Played an SCGA outing in wonderfully warm conditions. Just like golf used to be 7 or so months ago. Went in with lowish expectations and Porter Valley sneaked over them with little room to spare. W... Continue »

Played an SCGA outing in wonderfully warm conditions. Just like golf used to be 7 or so months ago. Went in with lowish expectations and Porter Valley sneaked over them with little room to spare. While par 70 it does have three par 5's and most of the par three's are over 200 yards so it rarely feels short and since it's full of huge sand filled calderas guarding tiered and tilted greens - it also rarely felt easy. Front nine was friendly enough but after the turn the walls started closing in and the houses kept inching toward the fairways until the cart path becomes and integral part of the fairway (they have special rules to deal with that).

Tee boxes, fairways, and rough all had a public course feel to them but on a slightly better than average day. The bunkers I was in had heavy sand that caught me off guard the first time I hit in one. Greens were smooth and fairly fast - with all the undulations - difficult to score on.

For me the back nine is the reason I probably won't play here again. Watching a ball travel into somebody's back yard or worse detracts too much from the fun. I kept the ball in play all day but not everyone in my group was so lucky and next time it will probably be me.

Got to play Porter Ranch for the first time yesterday in a charity scramble. I haven't since been able to find anything to indicate public access, so I won't dive too deep. Conditions overall were exc... Continue »

Got to play Porter Ranch for the first time yesterday in a charity scramble. I haven't since been able to find anything to indicate public access, so I won't dive too deep. Conditions overall were excellent. Coverage on everything from tees through fairways, rough and green were consistently green and well grown in — nothing thin or brown. Rough could be deceptively grabby, even where it seemed more closely mown. Greens were on the quicker side of medium, firm and clean.

The course meanders through a development and offers a bit of everything — some water hazards, some elevation changes with one dramatically downhill par-4, and a mix of long and shorter par-3's. Driving range is smallish with an artificial strip hitting surface at the base. I assume grass would be available at other times. Clubhouse and facilities seem nice enough.

Played here on Monday July 11 for $40 with a cart. For a private course in good shape I think this is a deal. Pace was about 4 hours and the course is interesting enough to keep you engaged with each ... Continue »

Played here on Monday July 11 for $40 with a cart. For a private course in good shape I think this is a deal. Pace was about 4 hours and the course is interesting enough to keep you engaged with each shot. Not a long course but it is hilly and tight in areas so you need to keep your ball in play. Course knowledge would really help since you need to place your tee shot on certain sides of the fairway to have a view of the flag. We all enjoyed playing here and will come back when they have these kind of deals in the future.

Not a lot to add to Nick's review. I rather enjoy this course and at $35 I will continue to come back as often as I can. Monday is apparently maintenance day and the course has no services available; ... Continue »

Not a lot to add to Nick's review. I rather enjoy this course and at $35 I will continue to come back as often as I can. Monday is apparently maintenance day and the course has no services available; no beverage cart, no snack bar. We were informed of this and told to bring what we need. I love the greens. They were super fast and the many bumps and contours made for a really challenging day. The course is very lush from tee to green. As Nick stated, there were many unfilled divots in many of the fairways. The bunkers had a lot of unraked footprints and I tried to help out whenever I was in one by raking several hundred square feet at a time (well, it seemed like it). A little course knowledge and the ability to hit a straight shot is key here as the rough is deep and trees do come into play along the edges. The practice area is small and today it was really busy with the shotgun (80 guys at the 12 hitting stalls and on the smallish putting green. Still, it was a beautiful day and the course is in great condition.

Played the Blacks (6090/69.5/126) with kviser, Mdames & RGM2525. Fun round, it's rare that I get to play with 3 guys on my GK Guru list! The POP was 4.5H, we played for $35 w/cart on a member for a da... Continue »

Played the Blacks (6090/69.5/126) with kviser, Mdames & RGM2525. Fun round, it's rare that I get to play with 3 guys on my GK Guru list! The POP was 4.5H, we played for $35 w/cart on a member for a day shotgun. The weather was nice, low 70's, partly cloudy and just a little breezy. First time playing here. Hilly, shorter, fairly tight in spots layout that has some fun holes. Kind of typical for most privates in this immediate area, build more for the 65 year old weekend golfer and to be playable for golfers of all skill levels more than a track that would challenge low digit handicappers. I saw a little bit of DeBell and some Knollwood in this layout, but in nicer condition. Nice views of the SF Valley on many holes. The tees were punched but it did not affect play. They had good coverage and were mowed close, generally well maintained. A few could use divot repair. The fairways were fairly lush with few unfixed divots. The rough was lush and fairly thick/penal. Much more lush than most courses in this immediate area this time of year. The sand traps were decently maintained with medium coarse sand that was thick and tough to play from. The greens were very nice, medium fast and held approach shots well. They were treacherous if you were above the hole as our group had numerous "lag" putts creep 6' to 12' past the hole going downhill. A minus is that their driving range is irons only. No drink cart out today, the customer service in the pro shop was good. Nice clubhouse. The layout I would rate as average, but everything is above average to well above average condition wise. This would be a challenging course to walk because of the hills. Glad I teed it up here, but not a course I would play very often.

I have not played here since 2006. While not a huge fan of this course, I still like to get out here every so often because it's generally in good condition and pace of play has never been an issue. ... Continue »

I have not played here since 2006. While not a huge fan of this course, I still like to get out here every so often because it's generally in good condition and pace of play has never been an issue. I was able to get off as a twosome in the third group and played in just under three hours, so no complaints. Despite the early AM tee time, there was still wind. (Typical for this course)

Course was looking good ! Greens were not as fast I remember them being, but maybe I was just lucky to end out below the hole quite a bit, so no scary downhill putts to contend with. They will be punching greens mid April, so got lucky and avoided the maintenance.

Staff was great ! Wish every course treated me like I was treated here !

Always a challenge. Greens fast and don't be above the hole or you're looking at least a three putt.

Always a challenge. Greens fast and don't be above the hole or you're looking at least a three putt.

Course maybe short but don't let that fool you. Many areas to get in trouble. With the speed of the greens and the wind - have fun but good luck.

Course maybe short but don't let that fool you. Many areas to get in trouble. With the speed of the greens and the wind - have fun but good luck.

Had the pleasure of playing here a few times in the past couple months due to some limited public access. Cant really speak to the staff as the course virtually closed with the exception of minimal st... Continue »

Had the pleasure of playing here a few times in the past couple months due to some limited public access. Cant really speak to the staff as the course virtually closed with the exception of minimal staff available to run a small weekday shotgun start event. The staff i came in contact with were pleasant, helpful and professional. You definitely get the feel they know what they are doing.

The course itself is a fun layout with tight fairways, some elevation changes and well placed hazards. The greens are well protected and mostly require you to fly the ball all the way to the green due to greenside bunkering and false fronts. The course also plays much longer than the yardage suggest due to many uphill holes. Water comes into play on a couple holes but more times than not the water on the course is eye candy. The true test here are the greens, they putt fantastic but are diabolical with severe undulations as well as subtle breaks due to the valley. Everything falls towards the valley even when its not visually apparent.

The condition on this day was just OK (compared to last month) but still better than most any public course in the area. With frost recent frost, im guessing they are unable to water and the course is currently dormant, dry and playing fast. Tee boxes are level and lush and as good as you would expect. The greens are fast, smooth and fantastic to putt on.

Overall a hidden gem and outstanding in every aspect. Nice to get a feel for country club golf and I will back as often as possible.