Played in group 1A of Saturday’s awesome Vivid Golf X GK outing here with mpisarski01, Dan from SCGC, and Ryan. Super fun group! Beautiful day with a high temperature around 102 but there was a nice breeze much of the day to offset the heat somewhat. Pace was decent for an event at a little under five hours.

I hadn’t played here since December 2021. In all honesty, at that time conditions had taken a noticeable step down from the exceptionally high standards Rams Hill set for itself when it reopened in 2015, and I sorta figured it would still stay nice, but not topnotch like it was all the previous times I’d played it. I’m happy to say that assumption was wrong, because even in mid September conditions were excellent yesterday. White tee boxes were great, fairways were fantastic, rough was thick, lush, and penal, despite being only maybe 2-3 inches deep, bunkers were all great. The greens were smooth, medium speed and accepting of full shots. I was very impressed. The only minor complaint I can think of is that many of the on-course lakes smelled bad for some reason.

Free tacos and snow cones at the Ram Shack are a great touch, and the cookie at the end of the round was great. Club employees were all great. All in all, a fantastic day and I hope Johnny is able to schedule another event at Rams Hill soon.

Played in group 1B of Monday’s Vivid Golf X GK outing at Dove Canyon, Johnny’s 100th event since starting to run these in 2021! Congratulations Johnny!

As usual, the event was run beautifully and a lot of fun. Dove Canyon is handling the summer heat well, but precautions are being taken. Namely, the greens are slower than typical to avoid burnout. They ran mostly smooth with medium to medium-slow speed. For how much water is being put on them, they surprisingly weren’t super soft. I’d say medium firmness/acceptance on approach shots. Fairways had good coverage with a few GUR areas. Rough was a little more penal with some thin areas here and there but nothing too deep. Blue tee boxes were mostly great, although I felt one or two sloped slightly toward the front of the box. I was in a lot of bunkers and they were all very nice.

The real revelation during this round was the Paloma Dog at Jack’s Den. Johnny had tried this a couple events ago and raved about it, and now I see why. If a bacon-wrapped hot dog and cheesy, gooey quesadilla had a baby, this is it. Wow, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten at a golf course!

Had a great time with sparky14, Johnny, and Bryan. Definitely recommended anytime you can access this course. Oh yeah, pace of play was amazing for these events… we finished in less than 4:20 from the time we teed off!

Great day today in group 1B of the Golf Moose / Vivid Golf / GK outing here with JohnnyGK, sparky14, and Brian. Pace was fantastic for these events at just under 4:30. Cloud cover until the last couple holes kept the temperature cooler than expected, but then also much more humid than typical for the area.

Conditions are excellent! Greens were smooth, medium-fast to fast, quite soft and accepting of full shots. I suspect they’re putting lots of water on the course because the fairways are very lush and both the greens and roughs were somewhat wet/muddy underneath the grass. Fairways are the best I’ve ever seen them here – fantastic coverage, uniform cushion, consistent to play from – and I rated them a 9. Rough is a couple inches longer but not too thick nor penal. Blue tee boxes were mostly great, if I had to nitpick maybe a couple could use some leveling. I was in two bunkers and they were perfect.

Kudos to the club for having the course in such great shape and thanks to Johnny, Golf Moose, and Vivid Golf for organizing these events!

Played here on Monday in group 1B of the Golf Moose / Vivid Golf / GK event. Great times with Johnny, Ron, and Steve. Seemed like a large contingent of people from the Southern California Golf Community FB group were in attendance, who all brought a great energy. Overall it feels like five years in, Johnny’s Golf Moose events have fostered a joyous, grateful community of their own – much like GK has – and it’s really nice to see so many familiar faces at each outing! POP was pretty good for an event like this at just under 5 hours. Enjoyed a tasty hot dog special at the turn that included chips, a soda, and a banana.

Course conditions were very nice! Greens were smooth, medium-fast, and accepting of full shots. Fairways and rough were both very healthy with the fairways providing great lies and the rough potentially presenting difficulties in some spots, and sitting up in others. Black tee boxes were fantastic. I was in one bunker and it was very good – a thin crusty layer on top of a soft sand base.

I had played here once about two years ago. The course begins with two straightforward holes somewhat out of character with the rest of the design. Overall, I much prefer the back nine to the front. Holes 10-14 are excellent, with 14 being my favorite on the course. Nice facilities with the range and large practice green all conveniently located right outside the clubhouse. Beautiful weather, great people, and a fun day on the course! Thank you Johnny for organizing these events, and thanks to Alta Vista for hosting for their first time.

I got the opportunity to join Johnny, Ron, and Steve for the front nine out here at Monday’s Golf Moose + Vivid Golf outing. A cloudy morning gave way to beautiful skies right before the 10 a.m. shotgun, and the weather was gorgeous. Fun times as always with these guys! I helped run the pre-round putting contest where four people won free Vivid polos by draining a really tough, slick putt that broke about 15 feet right to left.

Conditions are quite good. Greens were smooth, medium-fast, and accepting of full shots. The 8th green always seems a little lesser condition than the rest out here, but not a huge deal. Fairways were really nice and provided great lies. Rough has great coverage just a couple inches deep, not too penal. Blue tee boxes were in good condition. The bunkers were fantastic, especially those greenside that were full of soft sand; fairway bunkers were a little wet and more compacted, I’m sure by design.

As much as I love the back nine here, it was difficult to leave at the turn, but I had an obligation. Can’t wait ’til next time!

Played in group 1B of Monday’s Golf Moose/GK/Vivid Golf event here with Johnny, Ron, and Richie. Great to meet Richie and always fun with Ron and John. Chilly early morning temps turned into perfect golf weather, probably low 70s and a little breeze (although the hazy cloud cover didn’t make for the best picture-taking). POP good for these events at a little under 5 hours, despite the entire course being Cart Path Only.

Conditions are very nice! These greens are sneaky FAST! The 5th hole pin placement was in a spot toward the back of the green where if you were above the hole and missed the putt long, you literally rolled all the way off the front of the green. Believe me, I learned the hard way. ;-) When putts started breaking, they really kept sliding, so you had to read a lot of break. Interestingly, the slope on the greens is more subtle rather than featuring big undulations. They were medium firmness and rolled very smooth. Seemed like our participants did a good job of fixing ball marks because I saw very few. Fairways had been freshly cut in the morning and still provided just the right amount of cushion under the ball; great coverage all around. The rough wasn’t deep but was a bit grabby in some spots, putting a premium on hitting the fairway. Blue tee boxes were mostly good. All the bunkers I was in had really nice, soft sand in great condition.

This was my first time here and going in, I severely underestimated the quality of this course. I really enjoyed it a lot! There’s a lot more ground movement and elevation changes than I expected. It’s quite attractive, too, tucked in-between hills in Calabasas. The course is not long but it’s not easy, either. It would be a really fun course to play when you’re playing well with a hot putter, because tee to green is not too difficult but the greens provide a stout defense. I played terribly almost all day and really hope to get another chance to play here. Huge thanks to Golf Moose/Johnny for setting up and running such great events.

Played in group 1A of the Golf Moose / Vivid Golf / GK event here on Monday with mpisarski, stickboy, and John. Great to catch up with stickboy and fun times all around! Pace was typical for these events at about 5:00. Gorgeous day with only a slight wind.

Conditions are quite good. Greens were smooth, medium speed, and medium firmness. Full shots seemed to take a bounce before stopping, and you had to really get some good spin on shorter shots to get them to check quickly. Blue tee boxes were all nice; no issues. The fairways were really good – great coverage and just the right amount of cushion under the ball. Rough was mostly light, two-inch-deep bermuda but could get penal when the ball sank down in it. The two bunkers I was in were solid with plentiful sand.

I’ve lived within a couple miles of this course for the last 17 years but hadn’t played it since before the private club was established in 2008. Much of the back nine is routed across the hillsides, providing great views of Saddleback Mountain and the entire Saddleback Valley. The greens have some good contours and could get really challenging with faster speeds. Great day all around!

Played in group 1B of Monday’s GK/GolfMoose/Vivid Golf event with Johnny, Ron, and Mark M. What a treat to get access to this newly-redesigned and rebranded course, especially the Vista nine just a couple days after it reopened! We played the Vista/Canyon combo. Pace was quite slow at about 5:15, although we got a gorgeous day with temps that almost felt like summer. Huge thanks to Johnny for setting up such an amazing outing!

Conditions are very nice and vary slightly from the Vista nine to the Canyon nine. Because Vista just reopened, the greens are nearly pristine. They are very smooth, quite firm, and running medium-slow speed. The tricky part is that they were cut short and looked like they’d be quite fast, so we all struggled getting the ball to the hole throughout our front nine. The greens on Canyon were a little faster, but still slower than they looked like they’d be. I’m sure they’ll gain speed as they mature. Fairways were mostly great, maybe a tad long in a few areas. The fairway-adjacent rough is 2- to 3-inch deep bermuda and the ball often settled down, putting a premium on hitting the fairways. The rough around the greens and bunkers was a different grass – dark green, deep, gnarly rough that was beautiful to look at but you definitely want to avoid. Tee boxes are now labeled I, II, III, and IV. We played I and they were good. Many were very hard and sometimes it took some effort to get a tee in the ground. Bunkers were all full of new sand and very nice, although tough to get a feel for. On more than one occasion, I failed to escape in one shot.

Having played Braemar once prior to the redesign by Lanny Wadkins, I feel the new Mulholland Hills achieves a more open, natural feel as opposed to the extremely tight corridors I recall from Braemar. Most of the redesign maintained the existing routing, although a handful of holes play in a new order and some have seen significant changes in length and/or par. Other noteworthy changes include the addition of really interesting contours on the all-new greens and trendy bunkering featuring raggedy edges. The greens were really fun to putt and will be even more fun when they’re running a little faster. Oh, and I almost didn’t mention the aesthetic addition of exposed rock walls on several holes, including behind the green on Vista 1, Vista 3, Vista 4, Canyon 1, and along the fairway of Canyon hole 3. It’s a very cool look!

Hopefully Mulholland Hills joins a few other clubs with recurring Golf Moose events, because it’s a really fun and difficult course. I just ran through every hole in my head and can honestly say there’s not one boring hole on the course (Vista/Canyon, anyway).

Amenities-wise, I never made it into the pro shop, but the beverage cart came around several times and there are multiple on-course restrooms with ice/water stations at most of them. All employees encountered were very friendly, welcoming, and helpful.

Accepted a gracious invite from dconnally to play nine holes here this afternoon along with TomHooter. We played Course 1, which fittingly begins right below the clubhouse next to the practice putting green. Our time wasn’t until 3:24 but we teed off maybe 8-10 minutes early. Despite waiting on the group in front of us pretty much all afternoon, pace was pretty good and we finished nine in about two hours flat, with just enough sunlight. There was no one behind us, but maybe one or two more groups could’ve finished if there had been.

Conditions are very nice! White tee boxes were all great, no issues. Fairways had uniform coverage of healthy green turf, providing nice lies. The rough also has good coverage and is 2-3 inches in most areas but deeper in a few rare spots. I was in a couple bunkers and they were in good condition with more sand than it felt like there was, if that makes sense. The greens were mostly smooth, medium to medium-fast speed, and very accepting of well-struck shots. As you might expect so late in the day, there were quite a few unfixed ball marks, but nothing terrible.

Course 1 is the longest of the three nines and is comprised of three par 3s, three par 4s, and three par 5s. From the white tees, the par 3s could use more variety in distance, but otherwise no complaints. The par 4s and 5s on this nine are very nice with a good mix of elevation changes and doglegs. I liked it quite a bit! Great times with David and Tom! Thank you for the invitation, David.

Played in group 1B of yesterday’s Golf Moose + GK outing presented by Vivid Golf with JohnnyGK, rgm2525, and Brian. We caught an absolutely ideal weather day with perfect temps, a little breeze, and gorgeous clear skies, which made it feel extra special to play this beautiful private course. POP was typical for these outings at 5 hours.

Conditions are very nice, highlighted by excellent, fast greens. They ran smooth and were more firm than soft. They accepted full shots well but it was difficult to get shorter shots to check. I would’ve liked to see fewer ball marks on the greens that were clearly from fellow participants in the outing – if we don’t take great care of these courses, they’re not as likely to invite us back. The overseeded, vivid green fairways were quite lush and maybe could’ve used a tighter mow; they didn’t provide much run-out on drives. The rough wasn’t deep but definitely made things more challenging than hitting from the fairways. White-sand bunkers were all quite good, even if my sand game wasn’t. Blue tee boxes were mostly great.

This is a really fun, challenging course with some beautiful holes set in what appears to be an amazing, active community. It feels special being out there. Highly recommended if you get a chance to play it.

Played here Monday in the Golf Moose/Vivid Golf outing run by Johnny. I was in group 1B with Johnny, Ron, and 1PLUS1, starting around 10:15 and finishing just under 5 hours later with no waiting all day but no one pressing us either. Excellent weather with extremely clear skies and very little wind until the last couple holes. As usual, food at Jack’s Den is tasty and well priced.

Conditions are mostly good to great with some great areas and other areas in need of some TLC. Fairways are probably the highlight, cut short with good coverage but sufficient cushion under the ball. Rough was in good condition and a little deeper than the fairways, putting a premium on keeping drives in play. White tee boxes were mostly good, although some seemed to have erratic mowing patterns – half of the ninth tee box (between the markers) was much longer grass than the other half. Bunkers were good but seemed a little wet, possibly still holding moisture from last week’s extremely heavy rainfall. Greens were mostly great – smooth, medium-fast, and accepting of full shots – although there are some dry/bare spots on a few greens that could use some attention.

The more times I play here, the more I really love the course, especially 7-18. We all had a great time. Thanks to Dove Canyon for being willing to open their doors to Golf Moose, and thanks to Vivid Golf for the great sponsorship. I helped run the putting contest and it was cool to see six people win a free polo by draining a really tough putt. If you ever get a chance to play Dove Canyon, seize it!

Played here yesterday in the first group off (8:30) of the GK Plays event with mpisarski01, Adam, and Kevin. Good times! We waited on the group in front of us all day, but POP wasn’t bad at just under 4 and a half hours.

Conditions are quite good for late September, highlighted by really nice fairways that provided good lies all day (although one of my drives did find a dry/bare spot). Greens are smooth, late-summer slow, and accept full shots well. Sometimes desert greens get a little furry in summer, but these were cut short and looked great, seeming like they’d roll much faster than they did. As a result, I had a hard time judging the speed on many greens. The rough had mostly great coverage and was a little longer than the fairways, but not very penal, except some areas far off line where taller grasses grow. (I found one such area left of 5.) Bunkers were nice; no issues to mention. Blue/white combo tees were all good. The starter mentioned they arrived Sunday morning to a mole hole appearing on the second green, but it didn’t affect me at all and I even forgot to go see how severe it was.

Great to see the return of GK Plays! I felt like Johnny was really in his element during the raffle and it seemed like old times – great to visit with some longtime GKers and meet new ones. I got some great prizes and had a super fun day.

Note: My rating reflects the late summer conditions, less than two weeks before they close for maintenance. I know the course will be much more lush and greens will roll faster post-overseed.