Thoroughly enjoyed a 10am round at Olivas on Wednesday, 5/27. With temperatures in the low 90's in the SFV, it was a real pleasure to experience mid-to-upper 60's with a nice breeze while on the course.

Overall, the course is still in fine shape. Fairways are not quite as green as they were a couple of weeks ago, but they are just as lush - a delight to hit from. The rough ranges from nicely cut grass of 1 - 3 inches to specific areas with grasses that are up to several feet high. Stay out those areas. You probably won't find your ball. I wasn't in any bunkers today. But my partner said there was plenty of good sand in the greenside bunkers he was in. The greens were soft and receptive and about medium speed. They rolled quite nicely, and were consistent throughout the course.

I really enjoy playing this beautiful golf course. It is easily walkable with just the right amount of challenge. I highly recommend it.

Teed it up at Los Robles Monday 5/11 at 9:30am on a very nice mid-seventies day with a nice breeze. We waited on some holes. But our pace of play was a respectable 4 hours, with everyone walking. Overall, the course is in excellent condition. Some of the tee boxes had a few issues with being level, but nothing significant.

The fairways were lush and green with a very nice cushion under your ball. The rough was fairly consistent and mostly lush, around 1 - 3 inches in length. Depending on your lie, it could be easy to hit from or somewhat penal. I was in 2 greenside bunkers. Both of them had nice soft sand, a pleasure to hit from. The greens were smooth and firm. They held shots pretty well. They rolled very nicely and were medium fast. I highly recommend playing here.

I played Moorpark CC Wednesday morning (4/29) with 3 other gentlemen at 9:00am. When I arrived I fully expected to walk the course. When I walked up to the pro shop area pushing my cart, I was told that I didn't need my cart. I could use a power cart. So I went into the pro shop and they had me sign a waiver and gave me a cart by myself. I was told that if I had a disability or some kind of injury, I could sign the waiver and get a cart. So, since my back has been giving me trouble lately, I signed and drove! As I was driving the course, it became apparent that playing Ridgeline and Creekside is a VERY long and arduous walk. I'm always up for a challenge, but with some of the very long distances between holes and the extreme mountainous terrain, it would make for a long round, probably over 5 hours, easy. Today, it only took 3.5 hours.

All covid-19 measures in place. Social distancing, no available ball washers, no rakes in sand traps, and no water stations on the course. The greens had the pins in the cups. There was a section of pvc tubing around the bottom of each pin, making it easy to pull the ball out without touching anything but your ball. Like other Ventura county courses, Moorpark does not require the use of masks.

Overall, the course is in fabulous condition. Tee boxes are lush. Fairways are completely lush and green (a delight to hit from). The rough on the course is lush and consistently around 3 inches in length. I was in two bunkers, one greenside and one fairway. Other than some foot prints in the bunkers, they were in great shape with nice soft, plentiful sand. The greens were medium speed early. They became medium fast as the temperature warmed. With the exception of one green, they rolled smoothly and held shots well. There is evidence of the greens being punched within the past several weeks, but it didn't affect the roll at all. The greens are in very good shape. I highly recommend playing here right now. It is in the best shape possible.

Played Soule Park Monday, 4/20/20 with a 9:30am tee time. When I found out that this course would be open on Monday, I thought this would be a great course to break my 60 day, imposed fast from golf. All tee times are prepaid online, and appropriate physical distancing was emphasized with signage. My threesome had no trouble maintaining a good distance between us. The driving range is open. All the pins are in the holes for the entire course. But there is a styrofoam insert that fits around the flagstick inside the cup. It sits about 1 inch below the surface of the cup. This allows the ball to be holed, yet makes it easy to retrieve your ball without touching the cup or pin. We were told to not remove any pins. Everyone complied in my group and it was simple to do. There are no rakes or ball washers on the course. That's about all the pandemic stuff. Now, to the course playing conditions.

I really enjoy the layout and scenery around this course. It is fantastic. Overall, the course is in great shape. The fairways are excellent; very green and lush, with super lies. The rough is quite penal. Most of it is about 3 - 4 inches deep. And when the ball sits down you really have to hack it out. The two bunkers I was in (both greenside) had beautiful, soft sand. The bunkers were a dream to hit from. Most of the tee boxes were in good shape. However, there were a couple that were thin and had spotty coverage. Hole number 4 comes to mind.

Unfortunately, the greens on the course right now are not very good. They are very slow, even downhill putts were slow. Because of the slowness, all the breaks were exaggerated. It was very difficult to pick the right line and speed because of this. To compound the problem, the greens were likely punched and sanded a week or two ago. So the greens were also somewhat bumpy. Even though the greens were in this condition, they were playable, but don't expect to hole too many from distance.

Even with the greens in poor shape at the present time, the course is still very enjoyable to play. I don't think I minded the poor greens because I was just happy to be able to get out and play. Hopefully, once the greens heal from the aeration they will speed up and be smooth. Once that happens, this course will be a must play. Enjoy

Played on Monday, 2/24 early morning. No need to add to the previous, thorough review. But there is one thing I should mention. Many of the greens have been punched with small holes. This did affect line and smoothness (a little bumpy at times) some. It wasn't too bad. But it is noticeable. Also, I want to add that this course is in better shape than any of the L.A. courses in the Sepulveda basin area. I also appreciate the fact that there is no sticky kikuyu grass around the greens to mess with chipping. Makes a big difference.

Played Angeles National on Thursday early afternoon 2/20. I was booked as a single playing with a threesome. But they put the threesome out early, so I was left to play on my own. This made for a long wait on many holes, until I skipped the last two holes on my first 9. Then it opened up.

I have two words to describe the course conditions: FIRM, FAST. The fairways are mostly brown, very hard and thin. They have a lot of run out on low struck shots. The same was true around the greens. Every lie was extremely tight with little to no cushion under your ball. It was very tough chipping around the greens. The greens were FIRM, fast and smooth, but didn't hold approach shots very well. Even high approach shots landing on the green did not make a ball mark.

Tee boxes were a little chewed up, but stick a tee in the ground and you're fine. I was in two greenside bunkers. There was plenty of medium grade sand in them. Fine to hit from. With the very hard pan fairways and green surrounds, this was an unenjoyable round for me. I played at 12:30 and received the twilight rate of $53. I wouldn't pay the rack rate for this course right now.

Enjoyed our round as a foursome here at Simi Hills on Thursday morning (2/13). For some reason it was pretty crowded. Pace of play was between 4.5 and 5.0 hours. Overall, the course is in good playing condition. I really enjoy the layout here. It's challenging but fair. You can score well here if you can keep it in the fairway.

The greens were in fantastic shape. They were firm and on the fast side, and held shots nicely. Downhill putts were very fast. You needed to stay below the hole to have a makeable putt. Tee boxes were in fair shape, with lots of bare spots. But just stick a tee in the ground and you're fine. The fairways are dormant Bermuda. They are quite firm and thin, with lots of roll out. There is just enough cushion under the ball to give mostly good lies.

The rough was very spotty. It was mostly thin or bare with some clumpy areas. From 30 yards off the green, up to the green, it is quite thin with very tight lies. It was a challenge to get a wedge under the ball in many instances. I was in 2 greenside bunkers, and the sand was nearly perfect. Easy to hit from and nicely raked.

I enjoyed my round. In a month or two it should be more lush and very nice to play.

Teed off as a threesome on Monday morning at Encino and completed the round in 4 hours total. Pace of play was just fine. Right now Encino is in full winter condition. The greens and greenside bunkers are in very nice shape, the rest of the course is in poor condition.

Teeboxes have many bare areas and a lot of hardpan - 3/10
Fairways are very thin with many bare spots, and hard with lots of roll - 4/10
Rough is very inconsistent, but mostly sparse grass and hard - 4/10
Greenside bunkers have plenty of good quality sand - 7/10
Greens are medium fast, smooth, firm. Didn't hold approach shots very well - 7/10

Teed off at Tierra Rejada on Wednesday (1/8/20) at 8:32am as a twosome. We finished the round right at 11:30 - just three hours! The pace of play was perfect. After a somewhat chilly morning, it warmed up nicely into the low 60's with little to no wind. Perfect conditions. I will echo Gary's (GDR23) comments about the course. Overall, it is in very nice shape. Only the bunkers are a disappointment.

Teeboxes - 7/10, mostly lush, some were a little shaggy but no problems at all
Fairways - 7/10, nicely green, good lies in the fairway with adequate cushion. Some areas,
especially closer to the greens were tight. But for the winter, they were nicely
maintained.
Rough - 6/10, a little spotty, with some tufts here and there. But not too penal or deep
Bunkers - 3/10, several were full of water and muddy. Mostly the bunkers were dirt with a
tiny bit of sand covering them. They were very hard. I chipped my ball out of them
as if I were in the fairway grass with a tight lie.
Greens - 8/10, greens were semi firm. They rolled very well - medium fast.

Other than the bunkers, the course is a pleasure to play. I do recommend it. I spoke with one of the guys in the pro shop after the round and asked if there are any plans to improve the bunkers. He told me that since 1/1/20 green fees have been increased a mere $1 per round. This money is to be used to address the greenside bunkers later in the year. Once the bunkers are made nice, this will be a must play course.

Got out for a quick round on Thursday morning (1/2/20) at 8:24 as a foursome. We finished in just over 4 hours. Balboa right now is in poor shape, except for the greens. Tee boxes are thin and grass coverage is spotty, at best. Fairways are very thin and hard, with poor lies everywhere. You can find some decent lies, but it's pure luck if you do. You will get plenty of run out on a drive in the fairway. The rough is a mixture of grasses, and not too penal. I was in too many bunkers today. Some of them had very nice soft sand. Others were thin and hard. So little consistency. The greens were, by far, the best part of the course. They were much faster than normal(medium fast to fast) and rolled very smooth and true. Approach shots needed to be landed at the front of the green or just short to keep your ball from running past the hole. Overall, course is in poor condition. The $20 senior walking rate is acceptable. But I wouldn't pay any more than that.

Hadn't played Encino for several months. With heavy winds predicted for the day, I thought I'd get a quick early round in at Encino. Our threesome walked the course in about 4 hours. Encino is a straight forward average municipal course. Fairly wide open with a moderate amount of trees lining the fairways.

Overall, the course is in decent muni shape. The fairways are a mix of good lies and bad. The grass is on the thin side, but decent to hit from generally. I was not in any bunkers, but my playing partners had no issues with them. The greens are in real nice shape. They are very green, smooth, and medium speed. They had minimal unrepaired ball marks for a Monday after a busy weekend.

For a walking senior rate of $20, this is a good deal. If you're looking for a stress free round to work on your game, Encino will fit the bill.

Teed off as a foursome at 10:50am on Thursday, 12/12. Completed the round at 3:15pm. Pace of play was fine, with little-to-no waiting. The course is in good links condition. The fairways are firm and tight, with just enough cushion under the ball to make a good strike. The rough is a mix of grasses. Some areas are a bit thick and others are sparse and clumpy. The areas immediately surrounding the greens are very nice; green, lush and about 1 inch high. Very nice to chip from. The greens ran quite fast, with plenty of slope for a lot of break on many putts. Being above the hole was a real penalty. The greens were very nice. They rolled true and were quite firm. Of the two greenside bunkers I was in, one of them had plenty of firm sand, and the other had much softer sand. Both were fine to hit from. The course is in good shape, and a challenge once you hit the greens.