The greens have received some TLC and look great—no bald patches or GUR. But (presumably because we’re in the middle of summer), they are keeping them extra wet and long, which translates into slow an... Continue »

The greens have received some TLC and look great—no bald patches or GUR. But (presumably because we’re in the middle of summer), they are keeping them extra wet and long, which translates into slow and bumpy. We even had one shot plug into the green (because they were so wet). The rest of the course seems like it is hanging on by a thread. The fairways were decent, the rough is what you’d expect, the bunkers were okay. Every once in awhile, you get a glimpse into what this course used to be (back in the Robinson Ranch days), but the conditioning is simply not what it used to be. The scenery and serenity of the place still make it unique, but don’t expect top tier conditions.

It took eleven long years but finally made the trek back out to Santa Clarita to try my luck at Sand Canyon (formerly Robinson Ranch) again, and boy did I need as much as I could get out there.

Th... Continue »

It took eleven long years but finally made the trek back out to Santa Clarita to try my luck at Sand Canyon (formerly Robinson Ranch) again, and boy did I need as much as I could get out there.

This is not a course for the faint of heart. It's relentless and never lets you take a breath. There are elevations, crazy design angles and lines, desert chaparral mayhem around every corner, uncomfortable sightlines, and to top it off there are three nines offering all of this. My buddy and I played from the blue tees and did the Valley/Desert routing with a cart. It's a big challenge if you're not sharp off the tee or on approach.

Course conditions are far better than expected at this time of year and in that dusted out area of northern Los Angeles county. There is a lot of green in the fairways and rough, with the occasional dry spot but lots of danger areas between tee box and fairway to find trouble. A lot of the tee boxes were a bit slanted with the landscape, but they were in good shape. I only hit out of one bunker (greenside on hole 8 Valley) and it was very nice.

But the best part? The greens and the green complexes. Really fun, really nice rolls and a good mixture of massive and not-so-massive to really make you plan your approaches. Speeds weren't super fast at all but they were very consistent from hole to hole and simply a joy to play. Worth coming back just for the greens.

Driving range looks like a synthetic football field from the Pacific Northwest, but it gets the job done. Customer service folks were nice, as was the one cart girl we met up with on the front nine. Pace of play? Epic - we were done on a fairly quiet day out there in just under four hours. That was great.

Now that I've moved away from the South Bay and more up into the Los Angeles area, I finally realized that an afternoon tee time here with no traffic only takes about 40-45 minutes to get there, so I think that I will be not waiting another decade before I take on the super fun challenge of Sand Canyon again.

Played today, September 2, 2025, Mountain/Desert routing. The Mountain Course is not in great condition. The tees were in poor condition, with the Black and Blue tees pushed back and the White and Gol... Continue »

Played today, September 2, 2025, Mountain/Desert routing. The Mountain Course is not in great condition. The tees were in poor condition, with the Black and Blue tees pushed back and the White and Gold tees moved forward. The unused tee boxes were not under any kind of maintenance. The fairways were okay. The rough was a mixed bag of shaggy (mowed) grass or bare ground. The greens were mostly bad; slow, bumpy, with bare areas on many greens. The Desert Course was in better condition. Like the Mountain nine, the tees were consolidated and not well maintained. The greens were much better on this nine. Looks like they just mowed them before we played. They were on the slower side though. The bunkers were in good condition around the greens; There were footprints in many of them. Overall, I wished I golfed somewhere else.

Played on June 3rd and two weeks prior. Fairway are in great shape overall with very few dry/this spots. Greens are rolling great but a little soft, kind of hit and stop if you put some spin on it. ... Continue »

Played on June 3rd and two weeks prior. Fairway are in great shape overall with very few dry/this spots. Greens are rolling great but a little soft, kind of hit and stop if you put some spin on it. Tee boxes a shagy with plenty of divots. It's slowly getting better from years of neglect. Range balls are mostly decent and staff are good. Snack shack closes early like 3 or something. big donut shaped putting/chipping green.

I played here last Friday, December 6, with some buddies from work. Many areas were over watered, but it's a lot better than it was 10 years ago when the old owners didn't have the water. We played th... Continue »

I played here last Friday, December 6, with some buddies from work. Many areas were over watered, but it's a lot better than it was 10 years ago when the old owners didn't have the water. We played the Valley/Mountain nines. they were overseeded a month ago. The Desert Course is currently under overseeding and maintenance and is closed.

The greens were medium speed and mostly good. Hole #6 on the Mountain Course (a par 3) was not mowed. Maybe it's under some kind of maintenance, but it was shaggy. Soft greens throughout and there were plenty of ball marks to fix.

Fairways were good for coverage. Not as green as you might expect for being overseeded. Very few, if any, bare areas. Plenty of divots in the popular zones; think 100-150 yards to center of the greens.

Rough on this course is a different story. For the most part, there's none. It's thin, bare, and mowed tight so your ball will find its way into the scrub brush for a penalty. There are a lot of burrowing animal holes throughout the rough on this course. Ground squirrels are prevalent here and you could lose a ball or get some terrible lie. There's a premium on fairway shots at this course. Anything else and you're possibly looking at a big score.

Bunkers were a mixed bag of mostly not good. Thin sand here and there, deep and fluffy in others. Typically, it will be more sand around the greens and thin-to-little sand in the fairway bunkers.

Tees were not great. Mountain #8 was undergoing some construction and all moved forward. It did make for some fun shots to go at this green (uphill 285 yards), although it's very well protected with numerous bunkers up the right-hand side.

Overall, the course was okay condition-wise. I really want to say it's great, or even good. I just can't. Maintenance could be stepped up. Maybe increase the size of the landing areas in the fairways and grow some real rough to keep your ball in play. Maybe trim some of the large heritage oak trees that tend to interfere with your shots.

There was no beverage service, but the carts have ice chests and there is ice outside the starters office. Drinks and food are available at the snack bar, but it's not cheap. The upstairs restaurant has long been closed. It's kind of a shame as the restaurant and bar used to be good. The future of this course could be looking up if the owner can build his dream resort like he has planned, but there has been push back from the local community. I will continue to play here occasionally as it's only $55 senior rate M-F.

I played here again last Friday, 2/16/24. We played the Valley/Desert nines. It seems the course conditions are somewhat deteriorating overall. Most of the grass here is dormant Bermuda. There are are... Continue »

I played here again last Friday, 2/16/24. We played the Valley/Desert nines. It seems the course conditions are somewhat deteriorating overall. Most of the grass here is dormant Bermuda. There are areas of dirt where there should be grass growing; mostly in the rough, but many areas of the fairways. We played the Blue tees and they seemed to be beat up. Some tees needed mowing. Despite all the recent rain, there are areas of the course that seemed very dry. It would have been nice if the course had overseeded last fall. It could have been stunning by now. Other than all that negativity, there are some redeeming qualities to consider. It was only $40 Senior rate with a cart in the afternoon. There were two friendly cart girls that were very easy on the eyes. Finally, the greens seemed to be in decent condition; rolling true and few ball marks or other damage. I like playing here because it is close to home; however, I think I may be looking for other venues until the summer when things green up around here.

I played the Valley/Desert combination last Friday. The tee time was 12:35 and we got out about 10 minutes late due to the cluster f... of carts and golfers trying to make the afternoon discount rates... Continue »

I played the Valley/Desert combination last Friday. The tee time was 12:35 and we got out about 10 minutes late due to the cluster f... of carts and golfers trying to make the afternoon discount rates. What a disorganized mess trying to get a cart assignment. I did not know if the starter who was assigning carts had my name or even if I had to check in with him. Once we got our carts it was all good. Play was a little on the slow side, but it was the Friday before New Years weekend, so I expected a lot of golfers. The course was in mediocre shape. Fairways looked a bit dry and maybe needed an overseed for the winter. It was playable and there was mostly good coverage of dormant turf. We played the Blue tees and they were fine. Good coverage and somewhat level. Okay, so you do have to pick a spot. The rough at this course is mostly nonexistent, so if you hit one past the fairway, it could go off into the native areas. I was in three bunkers and the sand was very deep in two of them. It had a nice brown color and a medium texture. Both bunkers had a lot of deep footprints and were unraked. That was two of the bunkers. The third bunker I was in (Hole 15/Desert #6, Par 4) behind the green, had no sand at all; just the white fabric liner. That was easy to slide my club under the ball and make a save there. The greens rolled fine. They had a good speed; not super fast but just enough to keep you from having to hammer any putts. All in all, it was fun. My buddy and I finished with another twosome in the dark. We had a couple of glow balls, so that made it a little better. There was a great sunset to look at on 18 Tee as we waited for the group ahead of us to move off. The overall conditions of the course seemed to be somewhat on the poor side, though. I had hoped there would have been more some improvement since my last visit, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm still hopeful. For $40 senior rate after 12, it was good.

Played today, Desert/Mountain nines, 10/09/23, $55 senior rate, at 7:00 am tee time. The previous reviews did not look promising as they rated the course very low. It's not the best course around but ... Continue »

Played today, Desert/Mountain nines, 10/09/23, $55 senior rate, at 7:00 am tee time. The previous reviews did not look promising as they rated the course very low. It's not the best course around but it definitely was better than the 3.06. The greens were in good shape, soft and medium fast in speed. There were a few ball marks to fix on most of the greens. Hole 6 on the Mountain course was the worst green and I would say it was very bumpy and there was a small repair area near the walk off point. Other than that, there were 17 very decent greens.

I played the White tees and all were okay; not perfectly level, but I had no trouble finding a level hitting surface. Also, the tees were soft and had good coverage. Hole 3 on the Mountain course was temporary tees, pushed forward to the golds for maintenance.

Fairways had good coverage in most areas. Desert Hole 13 had a large bare area but not really coming into play on the par 5 there.

Rough was a mix of good to sparse coverage. There were areas that were thick enough to completely hide your ball. Okay, penalizing enough in the deep Bermuda rough, but most areas were nicely mowed and if your ball was up all was good.

Bunkers were a little wet in the morning but there was a maintenance guy with the sand pro going around and conditioning the traps. All good there. I was in a few and was able to escape easily enough.

The snack bar was not open when I arrived, and I did not check at the turn.

Check in was quick and and I am considering playing here next Friday.

The recent aerations on Mountain and Valley were done with apparently small tines. Other than top dressing which maintenance was blowing pretty much off, the greens were fine. Except #6 on Mountain. I... Continue »

The recent aerations on Mountain and Valley were done with apparently small tines. Other than top dressing which maintenance was blowing pretty much off, the greens were fine. Except #6 on Mountain. It’s garbage. Not because of aeration, it’s just in need of a scrape and resod. The courses are really not in good shape on the edges. Tees are really spongy and super thick. Course overall is a 5 out of 10. Not worth the money in the current condition. Views are great and this place always makes me believe “what if someone invested some money?” Could be great. Just not.