Hadn't played the "Valley" in some time as some folks told me it wasn't in great shape. It was pretty good today. My partner and I were first off at 6:45 am as it was going to be a hot day. Plenty of ... Continue »

Hadn't played the "Valley" in some time as some folks told me it wasn't in great shape. It was pretty good today. My partner and I were first off at 6:45 am as it was going to be a hot day. Plenty of roll out on the Fairway's from the get go. Mowed too low for me. Way too many tight lies. Greens were pretty smooth and hadn't been mowed so they were kinda slow which wasn't a problem. Traps were horrible. Mostly hard dirt or mud. Maybe slowly get some new sand for these things. Price was in the Ballpark for a senior rate. Very good customer service. I think this will be back in our winter rotation.

Played here Sunday 2/23/20 with a 10:40 tee time. My friend and I were paired up with an older couple. Round was slow... 5 hours. They said they had 178 golfers for the day. Cart broke down on hole #9... Continue »

Played here Sunday 2/23/20 with a 10:40 tee time. My friend and I were paired up with an older couple. Round was slow... 5 hours. They said they had 178 golfers for the day. Cart broke down on hole #9 for us. Two rounds in a row our cart has broken down! UGH! Love the layout of this course. Challenging if you've never played there before. This was our 15th time playing the course. Staff was friendly and saw the cart girl twice.
Greens- 8/10- good speed and breaks
fairways- 7/10- except the over watered hole #9 fairway everything was real nice
rough- 8/10- definitely penalty worthy. Longer about 1.5 inches
Tee Boxes- 9/10 Great coverage, level and green.
Sand- 4/10 not much coverage, extremely hard packed and almost impossible to get out of unless you scold it out. frustrating.
water- no smell and looked clean

Played here 2/8/20 with 3 friends in a foursome. Tee'd off at 10:50 and pace of play was good at 5 hours. We were betting a lot and there was no one behind us so we took our time.
Contrary to some o... Continue »

Played here 2/8/20 with 3 friends in a foursome. Tee'd off at 10:50 and pace of play was good at 5 hours. We were betting a lot and there was no one behind us so we took our time.
Contrary to some of the reviews i recently read, this course is in pretty good shape.

Greens-9/10 rolled great and loved them!
fairways- 8/10- mostly good coverage, a few over watered areas but it was cut and a good length
rough-7/10 - lots of rocks in areas in the rough but other than that its pretty good
sand- 10/10- fluffy or compact, no rocks in them it seemed. The green side bunker on hole #4 is still under repair.
Tee Boxes- 6/10- par 3's were chewed up especially on the back 9, they need to work a bit on these.
Water didnt smell
Cart girl came around 3 times and MY GOD SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL! Sure makes golf better when you get a bit of eye candy every 4-5 holes.
Starter was friendly and jordan in the clubhouse was friendly as always!

Course is nice and green. Greens were very very quick. Bunkers were good except for the ones that had standing water.

Course is nice and green. Greens were very very quick. Bunkers were good except for the ones that had standing water.

Played Friday Jan 3rd at 7am. Starter was very friendly and this is important to get off on a good note. Tee boxes were all level, but rather hard and dry compared to the rest of the course. Fairways ... Continue »

Played Friday Jan 3rd at 7am. Starter was very friendly and this is important to get off on a good note. Tee boxes were all level, but rather hard and dry compared to the rest of the course. Fairways were cut short, dry in some spots and very soggy and muddy in others, you couldn't get a feel of when the ball would roll out or plug. Sand traps were a mess, I wasn't in any but my playing partners were and there were at least 20 traps with very deep standing water, you actually saw splashes when the ball landed in these traps. The rough that was next to the fairways was not real long and was playable. The greens rolled nice but were way too fast for the amount of slope these greens have, very few ball marks needed to be repaired when hitting the greens. Many times on multiple holes when putting down hill to the flag, the ball rolled off the green to a collection area or actually into a trap (hole 17) and these putts were barely touched. Many many putts would roll 6 to 10 feet past the hole. POP was ok at 409.

Started the new year with a thud at Hidden Valley at 840 am on 1/1/20 with GKer caligolfer1031. Looking at my previous reviews at HV, I didn’t realize until today that I had started the new year there... Continue »

Started the new year with a thud at Hidden Valley at 840 am on 1/1/20 with GKer caligolfer1031. Looking at my previous reviews at HV, I didn’t realize until today that I had started the new year there 3 of the past 4 years. There are a lot of fun holes here, but I have to say that declining conditions, and my ongoing knee problems, make it unlikely that I’ll be coming back again soon. Greg’s review says everything I wanted to say. The sign at the entry touts HV as the NGCOA Course of the Year in 2010-2011 – apparently, after that award the course stopped putting any more money into improving the course. Water in the bunkers, after no rain, only means that overwatering is draining into the bunkers and staying there, and the course is doing nothing about it. Not that bunker conditions would be good anyway – as Greg noted, “dry” bunkers had no sand atop the mud base. Every fairway and rough lie was a crapshoot. The only level tee was #18 (white tees). Greens can’t be kept this fast if any putt from above the hole results in 8-12 feet (or more!) coming back – all that means is slow play and frustrated golfers. Positives – VISAGE GPS was interactive and helpful. The cart had a ball washer/club cleaner. I tried to kill myself when I slipped and sprawled on the steep cart path next to the 10th green. There’s lots of up-and-down walking required here on some steep terrain. Cart path damage and neglect is another area where HV has walked away. There was apparently plenty of money for a multi-month renovation of the restaurant that moved the pro shop to the adjacent building, but I don’t see anything going into the course. I can’t recommend HV under these conditions.

Played Hidden Valley for the first time on 1/1/20 and may be the last (but never say never). Joined dconnally and a single that joined us, for a mostly pleasent day. Even though the reviews were harsh... Continue »

Played Hidden Valley for the first time on 1/1/20 and may be the last (but never say never). Joined dconnally and a single that joined us, for a mostly pleasent day. Even though the reviews were harsh, I came into the day with an open mind. Playing the first hole was a good representation of what the day would hold. We all played the white tees because I am not a very long hitter, but the other two in the group could have played from the blues. From the blues the course is a different kind of beast. Conditions left a lot to be desired. Tees - Chewed up and not level. I know the course is in the hills, but the tees need to be redone so that flat areas can be found. Fairways. Never know what your lie will be, any where from hardpan to sitting nicely on green grass. There are many areas of dormant grass to be found, but it is still a little thin, but not bad. Mud was a big factor in a lot of the fairways. Rough - short grass and hardpan, mud here too. Bunkers - Never have I seen such a bad collection of bunkers in my life. Most are filled with water and should be considered small ponds and not bunkers. Dave lost a ball on the first hole after his ball "splashed" into a bunker on his second shot. The ball was never found. On the back nine, I forget which hole, Dave was pulling something out of the fairway bunker, or pond, and it turned out to be a whole windshield from a golf cart. For all we know there could be a whole cart in their too with Jimmy Hoffa in the passenger seat. There are a couple of bunkers on the course with no water, but they are just dirt and not raked at all. Hidden Valley should be ashamed of these conditions. Greens - Best part of the course. They rolled nice with a medium/fast speed. The felt soft as you could leave spike marks, but the greens did not hold shots very well. Ball marks were found on the greens. Downhill putts and chips just don't stop. I think it's number 17, the green is just not fair, cant stop a ball anywhere near the hole. Everything funnels to the bottom left portion and the flag was upper right. Also during the round I noticed odd 2 foot stripes across the greens and it looked like the mower may be having problems, until I looks at my right hand and noticed that my finger were turning a little moldy, but taking a closer look, it was the greens, they had been painted. Only had interaction with tthree staff members all day, the guy in the shop, the starter and we saw the beverage cart girl one during the round. I have to say that I came away a little disappointed and may never make the trek here again. I am thankful for Dave and Troy as they made this day enjoyable.

I have played this course a number of times. Over the last three years this course has gone from 4 star rating to a rating of less than 1. The course is very wet, areas that should be marked as ground... Continue »

I have played this course a number of times. Over the last three years this course has gone from 4 star rating to a rating of less than 1. The course is very wet, areas that should be marked as ground under repair are not. The greens are 100% inconsistent. Play is very slow. No Marshalls on course. I play 3 or 4 times a week at other courses and this course maybe reasonable with Costco coupon but my friends and I that played here in Mid November could not be paid to play here. I never want to see any course close but if I had to pick a course to close, this would be it. The SCGA should review this course and remove from recommended SCGA courses. The bunkers may have sand but not any this year, so many rocks you can damage a club if foolish to try and use. Be careful of your rotator cuff if you try to use sand traps.

Played here 11/16/19 with a 6:10 am tee time with a friend. We were paired with another 2 some. The first group out in front of us (6:00 am) was the slowest foursome ever! The marshall ended up making... Continue »

Played here 11/16/19 with a 6:10 am tee time with a friend. We were paired with another 2 some. The first group out in front of us (6:00 am) was the slowest foursome ever! The marshall ended up making them skip hole 3 & 4 because they were so slow. Pace of play after hole 3 was great at 4 hours. Greens were great and clean and smooth, fairways were green with some a little over watered. I think Hole #1 needs to be cart path only. Rough was good and not too long. Sand was a little thin with several sand traps on hole #2 being GUR. Staff was friendly and cart girl Ashton was very sweet and nice. We had a great time! Course is worth playing for 0 -$ 80 but nothing more.