Out Friday 12/19 with a 12:20 start, joining a twosome and sharing a cart with another single. Something that has become more standard lately rather than issuing you a separate cart. One played the blues (and further) the rest of us the whites. Overall conditions were pretty decent all around for this time of year. Teeing grounds not usually an issue here, so no real complaints. Fairways had some occasional thin or wet patches but overall were well covered. Where there was grass, the rough was usually playable with little or no penalty to it. I was in two bunkers with one on the firm side and damp while the other one was dry but had a little extra depression at the bottom that created a problematic lie. Probably not the case in most of the other bunkers, but some issues in my limited experience. Green surrounds were playable enough, if occasionally on the tighter side. Greens themselves were tight, played firm but took deep pitch marks. Not a pristine surface but played cleaner than it looked. I had a much better than average putting day so they must have been true enough and I enjoyed them. I seemed to have the pace dialed in all day.

Pace of play was slower on the front but seemed better on the back. We probably got around in 4.5 hrs or so, finishing in the dusk but enough light that we were not the last group coming in. I enjoyed it. Recommended.

Played Woodley yesterday 12/4 with a 12:20 start, riding with another single joining a walking twosome. We all played the whites. To the point, the course is in good all around shape, with exceptions. The recent rains have given it some greening up and, fortunately, I saw no remaining indications that that the course resides in a flood basin. Although there can be thinner spots beneath the green on the fairways, they are generally pretty good. Teeing grounds here are always good, bunkers were reasonably clean and no complaints abut the sand. Rough here is rarely an issue and very playable while the greens and complexes were mostly in good playing shape with the greens running a nice medium — mostly. The exceptions are greens 8, 14 and 16 which were all sanded. Not mentioned at the course or in the most recent GK post, we were all a little surprised when we arrived on these greens. They all have at least a little elevation to them so you don't know before you actual arrive at the green. They ran obviously slower than the other greens but were playable. If you aren't too fussy, I wouldn't let it dissuade you from playing here as the overall course and majority of greens are fine. If you are that fussy, I'm not sure why you are at Woodley, but now you know before you go. Give them a week.

The weather was gorgeous and it was a perfect day to be out on the course. The kind of day that makes you grateful you are in SoCal in December. Some breeze came up mid round but didn't last. Pace was very good and we got around in 4.25 hours with plenty of light right before sunset. No regrets.

Never having played Oak Valley and rarely in the area, I drove out on Tuesday, 11/25 to meet a buddy to catch up on life and share a round on his home course — him literally renting in the development. The week after all the rain, it was good timing because things were greened up but not sloppy. Playing the whites, conditions were solid and a step above my normal muni excursions. Teeing grounds were green, clean and while I wouldn't take a level to them, they were consistently level enough. Fairways had consistently green coverage and good lies. The rough was similarly green and on the thick side, more often costing a shot. Missed the bunkers and the grooming appeared average. Green surrounds could be on the heavier side and hitting into the grain could be an ugly result, while the putting surfaces were clean and running at the fast end of medium.

Not a readily walkable course, $60 with cart seemed like a pretty solid deal. It has a good amount of contour with interesting holes and the occasional altitude drop or rise. A few holes required some carry on the tee shots or the second shots, and there could be consequences for getting off line (drop off, water, etc.) but the fairways were a reasonable target width. I think the main challenges tended to be around the green complexes. Frequently they eliminated or minimized the roll up option with bunkers, elevation or an angled alignment to the fairway so airmail was required to reach the putting surface. Bottom line, between the course itself and the nearby snow capped mountains, there was some nice visual interest and more than a reasonable amount of challenge for those of us not blessed with single digit handicap level games. We teed of around 12:40, had a painfully slow group in front of us, skipped them and the tenth hole at the turn and finished on 17 due to failing light. Don't know if/when I will ever be back, but I would welcome it with the bit of course knowledge I gained.

Went out on Thursday 11/13, joining a twosome and another single, they all played blue I chose whites. Working backwards, the greens were in pretty decent shape, ran the quicker side of medium, were pretty clean and took deep pitch marks. Surrounds were mostly good for short game. Bunkers were not particularly smooth but the sand was good enough. The rough here varies but is not usually punitive where there is grass. Teeing grounds generally had good coverage and were reasonably level — no issues there. Saved the fairways for last because they deserve more explanation. A little bit of recent rain has them looking a bit greener and while the majority of the surface is suitably playable with decent lies, there are thin areas throughout to the point you may occasionally bump your ball over to a fairway-worthy lie. The flip side of the rain is that some of the bare or thinly grassed areas were moist and made for sticky ground contact and I hit one. In the same vein, I also noted numerous spots, mostly in rough but on some fairways, where carts went through soft/muddy patches leaving short stretches of deep tire tracks. Inventorying these anomalies aside, I generally enjoyed the predominantly playable fairways. But, know before you go, eh?


Pace was good at just about 4.5 hrs and, with little waiting during the round, it seemed to move well. Overall, it was good enough that I could overlook the deficiencies and enjoy my round. With the volume of precipitation were are currently getting, I am hoping the fairways will bounce back from the summer with improving coverage.

Out Friday 10/31 joining another single for a 12:30 start, playing the whites. The course is in all around good muni shape. Tees and fairways have generally good coverage and offer decent lies. Rough really varies here and immediately fairway adjacent is usually an easy play but dirt/brush/trees are often not far off. Bunkers I encountered were dry, playable and, while not especially smoothly groomed, mosty lacked footprints and signs of abuse. Green surrounds were OK for short game and the greens themselves were pretty clean, resisted pitch marks and ran a good medium pace.

As a muni, it's in solid shape and a viable option for an enjoyable round. Recommended.

This review a little late but short. Out on Friday 10/24 at 1:30, as a single joining an amiable threesome, all playing the silver tees. No issues with teeing grounds, fairways were generally fine, a little on the tight side and some thin patches that were scattered about. Rough is hard to grade because not far off the fairway it can be anything from a dirt patch, to cut down, straw-like grass, to varying degrees of thick green stuff. Bunker sand was slightly heavier grade but clean and in good shape. Green surrounds tended to be a little thicker while the lead-up fairway shots tight. Greens were quick and appropriately challenging. On some holes, even a light touch from above the hole would still leave a 6+ foot come back. Once dialed in, I really enjoyed them.

It was the perfect day for Sandpiper. Sunny, warmish day with minimal wind that died down to nothing by the end of the round. Pace was slow at @4.75 hours but left the 17th green with the setting sun splitting the horizon. Finished 18 at dusk. I'm not here often and it was all I could reasonably ask for.

Made a morning-of tee time for 12:50, Friday 10/10 and went out as one of three singles playing the whites. I've played here more in the last year because it is a go-to for last minute tee times. I'd say the conditions were about what you would expect this time of year. The fairways were mostly decent with coverage, but not without the bare patches you might expect after a long summer and before the rainy season. I wouldn't expect lush here and I was fine with it. The rough had examples of both more lush and more dry areas, but mostly it is not penalizing. I missed any bunkers but my playing partner's limited experience in them indicated firm. The green surrounds were more often greened up and good for chipping. First time in about 25 years I chipped in for birdies twice in a round. Greens were good shape, running at medium pace and minimal pitch marks. The course is very forgiving in its generally flat expansiveness and in that respect lower stress than some. I had a better than average round for me and so came away with few complaints about the course or conditions. Know before you go and I pretty much knew before I went.

As an aside, when reserving my tee time, the site showed only one available, which I took, but when I got there right before my time, they said I'd be playing alone because the threesome didn't show up. Fortunately, by the time they announced me on the first tee a few minute later, they had added couple of names and we went out as a threesome. It turned out to be a good number and the young man and woman were both excellent company. Any inadequacies about the conditions seems incidental and it was one of those rounds where the game and the company came together for a particularly enjoyable round.

Played as a twosome with my buddy on Thursday 9/11 wit a 2:30 start. At his preference, we played the whites but not much distance between them and the blues generally. The clippings that were a major issue for Inkybeme1 in the previous review were gone when we played and the overall conditions were good. One consideration is that a handful of the tee boxes have new sod laid over them and those tees were moved forward of the usual teeing grounds — in the case of the par-5 8th hole, somewhat dramatically. That temp tee also made for a seriously tilted surface that was an exception to the rest. So a course that tops out at 5.600 yds played even shorter overall, with holes 8 and 15 especially so. The majority of the tees were good. Fairway conditions were mostly good and usually no issues if you landed there, but there were some overwatered muddy patches distributed over the course that included some fairway. The rough here varies greatly from playable to thick to encroaching wild that can be dirt and/or thick brush. It's one of the challenges here and reinforces the penalty for getting off line on this target course. I was in a bunker and it was OK. Green surrounds were inconsistent as to lie quality but mostly good for short game. Greens themselves were good. Quick enough but not overly so given the contours of some of the greens.

Bottom line, not having been here in a good while, I enjoyed the course, maybe because I got beat up a little less than usual. But between the sodded/temp tees and wet spots, the course is not playing close to peak conditions right now. Good for casual option, but I suggest monitoring until they have activated the re-sodded tees. They should be a nice improvement over the old teeing surface and it's good to see they are making improvements.

Out Friday 8/29 with a 3:09 start, joined by another single who only played nine and we shared the cart. Overall conditions are good. Tees were green and generally level. There were some inconsistencies as to the appearance of some of the fairways, but the hitting surface was good and pretty consistent as to lies. Rough varied as most do, but mostly just off the fairway it was pretty consistent and thick enough to cost you a shot. I was in a couple of bunkers — the sand was on the soft side and reasonably well groomed. Green surrounds were good for short shots, occasionally on the thicker side. Greens were nice — clean, with a good quick pace but not overly much.

The course tops out at around 6,000 yds for the blues, but plays longer. There are enough long par fours in the mix and some of the shorter par fours play longer because you are hitting down into a valley and then uphill to blind greens. The shortest par four is the 291yd third hole that has something of a crowned fairway and plays skinny. Course was busy and pace was slow at something around 4.75 hours. A twosome caught up and joined me at the 15th tee and we were fortunate to be the last group to finish with enough light to see what we were doing. It's not Sandpiper, but is solid and interesting as a muni experience. Walkable if you are fit and so inclined, but with a couple of serious hills in the mix. If uncertain, err on the side of riding. Recommended.

Impulsively out late Thursday 8/14 joining another single playing the whites with a 4:20 start. It's been a while since I've played here as it is not high in my rotation, but very once in a while I revisit it. In reverse order, the greens were in good shape running a quick medium speed. The rest of the course is a mixed bag and I thought overall playable but a little worse for wear. While more OK than not, there are definitely extensive areas of hard pan and even dirt. The worst case is the first hole with an expanse of packed dirt bisecting the fairway a little more than halfway to the green. It's been there at least since my previous visit, and since it's where concert equipment is set up, it doesn't seem like it is going away. A few holes also have rough that is mulched up for what I assume is going to be some sort of reseeding or something. While playable with more good surface than bad, the general feeling is a little overworked, dry and stressed. More than the usual quota of not so great lies. Teeing grounds are fine and the bunkers were firm with the ball tending to perch on top of the sand.

Negatives aside, I still enjoyed myself because it's golf and I am easy. Also, the course was not crowded and we finished 18 at a 3.25 hour pace, which shocked me. We caught the group in front at the fourth tee and they let us play through, but the rest was just going with the pace. When I grabbed the tee time, I thought I'd be cutting the round short in the dark. I can't remember the last time I played 18 in much under 4.5 hours so it felt like a gift. Know before you go. It's playable but I expect better here as to the conditions. With football imminent and the course doubling as a parking lot for events, I wouldn't expect improvement in the near future. I probably won't check it out again until it has seen some post-football rainy season.

Out Thursday 7/31 with a 1:55 start joining a pair and another single. We picked up another single around the third hole and continued as a five-some with no negative impact. It was a congenial group. The course was overall solid muni conditions. Tees are generally level with coverage and room to move around. I was in at least one tight, dry, patch in a fairway but really they were mostly fine with decent lies. The rough varies but is mostly grass fairway-adjacent, and usually easy to recover from. A little more offline and the tree line will come into play and demand some punch shots. I was in one bunker and while some grooming would have been nice, the sand quality was good. Green surrounds were generally good for short game. The greens themselves were clean with minimal pitch marks, probably running on the slow side of medium. From previous experience, I was expecting a bit quicker and I never really got comfortable with the pace, either leaving putts and chips way short of overcompensating and blowing by. Really my failure to adapt and the greens are in good shape. The practice green was consistent with them, I didn't spend enough time there.

It was warm but not oppressive with a light breeze. Not as hot as I thought it might be, this is a good walking course. I rode but three others walked with no issue. Pace was right around 4.5 hrs. A couple choke points but mostly a steady pace. No one in sight behind us by the 18th which surprised me. Solid muni experience and so far holding up through a summer that really hasn't scorched us yet. Good times.

Out as single joining another single and a twosome for an 11:00 start Thursday 7/24. I rode with the other single and played the whites. Overall very solid muni conditions here. Teeing grounds tend towards generous, level and grass covered. Fairways had good, green coverage, offered nice lies with reasonable rollout. Thin or burnt areas were rare. Rough is mostly green, usually not punitive but with exceptions both thicker and thinner. Missed the bunkers so I can't comment. Green surrounds were good for short shots and the greens were in good shape — generally resistant to pitch marks, clean, and ran the quick end of medium.

Pace was under 4.5 hrs with some waiting, but nothing excessive. With the understanding that its northerly LA City boundary location makes it less convenient for some, I'm still surprised this course doesn't get reviewed more often. It is a solid layout that is usually in good shape with less traffic and more availability than most of its 18-hole sister courses. In its current condition, definitely recommended.