First time out to this spectacular golf resort. 7:40 tee time, paired up with a great family of three. This place is totally worth all of 204$ fee. The tee boxes are in great shape, the fairways were some of the best I have ever played, and the rough was cut perfectly. The greens had a lot of old holes in the same area, and that is about the only knock I can say about Desert Willow. I could not believe how many people where here on a Monday in early April, this place was slammed. Everyone was great, and the service you get is incredible. Great range, putting and chipping green, We never waited, and the crew was on a lot of the holes watering, mowing, and fixing things. Put this on the bucket list.

4/4/26

7:00AM Tee off, hit the first shot 8 minutes early. Almost no one was there. We never waited and finished just under 4hrs. A stunning day, warm and windy, as clear as I can ever remember. Very surprised by how plush this place has become. Is it what it was before the storm? Not yet, however only holes 2 and 8 have new locations of greens, they call them temporary but it does not appear that there is much work being done on where the old greens where for those holes were located. Warning the GPS systems have not been updated quite yet and that did cause one distance mistake on my part. The greens were in very good shape for being punched a few weeks ago, the sand was awesome today. Tee boxes in great shape, fairways overall were good, maybe a couple patches getting some work done.

I could not believe how wide open this course was for a Saturday morning. I will be back, and you should too.

1/31/26

Made it out this morning with the early risers. 6:30AM and we walked El Cariso in just under 4 hrs, with no push from the group in carts behind us. Apparently this course is under new management and it showed. The greens are ideal right now, which you probably can't believe, but trust me they rolled pure and had some legit quickness to them. The tee boxes are in good shape, maybe a little uneven in spots, and the rough is well maintained. The sand needs to be replaced, but my one bunker shot was in some soft playable mix of dirt and sand.

So, you can read a lot about this course and much of it is negative, and it would turn you away. I believe this course is on the right track and will continue to improve. Its a solid executive layout, and with the greens being the way they were today, and the ability to play fast, I will be back.

12/29/25

A red flag day! Showed up to the GK Las Posas event, and was paired with JohnnyGK, Mark_6m, and Mpisarski01. We started on hole 17, and learned that this wind was gong to make things incredibly tough. In sections this course can be tight, and with the wind any hope we had of scoring a "best round" was quickly diminished. Yet we had a great time, everyone in the group had a birdie, and 3 of us won the closest to the pin contest on the par threes. Speaking of par 3's, what happened on hole 9 was nothing short of incredible. JohnnyGK, our founder, captain, and team leader, thinned a 3-hybrid through a bunker and into the hole, for his first ever hole-in-one. After years of watching the Ace cam videos on social media, he finally did it, and we got it on film. A huge congrats to JohnnyGK, that memory will last with me forever, and I have no doubt it will be one of your crowning achievements in the many that you have earned and worked for with this great game. I am truly honored to be in the group that witnessed the GK Ace cam finally hit. Knowing how much this means to Johnny, I nearly shed tears celebrating with him, what a moment!

Las Posas is a great private club with so much to offer. The course is a fun layout with elevation, perfectly placed bunkers, and some tough greens. The views make this course what it is, and today with the wind howling from the Santa Ana's the ocean was visible for miles, and the green rolling hills looked immaculate. I highly recommend playing here if you get the chance. The staff is great, and they put a lot of effort into making the course/facility special. I also heard the breakfast burrito is one of the best golf has to offer.

Made it out 9/24/25 to the SCGA Del Mar outing. Spectacular day at a remarkable place. This is one of the finest overall golf experiences one can have. The moment we arrived a few guys picked up our bags and took them straight to the carts. We were able to walk around the locker room and clubhouse, both of which are covered in trophies and plaques recognizing the USMC as the Del Mar CC has deep ties to the organization, and may still run tournaments to support our troops. Everything is as nice as you could imagine, super clean, and incredibly quite. The pro shop guys were friendly, and the cart lady was a real pro. The practice green and facility is top notch, everything seems new. We were handed options of box lunches as we took to the first tee in a new cart, that was adorned with gator skin style seats and GPS. All that being said, the true star of the show is the course. Each hole is carefully designed with unique challenges and Del Mar has a lot of them. Elevation, perfectly maintained and placed bunkers, some long holes, and water. There is very little room for error here and almost every hole is its own unique look. You almost never can "hit it from the other fairway" if you know what I mean. Trying to figure our way around this place on our first time was challenging. The greens rolled pure, they were not as fast as they could be mostly due to the amount of rain over the prior few days. The traps are some of the nicest I have ever played at and tee boxes were perfect. Was it worth the price? 100%. The experience was one I will never forget. This is the place that if you ever get a chance to play or spend time at, you should. A bucket list type of private experience that probably won't be available often, unless you know someone, have a ton of dough, or sign-up with a group than can get out there. Would play here again in a heartbeat.

6/25/25- Last round in Orlando, a slight delay in the review as it was a wild trip home including lost clubs and bags, thank you Southwest.

I was able to get out and take a drive to Orange County National and play the Panther Lake course. Tee time 7:10AM, hot, humid, and gators on the course. Orange County National is one of the largest golf facilities I have ever been to. The clubhouse is the size of a grocery store, the range can hold at least 100+ people when fully operational, and multiple large putting greens around the property. This place hosts a multitude of events including LIV tournaments and national level junior tournaments. The Crooked Cat course was under a full makeover, so I played the Panther Lake course, which is across the street.

What a course! We started off playing the back 9 first today, as there was some maintenance being done on the 9th fairway in the morning. Played the Green tees which registers at 71.2/132. The challenge was real but also fair. The course has some bunkers in tough spots, very deceiving greens, some water holes, and of course the fear of seeing a gator or two... I saw 1. Everything was great, GPS carts, water and ice on the carts, clean restrooms, a free lunch card for the turn, and a cart lady who found us at least 3 times. As the course goes, the tee boxes, fairways, and bunkers were about as good as you can ask for during this time of the year in central Florida. The greens were slightly sanded and that made it hard to read the breaks at times. Never caught the group ahead of us, and never even saw the group behind us. They run a tight ship here, the marshall's and starter's do not mess around. I spoke with the starter for a long time, this guy was like a drill sergeant. The Marshall watched a few holes we played, and he was nice as I was joking with him

If you ever make it out to this area, I would highly recommend coming to Orange County National. Even if just to practice, this is place.

Shingle Creek 6/20/25- On a family trip to Orlando I decided to bring the sticks and make the most of my time when not at the parks. Staying close to Shingle Creek I decided this was a good price point course. Cost was just over $100 for a Friday 7:50AM Tee time. The Shingle Creek Resort and golf facility is very well done. The practice facility is top notch. Boasting a massive range, and large practice green. On the backside of the range there is a full training facility. A few restrooms located strategically throughout the course, with restocked jugs of water at each one. The bathrooms on course were well kept and clean, the stop at the turn boasted a bar and grill style with a good menu. The carts are really nice and new, have all the updated GPS systems, with speakers and comfortable seats, also a drop down cover for the rain.

The course itself, is a challenging resort course and I played from the Gold Tees (130 slope).
The greens had been punched about 2 weeks ago and still had not fully gotten back to a flat surface, I struggled getting my ball to stay on line. The fairways, bunkers, and tee boxes were very well taken care of. I saw no dead spots on the course, and no gators. Water comes into play on about 9 holes, and I managed to be near or in that water on all 9 of those holes.

I would recommend this place to not only stay but also to play.

Made it up to Santa Maria for the Vivid Golf/GK Outing.... Thank you Mr. GK, this was a real treat. Not only was the weather ideal the traffic was not bad at all. Santa Maria CC is a sneaky private course that really should be on your bucket list. The course is not particularly long, just under 6500 yards from the tips. It looks open but provides many challenges throughout. The sand is new, the rough was cut but lets be honest it was still sticky and tough. If these keepers wanted to they could make this course really a lot more challenging. The putting greens are in excellent condition as are the tee boxes. The greens are Poa Annua and if you don't putt a lot on those, it can provide an extra challenge.

As I always do I snuck around the clubhouse and pro shop. The locker room was great but parts where being renovated. Their was a restaurant that looked good and a good sized bar that had both indoor and outdoor seating. The pro-shop was small, but had some good items on sale. I got the sense that if you lived up this way and where interested in joining a private club, this would definitely be on the list. If Moose/GK run it back, you should go, I really would like another crack at this place.

Made it out to the Ledges yesterday... what a course. While just a little bit of a drive from the main downtown area, Ledges offers some spectacular scenery, especially on the back nine. Everyone who works there is friendly, and the on-course restrooms are the cleanest I have seen on a public course. Free range balls, a really good practice facility with multiple practice greens, and carts with GPS. The price point is better than that of other nearby courses, and its much easier to get a time.
The course right now is in great condition even though its starting to dry out and heat up. The tee boxes are perfect, the fairway and rough are in excellent shape as well. The Sand is a little heavier than some courses, but still well maintained. The only flaw I could mention is that a few of the greens were dealing with some heat related spotting and dryness, none of which effected the play. The greens rolled true and picked up speed as the temperature increased.
This course needs to be on the list when you head out to St. George.

Made it out to Ojai Valley Inn for the first time today. Tee time was at 7:20, rode as a single and had pretty much the entire course to myself, finished in under 3 hrs. I caught the twosome ahead of me on hole 16. This place is a really fun and exciting experience, and I cannot wait to go back. As of right now the course is healing from the rains and from the recently punched greens. I would say they are about 80% back to normal but still need some time to be perfect. The water caused some flooding and at times I was in the mud, particularly on hole 13. The rest of the course is in phenomenal shape, a few tee boxes were being worked on but not the ones I was playing from. Just about every hole I saw a maintenance worker, 1 month from now this place is going to absolutely perfect.

For those who have never played it. The Ojai Valley Inn GC is a true turn back in history. Built in 1923, this course and facility turned into an army training ground during WWII. It returned to golf after the war and ever since has attracted families and golfers alike who are looking for a special experience. Much like a meal at a classic old restaurant, this classic golf experience should be on everyones bucket list. It is a par 70, 6292 yard but feels much larger as you often don't see the other holes. The views are stunning at times, especially the "lost holes". There are some long par 3's and some short par 5's. The carts have GPS and are brand new. The practice facility is very nice and a large putting green with undulation and several holes. If I were staying here I would spend some serious time practicing on the range. Yes this course is a resort course, and it feels that way, as you really do struggle to find your way to the actual course.

Got out to Rhodes Ranch yesterday. What a treat this course is. Fun layout for sure. I had this on my list of courses I wanted to try when I go to Vegas. Haven't been playing as much lately, but looking to turn it up the rest of this year. I accidentally booked this course for the wrong date and I got charged. I called the pro shop and got a hold of the manager who told me take your pick of dates and times and come on out we would love to have you. I was very impressed by this. I bought a hat and talked to the guys in the pro shop for a while, really fun group.

Rhodes Ranch is a 6151 yard Par 71 that weaves through a deep housing complex that also serves as a private for those who live there. The practice facility is rather large and has a good size practice green. The course is challenging but enticing. Drivable par 4s, long par 3's, the par 5's are long, and some very unique traps. The greens were tough to read with the wind but fair. The fairways were perfect and the sand needed a little love. Overall, for what you can potentially pay for out in Vegas, this is a gem. A little slow for a Friday morning but totally worth it. It is not close to the strip however a brand new casino opened up a mile away and it seems really nice. Looking to not break the bank and have fun, this is it.

Made it out yesterday for the Greenskeeper/Facebook collaboration at the legendary Soule Park golf course. A huge thank you to Mr. Gk and Matt for organizing this event. Please continue to offer these events, this was a great round at a fun course for a complete steal of a price.... Not to mention you get to golf with great company. I was blessed to be paired with Wendy, Matias, and Rob. Highly recommend anyone who uses this site to sign up for the next event. Always a blast.

On to the course.... Soule Park is always a treat to play. The course is visually stunning with scenic mountain views at every turn. Yesterday, the greens were quick and got faster as the heat went up. A few things about the greens here is they will roll true and are very well maintained. The fairways, bunkers, and rough are always great here. The only blemish I had was a few holes the tee boxes had been moved and I think it was hole 10 where it was not level. Some work is being done on the course as it looks like they are fixing a few cart paths. For anyone who is thinking about coming to Soule Park I would I highly recommend this course as it is the best deal anywhere in Southern California. Don't believe it? Go look up how incredibly cheap this course is their website. As of right now you can get on during the week for $30 and on the weekend for under$50. I would bet that you have paid a lot more for a lot worse...I know I have.