Played with a high school buddy on Monday 4/8/19 using an UnderPar certificate, $33 each at 1pm, which is a decent deal. The course had punched greens... » More

Played with a high school buddy on Monday 4/8/19 using an UnderPar certificate, $33 each at 1pm, which is a decent deal. The course had punched greens 2 weeks ago – the practice green showed a lot of sand-filled holes but was cut tight and wicked fast. On-course greens were found to be a little slower and the punching marks were much less obvious, but it took us a few holes to dial back our terror and start getting the ball to the hole. Some fairway areas, mainly leading up to greens, have been punched in the past few day – the holes are empty and the punch cores are laying out on the turf.

Not my favorite type of course with the wall-to-wall kikuyu, but overall conditions were OK. Tees were level – we played the white plates, as all the white markers were moved up. I wasn’t in any sand. Fairway lies were generally good but some holes were fairly wet, others very dry. Rough could be cut short or juicy and damp. Greens are small and the overall slope of the property toward the Santa Ana River prevails.

Lots of red stakes around if you stray from the line of play. Most holes are pretty steeply uphill or downhill – “flat” areas are frequently significantly sloped along the prevailing hillside gradient. Carts with a nice interactive GPS, and a yardage book is available. Many holes have some distance stakes in use.

We played as a twosome ahead of a threesome in a little less than 4 hours. Two-level range on mats hitting down into a hollow. Friendly service in the shop and the snack bar. OK for a casual round.
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Played Los Amigos with my monthly club at 9am on Saturday, 4/6/19, on a warm sunny day with not too much wind until near the end of the round (just in... » More

Played Los Amigos with my monthly club at 9am on Saturday, 4/6/19, on a warm sunny day with not too much wind until near the end of the round (just in time for #17 – gaakkk!!). We play here every Spring. The course is in standard shape with decent greens, dry fairways and rough, and OK sand. I was surprised that after all the rain we’ve had this winter the “turf” in fairways and greens was thin, dry, and clumpy, and the underlying ground was very dry and hard. Lies anywhere were a crapshoot, and even on grassy patches in the fairway the turf was thin and tight and the ball could sit down. Frankly, I didn’t have a lie at any point on the course the entire round that I had confidence in.

Greens were in good shape, fairly firm and showing few ballmarks (except the front of the new green at #11 – badly pitted!). They really didn’t hold shots but released all approaches. Tees were level but some were firm and others soft, making for uncertain footing. I was in 2 bunkers with good but thin sand.

Basic cart and no sand mix refills available on-course. Range on mats but a good deal - ~40 balls for $5. Good club sandwich in the snack bar afterward, but it took a long time to get prepared. OK for a casual round.

Left my rangefinder in the cart after the round (DOH!). Called Monday to see if anyone had turned it in - nope! It's gone! Dang!!$$$
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Back after a 6-week(!) layoff recovering from a sprained knee – reading the GK site with everyone posting reviews, etc. made me crazy to get back out.... » More

Back after a 6-week(!) layoff recovering from a sprained knee – reading the GK site with everyone posting reviews, etc. made me crazy to get back out. The cortisone injection 2 weeks ago is finally taking hold and I’m hoping the knee is behind me.

Played with a high school buddy who had a UP certificate for $40 each – a decent deal for this course. Sunny and warm on Monday morning, 3/25/19, at 1130. Starter sending groups off regularly – we were out on time, paired with 2 singles, one a TO employee and the other the GM at Eastlake GC in Chula Vista - both guys on a busman’s holiday! They were younger big hitters playing (spraying) from the blue tees; we played white. Driving range extra $$ and on mats today in a constricted area near the wall-off fencing for the “Learning Center”. Fairly large putting green without any undulations but indicative of on-course green speeds. Carts with nice interactive GPS (but the incorrect pin locations today!) but no ball washer or ice chest. Play on the front nine was pretty pokey (2.5+hr) but we jumped ahead of the group in front of us at the turn and played the back nine faster, finishing in just over 4.5hr.

TO won’t punch greens until April, so we found the greens to be in very good condition – smooth, fairly firm, mostly released shots a bit, but rolling at medium-fast speed and scary fast on some downhillers! We didn’t see too many ballmarks. After all the rain the fairways were green but an indifferent mowing pattern meant some areas were great, some were bushy and clumpy, and some were pretty bare. All the rain meant that the rough was thick and juicy, and we had several instances where we had to search intently for wayward balls. The thick rough was especially problematic around the greens, making solid contact and distance control difficult. Tees were level and could use trimming, but otherwise uniformly good. Sand was fairly thin and damp but had been raked and was fairly soft.

Lots of hazard areas near holes 1-4 and 15-18 slows play in those areas, crimping the start and finish of the round. The drop area on hole 7, a par-3 over a lake, is in very poor condition – dry, clumpy, and thin. (And someone stole the “Drop Area” sign! Today we had a piece of paper, with “Drop Area” handwritten, stuck in the ground with a tee!!) Our cart started out with the low-battery light on, and we messaged the shop, and called, on the third tee, to no avail. Finally got them to exchange the cart on the 10th tee. Pricy, just OK ham sandwich at the turn. Hole handicaps on the scorecard don’t make much sense, with par-5s getting the lowest handicap designation.

Decent conditions here with some challenges for a relaxed play.
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Played at 10am Friday, 2/8/19, with my monthly club. This is a private club that allows outside groups in a shotgun tourney one Friday each month. Old... » More

Played at 10am Friday, 2/8/19, with my monthly club. This is a private club that allows outside groups in a shotgun tourney one Friday each month. Old-school layout, fairly flat with some elevation changes around the clubhouse at the highest point on the property. After quite a bit of rain last week, everything was wet and soft, but carts had free reign and the really wet spots were marked to be avoided.

Greens were soft and many approaches spun back a long way. They rolled pretty well at medium speed, and several pins were placed in sneaky positions. By 2pm they were showing and holding a lot of footprints. We played preferred lies in fairways, so scattered thin areas were not a problem. Rough was generally damp and a challenge to play from. Tees were flat and OK. Sand was in good condition.

Interactive GPS (TKv) with some on-course markings (plates/stakes). The screen says "distance to pin" but the number given is to the COG. The carts have a club cleaner/ballwasher (nice!), but also have a very strict no-go setting when you stray far from the fairway or path - we had to back up to safety several times, sometimes in the rough between parallel holes! Adequate water available. No cart girl or marshal - there's a snack bar at the turn, and a single bathroom at the junction of holes 6/11/16. The larger scramble tourney in front of us was the slowest scramble play I had ever seen - we could have been 30 min faster.
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