Played Sat Dec 30. 9:50 tee time. 2 hr front, 2 1/2 back. 3some. Very visually stunning course. Hilly. I thought 4 or 5 of the holes were poorly designed... either too penalizing or options didn... Continue »

Played Sat Dec 30. 9:50 tee time. 2 hr front, 2 1/2 back. 3some. Very visually stunning course. Hilly. I thought 4 or 5 of the holes were poorly designed... either too penalizing or options didn't make sense. I also loved 3 or 4 of the holes.. 15 is fun. Course in decent shape. Greens good enough, consistent. Fairways and rough typical for a public course. Had a good time, cuz hey, it's golf. Worth a play one time. You might like it more than me.

Started the year on January 1st at Hidden Valley with a $26 GN Hot Deal at 11:50 am on a sunny, warm day with very little wind. Even after playing HC a few times I’m still amazed when I drive in and s... Continue »

Started the year on January 1st at Hidden Valley with a $26 GN Hot Deal at 11:50 am on a sunny, warm day with very little wind. Even after playing HC a few times I’m still amazed when I drive in and see the incredible amount of elevation change across the course – standing on the practice putting green, the 13th tee looks like it’s built on a sheer cliff face many stories above, and below that are the terraces of the 12th green and then the 18th fairway. Those types of views are all over the course – looking way up at other holes, or down across several holes as the layout sprawls down the canyons before you.

I was down at the first tee on time (pro shop has been moved to the events building while the restaurant renovation continues), but the Rodriguez threesome I was originally assigned to didn’t show. An Asian threesome was just teeing off, but declined to allow me to join them after the starter approached them. Eventually I was paired with a local father/son and another local guy. (The f/s name was memorable – pronounced like ‘kahoots’, but with a un-rememberable Czech spelling.) The father had two sons who had played Norco HS football (including the son in our group), and the third guy had played at Norco as well. Nice enough people, but it was constant chatter about Norco HS football - past, present, and future. For 18 holes. Almost non-stop. On the 11th tee I finally had to ask them to STOP TALKING! Who knew there was so much to discuss about Norco HS football!!?

These guys were pretty casual golfers and not that skilled. HV’s first hole was a bad way for our group to start 2018 – our foursome probably logged a total of 40 strokes on that sloping par-5 with many hazards about. I think we donated about 6 balls to hazards just on that hole. And that trend continued for the rest of the day. Eli Callaway was smiling from the grave with the several sleeves of his namesake balls donated to the wild by these guys today. I’m sure the group behind us was thrilled to watch this preview of their round!

As I stated in past reviews, I really want to like Hidden Valley. There are a lot of fun holes and a mix of short and long, and some drives where you can really let out the slack. And where else is the number 1-handicap hole a par-3?! (Hole #5) There’s not a level lie anywhere at HV, including on most of the tee boxes. When you have a course with this much slope everywhere, and you are trying to control shots to sloping fairways, and you are often hitting downhill onto steeply-sloping greens, the course has to be receptive, especially the greens, or it quickly becomes unplayable. That’s the case it’s getting to at HV, where the greens are extremely firm, and full shots frequently leave only slight indentations. And if you can’t control your ball coming in, you often wind up with downhill putts on the firm, very slopy greens – these greens are crazy fast downhill, some of them silly fast. So lots of defensive putting, 3- or 4-putts, slowing play and making golfers unhappy.

Man, these greens are slopy! At this firmness and these downhill speeds, even 3-footers require a high level of attention. Greens had good coverage and rolled consistently. Several greens had lots of small rocks thrown out of bunkers scattered about near the traps. I don’t know if it was the end of the day as clouds gathered and temperatures dropped, but the 18th green was more lush than any of the others, and speeds were noticeably slower – I actually left a downhill/downcanyon putt short on my birdie attempt.

Fairway and rough coverage were spotty. Turf in those areas was generally short, dormant, and tight. There were many scattered bare areas, but there were also scattered sloppy wet areas around malfunctioning sprinkler heads. It was frustrating to see scattered sloppy/wet areas next to thin/dry/hard “fairway” or rough. Many fairways had areas roped off or festooned with colored flags to keep carts away, usually showing areas with problems from the watering system.

Tees were all very thin; some were almost bare dirt in many places. Most were sloping or uneven, some severely so. Some par-3 tees had sand in the divot refill boxes, but some had no scoop! Sand traps were terrible everywhere. You really had to chip from all greenside bunkers encountered – they had only a thin dusting of coarse sand over a hard base, and you couldn’t get a club under the ball. The right front bunker on hole #12 had a large trough in the bottom - anything in the bunker wound up at the bottom and was unplayable, unless you've spent time practicing flop shots from inside a milk crate!

The new GPS on the carts is nice – it is interactive, but distances are given to the center of the green, not the pin position. The GPS also doesn’t show the position of other carts – with the many blind shots at HV, it was difficult to know when to hit, another factor that slows play. Those comfy cushions on the carts come in handy, as the cart paths and driving areas need some serious attention. The onboard club cleaner/ball washer is nice. With all the sloping cart paths and steep hills, the carts’ speed governors were working frequently, but not that well.

Many holes have colored yardage stakes to give you a feel for placement on the holes. The course puts a yardage book on each cart, but my experience with this book in the past was that many of the yardages were incorrect. With the ongoing renovation of the main building, it’s a long way over to the temporary pro shop and a bathroom at the turn. No cart girl today, basically the end of a 3-day holiday weekend. There was no water jug on hole 5 tee – only an empty cooler rack.

I can’t recommend Hidden Valley until conditions are more receptive, given the severely sloping terrain and conditions.

Played Fri Dec 22 at 7;32. Check in was fast and friendly, They got new carts with new GPS which is really nice, also the wind shields are new and not scratched and were a welcome surprise because it ... Continue »

Played Fri Dec 22 at 7;32. Check in was fast and friendly, They got new carts with new GPS which is really nice, also the wind shields are new and not scratched and were a welcome surprise because it was really really cold the first 3 holes. The starter was grouchy and way to demanding, almost got me in a bad mood before I even teed off. Course was typical winter condition, fairways running and spot of bare, traps had good sand, greens were receptive and rolled very fast. Some of the pin placements were in a ridiculous position considering how fast the greens were. No wind made the course pleasant to play.

Played hidden valley today. Lite NE wind about 10 mph with plenty of sunshine. As usual the greens are fantastic here, slower today than the posted 11.0 more like a 9.5 or 10.0. Little to no visible d... Continue »

Played hidden valley today. Lite NE wind about 10 mph with plenty of sunshine. As usual the greens are fantastic here, slower today than the posted 11.0 more like a 9.5 or 10.0. Little to no visible damage from unrepaired ball marks or poorly repaired. Rolling smooth with no in line deviation. Held shots well, and allowed decent reverse spin. Fairways are lush and very green, however today they were incredibly wet throughout, to the point of slushy underfoot. Some noted GUR well staked and roped off. Very little roll out today due to the wet conditions.
Bunkers normally I find them here at this course quite good. Today they were HORRIFIC. Hard with little sand. Standing water in almost everyone. If you were able to find one without water the sand was more like thick soup. So bad today our foursome decided to take a free drop outside the the bunker.
Tees, recently reseeded with some old grass but mostly top soil covering new seedlings. Funny thing is the course had not moved up the tees, or used the secondary tee boxes. Tees also seemed very unlevel today possibly I would guess from the grating and repacking procedure they used.
The new clubhouse is coming along quite well. Quick service for a drink but woefully slow for food. Called in an order on the tee box at nine and still waited 15 minutes to receive it. The new pro shop over by the driving range is just common, nothing special and word has it they are considering moving it back to the clubhouse. The driving range remains one of the poorest around. mats all lean down hill hitting into an uphill range. Putting green is beautiful well manicured and maintained, along with the practice bunker area. Staff is mostly top notch except for the minor disagreement with the carts today. Arrived approx 45 min early only to have the attendant tell me Ihad to wait 20 minutes to get a cart because of players in front of me. Thats all good with me but one foursome tee off ahead of us and they had 17 carts lined up. Speaking of the carts brand new, GPS,ball and club washers, cooler and phone connections. Still remains a favorite of mine and would certainly recommend playing.

Played a Thanksgiving day shotgun along with iluv2golflady. Everything was very well organized and we started on time at 8am. It was great to see all new carts. They are very comfy and are outfitted w... Continue »

Played a Thanksgiving day shotgun along with iluv2golflady. Everything was very well organized and we started on time at 8am. It was great to see all new carts. They are very comfy and are outfitted with club/ball washers, USB ports and interactive GPS. The course in the best overall condition I’ve ever seen. The fairways were green and lush with a few divots but no bad lies otherwise. The rough was uniform throughout the course. It was cut fairly short, which was easy to hit from but, unfortunately, too short to keep balls from running off the cliffs. The bunkers had an inch or so of clean soft sand. Tee boxes were level. The greens were amazing. They looked like velvet, held shots well and putts rolled fast. They were such a pleasure. The vegetation throughout the course was cut back and thinned out giving the course a very neat and clean appearance. It was also great to see that #15 is no longer cart path only. The only negative feature is the on-course bathrooms. They have no door locks, no soap and had ants on the seats. I have mentioned the lack of locks to the staff on previous visits and just don’t understand why this is apparently unimportant to them. This is such a fun and challenging course. I always look forward to playing here. Definitely recommended.

11/17 using HVs 2 foe 1 anniversary special Friday rate. Easy check in but pretty busy on the course--830 tee time off at 845 with 515 POP--lot of waiting--course offers plenty of opportunity for str... Continue »

11/17 using HVs 2 foe 1 anniversary special Friday rate. Easy check in but pretty busy on the course--830 tee time off at 845 with 515 POP--lot of waiting--course offers plenty of opportunity for struggles and apparently every group ahead had their issues as we did on occasion. Everywhere is green--fairways are lush with good cushion providing decent lies all day--quite a few unfilled divots. Some rough along the fairways but often longer on the slopes and around the greens. The course is laid out with ever present elevation changes--most shots are up or down hill. Tees however were level. Found 1 bunker behind #9--about an inch of soft sand over moderately firm subsurface. Greens were mostly smooth rolling medium/medium fast speed which was consistent thru the round. Large green often with multi-levels and considerable slope--#10 has about 5 feet from front to the upper level about 2/3 up the green--balls that do not get to the shelf come back down and off the front. Some of the other greens also have their own devious character but are not so punitive in nature. Friendly staff-HV has a challenging and scenic layout with really good variety often hitting over or beside wild areas and barrancas ---just wish it would play faster.

Played here Sat at 12:10. POP was 4:40. Great conditions at a great price. Great value here. Course is in good shape. Aside from the obvious brown patches and divots you're going to find this time... Continue »

Played here Sat at 12:10. POP was 4:40. Great conditions at a great price. Great value here. Course is in good shape. Aside from the obvious brown patches and divots you're going to find this time of year, I couldn't find much wrong with the course. Greens were in great condition and rolled well. A few greens were very lumpy and needed to be trimmed and rolled but the majority were great. The bunkers do need more sand but otherwise were consistent and not too rocky. Teeboxes were level and the special black teeboxes were a welcome relief. The new restaurant is almost finished and the bar inside has a great design. The staff here was extremely helpful and made a killer virgin bloody Mary. They also have the best hot dog I have ever had made at any course. It was made with love and served with all the fixings. It was freshly grilled and served from the kitchen vs your sad rolled hot dogs. The hot dog was that good I had to write about it. The course has a very refreshing layout and provides a fair but testing challenge. If you do not like uneven lies or elevation changes do not play this course. It will test your uneven lies shot making ability. The Marshall was the friendliest I have ever met and the staff at the pro shop were helpful and friendly. I will definitely come again.

10/30 using HV's 2 for 1 20th anniversary special comes out to $21 with cart included--(still time to sign up for free coupon on their website) Fairways are green and thick rather on the wet side so ... Continue »

10/30 using HV's 2 for 1 20th anniversary special comes out to $21 with cart included--(still time to sign up for free coupon on their website) Fairways are green and thick rather on the wet side so there is not much roll but good lies overall. Rough is just 1-2 inches and thick in places--slowing the ball quite effectively but not very penal for shot making. Tees are level with generally adequate cover. Bunkers look pretty good but are thin with a hard base. Greens were recently "top dressed" with fine sand which was not evenly applied and swept smooth so the greens had this striped appearance. Also with the morning dampness the sand was sticky clinging to the ball and putter. The greens were still quite smooth but it seemed that the speed was affected by the sand. According to the pro shop they do the top dressing "every couple of weeks" Staff members are friendly providing an easy check in--pro shop is now located next to the driving range. Word is NEW carts to arrive 11/3. POP 4 3/4 as there is an abundant amount of trouble lurking. Very scenic layout with a good variety of holes.

Played Friday 10/20 @ 0944. $44 POP 4.5 hrs

Hidden Valley has been going through some expansion to their pro shop and banquet rooms, thank you for not ignoring the golf course. I found the course... Continue »

Played Friday 10/20 @ 0944. $44 POP 4.5 hrs

Hidden Valley has been going through some expansion to their pro shop and banquet rooms, thank you for not ignoring the golf course. I found the course to be in very very good condition. Practice facility, good, putting green, good.....so I guess you could say good start. Tee boxes, very good. Fairways, very good, many areas GUR. Which in it self is a good thing. At least the issues are being addressed. Greens, very good although I found holes 1-4 rather on the slow side at 5 they got quicker. Very few unrepaired divots. Thank you fellow players. The rough cut very short and not very penalizing. The starter, a real good guy. I always enjoy a good few words with the starter. Now for the bad. Bunkers! Why don't many courses actually put sand in them?? Dirt, hard packed. Not good.

There are many courses in the I.E. from which to choose. Hidden Valley is providing a good value on an enjoyable track at a very good rate.

4 Stars!!