Played Saturday morning, 1/9, teeing off at 9:00. POP is always pretty good here but with the increased crowds it took us about 3:45 which is great bu... » More

Played Saturday morning, 1/9, teeing off at 9:00. POP is always pretty good here but with the increased crowds it took us about 3:45 which is great but typically it's a bit less.

Right now the greens at the Goat are really good. If you've played here you know how small and tricky they are, and when they get a bit firm and fast it makes for a crazy experience, both putting and chipping.

The fairways in general are pretty solid. #8 and #16 are always a bit rough (I think because of where they sit in some lower areas) but the rest provide good lies all around.

The tees are not as good as they normally are. I think it's the crazy amount of play every course is getting coupled with the fact that it's a shorter course and most tee boxes have people hitting irons. They're level and I guess you get to use a tee so you still get a good lie, just some are a bit bare.

No one course construction going on but the massive range overhaul is coming along nicely. The grass area was made much bigger, there are new targets/greens to aim at and then in the back there's going to be siting areas, some mats when the grass needs a break and a few stalls with Foresight monitors, which is cool.

All in all, conditions are solid and the course never ceases to require your best stuff.
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Played in our GK Team Cup Match here on 1/10, teeing off at 11:06 AM on an absolutely perfect day in North County San Diego.

It had been year... » More

Played in our GK Team Cup Match here on 1/10, teeing off at 11:06 AM on an absolutely perfect day in North County San Diego.

It had been years since I played Twin Oaks, which I really couldn't explain because I live 10 minutes away and had always enjoyed the course. When I pulled in the entire parking lot was full (had to wait for a car to leave to even get a parking spot!), so I knew it would be a longish day out on the course. We actually got out right on time and I think our POP was about 4:45, but it didn't seem that bad.

I really love the facilities at Twin Oaks, but with Covid you couldn't hang around on the patio or in the bar area, which is a bummer. The entire setting there in that valley is pretty cool and Rob made a comment on a hole that it had a bit of that Mt. Woodson look with the hills around.

What really stood out to me was how fun this course is. I couldn't remember a lot of the holes for some reason, but there's a great mix of variety, providing a challenge without being too punishing. You can definitely use a bit of local knowledge here and next time out (which I plan to do sooner rather than later) I'll take a couple different lines to help me out.

This is the first course I've played that does the painting of the fairways. It looked pretty cool and other than staining my golf ball a bit it doesn't affect anything. I thought the fairways had good coverage with a mix of kikuya and bermuda. I'm guessing if they didn't paint them they'd look pretty splotchy with the two grasses. You got great roll out here and hitting irons was fantastic. I could see how some tighter lies with hybrids and fairway woods could be tricky.

The rough wasn't too crazy and kind of a dried kikuyu. Every now and then you'd get a little more difficult shot around the greens, but I thought it was fair.

I thought the greens were pretty solid. I assume at the end of the long weekend with that much play they were a little bumpy, but all that being considered they held shots well, rolled pretty true and are pretty interesting for the most part. Again, there are a couple where local knowledge would be a big help but nothing too crazy.

The staff I interacted with were great from the starter to the lady in the snack bar and the cart girl who we saw a few times.

I would definitely recommend Twin Oaks to anyone. The conditions are good, the layout is fun, staff is friendly and the setting is great. Looking forward to heading back.
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I played in the GK Event this past Saturday. We were the second group off and pace of play seemed pretty good, maybe 4:15 or so.

This is my t... » More

I played in the GK Event this past Saturday. We were the second group off and pace of play seemed pretty good, maybe 4:15 or so.

This is my third of fourth time at Rams Hill and I realized that this time seemed so much different than the rest. First, Covid kind of took away from some of the cooler aspects of Rams Hill, like hanging out on the patio and with the staff out there. I did get fantastic service at the restaurant/bar inside as I always do. It's just that its such a great spot to hang that I missed that.

Second, the weather was pretty incredible. It was weird playing with no wind at all out there (save for 1-2 "gusts") and the lighting with the clear air just was awesome. I thought that coupled with the brown, dormant bunker surrounds make the course visually better than I remembered.

Third, it was weird seeing the fairways in rough shape for Rams Hill. While I never really had a bad lie, they were nowhere near what they have been in the past. Seemed the rye really hadn't taken so maybe give it a little more time and it will be back to normal. The greens however were the best I've played there. Definitely firm and faster and that's my favorite kind. Bunkers I was in were great and never an issue on the tees.

I think I had more fun playing the course this time around than before. Just seemed like I appreciated the layout more this time around. Other than 11 and 18 I don't know if any other holes really stand out too much, but as a group it's just a fun golf course.

I did go down to the far end of the range for the first time and while there weren't any balls to hit they have an awesome short game area. I could hang out there all day.

I had a fantastic day out there and love Rams Hill. I absolutely recommend it to everyone. Just a killer golf experience.
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I played the Goat on back to back days this past weekend. First on Friday for MGF Skins and then in our Goat Hill Park Masters Tourney on Saturday mor... » More

I played the Goat on back to back days this past weekend. First on Friday for MGF Skins and then in our Goat Hill Park Masters Tourney on Saturday morning.

Friday Skins is a regular event and always a good time. This one was a little different in there were some added prizes with Matt Ginella in town. It's a pretty good deal and there's always a $1000 ace pot ($1500 on the last Friday of the month, and also a $250 starter pot). With the amount of par 3's there's a few chances :)

All of the construction on the course has been done and the place is looking really good. The greens have completely healed from punching and are running great. I thought they were good on Friday but then were cut and rolled before we played on Saturday and they were pretty tricky. The held shots great but when these get a little fast you can have some seriously wicked shots around the greens.

Fairways were pretty good for the Goat. There's a mix of kikuyu and new bermuda but I'd say overall coverage is solid. If you miss the fairways here it's a crap shoot of what you'll end up on. Accuracy is a big advantage over distance. There's a handful of new tee boxes and those are still great, but a couple par 4 tee boxes are a little wonky. There are plans to add a few additional "hidden/tourney" tees on a few of the holes which will make already tough par 3's even more so (not sure I'm excited to add another 20 yards to #5).

The range is shut down for a major overhaul until the end of the year. When it's all said and done it's going to be pretty epic.

I'd say right now with the greens the way they are, the Goat is a great place to play for a challenging and fun round. Recommended
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Played a quick afternoon 18 yesterday, teeing off at 2:00 and finishing about 5:45 PM. Pace of play out here is always fantastic and we could have pla... » More

Played a quick afternoon 18 yesterday, teeing off at 2:00 and finishing about 5:45 PM. Pace of play out here is always fantastic and we could have played faster but had a bit of money on the line so took a little longer over some putts :)

The Goat is in fantastic shape right now. All the improvements to the tees and new sodded areas are complete, grown in and playing great (except for the tee on #10, which looks like it will open any day now). However, the driving range is going through a major overhaul so that won't be open for awhile.

The greens here were punched about two weeks ago and they are basically fully healed. They were a little fuzzy and bumpy late in the day yesterday but Friday mornings they get a good cut so should be great this weekend. The cooler, dryer temperatures are really helping as the course is allowed to dry out a little bit and become a bit firmer. When it was really hot and humid over the past couple months a lot of water was required and you'd get some pretty chewy kikuyu and the greens had to be kept a little longer. Excited for Fall golf on the coast!

Played with someone who was making their first trip around the Goat and like always, they said it was a much harder golf course then they expected looking at the yardage. Don't get fooled into thinking it's a push over.

Also, a few new distance markers scattered around the course. Yardages on felled tree stumps around are a nice addition.

Should be prime condition this weekend, recommended for a fun time.
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