Played here 10/4 with GK members Perry, Jon, and Nat on a warm Sunday mid-morning (9:44 am) tee-time. Only the second time playing here, but I remembered a few holes fondly and others not so much. Gre... Continue »

Played here 10/4 with GK members Perry, Jon, and Nat on a warm Sunday mid-morning (9:44 am) tee-time. Only the second time playing here, but I remembered a few holes fondly and others not so much. Greens are being punched as this is being written, so it was nice we got out when we did with greens being in excellent shape. Rest of the course was good to okay conditions, except for the tee marker locations. Alas, Mark's review still stood true a week later with only the tee issue (the placement of the blue and white markers was unacceptable, with the grounds crew choosing to place the tees in the most chewed up parts of the turf). Outside of that; staff was friendly, carts had ice in the chests and good GPS (even if mine froze), beverage cart came around 3 times and café trailer was open before the round. Pace of play today was an excellent 4.5 hours (I have had and heard nightmare tales of 6 hour rounds on Babe). Highly recommend after the greens heal from aeration in a few weeks.

Played here yesterday with a 2:44 TeeOff.com “Deal” time for $34 after 20% off promo code. If you know me, you might know I’m rarely interested in playing golf if I’m not going to finish, but this was... Continue »

Played here yesterday with a 2:44 TeeOff.com “Deal” time for $34 after 20% off promo code. If you know me, you might know I’m rarely interested in playing golf if I’m not going to finish, but this was a really good deal for a weekend and I decided to take the chance that I might not play all 18. I arrived around 2:00 to hopefully get out early, and actually did get moved up one group to 2:32. (Careful what you wish for.) Got paired with three nice guys, but also three guys who showed no sense of urgency at all. One guy was constantly playing with his smart watch and submitting all three guys’ scores after every hole, another one was practically a beginner and way out of his league playing the Babe, not to mention the blue tees. The first guy I mentioned often couldn’t find his ball and would be searching literally 50-60-80 yards away from where it actually was. On top of all this, he was also playing what seemed to be Christian Country music really loud all day. (Who has the nerve to think everyone wants to hear that?) Additionally, the carts on the Babe seem very sensitive to where you drive, and my cart often slowed down to like 2 mph even though there often weren’t signs in the fairway about how close you could get to greens and/or slopes. On most holes, I had hit my tee shot and was back in my single-rider cart before any of the other three had given any thought to what club they would hit or anything. After about seven holes, I started saying how we needed to pick up the pace if we wanted to finish. I don’t think that changed any behaviors, but thanks to three of the last six holes being par 3s, we eventually finished right as it was getting dark. A patience-testing round if I’ve ever had one. Overall POP was just under 4:30, but we had no one in front of us and could’ve played so much faster and eliminated any doubt about whether or not we’d finish.

Phew.

Conditions are quite good! As you might expect on a busy course late on a weekend afternoon, greens had their share of unfixed ball marks, which is aggravating. Aside from that, they were mostly smooth, medium-fast and pretty soft, accepting both full shots and chips well. Fairways were good. Rough was in good condition, too, maybe 2 inches deep. I wasn’t in a bunker but took a good look at a few and they seemed to have sufficient sand. They did have ample footprints, though – no rakes due to COVID. Tee boxes are MUCH nicer on Babe than they have been recently on Ike. No complaints.

This was my first time playing Babe since a junior tournament more than three decades ago when I embarrassed myself by hitting my first two tee balls OB left and had to walk back to my bag each time to fetch another ball. That opening tee shot – and memories of frighteningly narrow corridors on several other holes – scared me away ever since. I kept my drive in play yesterday on No. 1 and improved my score by three shots (from 10 to 7 haha). My recollection wasn’t wrong about some of those corridors, too – Nos. 2 and 9 are ridiculously tight off the tee. And No. 11 is just a dumb hole, a par 5 where you can’t see the green until you’re within about 60 yards because it’s the most severe delayed dogleg left in the history of golf holes. (Or perhaps tied with that one at Anaheim Hills that lotrgolfer loves…jk hope you’re doing good Matt.)

I was tempted to throw 9 out as a “bad” hole, too, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot since yesterday and I think maybe it’s a hole that just needs a mid- to short-iron off the tee (something 150-160-ish) to put it in play and then have enough room to maneuver around that tall tree fronting the right side of the green. I hope to get back out there again soon to challenge it again. (And maybe knock another stroke or two off my score on No. 1.) Wish me luck.

Played “The Babe” 8/12 with my regular group and was thrilled to play as it has been several years since I had played here. 8:52 tee time and very organized check in with covid protocols thoroughly i... Continue »

Played “The Babe” 8/12 with my regular group and was thrilled to play as it has been several years since I had played here. 8:52 tee time and very organized check in with covid protocols thoroughly in place. Just driving into the facility at the guard shack, you have to stop where a security guard checks your temperature and needs to know what tee time you have and what group you’re playing with. After all that, we were off right on time. POP was 4 hours and not sure why so long since we had single carts.

I love playing here and the course overall was in good condition. Fairways had good coverage. A little thin in some areas as you got closer to the rough. The rough was not thick at all and very playable. Was only in one bunker and found it damp but was ok.

Greens were also damp and easily holding. Some of these greens are hard to read with undulations and subtle breaks but they still rolled true.

Had a lot of fun out there. Industry Hills is always a class place to play and for $49 definitely recommend. Looking forward to the next time out.

Played this AM. First off and 3H POP. Not impressed with the conditions today. Course was way over watered IMO. Several holes were even CPO due to standing water in the fairways. So no roll out, unles... Continue »

Played this AM. First off and 3H POP. Not impressed with the conditions today. Course was way over watered IMO. Several holes were even CPO due to standing water in the fairways. So no roll out, unless you had Tigers "stinger" shot. Or can hit it long like Sparky 14 can (see his review below). Our group also found the greens to be really slow so early in the AM being wet like they were. Traps to a person were not the most pleasant to play from either. No rakes and had not been cleaned recently. Customer service was excellent at all levels. A little less watering would do wonders for playing conditions. No doubt better later in the day. Your temperature will be checked at the gate shack upon arrival. As well as your tee time. Masks at check in and cart pick up. It appears 2 riders per cart are allowed provided you agree with the cart manager. Or you just ride single. Good thing it is $49 to play at present, I personally would not pay higher to play with the conditions at present. I did like the new hands free ball device attached to the flagstick. Saw the same at Black Gold recently. Much better idea than the E Z lift used at Coyote Hills. Looks to be something that should be used for the future on more courses.

Played IH-Babe on 8/11. Saw 24HrGolf's license plate in the lot, but he must have gone off earlier than my 6:20 tee time. Last time I was at Babe was 1999. That was my first time there, and man was t... Continue »

Played IH-Babe on 8/11. Saw 24HrGolf's license plate in the lot, but he must have gone off earlier than my 6:20 tee time. Last time I was at Babe was 1999. That was my first time there, and man was that the wrong course to have my last known case of duck hooks. That 95 was my highest score (by 7 shots) in my 23 years of spreadsheet tracking. With a $49 deal on GN, I decided it was finally time to go get beaten up by Babe again. Holy cow this place is tight. There are very few places that you can miss a fairway and survive. Greens are wacky at times. A few greens are multi-teared. A few greens are long thin needles. Condition wise, things are all pretty good. Everything could be a little better, but in all I was please with the conditions. The tee boxes are the weak spot, beaten up in spots, and not always level. Maybe I was just upset that all the blue tees seemed to be pushed to the left side of the box, cutting off even more room for my fade. Watch out for the gopher on #14 green. Dude was making a mess, and he would peek up out the hole to laugh at you when you putted. The ground crew were getting ready to make their attack when we passed though, so little gopher may be long gone by now. He had dug up 3 or 4 good holes within 20 feet of the pin. The ladies playing behind us didn't mind, as 2 of them nearly aced that one. In all, I enjoyed playing Babe much more than my previous effort. My old man game fared better by 18 shots. It helps to not have the duck hooks.

played in mid morning, mid week. covid precautions include temperature scan at guard house and masks around clubhouse. putting green was open as was the range. pretty busy out there for later in th... Continue »

played in mid morning, mid week. covid precautions include temperature scan at guard house and masks around clubhouse. putting green was open as was the range. pretty busy out there for later in the day in the heat. course is much narrower than i remember. better bring your straight tee shot, driving iron/hybrid off the tee all day. course was in pretty good condition, well watered fluffy fairway lies for the most part. some wear on the tee boxes but level. i dont recall being in many bunkers, or there even being many bunkers on the course. worst part was that the greens were sloooow. pretty hard to get the ball to the hole, had to give it a hard rap to get it even close. probably just overwatered and cut less due to the heat. POP was a bit slow, had to wait on every hole on the back 9 for total play time of 4.5 hours. get out there if you have a straight tee ball, could be a rough day otherwise.

Played this AM in 2.5 H as first off. First time my temperature was taken at a local course. Done by the security guard at the bottom of the hill. Masks in clubhouse and around cart staging area. Not ... Continue »

Played this AM in 2.5 H as first off. First time my temperature was taken at a local course. Done by the security guard at the bottom of the hill. Masks in clubhouse and around cart staging area. Not necessary on the course. Course is in great condition but it is over watered at present IMO. All the fairways had great coverage but no roll out, so it makes the course play longer. Rough was murder as it was wet and about 1" tall. Traps are playable just no rakes. Greens look great but being wet they putt slow (no doubt better as the day drys them out). Customer service excellent at all levels. $49 round is great value for this quality of a course, given what other courses are charging.

Played Monday 6-22. Course is in great condition. Tee boxes are lush, ball sits up perfectly in the fairway. Industry has been putting plenty of water on this course. There are a few spots that are a ... Continue »

Played Monday 6-22. Course is in great condition. Tee boxes are lush, ball sits up perfectly in the fairway. Industry has been putting plenty of water on this course. There are a few spots that are a little wetter than others, but anyone who plays here will be very happy with the conditions. Only Covid-19 restrictions limit this layout, ie, no cart girl, no water fountains, no ball washers. POP was a little slow, but the course was packed solid. The bunkers had no rakes and, as a result, there were a number of footprints to contend with. I suggest just placing your ball in a non-footprint area. They use inverted cup liners so the balls won't go deeply into the cup holes. This can sometimes result in putts popping out of the hole when they strike the liner. But, that doesn't happen too often. You won't find a public course in much better shape than The Babe is right now.

Afternoon tee time on the Babe. Not much more to add from the review earlier this week. Check in was swift, no waiting. Course is green and is a good challenge. Tee boxes were green and level. F... Continue »

Afternoon tee time on the Babe. Not much more to add from the review earlier this week. Check in was swift, no waiting. Course is green and is a good challenge. Tee boxes were green and level. Fairways were also green and lush, rough was not bad at worse 1 inch. The greens were hammered with divot marks. Amazes me how ignorant some people are, I personally fixed 5 per each green. Otherwise the greens were a little shaggy and slow for my liking. As previously mentioned the bunkers are horrible. Crab grass growing and the sand was crusty. I sort or get it but at the same time disappointed.

POP was just shy of 4 hours.