Walked on out here today around 5:45 instead of sitting in traffic back to OC after the GK/GolfMoose outing at Oaks Club of Valencia. The course was s... » More

Walked on out here today around 5:45 instead of sitting in traffic back to OC after the GK/GolfMoose outing at Oaks Club of Valencia. The course was surprisingly not very busy at all and I was able to play alone and finished in about 90 minutes, even taking my time to take lots of pictures. Glad I was able to cross this one off the list without the 2.5-hour nine it's known for.

Conditions are pretty good. Greens are nearly healed from aeration and rolled medium speed. Early evening is a tough time to judge poa annua greens because they weren't very smooth nor pure. They were probably around medium firmness. Fairways and rough had decent coverage. Many tee boxes were closed, making already-short holes play shorter than the card yardage. They were also pretty beat up but at least you can tee it up. I wasn't in any bunkers.

First time here. I've wanted to play it for a while but it's not really worth making the trip just to play here, so catching it on the way home today was perfect. Only $11 to walk. Definitely a fun little course with some nice views of the Griffith Observatory and a few glimpses of Downtown LA. (I'm sure this will never happen, but cutting down some of the large trees around the perimeter of this course would open up some phenomenal views of downtown and be absolutely stunning.)
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Played here today in group 1A of the GolfMoose/GK private club outing. Great times with kviser, mpisarski01 and fastfish433. Picture-perfect day with ... » More

Played here today in group 1A of the GolfMoose/GK private club outing. Great times with kviser, mpisarski01 and fastfish433. Picture-perfect day with light breezes, nothing too severe. Started a few minutes after 10:00 and finished a little over 5 hours later. Golf staff was all really nice.

Conditions are excellent! Greens were smooth, medium fast (they announced between 11 & 11.5, stimp) and a little more firm than soft. Full, well-struck shots took a small bounce typically before stopping. Fairways were lush and excellent, as was the rough – I rated each a 9. Rough wasn't too penal unless you got in the deep grasses farther offline. Tee boxes were lush with no divots, but I don't think they were mowed today, so some were a bit long. If they'd been shorter, they'd be fantastic. I wasn't in any bunkers but the rest of the group said they were pretty good.

This was my first time playing the course. Aesthetics-wise, it's quite attractive and very hilly. There are maybe more uphill holes/shots on this course than any other I can remember. Design-wise, it's mostly solid except for two (maybe three, even) of the four par 5s are weird, bad holes – especially the atrocious 15th, which makes no sense to me at all. (After a blind tee shot, if you don't go for the green in two, the only options are laying back to around 160 yards out with about 10 yards of rise to the green or 100 yards to the green but with about 40 yards of rise straight uphill.) The par 3s at 4, 9, and 16 are all very attractive, fun holes. I got some Sherwood Country Club vibes from the gorgeous par-4 10th.

Great day on a really fun course. I'd love to play here again. (And if you're comparing Valencia privates, I'd choose this place all day over VCC across the freeway.)
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Played here today (Friday, 4/19) with my friends Michael and Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG) who got access through a friend of his. The course was ... » More

Played here today (Friday, 4/19) with my friends Michael and Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG) who got access through a friend of his. The course was quite busy but pace was no issue. At one point we offered to let the members behind us play through but they said 'twas all good. Total POP probably around 4:00. Front nine was very hot temperatures that cooled considerably thanks to a nice breeze for most of the second nine. The course has some nice amenities, like chilled fruit and water bottles available in the staging area, and then each nine has a drink station with typical water/ice AND also lemonade and iced tea. Nice touch. I had an amazingly delicious chicken quesadilla from the restaurant before we started. Very friendly and helpful staff throughout.

Conditions are outstanding! Visually, some greens showed tiny remnants of a 95% healed aeration, but it didn't seem to affect the roll at all. They were medium to medium-fast speed, very smooth, and accepted full shots well. The only minor critique is that they might be more fun and more challenging if they were a little faster. Fairways, rough, and tee boxes (all the grass, basically) was exceptionally lush and well maintained. Fairways were great to hit from and so was the rough, actually. It was maybe 2-3 inches deep but not very penal. Blue tee boxes were great. I was in a couple bunkers and they could've used a bit more care and/or sand.

This was my first time here. I really liked it a lot. It's got quite a few water hazards, some interesting desertscapes that come into play, it's extremely playable with wide fairways, and it's very beautiful in many spots. Definitely lives up to its name with great views on many holes of the nearby mountains, although it never gets close to the mountains like a SilverRock or La Quinta Resort does. The par-5 7th was a standout hole, almost a reverse question-mark shape leading to the green with an attractive desert area if your approach comes up short. The 18th is also very scenic with water all around the green and tons of flowers between the green and the clubhouse. Todd and I captured lots of photos and video, so look for them on IG in the coming days if you're interested.

Great course that flies under the radar a bit. Highly recommended if you ever get an invite.
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Played here today with a 2:15 start time, thanks to an invitation from my friend Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG). Course very was busy but we starte... » More

Played here today with a 2:15 start time, thanks to an invitation from my friend Todd (@th_golf_photography on IG). Course very was busy but we started right on time and pace was good, finishing in a little under 4 hours, despite minor waits on most tees. We were a foursome behind a twosome.

Conditions are quite good. Greens seem like they were aerated maybe 3-4 weeks ago, still impacting putts a little bit with wobbles and a very thin sanding on top. Another week or two and they should be all healed. Despite the aeration, they got pretty fast on downhillers and I think we all ran putts significantly past the hole a few times. I loved these fairways; they're in very nice shape with plenty of cushion underneath the ball and providing great lies. The rough was maybe 2-3 inches deep, in good condition, and not too penal. White tee boxes were all really nice. For the bunkers, some holes have tan sand and some have what looks like brand new bright white sand. Both are well maintained but not quite as soft and fluffy as they look – an inch or two of sand on top of a firmer base.

This was my first time ever playing here. The front nine is pretty basic and straightforward, then some character starts to shine through on the back nine. Five par 3s and five par 5s. I loved the downhill par-3 14th, protected on the right side by a small lake/pond. The par-4 13th was also fun with a significant drop from the tee box to the fairway. Course looked great in the afternoon sunlight. I was stoked to finally get a chance to play here!
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I did something stupid last week. I was browsing "Deal" times on TeeOff.com and spotted a great $43 rate on a Hidden Valley single for today. Hidden V... » More

I did something stupid last week. I was browsing "Deal" times on TeeOff.com and spotted a great $43 rate on a Hidden Valley single for today. Hidden Valley rarely offers "Deal" times for singles, typically restricting them to 2-4 players. I hadn't played there for a long time, and I had $30 in GolfNow rewards expiring soon, so I quickly booked the time. Then as soon as I booked it, it hit me – "Oh no, I didn't check GK!"

Sure enough, they had just aerated a day or two earlier. D'oh! At least it would be about 10 days after the aeration. I considered canceling, but I wasn't sure if I'd get my rewards back, so I just rolled with it. (And ironically, I putted great with only 28 putts. Maybe I should start using GK to find recently aerated courses to play. ;-))

Anyway, onto today. Tee time was 12:30 but for some reason the starter had me down for 12:40. Paired with two nice singles and one guy's wife rode with him but didn't play. Beautiful day but sorta hazy. POP was decent at just a few minutes more than 4:30.

Conditions-wise, things are quite good other than the greens. Driving in, the course looked gorgeous. Fairways and rough are very green and lush, although once you get on top of things, there are some problem spots here and there. To the course's credit, they've done a good job of marking areas as GUR. The greens were slow and bumpy but like I said earlier, they didn't give me many problems. They still need a couple weeks before getting partway back to normal. (The greens on the course were thankfully much better than the practice green, where putts practically had rooster tails of sand flying up.) Many bunkers look all dried out but the one I was in was acceptable. Blue tee boxes were fine.

I hadn't played here since 2016 and I have no idea why I've waited so long. It's such a fun, exciting layout and almost every hole is beautiful and interesting. I can't recommend it right now but give the greens a couple more weeks to heal, and then it's highly recommended.

(FYI for ratings purposes, I gave the greens a 5.)
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