Played last wed. First time playing since they closed for maintenance. Greens are in very good condition, rolled true. They put sand in all the greenside bunkers. Fairways were green and not a lot ... Continue »

Played last wed. First time playing since they closed for maintenance. Greens are in very good condition, rolled true. They put sand in all the greenside bunkers. Fairways were green and not a lot of bare spots. POP was under 4 hours.

My monthly golf group got together on Saturday at Talega this past weekend and the prior reviews about this course's declining conditions were pretty spot on, but not so bad that it wasn't worth the t... Continue »

My monthly golf group got together on Saturday at Talega this past weekend and the prior reviews about this course's declining conditions were pretty spot on, but not so bad that it wasn't worth the trip. The price ($109) was definitely too steep for the current state of the place.

There are a lot of burned out and thin areas across the property so even premium tee shots are going to land you in places that will have you wondering how you got so unlucky. It's certainly not terrible, but I've been to Talega once or twice in prime shape and it's an entirely different experience. It's a tough layout (especially on the back nine) so making it even more difficult with mediocre conditions is not as much fun as it should be.

Greens were in pretty good shape so that's to be recognized, and the bunkers were alright as well as I found myself in plenty of them on that back nine. The rough was once again a mixed bag of either deep or dirt - and pretty much everything in between. Tee boxes were a little beat up (our group plays from the white tees), especially the one on the par 3 12th hole.

POP was a mess with a very casual twosome in front of us moving so slowly and not keeping up with the foursome in front of them (how does that even happen?), so by the time we reached the fifth hole we needed to contact the golf shop and have them send out a marshal. It went better after he moved them along.

I think this course is a whole lot of fun when it's back in 'country club' shape, but for now that's not what you're going to find. I hope they get it back to its best shape soon.

Played Sunday, 2/20, teeing off at 6:50. Cold and wet when we started, warmed up on the back nine. Finished right at 4 hours for our fousome, with no waiting and not really seeing the group behind u... Continue »

Played Sunday, 2/20, teeing off at 6:50. Cold and wet when we started, warmed up on the back nine. Finished right at 4 hours for our fousome, with no waiting and not really seeing the group behind us.
I don't get to play that often, so when the invite came and I was actually free, I decided to play even though based on the prior review I knew the course was not in the greatest shape. Prior review was pretty accurate, only thing I'd change is the greens were pretty good when we played. Tee boxes were fine, par 3s a bit chewed up but that's normal for most courses. Fairways were thin for the most part, some better than others, a few were very thin.
I enjoyed the round despite the less than ideal conditions. There are signs they are working to fix some of the issues - new sod in places, some GUR areas where they are working on getting the course back to normal standards.
Not sure I can recommend based on conditions right now relative to price. It's a fun layout, and if you can get a deal maybe worth it. Hopefully by late spring the work they're doing will show and conditions will improve.

Hadn't played this course in a few years and was severely disappointed with how the conditions have deteriorated and price has skyrocketed. Paid $80 for a round at 1:20pm and due to packed condition... Continue »

Hadn't played this course in a few years and was severely disappointed with how the conditions have deteriorated and price has skyrocketed. Paid $80 for a round at 1:20pm and due to packed conditions and slow POP, we finished in darkness around 6pm. No marshals or beverage carts were seen during our round. This course needs lot of work to justify the premium prices and would be overall rated as poor-> average at best.

Tee boxes: Generally good condition. Mostly covered with minor divot damage. Probably the best part of the course.

Greens: Greens were in what appeared to be great condition, but speed was inconsistent and a little lumpy bumpy. Some pin locations were in just ridiculously stupid positions.

Fairways: This is links style fairways with super hard pan and very inconsistent coverage. Fairways were very thin and some areas ok,, while others were barely covered with different grasses

Bunkers: Talega absolutely has the worst bunkers in Southern California. First of all, there are a crap ton of bunkers everywhere. But they are so inconsistent that you never know what kind of bunker sand you'll be in. It ranges to straight up concrete all the way down to beach sand. It made playing out of bunkers way more difficult than it should be. Some greenside bunkers were straight up dirt and impossible to get under the ball. Needs a complete overall and refurbishment.

Talega is in a great area and should be a premium course. They charge like it is, but what they offer is quality less than the muni (or even shorecliffs). The layout on the front nine isn't bad, but some really bad laid out holes on the back nine make it frustrating. There are some really long par 3's, and blind tee shots with forced carries. Unless the conditions improve dramatically, I won't be back anytime soon.

First time back to my home course in 18 months, played 6/30/21. Not impressed. It's playable, but conditions aren't close to the SC Muni which costs much less.

Greens bumpy. Grass coverage is good... Continue »

First time back to my home course in 18 months, played 6/30/21. Not impressed. It's playable, but conditions aren't close to the SC Muni which costs much less.

Greens bumpy. Grass coverage is good, so I was surprised they were not rolling well. Fairways and rough are ok, overall decent but there are some areas not good.

Bunkers are not good. Half are hard as a cart path, obviously have not been maintained. Some have a thin layer of sand. One was completely closed off as it looked like it was being completely rebuilt. I can only hope that is a sign that they are redoing bunkers, because as they are it is an embarrassment.

Tee boxes are indicative of a course getting heavy play. Divots fill the tee boxes on Par 3s.

Talega drops off my "recommended" list at this time. Great layout, sub-muni conditions. There are much better options out there.

Haven't played Talega for several months. Finally found a tee time and booked it. The greens are really nice and green. They did roll medium and true. Fairways had good grass coverage with some br... Continue »

Haven't played Talega for several months. Finally found a tee time and booked it. The greens are really nice and green. They did roll medium and true. Fairways had good grass coverage with some brown spots due to the hot weather. Sand traps especially fairway traps contained hard packed sand. Some traps are being reconditioned and some are being resized. Still no bunker rakes. Still is a fun layout and friendly staff. Still no entry into pro shop. Driving range does not open till 9am.

Back out to Talega GC on a breezy Tuesday afternoon, 5/18/21, to get some swings in before a GK Cup match this Saturday – originally booked on GN for 3:10 [GN $40 vs. Talega website $70 for the same s... Continue »

Back out to Talega GC on a breezy Tuesday afternoon, 5/18/21, to get some swings in before a GK Cup match this Saturday – originally booked on GN for 3:10 [GN $40 vs. Talega website $70 for the same slot!!!], but was moved up to 2:50pm to join a threesome of friends. These guys spent the entire round yakking and making side money bets on the holes, but were generally amiable and we mostly kept pace with the groups in front of us. I joined them as they were teeing off from the Blues (6,583/71.5/128) and I soon regretted the extra distance over my normal choice.

Recent reviews are still applicable. While not pristine, the course is in pretty good playing condition. Greens had generally good coverage – they were pretty soft and in need of mowing, barely reaching medium speed and were very bumpy and badly showing footprints and spike marks this late in the day. Nobody made any putts. Fairway lies were generally OK – fairly tight but the ball sat well. The course uses entry/exit gates to manage cart wear on fairways – I’m a fan. Rough varied from place to place – it could be dry and almost nonexistent, or in places lush and juicy. Tee boxes badly needed mowing but were level. Most of the sand traps had adequate material and showed evidence of machine grooming in the past, but otherwise were damp and compacted from irrigation. Lots of footprints and no rakes. Some traps were under construction, with drainage, shaping, and content being worked on.

Access in the COVID era is still challenging – the bag drop is closed, making for a long slog carrying the bag in and out. Shop locked except for the back door near the first tee, where you sign in at a table. No access to merchandise. No inside food service or bathroom – another long hike around the building. Simple carts with simple GPS (front/middle/back only). Mix bottles on the cart initially, but no refill rack. We started off in the clear but ran up against some groups ahead of us on the challenging par-3 hole #5, and generally waited after that, finishing in ~4.5 hr.

I like the layout here and hope the end of restrictions brings operations and conditions back to their earlier better levels.

I had read some recent Yelp reviews of this course, but didn't see anything recent on GK. Played 4.21.21. I was fearing horrible conditions based on some reviews, and was pleasantly surprised. The ... Continue »

I had read some recent Yelp reviews of this course, but didn't see anything recent on GK. Played 4.21.21. I was fearing horrible conditions based on some reviews, and was pleasantly surprised. The greens were still healing from aerification, but overall the course was in good shape. The green were VERY slow, somewhat inconsistent, soft, and bumpy. Some of the bunkers were in pretty bad shape, but others were great. Some of the fairways were tight, but that is kind of expected this time of the year. PoP was just under 4 hours.

Played with my monthly group this past weekend out at Talega for just the second time. My first round was a quite memorable and smooth one, however this weekend's adventure turned out to be just the o... Continue »

Played with my monthly group this past weekend out at Talega for just the second time. My first round was a quite memorable and smooth one, however this weekend's adventure turned out to be just the opposite, but not exclusively because of the course itself.

Talega is a pretty challenging layout with some decent and intimidating carries, tough water holes, a few blind tee shots (and I mean REALLY blind on one of them) and a few bombs-away opportunities. It's even got some elevation, so you're going to find some holes to your liking, and probably some you won't.

There is no driving range at Talega before 10am apparently, or at least that was the case for us on Saturday, which was not pleasant for all the guys who arrived early only to sit in the parking lot eating breakfast burritos ahead of our 9:10 tee time. Single or dual carts optional, and we played from the white tees as is customary for this group.

Talega is not in its best shape right now, but it's very playable. Fairways have a lot of green, a lot of burn, and a lot of mud - just like that box of chocolates. Some of the tee boxes are pretty beat up, but others are fine, while the rough is also inconsistent. Come to think of it, so are the bunkers ... so just get ready to kind of experience it all. Greens are in good shape though with medium-fast speeds and good shot reception.

I think it's a fun course and would like to play it again when it's back to its best. On those days, it's a real treat. I'm sure it will be back to that soon.