Made a day trip out to Sandpiper. Have taken over 5 Central Coast golf trips, but have never played Sandpiper. Course is great shape. The greens were a little crusty, but fast and firm at 10/11 on imaginery stimp. Downhillers were scary. POP was 5 hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Fairways well maintained and bunkers has plenty of sand. The rough is super penal here. If your crooked off the tee, you will have a hard time finding the ball. We had rough up to our knees at one point. Layout was very unique with some quirky holes around the ocean - Hole 12. However, there were some very memorable ocean holes including 6, 10, 11. Hole 18 is a par 3.

Customer service was good in the well stocked pro shop and the snack shop had plenty of well priced goodies. This might be controversial, but I rather play Sandpiper all day long over Torrey Pines South or North. Better layout, way.....better customer service....better ocean views...clean bathrooms. BTW...Underpar has all you can play deal right now...go take advantage of it!

Played yesterday afternoon at 1 pm. POP was 5 hrs. Greens were had minor maintenance done recently but ran decent pace at 10. Lots of hazards off the tee box including lots of native over grown grass. Also, front nine had funky sewer smell. Fairways is nice shape and sand traps were fine. Tee boxes and aprons were nicely maintained. They have a serious cart shortage problem here. Not as bad as Rio Hondo last year but get ready to wait for carts off 18. They need a new fleet. Enjoyed my day playing windy links golf.

Played Whittier Narrows yesterday at 9:30 am and was pleasantly surprised with conditions.

Given all the courses punching greens, I went to my 4th option on my list in San Gabriel Valley.

Course has lots of seniors playing because of discount LA County card. The two gentlemen we played with were beginners but very pleasant and keep up with POP. We finished in 4 hrs 15 minutes.

Looks like several homeless encampments that line the East end of the course on a couple of holes on the front 9. Just keep an eye on your belongings.

The greens were pretty nice here, smooth and running fairly quick at 9.5. Fairways had plenty of coverage, but rough was brutally long and grown out. It use to be super hard to lose a ball here, but I lost a few just because I couldn't find it in the long rough. Tee boxes were unlevel, but sand traps were well maintained. Bathrooms look to have been recently upgraded. Course has a lot of bumps like Marshall Canyon which makes for a suspension shock in your golf cart and your body. Starter was pleasant and snack shop had lots of good food options. Course plays very long from the blue tees so choose your tees wisely. Will not wait 5 years to return.

Played on 3/6/2024 at 11:30 am with my brother otonitoni.

If you could play a bucket list exclusive golf course, could you really put a price tag on it?

Well, Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas is that kind of course. You probably heard stories; but they are all true. From the second the limo picks you up ( in our case, straight from the airport), the experience is first class.

After entering through an unmarked gate, you enter a Tom Fazio masterpiece that Steve Wynn spent over $60 million to build in 1989. Obviously, there are a lot of influences from Augusta National. There is not a rock or piece of grass out of place here. We were lucky enough to be one of 9 tee times all day. Our included fore caddy knew the course really well. He did all the things a great fore caddy would do and more including unpacking our clubs from our travel bag, picked up all the stray grass from our pitch marks and basically kept the course in pristine condition.

We were greeted by the assistant pro and our forecaddy when our limo dropped us off at the main entrance. After a tour of the clubhouse, we were given huge lockers to unpack our stuff. Large trays of candy and snacks were made available to us - all complimentary. The restaurant was good sized and had a nice outdoor patio overlooking the 18th green and Steve Wynn's old residence.

The practice area was first class with Taylormade TP5X practice balls and a separate short game area with cherry blossoms in route.

The course conditions were immaculate. Greens were firm and fast and scary at 13 on the stimp. Each hole has amazing shot value. I particularly loved the unique par 3's on this course. Carts were well stocked with Gatorade and bottled water and ice chest. If you needed anything, they brought it right out to you. Sand was perfectly raked and fluffy. Fairways were perfect and aprons were perfect. We were never rushed and barely saw a group all day. POP was 4:30 as we took our time to take pictures and enjoy everything.

Every employee we encountered here had so much pride of ownership. Our casino host joined us for a drink after the round and he said the course does not make any money; instead, they want to just provide a jaw dropping golf experience to it's patrons.

If you get a chance to play this place, it is worth every penny. I uploaded some pictures of the par 3’s.

Made our annual trek out to Palm Desert to play golf as a 8 some (2 groups) on Friday 1/26 and SAT 1/27.

Course 2 of 2 was Mission Hills North - Gary Player Course. This was our 1st time trying out this course. Clubhouse was well stocked and the staff was very patient and welcoming. Make sure to download their app for $5 off and 10% off items in the proshop. Shoutout to Adam, the head pro for making our group feel especially welcomed. The course was busy and the staff was very attentive. Cart guys came out to our cars to pick us up and helped clean our clubs and help us after the round. The snack shop was well stocked with well priced food. I wish they would of opened later as our group would of loved to give them the business after we finished at 2:15 pm. POP was 4 hours and 20 minutes.

The course conditions contrasted nicely from Classic Club the day before. Overseeded rye and the dormant bermuda made the holes look super tight. Lots of humps and bumps and native grass created intrigue with the course layout. Get ready to test out your short game around the greens. Very good mix of unique par 3s and some diabolic par 5's. Greens were running around 10 and the overseeded fairways were immaculate. If there was one weak spot, it was some sand traps we were in that lacked some sand. Native grass and hazards aplenty everywhere. Need to drive the ball well here to score. Also, lots of water hazards all over so keep an eye on your balls. We enjoyed our time here and would definitely put it on the list to return soon! Please do put this on your list to try on your next Palm Desert outing.

Made our annual trek out to Palm Desert to play golf as a 8 some (2 groups) on Friday 1/26 and SAT 1/27.

Course 1 of 2 was Classic Club. We came last year, and my friends were such in awe of this course, we had to come back.

The facilities are 1st class here at Classic Club. From the bag drop to the cart staging area to all interactions with the staff, the experience really feels special. Greens fees included a $25 lunch voucher with very reasonable priced food and a very cool golf towel. The carts had brand new cushions and well stocked with ice and water and GPS. Not too many annoying ads which is always welcomed. There was plenty of ice and water on the course. The post round drinks at the beautiful upstairs patio was awesome. Delicious food and well priced drinks. The staff was also very accommodating.

We made it a point to come here early to enjoy their world class practice facility. Keep in mind there was additional practice facilities on the other side of the range.

Conditions were superb and combine that with little or no wind even though Santa Ana's were in the forecast. Greens were running smooth at 11 on my imaginery stimpmeter. The course was very lush. Looks like they overseeded everything, so no yellow and green contrast. The sand traps were well maintained and the rough was not too penal off the tee. Tee boxes and faireways were immaculate. Cart service came around several times, and there is a wonderful snack shop after hole 7. Pace of Play was 4 hours.

Post round, the cart area guys were attentive and very friendly. Our group was very happy to come to Classic Club again and will spread the word here and amongst our network of golf friends. Well done Classic Club!

Snagged a last minute cancellation at Navy Destroyer yesterday at 10:39 am.

POP was 4.20 minutes with minor waits on each hole. Most of the time, they will let you out earlier than your tee time because they always have cancellations from active or off duty folks who book times and never show up. Course is very good shape. Greens running at 10, smooth and scary on downhillers. Fairways had great coverage for winter and rough was not very penal unless you are super crooked like me. Sand traps has medium coverage of sand and tee boxes were level and well maintained. Snack shack was well stocked and well priced. 19th hole was busy and plenty of good priced food. Proshop was well stocked and offered club regripping services. Civilians rates have gone up to north of $75 to ride, but still a great alternative to the Long Beach courses if you can ever snag a tee time.

Will return soon!

Had a buddy that never played Desert golf, so we planned a overnight trip a few months back. This was course 2 of 2.

Never played Escena before, but because of overseeding schedule, gave it a try. Booked SAT 11/4 morning tee time at 11:16 am on their app. Arrived early to enjoy a nice brunch in their redesigned retro patio. The indoor space is almost complete. All the staff was super pleasant and working hard. Very cool vistas of the local mountains and a free aerial show from gliders and planes from the nearby airport. The food was excellent and portions were great.

The wind was down today, which seems to be a deterrent from past GK reviews. The course reopened from overseeding on 10/27 with no cart path restrictions. Everything was green and greener!

The greens were running medium speed at 10.5. They had some imperfection spots but ran pretty true. The fairways were immaculate. The rough was juicy and very penal. Lots of hazards come into play including water and desert waste areas. There is 5 par 5's on this course, which is unique and welcomed. The par 4 were very challenging and had some deceptively long approach shots.

The fairways were very wide and the greens were huge. Carts had basic amenities and there was water stations every 3rd hole. Cart services came by several times and they set up a limited BBQ after hole 9.

The proshop ladies were very pleasant and everything was pre-paid. The post round cart guys were excellent and we added this to our list for future play.

For the price, this is not a top tier course like the PGA West or La Quinta courses, but you get a lot more bang for your buck here. Would recommend a return or 1st time visit to fellow golfers.

Had a buddy that never played Desert golf, so we planned a overnight trip a few months back. This was course 1 of 2.

Booking tee times in the Palm Spring area because of the overseeding schedule is like playing jenga this time of the year, especially if you want to avoid the dreaded cart path only restrictions after the clubs reopen.

A blessing in disguised as it opened our menu of playable courses in the area.

Keep in mind, Desert Willows does not have cart path restrictions after overseeding.

Our 1st course was Desert Willows - Mountain View, which because of Greenskeeper.org knew that they were not overseeding until after we played on Friday, 11/3 at 12:55 pm. Always great to patron a well run facility by a long time GK supporter. The patio was closed for a private event at 2 pm. Announcements were made regarding that and the need to order goodies before last call at 2 pm. All the staff interacted with was excellent including the proshop guys, the cart coordinator Billy, and Larry, the starter who is always a friendly ambassador. Keep in mind the course was going to close a couple days after we played for overseeding so conditions were understandable brown. We were made aware of that during our welcome e-mail from Ryan Szydlowski, the assistant pro. Ryan was out and about roaming the grounds and working hard as usual! I wanted to say hello and thank him for supporting our community, because he seemed really busy, so I respectfully let the man do his thing.
If you are reading, thank you Ryan!

Greens were running medium speed at 10. The fairways had great coverage and had plenty of afternoon roll. The traps and tee boxes were well maintained. As usually, conditions were superb as we come to expect from Desert Willows. POP was 4 hours 5 minutes. Post round, cart guys were great. We look forward to a return soon.

I had another friend send his parents to play Desert Golf for the first time last week, and I had no hesitation recommending Desert Willows. They played FireCliff and was completely blown away.

Good luck to GKer's playing the FireCliff course next month. The place should be looking spectacular!

Played Rec 18 yesterday morning with some buddies.

Check in was excellent. Rosie is always a pleasure to deal with. They had a bowl of Halloween candy for patrons.

Sadly, the course is in rough shape. The greens were punched earlier this month, but coverage was spotty and bumpy and running at 8. The course was soaked; mud everywhere. Fairways had decent coverage, but they were punching them so it was a muddy mess. Tee boxes need work and sand traps were average. POP was 4.15 minutes. Lots of locals roaming the grounds on early tee times. Will return in the summer and when other courses are overseeding, but course is just average shape right now.

Had the pleasure to play this Gem in the middle of Costa Mesa yesterday.

It is hard to imagine such a unique layout in Orange County. Instantly, this course's layout is vaulted to the top of the private country clubs list in Orange County over Shady Canyon, Big Canyon, and Newport, Aliso Viejo, and Coto de Casa. The clubhouse is dated, but the course has tons of history.

The course is links style, reminded me of Pinehurst #2. Others mentioned Wilshire Country Club. From the starter / front entrance, you see great views of the entire course. Greens were firm and brutally quick at a 12.5! YIKES!!! These were easily the fastest greens I putted on all year which includes many epic rounds. My previous fastest greens all year was Links at Spanish Bay running at 11.5. The greens were diabolic. They were getting ready for their Member/Member this week. I normally putt decent, but I was sadly humbled by these greens. I even had several 4 putts and even a 5 putt. Our host said he has played August National several times and said those greens are even more terrifying than here. The fairways, greens and tee boxes were pristine. Lots of hazards everywhere in waste areas with tricky lies like Pinehurst #2. If you do not drive the ball straight here, you can easily lose your ball in the native hazard rough and sand.

The carts surprisingly had no divot mixes for a country club and the sand traps were probably a 8/10. Great mix of holes and some downright scary Par 3's, where you land the ball 30 yards short on a 160 yard hole and your ball will be 20 yards behind the green.

The turn had pristine cutted and washed fruit cups and plenty of free snacks. After the round, there was a free salad buffet with free chili and minestrone soup. I got a margarita and it was easily 50% tequila. Cheers! All employees were friendly. I truly felt like a member for the day. If you ever get a chance to play this, do it. You won't regret it.

The highlight of my day was making a birdie on Hole #1. My game took a dive off the deep end after that. I managed a few spectacular par's....at the end I loved the carnage...

Rare Monday off to play golf, but friend had a tee time and I had a light day of work.

They are overseeding the tee boxes, so everything is moved up. Greens were good as they usually are here despite heavy volume of play. They were running at 9, remember the Rose Bowl break. Fairways had good coverage and sand traps had average amounts of muni sand. Rough was very spotty and they are doing construction on some of the holes on the back nine so lots of tractors and construction fences. Customer service was good and beverage cart roamed around but never came by to our cart. Happy Hour available now 3 pm to 6 pm Monday to Friday for your post round shenanigan's. Pro shop was well stocked and had a bunch of new TravisMathew swag. POP was 4.20 which was excellent for Brookside. Will return again since they do not do 5 somes still, which is a great idea!