Got out early at 6:30 on Wednesday, 6/19/19, to join GK jefe Johnny, GK legend weber, and Andrew1 for a relaxed, fun round. The course ownership is ob... » More

Got out early at 6:30 on Wednesday, 6/19/19, to join GK jefe Johnny, GK legend weber, and Andrew1 for a relaxed, fun round. The course ownership is obviously putting resources into the course and facilities – the driving range has been expanded, roofed, speakered, lighted, and otherwise improved; a banquet/meeting room has been added to the clubhouse; carts look new and have a small but high-quality interactive GPS; and course conditions are very good.

Greens looked great, held shots, and rolled consistently at medium+ speeds. We saw very few old ballmarks. Fairways gave good lies, although not rolling out as much as in the past due to improved turf quality and some early-morning dampness today. Rough on fairway margins and around greens makes you pay attention. Past problems with the bunkers here have been addressed and all traps I saw looked to have adequate sand, although some were pretty wet this early.

Tees were mostly level and fine, but some marker placements put you on a slope or restricted your teeing options. Some markers on the back nine had not been replaced after mowing.

Divot mix in bottles on the cart to start, but I didn’t see a refill rack. In general we didn’t see that many unfilled divots. Plenty of water available, and restrooms were clean and nice.

The course uses a Red-White-Blue pin rotation. Because of where they fall in the hole order, all 4 of the par-5s had white flags today, and 3 of the 4 par-3s had blue flags– the course could use some imagination to break up that pattern and provide better variety.

Highly recommended in current condition.
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Played with my monthly group at La Mirada on Saturday, 6/1/19 at 9am on a cool, cloudy day without much wind. Range on mats and main putting green was... » More

Played with my monthly group at La Mirada on Saturday, 6/1/19 at 9am on a cool, cloudy day without much wind. Range on mats and main putting green was closed. One shop guy working hard to keep up but a great attitude. Not that busy at that time but clubhouse area was packed as we finished 5+ hours later.

We debated during the round about the translation into “golf English” of “La Mirada”. The prevalence of no grass in many playing areas of the course led us to think it could mean “the bare dirt”. Based on our experience today, we all agreed that it could mean “the bad lie”. All holes had scattered or large bare areas where the ball could rest in a multitude of flat/ridged/muddy/cratered forms, but bad lies could be had on “grass” or in the non-fairway areas, as well. My experience in the front bunker on #2, where my ball came to rest in a deep trench that looked like it had formed from a dozen golfers blasting out and not raking behind them, led me to think that the translation could be “the ditch”.

Greens were the "best" part of the course, fairly firm and not showing many ballmarks, but bumpy and rolling at medium+ speed. Coming here over the years (once per year or less) it seems to me that the size of many greens continues to shrink as American Golf continues to tighten its budgets. Fairways where we found grass were thin and tight, rolling out OK but giving uncertain lies. Rough ranged from bare/thin to more lush in lower areas of the course. Most bunkers had adequate sand (but see above!) but it was often very wet and/or packed. We played the Blue tees and they were OK, but frequently pushed well forward of the Blue plates, especially on the par-3s.

OK for a slow casual round.
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I wanted to get some swings in before a tourney this weekend, and after the unhappy pro shop experience at Tijeras Creek a couple weeks ago I decided ... » More

I wanted to get some swings in before a tourney this weekend, and after the unhappy pro shop experience at Tijeras Creek a couple weeks ago I decided to try down at Talega. I really like the layout down there but have been put off by recent reports of poor conditioning – it had been 24 months(!) since I’d been down there. With the recent wet winter I hoped that vegetation would be in better condition and the course had had time to address the bunkers and some other conditioning issues.

It was the first sunny day we’d had for a while in south OC and the warm weather and only light breezes made for a pleasant afternoon at 2pm on Wednesday, 5/29/19. I was paired with a threesome of vacationers from the San Fernando Valley who had played the course in the past. They were anxious to get started, so we jumped out early with no warmup – we started on #10 as the shop told us they were doing bunker work on the front nine. I paid $42 with cart on GN, which apparently was less than the threesome paid.

Overall the course was in pretty good condition. Fairways had pretty good coverage, the usual tight turf that promoted runouts off the tee, and the ball generally sat OK. Rough was generally 3-4” deep and you had to pay attention to get a solid strike on the ball. We played the white tees, which were frequently pushed forward of the white plates, and tee turf was generally good. As usual the tee on 17 was torn up and bumpy.

Greens were firm and rolled at medium speed, with good coverage. Greens on holes # 7 and 17 were badly marked up with unrepaired marks and scattered small bare areas. Sand traps we were in were in generally good condition, although frequently wet and packed down. The left front greenside bunker on #3 had plenty of sand but the underbaggie was showing in some parts. Greenside bunkers were marked as GUR on #s 2 and 5 and improvement work was evident.

Cost cutting at Talega continues. The basic carts had a cooler but no water/ice, and no club cleaner/ball washer on the cart. The GPS is downgraded now to a simple ProShot with basic yardages. The main building men’s bathroom accessories are gone. Many ongoing changes that affect the visual and strategic aspects of the course continue – on the right side of hole #2 several traps in the driving area have been removed. On #4 along the right side of this “driveable” hole traps have been removed or made smaller. Traps in the driving area on #11 are much smaller. The greenside trap on the right front of #18 is smaller, and the large trap behind the green has been eliminated.

I had pleasant playing partners but they were very casual in their approach– hitting a 2nd ball, freely giving putts, and PICKING UP MY BALL WHEN WE WERE SEARCHING FOR IT, etc. A nice touch is divot sand refill boxes – I saw them on #5 tee, #8 tee, # 10 tee, and after 11/15 greens. The course uses entry/exit gates to control cart wear on fairways. Lakes were full and the course had an overall groomed look.

The light was out in men’s bathroom behind #4 green – the locked door was propped open with the soap holder. The safety mirrors at the entrance to path tunnels after #1 and en route to #10 were missing.

Recommended – the blind teeshot on the par-5 #15 is still the most visually intimidating tee shot in SoCal, and without a 'picture' GPS or a yardage book, you have no idea where you are going.
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Had a great time at the GK event Saturday, 5/18/19, at Desert Willow Firecliff. The weather was golf-perfect and the course was in wonderful condition... » More

Had a great time at the GK event Saturday, 5/18/19, at Desert Willow Firecliff. The weather was golf-perfect and the course was in wonderful condition. Played with 3 new (to me) GKers and we really enjoyed the round and the company. Thanks to GKers Rich, Esper, and Phil for a great time – Phil hadn’t played in several months and his game was scattered to the four winds, but he kept a good humor and even came out ahead on golf balls.

Greens were great – fairly firm, great coverage and rolling smoothly at medium-fast speeds. We saw almost no ballmarks. Fairways were like carpets and rough was very consistent, just deep enough to make you pay attention. If it gets some dampness it will be much tougher. Tees were flat and good except for a couple of par-3s that had some damage. Sand was in great shape (we all remember the event a couple years ago!!), although deeper and softer than most of us along the coast are used to!

Large grass driving range, chipping green and putting green with realistic and frighteningly fast conditions. Starter got us out on time. Saw the cart girl several times. Cart guys were very helpful as we finished up. Plenty of divot mix available on cart and refills, although they don't put containers on the par-3 tees.

Fun time seeing others at the grill afterward, although crossed signals meant that it was tough to get food or drinks as the bar closed earlier than expected. Nice prizes for all – AndewZ28 was praised from afar. Thanks to Johnny for setting up this great venue and a nice event. It's a long hump for me but love the venue and the company.
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Wanted to get some swings in before the GK Desert Willow outing so walked on to TC around 3pm on Wednesday, 5/15/19. Golfnow offerings for the 3pm-4pm... » More

Wanted to get some swings in before the GK Desert Willow outing so walked on to TC around 3pm on Wednesday, 5/15/19. Golfnow offerings for the 3pm-4pm time period had been running for $39, so was stunned when stoic, unmoved staff memeber in the shop told me $60! GN does not let you book a single, and I don’t have the Creek card, so I asked him to match the online rate but was told “next time book with GN”. Was able to finally get a $53 rate, which was still disappointing given the GN advertised rate. Overall an unhappy interaction to start the afternoon.

I was hoping for a nice afternoon, but the weather was cloudy and breezy, getting pretty cold as the clouds increased – where are we, Puget Sound? The wind finally dropped off some on the back nine, although you still have to be very aware of the crosswind on the narrow, challenging 12th hole. I was paired with a twosome and we were joined by amiable local Pat, who was fun to play with and we had a relaxed round, finishing in ~4 hours. Recent reviews of TC have been good, and we found the course in good shape, playing the white plates (6,206/69.5/125) – many of the blue tees were up at the white plates, or even in front of them.

Greens were in pretty good condition, with good coverage, firm but holding well-struck shots, a little bumpy in the afternoon and rolling fairly slow at less than medium speed – we continuously left putts short. Many greens had LOTS of old ballmarks.

Fairways had good coverage but the ball sat pretty tight. Rough ranged from short and benign to 2-3 inches that grabbed the club and made distance control difficult. Fairly shaggy collars around the greens made putting from off the green pretty impossible. Tees were flat and in good shape, except for a couple of par-3 teeboxes that were torn up, and there was no divot mix container or it was empty. Sand was ample and in good condition, although pretty damp out in the middle of the bunkers.

Saw a cart girl several times. Refill rack of divot mix on the 10th teebox. Basic but newer carts – no GPS, no cooler, no ballwasher. Many sprinkler heads marked. Staff started warning us on #15 green that we might not finish (carts must be in before dark), but we were able to complete the round ahead of the last couple groups. TC is pricey and the shop experience was not great for me – that’s why I only play here about once per year.
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