Played 2/8/17. Had my best score ever at Strawberry today, but I'll try not to let that taint my review.

This course is sad. Great layout. Great staff. But the conditions are borderline pathetic fo... Continue »

Played 2/8/17. Had my best score ever at Strawberry today, but I'll try not to let that taint my review.

This course is sad. Great layout. Great staff. But the conditions are borderline pathetic for a high-end course. The fairways are mega-shaggy, perhaps as shaggy as any I have seen ever. All over the course, the grass turns into weeds into bare spots into clumps. Play the ball up everywhere, because you will get terrible lies all day. The greens are generally nice, but quite bumpy.

I thought that after all the rain for two months I'd see a green course with healthy grass. Not here. I hope they turn things around, but for now I cannot recommend it at any price.

Took advantage of the back nine and breakfast deal today ($45) with my father FastFish. We we first out and enjoyed the back nine very much. Everything was soaked from the morning dew and the first 3 ... Continue »

Took advantage of the back nine and breakfast deal today ($45) with my father FastFish. We we first out and enjoyed the back nine very much. Everything was soaked from the morning dew and the first 3 greens were bumpy because the skeleton crew had not gotten to them yet. One we got to green that had been rolled and the dew pushed off they became some of the most beautiful greens I had seen. Lush and smooth with a dark emerald green color to them it was outstanding.

My rating has a lot to do with the greens getting a high score as the rest of the course is in decent not great condition. Tee's were a little shaggy but tons of space to place your tee.

Fairways are the same as what mark said below good coverage overall but a few places GUR and a few that were a little dead.

Rough is like most rough in California right now and not good once you get a few yards off the fairway.

Sand was very wet but very playable with lots of sand.

Staff was super friendly and the breakfast was very good which makes this a good deal because rack rate is over $120 so Ill stick to the good nine holes and breakfast for $45.

Played out here this morning using a Costco voucher I received last Christmas. I had a 9:10 tee time as a single, but apparently the other three booked at that time got an early start, so the starter ... Continue »

Played out here this morning using a Costco voucher I received last Christmas. I had a 9:10 tee time as a single, but apparently the other three booked at that time got an early start, so the starter graciously sent me to the tee by myself at 9:00 to get me out ahead of a foursome. The course was pretty busy but moved great. I played behind a threesome all day but never really caught them sitting at a tee, so I never joined them. Finished the whole round in 3:50. Course is in nice condition, especially the greens. They were smooth, medium-fast/fast and accepted full shots very well. They have their share of nicks here and there and I seemed to encounter more debris than typical (leaves, ball mark displaced dirt clods, dead bee, etc), but overall I thought the greens were great. The fairways have good coverage but vary somewhat in lushness from one hole to the next. Some lies were fluffy and others were tight. Rough was mostly cut pretty short, although I found some around the 18th green that was probably 4-6 inches long. I was in two bunkers and they were both really nice. Tee boxes were the lowlight, as several of them are in maintenance mode, although on a few of them it seems they tried to keep an untouched strip about 4 feet wide to keep things as "normal" as possible. The 10th tee was the worst, just solid dirt/sand the whole way (blue box). The 15th tee box was aerated but not sanded. While the course plays very good right now, I guess I'm just not a fan of whatever turf they use here. This course is never very aesthetically pleasing because the fairways, even when in good condition like now, seem to always be that yellowish/brownish/diarrhea green color. I'd be much more accepting of that if the course played firm and dry, but it seems like there's always wet ground underneath the surface on these fairways. Maybe they're being overwatered? I love the layout here but I just wish they'd try some rye grass or something that actually looks like a ultra-lush course worthy of a $125 rack rate.

Played the Blues (6276/70.9/128) as a 4some with Micheal, Frank and Rodwin in 4H, 45M. The weather was 80ish and clear with little wind. Dave's recent review was spot on. Greens disappointing, the r... Continue »

Played the Blues (6276/70.9/128) as a 4some with Micheal, Frank and Rodwin in 4H, 45M. The weather was 80ish and clear with little wind. Dave's recent review was spot on. Greens disappointing, the rest of the course okay to good. I enjoy this course, tough but not overly tough. You have to keep it on the short stuff here. There are numerous holes I usually play well and numerous holes that routinely kick my butt on this layout. Most tees were lush, but several could use leveling. Many tees needed divot repair today. The Bermuda fairways were mostly lush. Much better than my last few visits here, they were good to play out of today. The Bermuda rough has decent coverage for a grass and weed mixture. Thick and punitive in spots. The traps have mostly good sand and were nicely maintained. The greens were mediocre. A few sporadic bare spots, firm and sometimes bumpy. They putted medium slow & held approach shots well. There is more and more poa annua on these greens and they do not putt nearly as well as they did last winter. Probably about 50% bent and 50% poa annua, which causes noticeable speed and texture differences as you cross patches of different grasses. Everyone encountered provided excellent customer service. Beverage cart out making the rounds. Standard GPS on carts to the front, middle and back of the green only. Recommended = Yes, but only if you can get a deal, not worth rack rate.

Made my annual trek out to SF for super-twilight at 4:30pm on a clear warm Tuesday, 8/23/2016. I normally play SF in mid-July at the two-day Irvine City Championship (too pricey otherwise), but to try... Continue »

Made my annual trek out to SF for super-twilight at 4:30pm on a clear warm Tuesday, 8/23/2016. I normally play SF in mid-July at the two-day Irvine City Championship (too pricey otherwise), but to try to boost participation they’ve moved the ICC to October 1st this year, and we’ll be on our Canada trip then. ST rates are $50 at 4:30, so you hope to catch the fast lane and be able to finish. The starter paired me with a twosome and got us out a few minutes early.

Got there about 3:30 to get on the ST list, then hit a small bag of balls and did some putting. One of the practice greens was closed being watered – the other was crowded, and turf was dry/thin/bumpy/slow with scattered bare spots – definitely not what I’m used to on this practice green. Unfortunately, those are the same conditions we found on the other greens on-course. Speed was only medium-slow. Greens on the front were pretty soft and receptive, while greens on the back were firmer and drier, and you got a lot more release on approaches and chips. All the greens had a lot of old and new ballmarks on them.

Fairways were fairly dry but coverage was good and lies were OK. Rough was very closely trimmed and dry, and easy to play from. Traps looked to be in good shape (I wasn’t in one) – playing partners said the sand was good, except when a muddy trap right of green #5 led to a rocket over the green. Tees were pretty bushy and could use a cut – many of them are also sloping badly to the left.

Vegetation along the course margins is much lower and drier than I’ve seen in the past, I assume as a combination of our long-term dry weather conditions and possibly thinning by the course. I also noticed a number of trees that had previously been lush and in play on many holes were thinned out or gone completely – most obvious were in the left front of green #5, to the right of hole #6, on the right side of hole #8, and left off the tee on hole #12. The look of the course is much more open than in the past – this may contribute to the “drying-out” of the overall course conditions. The drop area on the par-3 17th hole elicited a chuckle – the right half of the green (where the pin was located today) is screened from the drop area by big trees!

I was paired with two investment bankers who knew each other and spent most of the round talking shop. They talked about playing fast so they could finish, but they didn’t know how to play fast so we chugged along in front of the UCI women’s golf team and behind a casual twosome. We only waited a couple minutes a few times behind the twosome, and finished at 7:30 in just over 3 hours.

Range on mats. Carts have a simple Proshot system. The course could use more water stations. No cart girl or ranger this late. Recommended, with listed caveats.

played strawberry farms mid week mid morning with a few buds today. i usually enjoy the track, there are a few mundane par 4's but some interesting 3's and 5's. not many houses close by, most of the... Continue »

played strawberry farms mid week mid morning with a few buds today. i usually enjoy the track, there are a few mundane par 4's but some interesting 3's and 5's. not many houses close by, most of the back 9 runs around the sand canyon reservoir. conditions are improved since winter time, greener but i wouldn't call lush. much fewer dirt and muddy patches, a lot of new sod being laid down labeled GUR. tee boxes are decent, some a bit shaggy. fairways are thick, i actually think they could be mowed down a bit. there is little rough to really speak of, it's just a bit longer than the fairway. there is a lot of yellow mixed in with the green of the course but it plays fine. not much greenside rough, so up and downs are not too difficult. greens are very soft, almost every shot makes a big ball mark and mine either stopped within a foot of the mark or came back. they rolled pretty slow, making putting not particularly difficult. not very many people on the course, didn't see anyone til 13 and we got around as a threesome in 3.5 hours which i always enjoy.

Played the Blues (6276/70.9/128) as a 3some with 140ver & Tom using Forelinx in roughly 4H. The weather was 70ish and clear with little wind.

Most over seeded tees were lush, but several could use... Continue »

Played the Blues (6276/70.9/128) as a 3some with 140ver & Tom using Forelinx in roughly 4H. The weather was 70ish and clear with little wind.

Most over seeded tees were lush, but several could use leveling. Many tees needed divot repair today.

The Bermuda fairways are showing signs of life and have greened up a bit. However, they are below average overall. Definitely winter thin with many GUR spots.

The Bermuda rough has decent coverage for a dormant grass and weed mixture in the winter.

The traps mostly have good sand, decently maintained.

The greens are firm, medium fast & held approach shots well. However, there is more and more poa annua on these greens and they do not putt nearly as well as they did a few months ago. Probably about 50% bent and 50% poa annua, which causes noticeable speed and texture differences as you cross grasses. We noticed the bumpiness and had putts break multiple directions when putting it more than once.

Everyone encountered provided excellent customer service. Beverage cart out making the rounds. GPS on carts to the front, middle and back of the green only. I enjoy the difficulty factor of this course, tough but not overly tough. You have to keep it on the short stuff here. Recommended = Yes even though the course is not nearly in as good of condition as it was a few months ago.

sorry to say that strawberry just is not in good shape right now. i like the layout and that it's 10 minutes from me, but there are just so many courses in better condition to play. fairways are bro... Continue »

sorry to say that strawberry just is not in good shape right now. i like the layout and that it's 10 minutes from me, but there are just so many courses in better condition to play. fairways are brown, patchy, and still dormant. rough is the same. i played on the day after the rain and there were lots of muddy patches out there since there just wasn't a lot of grass. the greens are in decent condition and the tees are okay but that's about it. bunkers were wet but inconsistent. definitely not worth the rack rate, not even worth the irvine resident rate. only thing good was the pace of play since the place was empty. guess no one else wanted to pay $125 for brown muddy fairways.

Doing the Forelinx tour with everyone else it seems. Played in a little over 4 hours teeing off before 7 AM on a Saturday. I'd love to see the course in great shape. Overall the course was a let do... Continue »

Doing the Forelinx tour with everyone else it seems. Played in a little over 4 hours teeing off before 7 AM on a Saturday. I'd love to see the course in great shape. Overall the course was a let down based on the rack rate. If I paid more than $50 I'd be disappointed. Greens were in good shape. Definitely need to keep in straight on the back 9.

Was told we wouldn't see the cart lady before the end of the round since she doesn't get out till 9. This didn't make much sense, but proved to be true. The group ahead of us and behind us along with our group were wondering what was going on. When she showed up, it all made sense. She goes the same direction as you're playing not backwards. This was the biggest complaint of the day.