decent pace with no backup on most holes.

As I was just here a week earlier, really the main point to say is that the greens have improved/smoothed up on the front side. Much slower than the practice green, they did roll true. Back side greens were a bit quicker and very smooth. Overall, medium-speed on average.

Ball rolled out in the fairways and sat up nicely. Rough was choppy and diabolical at times. On the par3 14, put the tee ball left of the green along with another in our group - that's the one place you don't want to be (similarly - don't be left in the gully of #12 green). We caught a break in that they had recently cut the grass there, so our lies weren't sitting down in horrendously tough grass. Neither of us got it close, but we did get on the green for two-putt bogies.

Was in a bunker behind #15 green. Sand was nice enough, but there were three sets of un-raked footprints (sigh).

Overall, the course is looking and playing nicely right now.

Played after the holiday yesterday, 5/29 with a 2:32 tee time, $49 via their website. Pleasant greeting and got a mini-bucket to warm up. Seemed to be a bit of a slow afternoon, no starter at his post, and went out as a single about 10 minutes ahead of schedule, with no one around. On the fifth hole, paired up with a friendly single, who turned out to be another GK'er, so that was fun. He left after the 11th for some tacos with his wife - it was Tuesday, afterall! A hole later, joined up with 3 gunslingers behind me, with POP coming in at 4 hrs 15 mins total.

Caught the course on a day where they punched a lot of the white teeboxes. Not really an issue, just messy. The rest of the course seemed like the grounds crew had most of the day off. Fairways were uncut and hairy, producing inconsistent lies. Easy to get a nice divot, though. Rough was OK, and managed to avoid all bunkers.

Not sure if the greens were cut in the morning. The greens were pretty slow, and grass appeared very long. Rolled smoothly enough, but it was a struggle to get longer putts to the hole.

Love the course, and though it wasn't in tip-top shape for the day, really did enjoy the round. Course requires good ball striking and a bit of 'strategery' to score well.

Found a great pre-paid rate on teeoff.com at $13.50/pp for Friday, 5/25 after a promo code discount.

Having played here just once previously, and not at all impressed, decided it would be a decent option for myself and female playing partner, who doesn't play much golf these days. And, the price was right. Turned out to be a good enough choice, a great value for the course on a lovely sunny, windy day, and she handled the course well enough, in spite of some rust.

Very friendly greeting in the pro shop and he got us out in about 10 minutes after checking in, which was great. We ran a bit late, and arrived just a few minutes ahead of our scheduled 1:30pm tee time, and was paired up with a nice young man who generally hit the ball long and straight - his first time there. POP ended up at 4 hrs, with a short waits here and there. Given the convoluted re-tracking that is now necessary to get to the new #5 tee (old #7) due to the closing of the cart path alongside the abandoned 5th/6th holes, and throttled-down cart speeds, very happy with the POP.

Was glad to see their scorecard now reflects the actual course layout, including the map on the back.

Course was in decent shape overall, but don't get your hopes up. White tees (5318 yards, w/6 par 3s) were very inconsistent, with several providing only un-level options. Fairways were pretty good, about on par with the Costa Mesa public courses. Main issue I felt was hole #18 did have a fairly large 'wet spot' from about 70 yards to just in front of the green on the right side of the fairway. Rough was inconsistent and dubious. Was in a few traps, and other than the lack of raking by patrons, the sand was decent enough to get out of.

Greens were nicely cut, green, firm and did not hold shots well, but rolled pretty smoothly - just a few bumps and at medium speed. Certainly the best part of the course. The two previously 'temporary' greens - now #s 7, 10 are looking good, just a tick below quality the normal ones, and also very firm.

Aside from the course generally, the clubhouse bathrooms could use some investment. Would be nice if they also updated the signs on each teebox to reflect the new hole yardages/numbering. They also could improve the signage on getting to #5 tee back past the #3 teebox, though we did enjoy their sense of humor with the 'You made it' sign, acknowledging once we finally found the 5th hole! A good day out, and was pleased with the choice.

If you ever want to try to straighten out a slice or hook, this is the place to force the issue.

Played The Crossings on Tuesday at 1:39pm, joining another guy and a lady single visiting from Arizona for a fun 3some. Old men played the white tees, she played the green tees for her first time playing the course, and out-drove us nearly every hole! POP was good for the front nine, never waiting, but things slowed up as we played the backside, starting on #11. POP ended up right at 4hrs 30mins overall, so good enough for this course.

Similar to my last time here in April, the tees were green, well-cut and level. Had to move my tee ball once on #10 tee, as I ended up standing in a serious divot, but no other issues getting a good stance, except the par3s 14 & 17.

Fairways were really nice, still greening up and provided a lot of roll typically. Rough is filling in and the ball sat up for me today in the few times finding it. Still a little splotchy in some areas.

Wasn't in any bunkers, but my cart partner found a fairway bunker on the par5 15th, and it looked like concrete. He did manage to chunk it out, but was not happy about its' condition.

Greens on the front nine were mostly soft and bumpy, reminding me of the greens at Rancho San Joaquin a few days ago - grass in the aeration holes growing at a faster pace than the rest - too much of a good thing. Perhaps they need to roll them? The greens on the backside were much better, looked great and rolled very smooth for the most part. Medium-speed throughout. Tough pin placements on about 1/2 the holes, with ridges/elevation changes nearby the hole locations. A bit of mercy on #14, with the pin in front, we had three great tee shots, that ended with 2 birdies and 1 par (a near miss for bird)!

Friendly greetings at the bag drop to start/finish the round, pro shop, and the starter was super nice. They really do have a great staff here.

Played Friday afternoon, 5/18, teeing off 15mins ahead of our 1:00pm tee time on a cloudy, windy day, paired last-minute with another twosome. POP was 4 3/4 hours, waiting on most shots on each hole, but not backing up badly on the par 3s.

Sometimes, I'm happy to tee off ahead of schedule. When I checked in at the pro shop immediately upon arriving, 20 minutes ahead of our tee time, I anticipated having a few minutes to practice putting and to warm-up, not being sent straight to the tee. So, be advised, as my playing partner later told me is typical here, to make sure you're 'ready to play' when you/your group pay in the pro shop.

I last played here six weeks ago, which was a month after the greens were punched in March, when they were in very good shape. In spite of being 'rolled' earlier in the day, according to staff, they were now showing significant bumpiness. Greens were well-watered and held shots well, so I guess with an abundance of watering the grass growing in the aerated holes is thriving to a fault. Speed of greens were medium-paced.

Everything else is about the same from my last visit in early April, representing a hodgepodge of grasses, cut lengths and firmness of turf in fair/good condition. We were nearly hit by errant shots twice. Cart girl was by a several times.

Played The Goose Tuesday afternoon with the GK Gurus, teeing off about 1:45pm with JGK, larryq2001 and breangolf for a fun afternoon on a pretty good weather day, albeit with a steady west-to-east wind that both helped and hurt at times. Great to see these guys bomb the ball from the blues, while I played the whites, which were in great condition and were barely used on the day.

In short, course conditions were excellent all-way around, and highly recommend playing right now.

White tees were cut short, and were very level. Only issue was to be able to push a tee down enough into the dirt a few times!

As for the firmness of the rest of the course, let me just say that I LOVED the firm fairways, aprons and greens! As a short-hitter, my drives got plenty of roll, maybe 50 yards+ on some holes. On a handful of mis-hits from the fairways, the ball still rolled out enough so that I didn’t lose too much position from the distance of a well-hit shot – probably lost just two clubs at worst.

The one fairway I missed all day, ended up in the right fairway bunker in the middle of the 10th hole fairway. The wind helped and hurt on the same drive! The sand was a little looser than I’d prefer, but got out OK and squeaked out a par. Found the massive greenside bunker left of #17 green, and the sand was perfect, with a nice soft layer with about 1” depth to firm sand. Still, managed to murder the ball from 100ft away. Got a very lucky bounce, and somehow, it popped out of the trap and not too far off the green.

As reported by others, the greens were very firm. I did see light ball divot damage and in contrast to most others, I thought the greens were mostly a medium-fast past pace, based on my recent experiences at Black Gold and The Crossings. The ball would easily run past the hole on medium-range and any downhill putts if not careful. But, did have a number of 4-foot putts where a firmer stroke was ideal to hold the lines. They rolled very true, but we were all fooled by mis-reads a time or two...or, was it the wind?

After the round, in addition to discussion about the great day and very good course conditions, there was some debate about if the blue tees were placed beyond the normal blue tee markers. Well, according to the information at a California Amateur tournament website, they were indeed on 7/18 holes. They were longer on #s 3, 4, 8, 10, 14, 15 and 17. The tournament blue tees for the day played to about 6839 yards, v. 6556 yards normally. The course rating was 72.4 v. 71.0 and slope was 129 v. 126. So, be sure to make the adjustment when you post your scores! :)

So, you weren’t crazy to think the blue tees played longer than normal, though the jury may be out on if you were crazy to play them ;-)

If you click on any player’s name at the link below, you can see the individual hole yardages for the day. And, it looks like only a few of those shooting 72 actually made the cut!

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3919862241146459075

Finally, I really love the practice facility here. Got in enough short-game chipping/pitching practice to make a modest difference in the round. Have previously made the trip from Huntington Beach to spend a few hours practicing my short-game, including the sand bunker left of the tees. Highly recommend right now!

Played Thursday, 5/10. Friendly greeting and efficient service in the pro shop and the friendly starter got me out ahead of my tee time by 20 mins, with no one else around.

Went out as a single at 1:25pm, chasing a twosome with a hole head start and moving at a good pace. Didn't see another group behind me until I was on 6th tee, and that group was in the fairway on hole #3. Finally caught the twosome at the 7th as they were waiting on a 4some ahead, playing from the black tees. Pace was a bit slow from there, waiting on every hole. POP was still pretty decent overall for this course, at 4hrs 20mins.

White tees were probably the worst aspect of the course yesterday, but I still rated them a '6'. Nicely cut, but grass coverage is on the thin side. Found unlevel areas within the marked teeing areas on about 1/2 the wholes. Still able to move to a level spot, but I think this is an area they should address to keep the course in 'great' standing.

Fairways were cut very nicely, provided decent roll-out and very good lies. Still some evidence of the spiking in April in the healing process in just a few places. Didn't really have a problem with the rough, ball sat up nicely for the most part and was able to get the club through it with no real penalty.

Was in two greenside bunkers, right front on #3 was very nice, medium-weight fluffy sand, 1" or more over a firm base. Massive front bunker on #6 was a little firm on the upslope. Was also in the long fairway bunker on #12, and was nice and firm, probably less than 1/2". All were raked and thought they provided very good and fair shot-making conditions.

The greens looked great from far and up-close. They were a deep, dark green and had very few unrepaired ball marks. Much darker than the fairways, the greens have received some large doses of water. This softened them up significantly, at least for the day's play. I wonder if they do this purposely ahead of the weekend's play, or if it is what they do daily? They held shots very well, but they did not roll smooth from the days's foot-traffic, and speed was medium-slow. Putting was a challenge and all of us left putts short most of the time.

Course overall is in very good condition right now, and definitely recommend playing. Hopefully, the greens will speed up. Cart girl was by just once and never saw a marshal. Good service by Alex in the bar after the round.

Was able to get a great $35 'Black' member rate via my 2018 Crossings Club membership. It's a pain, as you need to get someone from The Crossings at Carlsbad call the pro shop at Black Gold to set it up, but saving $20+ was certainly worth the trouble. First time I've taken advantage of that benefit in two years, and will now try to do it again. This perk will go away in 2019, with JCGolf now managing things at C@C and KemperSports still managing BG.