Played Hansen Dam early this morning with a couple of friends. It might be me, but the fairways on the front side seem to have been cut more narrow then in the past. Being the first
ones off I coul... Continue »

Played Hansen Dam early this morning with a couple of friends. It might be me, but the fairways on the front side seem to have been cut more narrow then in the past. Being the first
ones off I couldn't see much the first few holes. The greens on the front side have picked up
some kind of fungus and were a little bumpy. The greens on the back were nicer and relatively
fast. I was in a couple of bunkers and the sand was decent. The unfortunate thing is that on all of these city courses, it doesn't seem like anyone takes the time to rake them. All in all, for the $19.00 senior walking rate, an enjoyable round with friends.

Hit Hanson Dam yesterday afternoon, Saturday, 9/23, paired with another single. Really a beautiful day to get out and play. Getting right to the point, the course is in overall pretty nice condition w... Continue »

Hit Hanson Dam yesterday afternoon, Saturday, 9/23, paired with another single. Really a beautiful day to get out and play. Getting right to the point, the course is in overall pretty nice condition with the critical exception of the greens. Many are currently multi-colored, blighted and not smooth, running a slowish medium. Dramatically different and unexpected since my last visit here about four months back. This condition was more prevalent on the front than back nine — the latter having some greens in good shape that putted correspondingly quicker. While less than ideal, the "bad" greens are ugly but playable and the main adjustment was the speed. As mentioned previously, the rest of the course is good shape. If you know what to expect, get a twilight or reduced price, it will serve in a pinch for casual play. But greens are of primary importance to a lot of golfers, and if you are looking for more optimal conditions, I'd give it a miss until they get the greens sorted out. No idea when that will be, or if aeration would improve it (whenever that happens), but a fix is needed. I like this course and will be keeping an eye out for reports of improvement further down the line.

Played a pretty abysmal round at Hansen Dam this weekend with Mattias and two other friends, but the course itself did not have much of the blame for my driving and hybrid woes. In fact, the course is... Continue »

Played a pretty abysmal round at Hansen Dam this weekend with Mattias and two other friends, but the course itself did not have much of the blame for my driving and hybrid woes. In fact, the course is in pretty good shape right now despite the relentless heat.

Fairways have a solid amount of deep green to them, in fact even some areas a little too damp from overwatering, especially closer to the greens. Almost always a good lie to be found if you're hitting them straight. The rough varies depending on where you go, but it's mostly thick but not too penal. You'll easily find some dirt areas though off between the ample amount of trees or on the hillside of the dam itself.

Greens were running medium speed without too many complications. A few ball marks here and there that could have easily been fixed before, but what can you do? Nothing too bad at all though ... and while I didn't hit too many greens myself, I could see others doing it well so greens definitely receptive to good shots. Tee boxes and bunkers both good, not necessarily great. Everything works.

It was a very hot day and prime time on a Saturday so it was surprising not to see any cart service whatsoever, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've ever seen a cart girl at Hansen. We all walked so the price was around $40+ roughly which is a fair price for the shape the course is currently in right now. In summary, you shouldn't be too disappointed if you stop by at this time.

Played yesterday with DKnight and his cousin. I paid $39 to walk. POP was about 4:45, teeing off around 9:20 a.m. There was some issue with the starter when we arrived as they had placed a sign in the... Continue »

Played yesterday with DKnight and his cousin. I paid $39 to walk. POP was about 4:45, teeing off around 9:20 a.m. There was some issue with the starter when we arrived as they had placed a sign in their window saying they would be with us in 5 minutes. No worries, but we did tee off a little later than our tee time. The greens were all splotchy, like there was some fungus or uneven growth in what is usually a very consistent mix of poa annua and bentgrass. It did look poor, but rolled okay with occasional slight bumpiness; however, DKnight will tell you his birdie putt was knocked off line by this bumpiness. :) The greens were very receptive; firm enough to not show a lot of ball marks, but soft enough to hold most shots. Green speed was probably around 8'-9'. Great coverage of grass from tee to green without any bare areas. Tees (we played the whites) were level and without a lot of divots. Fairways were smooth and ran well without a lot of soggy/wet areas. Some of the rough was getting thick and you could get unlucky if your ball settled into it. Mostly consistent good lies throughout. Sand was all groomed nicely, but maybe getting thin in some of the bunkers. I was in one trap with a downhill lie and I thinned/bladed my shot from there. Most likely not the bunker's fault, lol. I am concerned about the appearance of the greens; I hope it's not some fungus. Maybe I will call and see what they say about it.

Played my GK Cup match with Tony yesterday, going off as a two-some just before 1:15. In a nutshell, I think the conditions here are pretty good right now. Most tee boxes are nicely level with good co... Continue »

Played my GK Cup match with Tony yesterday, going off as a two-some just before 1:15. In a nutshell, I think the conditions here are pretty good right now. Most tee boxes are nicely level with good coverage, including the par-3s. The fairways are green, offering good lies and reasonable rollout. I don't recall any dry or thin patches. On the whole, the rough was not overly long — playable with the ball frequently sitting up for the recovery shot. It was a little more lush around the greens for chipping. I think we both avoided the bunkers all day so no actual feedback there. The greens were a nice, medium quick and tracked well. The only remnant of aeration was a faint visual pattern that affected nothing. There was one exception (12 or 13?) where there was rough patch of sod a few feet square on the green, but it was the anomaly — a small portion of an otherwise large, consistent surface. We started out with space ahead and a twosome behind us, with some compression of groups ahead and behind from about the sixth through twelfth, but it generally moved well to finish a touch over four hours. Warm, with a moderate breeze, it was perfect weather and a nice day to break away for a round in good company.

Played here on the Sunday before Memorial Day, 5/28/17 at 10am. Finished at 1:45, what a pace for a 4 some. We hardly ever waited!

The grass has been watered well everywhere and in some areas to... Continue »

Played here on the Sunday before Memorial Day, 5/28/17 at 10am. Finished at 1:45, what a pace for a 4 some. We hardly ever waited!

The grass has been watered well everywhere and in some areas too well. The greens were a bit shaggy but the condition was good. A couple of bumps but that is to be expected at a course like this.

Got a twilight round in at Hansen Dam tonight, playing the blue tees and with a cart for a nice rate of $29. Arrived around 3:30, started off solo but joined a single after the 3rd hole, then we playe... Continue »

Got a twilight round in at Hansen Dam tonight, playing the blue tees and with a cart for a nice rate of $29. Arrived around 3:30, started off solo but joined a single after the 3rd hole, then we played in just around 4 hours with plenty of daylight to spare.

I was a little bummed out to see the greens still showing signs of the latest punch/aeration, and even still a bit sandy in places, but overall they were okay. Only took a few holes to work out the speeds and for the most part, despite some bumps, they rolled okay. Too many ball marks though everywhere as I assume when people see punched greens they just don't feel the need to fix them. Sad.

Fairways were in pretty good condition and the rough even better, cut maybe two inches taller than the fairways but both surfaces providing mostly good areas to hit from. A few thin areas near the greens but mostly off to the sides near the scrub. The sand was not great from what I saw - nothing fluffy about it, but instead a thin layer that looked none too inviting. And the tee boxes were generally in good shape with an uneven exception here or there, but nothing to write home about.

I did not enjoy the fact that they had the sprinklers turned on around some of the greens on the last 3-4 holes. It's annoying, distracting and took away from a really solid back nine for me. Why not wait to water those areas an hour longer when it's dusk and no one is out there and the water won't evaporate as quickly? Just bad form.

Other than that though had a really nice round and enjoyed myself pretty thoroughly. The nines in this order are far superior to the old layout, with the exception of hole 11 being just kind of weird still. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Aside from that, good times ... go enjoy a round there sometime.

Played on 4-29-17, around noon. POP was about 5 hours. I was looking forward to playing this course for the first time since they switched the 9's. The new front 9 is definitely tougher for me. Co... Continue »

Played on 4-29-17, around noon. POP was about 5 hours. I was looking forward to playing this course for the first time since they switched the 9's. The new front 9 is definitely tougher for me. Conditions wise, I was a little disappointed in the condition of the fairways. Drier than I expected but still very playable. Also, the greens had not recovered from the punching earlier in the month -- very bumpy. The sand in the bunkers was also on the thin side but my bunker play is also not good. The tee boxes were generally level and sufficiently lush. I'd like to play it again soon after the greens recover.

I played here yesterday with Kviser. Fairways and rough were decent but the greens were very bumpy and inconsistent due to the aeration earlier in the week. Surprisingly the bunkers had good sand... Continue »

I played here yesterday with Kviser. Fairways and rough were decent but the greens were very bumpy and inconsistent due to the aeration earlier in the week. Surprisingly the bunkers had good sand and were raked. Pace of play was about 4 hours which was better than the last time I played here. As for value, the $54 was not the best considering the greens condition especially when compared to the superior courses and value in Ventura County. Staff was not the friendliest or that organized. Give the greens at least 2 weeks before they are healed. Still had a great time playing with Kevin and in the end that is the most important.