Great to see this course back open. One of the better short courses to play in So Cal. A lot of short holes, great to work on ball striking.

Great to see this course back open. One of the better short courses to play in So Cal. A lot of short holes, great to work on ball striking.

So glad to see Birch back in play. Many short holes, but great for working on short game. Few holes are tricky, like hole 8! Greens are weird as they almost feel fake, but that is probably because ... Continue »

So glad to see Birch back in play. Many short holes, but great for working on short game. Few holes are tricky, like hole 8! Greens are weird as they almost feel fake, but that is probably because they are new. It is different enough that you keep looking back into the memory banks of the old Birch, but still familiar. Sand is nice, but heavy. Got around in 3 hours. Walking only is awesome. Wish it stayed that way.

Walked on a little after noon today as a single for $29, played as a single and made it around in a bit under 3 hours. I really can't say much that kevbig didn't cover in his review from 2 days ago. T... Continue »

Walked on a little after noon today as a single for $29, played as a single and made it around in a bit under 3 hours. I really can't say much that kevbig didn't cover in his review from 2 days ago. The greens are quite frustrating, you absolutely think they will be faster than they are. Smooth as a baby's behind though. I was in a few bunkers and the sand felt very heavy, take that as you will. Overall I enjoyed the new layout, there are quite a bit more elevation changes than before which makes it very interesting. Will return.

Made it out to Birch Hills for the Grand Re-Opening today. I'll try to be detailed yet succinct if that makes sense. It was a large crowd out there for opening day. Our threesome called in the morning... Continue »

Made it out to Birch Hills for the Grand Re-Opening today. I'll try to be detailed yet succinct if that makes sense. It was a large crowd out there for opening day. Our threesome called in the morning and they said afternoon was wide open. We got there at 1:30pm (no reservation) and they were able to give us a 2:10pm tee time. Pre-Round: Old clubhouse has been torn down and they're using a mobile trailer (a la Dos Lagos until they got their clubhouse built this year). Sign outside says new clubhouse should be done by 2016. With time to kill before we teed off we hit some (new limited flight) balls on the grass range, although we saw mats (but they weren't in use today). Being opening day the grass was absolutely perfect and the range was gorgeous as you can imagine. No distance markers to flags on the range however. Plenty of staff to greet people at the clubhouse, point golfers in the right direction (no signage for 1st or 10th tee yet). Starter at the 1st tee and the putting green adjacent. Speed on the putting green was identical to those on the course which was nice. Changes: As many of you know there was a re-design due to developments that we built on the east side of the property. Most notably affected are holes 7 (former par 4 along Kraemer Blvd is now a short par 3) & 8 (shortest hole on course) on the front. But other than that most of the layout is similar as before. Back 9 is re-routed some. The old #18 is now #11 and vise versa then you cross over the wash to the other side. #12 used to a long par 3 but that's been shortened to 127 yds. Lake comes into play on #'s 13, 14 and 18. All green complexes have been completely re-done with larger and more undulating greens that are quite difficult to get a read on the 1st time around. Lots of subtle breaks. Course Conditions: Being opening day I'm sure this will the best conditions the course may ever be in and it was certainly a LOT better than in the past. Overall conditions were quite nice. There are however ZERO yardage markers other than on the tees and we didn't have our GPS since we figured it wouldn't matter with new holes. Best if you have laser rangefinders or else you'll just have to eyeball it the old school way. Tees: Perfectly level and flat but a surprising amount of divot damage for day 1. Some areas were so firm that you couldn't get a tee in the ground and would have to find a different spot. Fairways: Great coverage as well with no real thin spots. Played firm and fast on the par 4's especially on the back 9. Rough: Not much to speak of but good coverage throughout. Bunkers: Was in a couple and they had nice sand but my playing partners found a couple that were thin. Greens: Beautiful! No ball marks since it's opening day and I hope golfers all do their part to keep it that way. They were definitely firm and would generally hold higher shots. Anything coming in low and it's probably going to the back. But as firm as they were, they only putted medium speed which took s few holes to get used to since they look and feel faster than they really are. Overall: For those that remember the old Birch Hills, you'll still feel nostalgic as many of the holes are the same but there are defintely enough changes to add a newer look and feel to the place. Again, all the greens have been re-done for the better and I hope the conditions will remain as good as they were today for the foreseeable future. It's great to have this place back to work on the short game. POP today was a slow 4 hours due to large opening day crowds. Plenty of local area residents out there that have been waiting for a long time for today. Note: Walking only until July. They do have push carts for rent. Looks like they got their fleet of new golf carts in today but I'm thinking they want to keep carts off the turf for a while to give it time. Recommend that you play sooner rather than later to have a truly enjoyable experience.

Just received an e-mail saying the Birch Hills will be closing on March 1 for renovations and will re-open in the fall of 2011

Just received an e-mail saying the Birch Hills will be closing on March 1 for renovations and will re-open in the fall of 2011

Tee time was at 10:41 today, teed off about 40 minutes late. It was alternating hard rain, light drizzle, and a few small patches of dry weather. They double-booked a lot of times today, which is a bi... Continue »

Tee time was at 10:41 today, teed off about 40 minutes late. It was alternating hard rain, light drizzle, and a few small patches of dry weather. They double-booked a lot of times today, which is a big problem. They also ran out of carts, but people were leaving the course due to the rain, so my group was barely able to saddle up prior to hitting our first shots. A lot of people left, especially when we reached the back nine, so the round was faster than expected, around 4 hours. Tee boxes were fair to thin, most were not very level. Fairways were above average, with very good grass coverage. The rough was not much taller than fairway height. I was in one bunker, and it was surprisingly soft even though it was very wet. The greens were the best I've ever seen at this course. Few ball marks, rolled very true, and very fast as well, even while it was raining. They held shots well too. The season we've had has been good to this course, get on it while it's still in great shape!

Played Saturday 9/18, 1:15 tee time. Starter got us out a bit early, round lasted just under four hours. Saw beverage cart four times. Tee boxes were very firm and pretty bare, also quite uneven. Fair... Continue »

Played Saturday 9/18, 1:15 tee time. Starter got us out a bit early, round lasted just under four hours. Saw beverage cart four times. Tee boxes were very firm and pretty bare, also quite uneven. Fairways were in decent condition, not many bare spots, but many areas where kikuyu is taking over. Rough was 1-2" but not very penal. Greens were somewhat inconsistent, some fast, some slow, and did not always roll true. Bunkers ranged from hardpan to fluffy. Overall it was a very inconsistent experience, a lot of good, bad and in-between. Walked for $21, so I'd consider it worth the fee; just be prepared for anything out there.

Played 5/22 and finished in 4.25 hours. Pace of play was OK. Greens are very hard to read and putts will break uphill on some holes. This course would be a real gem if they were able to replace the... Continue »

Played 5/22 and finished in 4.25 hours. Pace of play was OK. Greens are very hard to read and putts will break uphill on some holes. This course would be a real gem if they were able to replace the greens.

Sand is inconsistent in bunkers and rough and collar of greens are juicy grass that is tough to get through for first time player.

Did not see a cart girl all afternoon. I did have the displeasure to have a group of Asians who wanted to quickly tee off into us as soon as our feet left the putting surface. More than once we were buzzed by tee shots. No marshall to b$tch them out.

Played Sat. morning at 6:25 a.m. Finished quickly in 3:25 hrs. fairways were thin. Some of the teeboxes were not level but the greens were in good shape. Cart girl started making her rounds as we hole... Continue »

Played Sat. morning at 6:25 a.m. Finished quickly in 3:25 hrs. fairways were thin. Some of the teeboxes were not level but the greens were in good shape. Cart girl started making her rounds as we holed on the 18th.