Golf Course Reviews
Golf Course Reviews: California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Florida, Hawaii!Played the Championship course at Falcon Crest for the first time since moving to Boise this past February. Had the privilege of playing with fellow GKer Tootall and two other great guys to round out our foursome. I walked the white tees for a rate of $35. The weather was perfect, slight breezes and temps in the low 70's with an overcast sky. A great day at a great golf course!
I cannot say enough good things about this course. It is my new favorite course to play. The conditions are superb, the layout is challenging while being very fair. The fairways are fairly wide open, with the exception of the tee shot on a couple of holes. The course has many elevation changes and requires somewhat accurate tee shot placement to be in a good position to have a direct approach shot. The par 3's on this course are spectacular. The course has water on numerous holes, some come into play, some not. The views on the course are amazing. With a mountain range to your east and another range to your southwest, it's easy to get caught up in the beauty of it all. Due to the many elevation changes, walking the course is a bit strenuous. So be prepared for a workout.
Every aspect of the course is in outstanding condition. Teeboxes were just fine. The fairways are lush and pristine with an average amount of rollout. The rough along side the fairways is also very lush, and about 1.5 to 2.0 inches in length. It was not too penal, but if your ball sunk down a little, it was a challenge to get much distance on your next shot. I was in 1 greenside bunker. It had plenty of medium grade sand; nice to hit from. The greens were in great shape. They were on the fast side, rolled smoothly and held their line. They were, however, on the firm side. So, you would often get a fair amount of roll once you landed on the green.
I was told that this course is going to go private after this year. Therefore, it's my intention to play it again several times this year. If you are in the area, this is a must play. In So Cal this course would likely demand a green fee of $100 +. A walking rate of $35, and riding rate of $52 is a steal.
I cannot say enough good things about this course. It is my new favorite course to play. The conditions are superb, the layout is challenging while being very fair. The fairways are fairly wide open, with the exception of the tee shot on a couple of holes. The course has many elevation changes and requires somewhat accurate tee shot placement to be in a good position to have a direct approach shot. The par 3's on this course are spectacular. The course has water on numerous holes, some come into play, some not. The views on the course are amazing. With a mountain range to your east and another range to your southwest, it's easy to get caught up in the beauty of it all. Due to the many elevation changes, walking the course is a bit strenuous. So be prepared for a workout.
Every aspect of the course is in outstanding condition. Teeboxes were just fine. The fairways are lush and pristine with an average amount of rollout. The rough along side the fairways is also very lush, and about 1.5 to 2.0 inches in length. It was not too penal, but if your ball sunk down a little, it was a challenge to get much distance on your next shot. I was in 1 greenside bunker. It had plenty of medium grade sand; nice to hit from. The greens were in great shape. They were on the fast side, rolled smoothly and held their line. They were, however, on the firm side. So, you would often get a fair amount of roll once you landed on the green.
I was told that this course is going to go private after this year. Therefore, it's my intention to play it again several times this year. If you are in the area, this is a must play. In So Cal this course would likely demand a green fee of $100 +. A walking rate of $35, and riding rate of $52 is a steal.
11 Likes.
With a 10:40am tee time on Monday 11/8, and picture perfect weather, I was in for a great experience. Our group played the Canyon Crest and Ridgeline nines. MPCC is in absolutely excellent condition from tee to green! The only negative about the course - and it is very trivial - is that the grass on the tee boxes was just a little too long. The fairways are very lush and green with decent roll out. Great lies abound anywhere and everywhere in the fairways. What a pleasure to see and play on. The rough along the fairways is not much longer than the turf on the fairways. So, easy to hit from.
I was in two greenside bunkers, and they had plenty of good quality sand. They were easy to hit from. I noticed that several bunkers had been removed from the course, and all of the remaining bunkers appeared to have new, beautiful and abundant sand in them. The greens were medium fast and smooth rolling. They were soft enough to hold good approach shots. I can't remember a time when Moorpark CC was in better condition than right now! This is a must play in my opinion.
I was in two greenside bunkers, and they had plenty of good quality sand. They were easy to hit from. I noticed that several bunkers had been removed from the course, and all of the remaining bunkers appeared to have new, beautiful and abundant sand in them. The greens were medium fast and smooth rolling. They were soft enough to hold good approach shots. I can't remember a time when Moorpark CC was in better condition than right now! This is a must play in my opinion.
I walked Woodley Lakes on Monday, October 18, 2021. This golf course is in POOR condition. Tee boxes are beat up and hard. The fairways are mostly dirt and extremely thin grass, with the occasional somewhat decent lie in the fairway. Many of the holes on the back 9 have had the fairways punched and cut up. If you were in any of those many areas, you would need to place your ball somewhere else. The rough is like the fairway, only sometimes it was in better condition! I was in one greenside bunker. It had very firm and heavy, damp sand. The greens were painfully slow. You had to hit your putts with significant force to get them to the hole. This removes most of the break from every putt. The greens were very soft. Approach shots landed, causes a huge ball mark, and stuck. The greens were also somewhat bumpy. I had at least two putts that were tracking into the cup only to bounce one way or the other and just miss the hole. I will not be going back to Woodley any time soon. I do not recommend playing here.
Walked Simi Hills as a foursome on Thursday, 10/7 mid morning. Overall Simi is in average condition. I really enjoy the layout. It provides a variety of holes, along with some challenging shots. The last time I played here (several months ago), the conditions were excellent. It is not like that now. Winter conditions are starting to set in. The tee boxes were a mix of good and bad. Some were chewed up and hard to stick a tee into the ground, and others were fine. The fairways are a mix of grasses. It looks a bit like a random patchwork quilt. I'd say half of the fairway landing spots are nice and lush, and half are either thin or bare. The rough has some deep grasses that are a little punitive to get out of, and some bare and thin areas as well. I was in two greenside bunkers. Both had adequate firm brown sand; easy to hit from. The greens were medium fast. They were mostly smooth, with a few bumps here and there. And they were soft; holding shots like darts. I enjoyed my round. I hope the conditions don't continue to deteriorate. It's quite playable right now. But is close to being in only fair condition.
Had a 10:10am tee time today (9/29/21) at Los Robles. Our 4 foursome rarely waited on a hole. We finished in just under 4 hours. Perfect weather, with little to no wind. The course is in Very Good shape. The only negative is that numerous tee boxes were chewed up and hard. But it didn't really affect our play much. The fairways are lush and green, with good roll out. The rough is thin and not penal, unless you were in one of the many wood chip areas. I was in two greenside bunkers. They were excellent, with plenty of medium grade sand. Although the greens had been sanded somewhat recently, they putted very nicely. They were smooth and medium speed, becoming more medium fast later in the day. They were also soft and held approach shots well. The course is good to play right now.
Teed off at Hansen as a foursome at 8:40am on Monday, 9/27/21. Finished in 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was a decent pace of play, with only minimal waiting. Overall, HD is in good shape. The fairways are mostly green and lush, with a few thin areas here and there. The rough is a mix of semi-thick and sparse rough. The thicker lies could be a bit of a challenge to hit from. The other lies were usually benign. Tee boxes were good on some holes and very chewed up on others. But, there was no problem getting a tee in the ground. I was in two fairway bunkers, and they had adequate, firm sand. I was not in any greenside bunkers so I can't speak to their condition. The greens were mostly smooth and medium speed. We ran into some occasional bumpiness, but nothing too bad. I do recommend the course for play.
Walked the whites today (9/22) at Rustic as a threesome, teeing off at 9:40am. We finished in exactly 4 hours, with little to no waiting on the group ahead. The pace of play was excellent. It was a warm day in the low 90's by afternoon. But there was often a nice breeze to keep things a little cooler. Overall, Rustic is in Very Good condition!
The tee boxes are lush. The fairways are lush, with only a spattering of thin or bare areas. I always had a great lie in the fairway - nice cushion under your ball. The fairways were a bit softer than is typical for Rustic. Consequently, there was less run out on the fairways than usual. The rough nearest the fairways is 1-3 inches in length and appropriately penal, not too bad. I was in one greenside bunker. It had plenty of firm sand, and was easy to hit from. The greens have still not fully recovered from being punched a few weeks ago. They were definitely slower than typical Rustic conditions. We all had numerous putts that were left short due to the slower green speeds. They were also just a little bumpy from time to time. But this was the exception. The primary challenge with the greens is getting used to the slowish speed. On the positive side, the greens were much more accepting of approach shots, enabling you to get closer to the hole, instead of these shots running well past the hole. That was a plus. I thoroughly enjoyed my round today. The course is in great shape and will only get better with each passing day.
The tee boxes are lush. The fairways are lush, with only a spattering of thin or bare areas. I always had a great lie in the fairway - nice cushion under your ball. The fairways were a bit softer than is typical for Rustic. Consequently, there was less run out on the fairways than usual. The rough nearest the fairways is 1-3 inches in length and appropriately penal, not too bad. I was in one greenside bunker. It had plenty of firm sand, and was easy to hit from. The greens have still not fully recovered from being punched a few weeks ago. They were definitely slower than typical Rustic conditions. We all had numerous putts that were left short due to the slower green speeds. They were also just a little bumpy from time to time. But this was the exception. The primary challenge with the greens is getting used to the slowish speed. On the positive side, the greens were much more accepting of approach shots, enabling you to get closer to the hole, instead of these shots running well past the hole. That was a plus. I thoroughly enjoyed my round today. The course is in great shape and will only get better with each passing day.
Played Woodley today as a single with another threesome. I Walked the white tees. There is nothing remarkable about this course. It is a straight ahead muni with typical so-so conditions. Tees were fine. The fairways have a mix of grasses. About 1/3 of the fairway lies are pretty lush, 1/3 are somewhat thin but OK coverage, and 1/3 bare dirt areas. Fortunately, I found a lot of good lies in the fairways today. The bunkers I was in (2) were in poor shape; wet, crusty and poorly, if at all, raked. The greens today were medium slow and bumpy. It was difficult to make a lot of putts due to this. Uphill putts had to be "hammered" to get to the hole. Not a fan of the greens today. You can still see the holes on the greens where they were punched a while ago. For the $20 senior walking rate it was decent. But I probably won't be back anytime soon. I played Balboa golf course last week, and it was in much better condition than Woodley.
Walked the white tees at Balboa today at 7:00am. Our foursome never waited on any hole. We finished in 3.45 hours; very nice pace of play. Overall, Balboa is in nice condition. Tees are fine. The fairways are mostly lush, with some bare of thin areas. I never had anything but a very good lie when in the fairway. The rough ranged from very lush and about 3 inches in length to thin and spotty. But mostly it was in good shape. The rough around the greens is that sticky kikuyu grass. It was thick and lush and very grabby. The bunkers on the course are in very poor shape. The fairway bunkers and greenside bunkers are similar. They are crusty and wet, with a lot debris and weeds growing in them. They were inconsistent and a challenge to hit a good shot out of them. The greens were mostly in good shape. Although they were a little bumpy here and there, they were medium speed and soft. They held shots well and mostly rolled well. I do recommend playing this course right now. For the price, it's a good deal.
Had the privilege to play Olivas Links Thursday, 8/19. Our foursome teed off at 10:00am and finished our round at 2:15pm. We had great weather: 70 degrees with a slight wind most of the day. This is one of my favorite courses in So. Cal. Today, it didn't disappoint.
Everything from tee to green is in excellent condition. Some of the best fairways I've played anytime this year; lush and even with a decent amount of roll out. The two bunkers I was in had plenty of firm sand, nice to hit from. The green surrounds were near perfect, making chipping a delight. The greens were very receptive to good shots. They rolled medium to medium/fast and were smooth and consistent from green to green.
I highly recommend playing Olivas at this time. It has a great variety of holes, perfect summer weather and playing conditions that can't be beat.
Everything from tee to green is in excellent condition. Some of the best fairways I've played anytime this year; lush and even with a decent amount of roll out. The two bunkers I was in had plenty of firm sand, nice to hit from. The green surrounds were near perfect, making chipping a delight. The greens were very receptive to good shots. They rolled medium to medium/fast and were smooth and consistent from green to green.
I highly recommend playing Olivas at this time. It has a great variety of holes, perfect summer weather and playing conditions that can't be beat.
Walked the blue tees at Los Robles on Thursday, July 1, with a morning tee time. The course had a relatively full tee sheet. But the pace of play was very nice at just over 4 hours. We only waited a little on the first couple of holes. Never, after that.
LR is in fine shape right now. The fairways are pretty green and mostly lush with good roll out. I always had a good lie in the fairway. The rough along the fairways, for the most part, was barely different in length than the fairway grass. Easy to hit from. Tee boxes were mixed. Some were nice and others were a little hard and unlevel. But nothing too bad.
The two greenside bunkers I visited had substantial brown, heavy sand in them.; not difficult to get out of. The greens were in great shape. They rolled true, medium fast, and held approach shots pretty well. This is an enjoyable course in very good condition. I do recommend playing it right now.
LR is in fine shape right now. The fairways are pretty green and mostly lush with good roll out. I always had a good lie in the fairway. The rough along the fairways, for the most part, was barely different in length than the fairway grass. Easy to hit from. Tee boxes were mixed. Some were nice and others were a little hard and unlevel. But nothing too bad.
The two greenside bunkers I visited had substantial brown, heavy sand in them.; not difficult to get out of. The greens were in great shape. They rolled true, medium fast, and held approach shots pretty well. This is an enjoyable course in very good condition. I do recommend playing it right now.
I had the privilege to play Soule Park today (6/24/21) with a morning tee time. I love this place. It is in excellent condition, especially compared to most other public golf courses. The fairways are mostly lush and nicely green: abundant wonderful lies everywhere. They would also provide good roll out on most drives. I wasn't in any bunkers, but the sand appeared to be in great shape on every hole. The greens here can be quite challenging. They have many undulations, with plentiful breaks. Being on the right side of the hole is critical if you want to score well. Many of the greens are elevated. So running the ball up on the green is not always possible. You have to fly it on. The greens were running very smoothly at medium fast speeds. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the course. It is a gem.
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