Played Wilson in the rain on Sunday, September 6, teeing off just before 7:00 am. The forecast showed a window with no or little chance of rain for th... » More

Played Wilson in the rain on Sunday, September 6, teeing off just before 7:00 am. The forecast showed a window with no or little chance of rain for the first few hours but it was, sadly, mistaken. There were people hanging around the clubhouse when we started and a 3some in front of my 4some, but we did not see anyone behind us until the last couple of holes. There were people on the courses, though, which surprised me because it rained pretty much the entire round. I have not been that soaked in a while. Shoutout to Cindy, our waitress in the cafe afterwards, who went out with us in the rain to the 18th green at Harding to take photo (a member of our group is moving back east and it was on that site in 1974 that he had his first beer with his grandfather). Her friendly service was above and beyond the call of duty.

Overall, the course was in good shape. It drained better than I expected. There was the start of some ponding at the low point on the 12th green but I did not see that on any other green. The greens rolled great, at a decent speed. The only green that had the problems noted in the last review was the par three 15th. It was pretty bad. Otherwise they were fine. There were some burnt out spots in the fairways but I had good lies in them. In the rough, gopher holes abound. Overall, the course is in good shape.
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Played in the NCGA Senior Series tournament here on Monday, August 31. Cool day, which was appreciated after the heat in the LA area and in the Centra... » More

Played in the NCGA Senior Series tournament here on Monday, August 31. Cool day, which was appreciated after the heat in the LA area and in the Central Valley where we spent the weekend. Shotgun start at 8:30 am, we played in around 4:45 hours. Not great but okay for one of these types of tournaments.

I played with two other guys who had also not played here before. We got lost a couple of times but found our way back so no problem; it just seemed some extra signage would have been helpful. The conditions were good. Generally good lies in the fairways and the rough was lush. The rough was not particularly long but we did have to search for balls at times. My playing partners were in several traps and from their shots, they seemed in good shape. I was in one bunker, right greenside on #13 (our last hole of the day), and there was some but not enough sand on the uphill slope I was on.

The greens were interesting. They were in good shape and were fast. They rolled nicely. There was more slope than I expected especially those where the pin was near the edge. They were also firm. I had a 114 yard shot from the fairway to a front pin with a sand wedge. I had great contact but he ball hit the middle of the green and bounced to the back edge. There was also less check on chips than I expected. I had three three-putt bogeys. A little course knowledge would have helped but I do think the greens were challenging.

The pro shop was open but that was it. Thankfully, we were told beforehand that the restaurant was not open so I had coffee and water with me. As it was, tough to gauge the amenities. I did enjoy the course though and the conditions.
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Played Wednesday, August 12, around 7:30 am, walking from the white tees with grandson #4 and a nice twosome who were riding. Pace of play was nice at... » More

Played Wednesday, August 12, around 7:30 am, walking from the white tees with grandson #4 and a nice twosome who were riding. Pace of play was nice at 3:50. No drink cart on the course or other amenities but the grandson sprinted to the coffeeshop while we were on the 10th tee, so no problem.

The course was in pretty good shape. There were some burned out spots in both the fairway and rough but overall it was lush enough that it was a good walk out there. The sand was nice. The greens are usually the highlight for this course but they were just okay. There were fungus spots on most of them and they were running slower than usual and slower then they looked. They rolled fine, they just were not fast.

I always enjoy Big Rec and yesterday was no exception. It is not perfect but it is a fun golf course.
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Played this morning just before 7:30 am, trying to beat the heat. I walked from the black tees playing as a single. Pace of play was about 4 hours. Th... » More

Played this morning just before 7:30 am, trying to beat the heat. I walked from the black tees playing as a single. Pace of play was about 4 hours. The foursome I ran up against on #5 asked if I wanted to play through but I told them to go ahead as I was fine with the pace. There was a brief delay when one of their players collapsed next to the 17th green but he was able to drive himself back to the clubhouse when he was able to get up. Otherwise a pleasant walk on a nice morning.

The course is in fine shape right now. The greens are really nice. Soft with extra water being put on them because of the heat, the were running fast and true. No excuses on these greens (unfortunately). The rough is cut down but still not easy to deal with. The fairways were beautiful for the most part although there were some burned out areas in both the fairways and the rough. There was not as much run as normal because of the watering. The tee boxes still have some issues with levelness but the grass was lush and really nice for the most part. Far better than I am used to in my LA County courses.

The course is well worth playing if you are in the area. Use your bug spray as I was warned by a patron in the pro shop.
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Played in a NCGA Senior Series tournament on Monday, July 27, teeing off about 9:30 am. We finished in about 4.5 hours, which was better than I expect... » More

Played in a NCGA Senior Series tournament on Monday, July 27, teeing off about 9:30 am. We finished in about 4.5 hours, which was better than I expected and was appreciated considering it was getting pretty hot by the time we finished. Good practice facility. That said, I thought the corner of the practice green they were using was much more sloped than the greens on the course.

I had hoped to pre-play the course with 24hour but I was waitlisted and did not get the call to play until Friday afternoon. So, the round was an adventure. We were playing it from the gold tees at around 5800 yards so we missed much of the trouble on the course. The conditions were very nice. Lush fairways and rough and wild areas outside the rough. Unfortunately, I had trouble with my new driver and found those wild areas more than I would have wished. The sand looked like dirt and played a little heavy but otherwise was okay. The tees were very nice. The greens looked nice and rolled nicely but were slower than expected and did not break as much as I anticipated. They were medium speed.

I really liked the layout and would like to play it sometime from the white or blue tees. If I lived in the area, it would be a regular on my course rotation.
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