Very busy Friday morning. Able to get out first as usual, but it is becoming more and more competitive to get that first... » More

Very busy Friday morning. Able to get out first as usual, but it is becoming more and more competitive to get that first tee time. Course is in very good condition right now - no issues whatsoever. They are beginning the renovation project on #17, so that hole will be played as a par 3 for about a month to complete the project. Looking forward to seeing what the hole looks like when finished.

While the greens rolled well and were very receptive, they were much slower than usual, which is not a bad thing, but when you play every day and get accustomed too certain pace, it took me several holes to adjust. Otherwise the entire course is a joy to play.
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Rumor has it, this course is losing one of the 9holes. It's going to be a sad day when it happens. Love the layout of t... » More

Rumor has it, this course is losing one of the 9holes. It's going to be a sad day when it happens. Love the layout of this course! Tough holes and plenty long!!!
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Finding myself in the valley late in the afternoon, rather than fight traffic to Orange County, decided to try to play a... » More

Finding myself in the valley late in the afternoon, rather than fight traffic to Orange County, decided to try to play a twilight round at DeBell, as it had been forever since I last played here. To my surprise I was able to find an open time and despite the slow pace, it was a beautiful evening, and I enjoyed it far more than sitting on the 5 freeway. Course was in better condition than I expected or remember it being. Greens rolled well, or maybe I just made enough putts to make it seem that way? Good coverage in the fairways. Several tee boxes were a bit chewed up with divots, but nothing too severe. Both bunkers I found had adequate sand but were not raked. While I would not choose to make this a steady diet, the course is interesting and fun. Recommend if you have not played it.
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Course is beautiful! Staff at proshop is awesome...as if you're in a private club. The starter? Weird!!! Horrible ga... » More

Course is beautiful! Staff at proshop is awesome...as if you're in a private club. The starter? Weird!!! Horrible gate keeper! Beware!!!! Course conditions was perfect! I'd play here again!
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Played 6-17-26 3 pm POP 3.5 hr. Course is in over all great condition Except for the traps & tees. Fairways had great co... » More

Played 6-17-26 3 pm POP 3.5 hr. Course is in over all great condition Except for the traps & tees. Fairways had great coverage with only a occasional dry/thin spot along the edges. Mostly green and lush with the ball sitting nicely. Greens were in great shape. Rolled fairly well at a medium pace. Slightly firm, but you could stop balls with good strikes. Only an occasional sick spot along an edge. Traps & tees are the only and true week spot. Especially the tees. I think it is way past time that they need to address this. You have to be able to hit shots from either down hill or up hill lies, because that seems to be your only choice when teeing off. Most traps are very firm with little sand in them. You might just need to ignore the tee markers and just find a spot that is hittable. Still a easy recommend and one of my favorite courses to play.
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Our NCGA jewel in Monterey comes through as usual. Time after time year after year a great value and track for members. ... » More

Our NCGA jewel in Monterey comes through as usual. Time after time year after year a great value and track for members. Played Monday 6/15 mid-day high clouds with the sun almost visible as the marine layer lingered all day. A nice relief for me as Sac had the first 100 degree day of the season recently. I just avoided that score, due to multiple breaks from the trees back into play. Great day overall.
Greens rolling true and speedy. Misjudged a few more than usual for speed and made some saves. Large surfaces smooth with some blotchy color. Paying attention to pin position (#3 today) advantageous to scoring. Subtle breaks, some say they favor towards the ocean when in doubt.
Fairways are / were the highlight. Like carpet and so nice to play from. Feel like what you see on TV. Tee boxes are tight and level well kept. Glad my driver cooperated.
Good sand in the bunkers. I escaped better than usual. Thin to win put it on in one.
Happy to play a casual round with my golf buddies. Dog was happy with a visit to nearby Carmel Beach after and I found a couple eggs (1 Pro V) on the beach.
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El Prado, Butterfield Stage 6-16-26 is playing probably the best all around conditions you will ever find here in my opi... » More

El Prado, Butterfield Stage 6-16-26 is playing probably the best all around conditions you will ever find here in my opinion. Fairways 5 star across all 18, soft fluffy lies when you pull-up and you know your gonna stripe it! Greens are small on the "Butter" a bit quick but to be fair not overly punishing on the slope. Bunkers.....suck. either way to wet or hardpan w/a sprinkle of coarse sand on top. Always busy here and really wish they would station a starter near the tees. Some how a single got between our 4 and a group ahead and totally messed the pace all day! we kindly asked him 3 times to groupup or skip thru to join others way ahead,WTF? On rass driving range is always prefered, good beverage service can be found, and the 19thhole is a welcome sight to wind down. I recommend a El Prado test now before the real heat sets in. Fore!
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Played a 12:30pm start time on a Saturday with a brisk breeze. I haven't played Admiral Baker since 2014, and it was go... » More

Played a 12:30pm start time on a Saturday with a brisk breeze. I haven't played Admiral Baker since 2014, and it was good to be back out there. The course was generally in good shape. Fairways and rough were good, with greenside bunkers having plenty of sand but fairway bunkers being more hard pan. Greens were rolling at a medium/fast speed, but seemed to be pretty hard. Iron shots that normally stop or spin back for me where hopping forward into the back fringe.

It was a fairly warm day, so the breeze was welcome. There were two separate beverage carts running, plus the snack shop was open, so there was plenty of opportunities to hydrate. I believe I paid $76 with cart, non-military, which is a great rate these days for weekend play. I was playing with a couple of beginners, so we we ended up about a hole behind, but we still got around in 4hr 40min.
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Play on 6/17/2026. Alondra is a good value the course is no means by no means pristine but very playable for what you're... » More

Play on 6/17/2026. Alondra is a good value the course is no means by no means pristine but very playable for what you're paying. Fairways are decent, typical muni. Around the greens were slightly more lush. Good greens i think, fairly smooth and on the fast side. Bunkers were filled woth sand. Tee boxes are ok kinda like the fairways. I would definitely come back for price vs conditions. I think it was $41 to walk weekday and $18 for the cart.
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In town for a few days and took a break from the bike and hot weather to join DeepSea14 and Bob for a round of golf. Wi... » More

In town for a few days and took a break from the bike and hot weather to join DeepSea14 and Bob for a round of golf. With the only tee time at Spyglass being 6:15AM we opted for the ever popular Poppy Hills. This course seems to remain consistent with its conditions. Not over the top perfect but pretty close. Greens rolled smooth all day long. They did seem to go from very fast to medium by the end of the day.

Fairways are excellent. Just short of that perfect 10. Fairways offer generous rollout (for most people) yet still present a nice hitting surface. First cut rough isn’t too penal and after that you’re in wild country. Tee boxes were level and lush. Greenside bunkers had ample sand as always. Some of the wasteland bunkers could use some attention but that was just due to us being there towards the end of the day so there had been a lot of foot traffic.

Pace of play wasn’t too bad. We waited on almost every shot yet we finished in under 4.5 hours. Usually Peter brings the perfect sunny weather with him but this time we had a high overcast day. Which after a couple of hot days in the sun on the bike, I was happy to have it a bit cooler. Still, we were in shorts and shorts sleeve shirts all day so it wasn’t too bad.

With Spanish Bay closed for another 6 months or so, I’m sure I’ll get out here to Poppy more often. And that’s a good thing!
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Played 6-13-26 early morning as usual, walking in under three hours on an overcast morning that started to clear just as... » More

Played 6-13-26 early morning as usual, walking in under three hours on an overcast morning that started to clear just as I was finishing. Tee boxes , level with good coverage and cut tight. Fairways were very lush and green with great lies and minimal roll out. Rough playing 1-2 inches longer than fairways and thick. Bunkers had a good layer of heavy sand and in great condition. Greens were in really good shape rolling medium/fast and true and playing semi-soft. Overall great conditions right now. Highly recommended.
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Played Lakewood today teeing off at 8:30 and played in exactly 4 hours. The course is in nice shape and most tee boxes ... » More

Played Lakewood today teeing off at 8:30 and played in exactly 4 hours. The course is in nice shape and most tee boxes are fine with the exception of number 3 for both blue and white they were a little chunky but for the most part fine. Greens were great and held shots well, lots of sand in bunkers as I was in a few. Most of the tee boxes today were almost next to each other, the first 4 were only a few yards apart and then from 5 on they were separated by maybe 10 yards but I did see a lot maintenance workers today so maybe it was for today only, because if you were playing whites it was a good 6500 + yards today. Last thing, the rough is really grown here to maybe 3-4 inches so if you spray your ball a little good luck finding it. Was lucky to find a tee time here today, but for those of you who are seniors, the Lakewood Senior Men’s Club has openings you get to play 2 tournaments a month on a Monday teeing off at 8 am just thought I would mention it. Always a good time playing here..
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