Played here yesterday with my son. We had a 1:54 tee time. The course has all the COVID-19 precautions in place and really has a good system. Only tho... » More

Played here yesterday with my son. We had a 1:54 tee time. The course has all the COVID-19 precautions in place and really has a good system. Only those with a reservation can enter the front gate. Contactless check-in and payment with the clerk indoors and a desk in the doorway preventing customers from entering. All singles unless two members of the same household want to play together. (Twosome maximum.) No carts, walking only. No touching the pin. Cups are adjusted so they are very shallow and the ball just sort of wedges between the pin and the edge of the cup. No rakes in bunkers. We teed off a few minutes early and pace of play was slow, which was then compounded when a single jumped in between us and the group in front of us on the 5th hole, and he was talking on his cell phone non-stop (or pretending to) and ignoring everyone around. Pace improved on the back as some people were just playing 9. Overall POP was 3:20.

The course is in quite good condition. Greens are far and away the highlight. They are smooth, a little more firm than soft and medium speed. Nos. 6 & 12 seemed a little different than the rest (12 was just re-built, I believe). Fairways are really great in spots and not so hot in others. Rough also varies from hole to hole. There are various types of grasses throughout the course as well. I was in one or two bunkers and they were good. Tee boxes were the low point, pretty clumpy and many were very hard and difficult to get a tee in the ground.

It felt great to get out of the house, enjoy the fresh air, play golf and support the course and its employees. Thanks to the staff for implementing practices that make it feel safe to play.
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Played here Sunday afternoon, 3/15 after I played the Tournament course in the morning. Played the first 4-5 holes quickly by myself but then caught a... » More

Played here Sunday afternoon, 3/15 after I played the Tournament course in the morning. Played the first 4-5 holes quickly by myself but then caught a logjam, although I expected it because the pro shop guy told me the course was busy. A single behind me joined me on No. 6 and we played the rest of the round together. Still a good pace and finished in just about 3:00 total. It got really windy all of a sudden on the 10th hole and stayed pretty windy the rest of the round. Otherwise perfect golf weather all day.

Conditions are very nice. I gave the course 9s across the board. Greens are smooth, firm and medium-fast. Fairways are excellent. Rough is nice and much less penal than the Tournament course... maybe 2 inches deep although some areas around greens were a little thicker. Bunkers were fantastic. Tee boxes too.

First time playing this course as well. It's my least favorite of the three at MHCC. While nice, it has a very generic "desert golf" feel and appearance that evokes nearby courses like Desert Springs, Desert Falls, Bermuda Dunes, etc. To its credit, it has lots of beautiful flowers in vibrant bloom and keeps things interesting with quite a few doglegs. Also some nice dramatic bunkering in spots. It's by far the most forgiving of the three MHCC courses. Recommended if you haven't played it, but if you have, I'd opt for one of the other two courses first.
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Played here Sunday, 3/15 at 9:30. Played with a couple guys also from South OC and another visiting from Dallas. I played the ANA tees. Pace was decen... » More

Played here Sunday, 3/15 at 9:30. Played with a couple guys also from South OC and another visiting from Dallas. I played the ANA tees. Pace was decent and we finished in just around 4:20.

Course conditions, as you would expect with a major championship scheduled in just over two weeks (but unfortunately postponed due to current events), are outstanding. The greens are firm and extremely smooth. I waffled between ranking them 9 or 10 but chose 9 because they looked like they'd be a little faster than they actually were. The firmness makes it very difficult to get shots to stop quickly; it's best to land short and play for some bounce and/or roll-out. Fairways are very nice, very lush and just a notch below some of the nicest I've ever played. Rough is extremely lush, thick and sneaky deep. It doesn't really look that deep, but when your ball is in it, it often sinks down and the rough is between 3-5 inches deep. Bunkers had good sand but were a little firmer underneath than I expected. Tee boxes have excellent grass coverage and are manicured to perfection, although I was surprised a couple of the ANA tees seemed slightly unlevel. On both the fairways and the tee boxes, it's extremely rare to see an unfilled divot. Either the members take great pride in filling all of theirs or the staff goes out and fills divots at the end of the day, or maybe both.

This was my first time playing the course and I really enjoyed it. The undulating fairways give it some nice character and the multiple doglegs keep things interesting. Also, it's very fun walking across the bridge to the 18th green, having seen so many participants over the years at the Dinah Shore/ANA take that walk to decide the year's first major. I look forward to playing it again with some local knowledge under my belt.

Highly recommended.
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Played here Saturday, 2/29 with a 12:04 start time. Checked in around 11:20 and they asked if I was ready. When I said yes, they promptly sent me off ... » More

Played here Saturday, 2/29 with a 12:04 start time. Checked in around 11:20 and they asked if I was ready. When I said yes, they promptly sent me off to catch a twosome who had just headed out. Caught them before they left the first tee and played with them most of round. The single behind us eventually joined us as well. We played the Western nine followed by the U.S. Open nine, finishing in just about 4 hours flat on a busy course. All the pro shop workers and outside attendants were very friendly and welcoming. After finishing 18, I asked to continue on the Masters nine and was granted permission. I played behind a twosome and just took my time, snapping a lot of pictures in the beautiful afternoon shadows and sunlight. I still finished in about 1:45.

Conditions are excellent. Greens are medium-fast to fast, very smooth and quite firm. Only high shots from short irons stopped quickly. The members I played with said the greens are often even faster, which would really be an adventure. I had a very hard time reading these greens. Fairways are outstanding; lush, deep green and mowed with aesthetically pleasing patterns, sometimes in stripes and sometimes in diagonal crosshatch. The rough is also very lush, and semi-thick in many places. Balls would often stick in it rather than bounce out of it (on hillsides bordering fairways) back to the fairway. The bunkers I was in were good. Green tee boxes were very nice with maybe a couple having very minimal lumpiness, if I want to get really nitpicky.

The longest combination of two nines plays just over 6500 yards here, but I played a tee forward from that, and these courses are difficult! I hit the ball poorly all day and really struggled. It's a very tight course with many holes routed through canyons. It's also very hilly, which is a lot of fun. Barrancas and water hazards come into play on many holes. As one member mentioned to me, "It's a beautiful course but it's a son of a b$tch ." Couldn't agree more and definitely want another shot at it. The golden sunlight during my last nine might've partially influenced me, but even without it I think the Masters nine is the best of the three. Western is probably the most demanding. (The nines are named after significant professional victories of the club's longtime head pro, Ralph Guldahl, not any correlation to those tournament venues.)

Highly recommended (but bring your 'A' game).
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