Played here today in group 1A of the Vivid Golf/Golf Moose/GK private club outing. Great times with David and Tom! My daughter rode along as a non-playing spectator, too, which was super fun. Beautiful day with hot temperatures and very little wind. POP was pretty standard for these events at around 5:00. Food from "Jack's Den" snack bar was very good and affordably priced for a high-end private club. The representative from the club who gave instructions was extremely welcoming and seemed like he was really happy to be able to host the group today, which is nice. Four holes in addition to the par 3s were CPO.

Conditions are quite good. The greens rolled smooth, medium-fast, and accepted full shots very well. They are tricky to read and some have significant slope to contend with, making putting fun. Downhillers could get sneaky fast. (Despite me saying the greens were smooth, both David and Tom had some bumpy putts.) Fairways were mostly very nice, light green bermuda with occasional brown spots here and there. Balls sat up well and the fairways provided nice lies all day. At least one hole (5, maybe others) had GUR areas staked off in the fairway. The rough seemed to be a mix of bermuda and kikuyu; not too deep but it looked like some balls could settle down in, especially in the bermuda. Blue tees were all very nice, level, and well maintained. I think I was in four bunkers and they were mostly good. In one, my ball settled into a poorly raked area that was not quite a footprint but definitely an indentation lower than the rest of the bunker.

I had played here once or twice previously many years ago but really didn't remember much except for a few holes. I really loved it today. The back nine is definitely a step up from the front. The front is good but more residential, while the back explores more natural terrain and brings in more elevation changes. (Still some houses on some holes, though.) The par-3 17th may be one of the "Most Downhill" holes I've ever played... would love to know the elevation change from tee to green. For the inexperienced, the routing seems confusing and signage is a little lacking, but I guess the only people who really need directions are unaccompanied non-members. (Hole numbers on the "Map" feature on the GPS would be helpful. Currently only the hole diagrams are there with no numbers to indicate which hole is which.) GPS was nice with yardage to the pin and the ability to order food.

Overall, an excellent day and highly recommended. Here's hoping they hold another event here soon.

Played here today with a 2:06 tee time using a free round included in my JC Golf Anytime Players Club membership. Booked late in the day in hopes of allowing the marine layer to lift and the course to provide great ocean views, but the cloud cover over the ocean remained pretty strong all day. Looking inland was all blue sky, but not over the ocean. Perfect temps for golf and a really nice day otherwise. Paired with three other singles and I brought my daughter as a spectator for a $15 fee. Started pretty much right on time and we had to wait on nearly every shot, but overall POP wasn't too bad at around 4:45.

Conditions are decent and seem improved since Jay's May 10 review. The biggest problem today was an abundance of ball marks on nearly every green. I had at least one putt knocked offline by an imperfection on the green, and many other greens required repair and/or tapping down spots on my path to the hole. Overall, greens are semi-bumpy, medium speed, and accepting of full shots. They were also a bit inconsistent. Some seemed in better shape than others, and at least one had some visual evidence of recent aeration. The fairways were pretty good; no complaints. Rough was good except for some bare spots here and there – not very deep nor penal, just a little fluffier than the fairways. Blue tee boxes were good. Bunkers were inconsistent; one I was in was thin and another was fantastic.

This was my first time here. It was the lone JC Golf course (other than the short ones and Cathedral Canyon) that I hadn't ever played. Without a JC membership, tee times can be tough to come by. I enjoyed the course but wasn't wowed by it. One cool feature is a free miniature golf course adjacent to the practice putting green. My daughter and I played a quick round (I think it's six holes) before I started warming up for my round. All staff we encountered were friendly.

Played in group 1A of today's GK/Vivid Golf sponsored outing here, paired with Steve, Ken, and Kendrick. Great times! We had short waits on almost every hole but overall POP wasn't bad for these events at just about 4:45. Hot day in Murrieta but about half the time we benefited from a nice breeze, which also factored into play. Water jugs every few holes but the one on 16 tee was empty by the time we reached it.

Conditions are great! Greens are smooth, medium firmness, and medium-fast. Fairways were very nice; great coverage and good lies all day. Rough was also in good condition and most of it wasn't too deep nor penal, just a little fluffier. Blue tee boxes were all very nice. Sand traps were excellent and some of the best sand I can recall playing in recent memory.

This was my first time here. It's a great course with more elevation changes than I expected. Also, the whole course, facility, and Bear Creek community as a whole are much nicer than I anticipated. Beautiful homes bordering the course but there's typically plenty of width to not feel like the houses encroach on the design at all. The green of the par-3 8th is quite severe with a big swale that captured three of our shots. Overall, it's an excellent course that would be a lot of fun to play regularly. Definitely recommended.

Played here today in group 1A of the Golf Moose/Greenskeeper outing. Great group with Jeff, Gus, and another Mark. Thanks guys for the fun day. Started right on time and POP was great with minimal waits all day. Morning cloud cover gave way to sunny skies around the 5th hole and brought a little wind along. Great temps and a gorgeous day the rest of the round.

Conditions are really nice. Greens were slick, smooth, and accepted full shots well. They were quite fast and many had significant slope, making them fun and interesting to putt. I think we all had some downhillers get away from us. I loved the fairways, which seemed to be really healthy, dense-packed kikuyu that was well maintained, leaving the ball sitting right up on top of a rather firm but forgiving cushion underneath. Rough was 3-4 inches deep and sometimes made it difficult to make a clean strike. Fairways are mostly narrow, too, so there's definitely a premium on hitting the fairways. Blue tee boxes were 17 for 18, with one tee box on the back in need of leveling. All the bunkers I was in were good and I had a nice bunker play day.

This was my first time playing here. The course is pretty engaging with lots of elevation changes, doglegs, and attractive visuals. The par-3 second is considered their signature hole, a short shot over a lake to a green surrounded by waterfalls on both the right and left edges. I wasn't a huge fan of the par-5 12th, which takes a severe left-hand turn and requires about a 230-yard tee shot, taking driver out of many players' hands. With the quick greens and lots of elevation changes, the course never gets boring or feels like you're playing the same hole twice. I'd love to return again sometime! Thanks Johnny for setting up such great outings.

Played here today in group 1A of the GK/Golf Moose outing with David and Tom. Cloudy front nine but the sun broke through somewhat on the back. Event was well organized and pace was decent, just a bit over four and a half hours. Nice GPS on the carts. Instead of a driving range, they have a big netted area with about six hitting mats where you can hit shots maybe 40-50 yards into the netting. The practice green near the staging area got pretty busy but there's another one between the clubhouse and the 18th green.

Conditions are quite good. Greens ran smoothly despite numerous ball marks on many greens. They are sorta sneaky quick with a little extra run out than you expect. Overall, they were medium fast and medium firmness, accepting full shots very well but a little trickier to control the ball from around the green. Fairways had good coverage and were cut tight. Rough also had good coverage and wasn't too deep and most times my ball sat up top, but if it did sink down in a bit, it presented a challenge. White tee boxes were mostly nice, some maybe a little crowned. Most of the bunkers I was in were good but one was pretty firm.

This was my first time playing here. This isn't a course that will "wow" you but it's solid and definitely played tougher than it looks. I found the back nine to have more character than the front nine. My biggest complaint about this course would have to be the noise level from the nearby freeway – almost feels like you can't hear yourself think sometimes. I scored quite poorly and would like another shot at this place sometime.

Walked on out here today around 5:45 instead of sitting in traffic back to OC after the GK/GolfMoose outing at Oaks Club of Valencia. The course was surprisingly not very busy at all and I was able to play alone and finished in about 90 minutes, even taking my time to take lots of pictures. Glad I was able to cross this one off the list without the 2.5-hour nine it's known for.

Conditions are pretty good. Greens are nearly healed from aeration and rolled medium speed. Early evening is a tough time to judge poa annua greens because they weren't very smooth nor pure. They were probably around medium firmness. Fairways and rough had decent coverage. Many tee boxes were closed, making already-short holes play shorter than the card yardage. They were also pretty beat up but at least you can tee it up. I wasn't in any bunkers.

First time here. I've wanted to play it for a while but it's not really worth making the trip just to play here, so catching it on the way home today was perfect. Only $11 to walk. Definitely a fun little course with some nice views of the Griffith Observatory and a few glimpses of Downtown LA. (I'm sure this will never happen, but cutting down some of the large trees around the perimeter of this course would open up some phenomenal views of downtown and be absolutely stunning.)

Played here today in group 1A of the GolfMoose/GK private club outing. Great times with kviser, mpisarski01 and fastfish433. Picture-perfect day with light breezes, nothing too severe. Started a few minutes after 10:00 and finished a little over 5 hours later. Golf staff was all really nice.

Conditions are excellent! Greens were smooth, medium fast (they announced between 11 & 11.5, stimp) and a little more firm than soft. Full, well-struck shots took a small bounce typically before stopping. Fairways were lush and excellent, as was the rough – I rated each a 9. Rough wasn't too penal unless you got in the deep grasses farther offline. Tee boxes were lush with no divots, but I don't think they were mowed today, so some were a bit long. If they'd been shorter, they'd be fantastic. I wasn't in any bunkers but the rest of the group said they were pretty good.

This was my first time playing the course. Aesthetics-wise, it's quite attractive and very hilly. There are maybe more uphill holes/shots on this course than any other I can remember. Design-wise, it's mostly solid except for two (maybe three, even) of the four par 5s are weird, bad holes – especially the atrocious 15th, which makes no sense to me at all. (After a blind tee shot, if you don't go for the green in two, the only options are laying back to around 160 yards out with about 10 yards of rise to the green or 100 yards to the green but with about 40 yards of rise straight uphill.) The par 3s at 4, 9, and 16 are all very attractive, fun holes. I got some Sherwood Country Club vibes from the gorgeous par-4 10th.

Great day on a really fun course. I'd love to play here again. (And if you're comparing Valencia privates, I'd choose this place all day over VCC across the freeway.)

Played here today (Friday, 4/19) with my friends Michael and Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG) who got access through a friend of his. The course was quite busy but pace was no issue. At one point we offered to let the members behind us play through but they said 'twas all good. Total POP probably around 4:00. Front nine was very hot temperatures that cooled considerably thanks to a nice breeze for most of the second nine. The course has some nice amenities, like chilled fruit and water bottles available in the staging area, and then each nine has a drink station with typical water/ice AND also lemonade and iced tea. Nice touch. I had an amazingly delicious chicken quesadilla from the restaurant before we started. Very friendly and helpful staff throughout.

Conditions are outstanding! Visually, some greens showed tiny remnants of a 95% healed aeration, but it didn't seem to affect the roll at all. They were medium to medium-fast speed, very smooth, and accepted full shots well. The only minor critique is that they might be more fun and more challenging if they were a little faster. Fairways, rough, and tee boxes (all the grass, basically) was exceptionally lush and well maintained. Fairways were great to hit from and so was the rough, actually. It was maybe 2-3 inches deep but not very penal. Blue tee boxes were great. I was in a couple bunkers and they could've used a bit more care and/or sand.

This was my first time here. I really liked it a lot. It's got quite a few water hazards, some interesting desertscapes that come into play, it's extremely playable with wide fairways, and it's very beautiful in many spots. Definitely lives up to its name with great views on many holes of the nearby mountains, although it never gets close to the mountains like a SilverRock or La Quinta Resort does. The par-5 7th was a standout hole, almost a reverse question-mark shape leading to the green with an attractive desert area if your approach comes up short. The 18th is also very scenic with water all around the green and tons of flowers between the green and the clubhouse. Todd and I captured lots of photos and video, so look for them on IG in the coming days if you're interested.

Great course that flies under the radar a bit. Highly recommended if you ever get an invite.

Played here today with a 2:15 start time, thanks to an invitation from my friend Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG). Course very was busy but we started right on time and pace was good, finishing in a little under 4 hours, despite minor waits on most tees. We were a foursome behind a twosome.

Conditions are quite good. Greens seem like they were aerated maybe 3-4 weeks ago, still impacting putts a little bit with wobbles and a very thin sanding on top. Another week or two and they should be all healed. Despite the aeration, they got pretty fast on downhillers and I think we all ran putts significantly past the hole a few times. I loved these fairways; they're in very nice shape with plenty of cushion underneath the ball and providing great lies. The rough was maybe 2-3 inches deep, in good condition, and not too penal. White tee boxes were all really nice. For the bunkers, some holes have tan sand and some have what looks like brand new bright white sand. Both are well maintained but not quite as soft and fluffy as they look – an inch or two of sand on top of a firmer base.

This was my first time ever playing here. The front nine is pretty basic and straightforward, then some character starts to shine through on the back nine. Five par 3s and five par 5s. I loved the downhill par-3 14th, protected on the right side by a small lake/pond. The par-4 13th was also fun with a significant drop from the tee box to the fairway. Course looked great in the afternoon sunlight. I was stoked to finally get a chance to play here!

I did something stupid last week. I was browsing "Deal" times on TeeOff.com and spotted a great $43 rate on a Hidden Valley single for today. Hidden Valley rarely offers "Deal" times for singles, typically restricting them to 2-4 players. I hadn't played there for a long time, and I had $30 in GolfNow rewards expiring soon, so I quickly booked the time. Then as soon as I booked it, it hit me – "Oh no, I didn't check GK!"

Sure enough, they had just aerated a day or two earlier. D'oh! At least it would be about 10 days after the aeration. I considered canceling, but I wasn't sure if I'd get my rewards back, so I just rolled with it. (And ironically, I putted great with only 28 putts. Maybe I should start using GK to find recently aerated courses to play. ;-))

Anyway, onto today. Tee time was 12:30 but for some reason the starter had me down for 12:40. Paired with two nice singles and one guy's wife rode with him but didn't play. Beautiful day but sorta hazy. POP was decent at just a few minutes more than 4:30.

Conditions-wise, things are quite good other than the greens. Driving in, the course looked gorgeous. Fairways and rough are very green and lush, although once you get on top of things, there are some problem spots here and there. To the course's credit, they've done a good job of marking areas as GUR. The greens were slow and bumpy but like I said earlier, they didn't give me many problems. They still need a couple weeks before getting partway back to normal. (The greens on the course were thankfully much better than the practice green, where putts practically had rooster tails of sand flying up.) Many bunkers look all dried out but the one I was in was acceptable. Blue tee boxes were fine.

I hadn't played here since 2016 and I have no idea why I've waited so long. It's such a fun, exciting layout and almost every hole is beautiful and interesting. I can't recommend it right now but give the greens a couple more weeks to heal, and then it's highly recommended.

(FYI for ratings purposes, I gave the greens a 5.)

Played here today in group 1B of the 11:00 Golf Moose + GK outing. Absolutely gorgeous day! It didn't feel like we waited all that much but POP was almost 5 hours, but understandable because the entire front nine was CPO as well as one hole on the back.

Conditions are quite good. Greens are mostly smooth, fast, and more firm than soft, although full shots still stopped quickly. The collars look like dirt from afar but they were actually mostly dormant bermuda that rolled very fast and firm. Fairways were green and in good condition, providing nice lies all day. The rough was also in good condition and wasn't too deep except for behind the 18th green. Green tee boxes were good. I think the only bunkers I was in were fairway bunkers and they were nice with not too soft or deep of sand. Some areas were still a bit wet/muddy from all the recent rains, causing the CPO.

This was my first time here. This course keeps you engaged with lots of elevation changes. Very few parallel holes, and OB/penalty areas come into play on many holes. It reminded me most of Coyote Hills but also had shades of Pelican Hill on some of the holes with wider fairways. (The back-to-back par 5s on the back nine come to mind.) Very nice clubhouse with stellar views of the surrounding rolling hills, and a few holes offer views all the way out to the ocean. Very fun course and a great day!

Played here today in the GK/Golf Moose outing in group 1A with Mark, Marc, and Gary. (Easiest playing partner names to remember ever for Gary today – three Marks!) Pace was good and despite some rain on the last few holes, it was just a bit over 4.5 hours.

Conditions are pretty good for a course that doesn't overseed in winter, but not quite as nice as last July's outing. Greens are very nice, smooth, medium-fast, and quite firm, although full shots and chips with lots of spin would still bite. Fairways are dormant bermuda with green colorant, providing mostly good lies for full shots but tight lies for chips short of the greens. Rough is dormant bermuda a couple inches deep, not too penal and sometimes almost preferred to the tight lies of the fairways. Blue tee boxes were all nice. Bunkers were fantastic and I had my best bunker playing round in years using Johnny's demo set of Vivid wedges. (Gotta get me one of those 56s.)

Dreary skies never really let the course come to life visually today, but we still had a good time. Thanks Johnny and Golf Moose for these awesome opportunities to play some very nice courses!