Invited by a friend to play this AM. Was worried about wind but he told me "play early winds are going to be light". OK but you pay my green fees if you are wrong. I got a free round of golf. Got out ... Continue »

Invited by a friend to play this AM. Was worried about wind but he told me "play early winds are going to be light". OK but you pay my green fees if you are wrong. I got a free round of golf. Got out early but wind came up suddenly by the 3rd hole and made for a cold and difficult round of golf (did I mention I got a free round). The course itself was in very nice shape. Tee boxes all clean and playable. Fairways are not totally dormant and did provide good roll (especially down wind) and good lies all round. Traps are not playable IMO. They are all hard and crusty and need work. Rough was 1/2 to 1 inch and played difficult. Greens were in good shape and had good speed. Very difficult to putt due to many pin placements and wind. Check in was fast, efficient and great customer service at all levels. Masks around clubhouse and cart pickup. Great carts like the ones we had at Black Gold recently. Just don't get too close to the greens. Power goes down (like my friends) and I ended up having to push him back to an area where the cart would power up (stupid idea). Just put an alert on the GPS and all golfers will get out of the area. I also (though I did not pay) dislike the Sr rate of $69. Had not played here since a GK Guru event in the past. Might not be going back until Fall? Or even later.

I’ll start off by saying I love this course so I am a little bit biased!
The course was in good shape and although I didn’t play particularly well, I cannot blame the conditions. Some of the fairways... Continue »

I’ll start off by saying I love this course so I am a little bit biased!
The course was in good shape and although I didn’t play particularly well, I cannot blame the conditions. Some of the fairways seemed smoother (harder) than a few of the the greens which were a little bit bumpy (could use a roll out and these were seemingly on the back nine) but all in all not bad. The course is well worth the fees and the personnel are some of the nicest you’ll encounter on a course. The tee boxes I thought were in great condition and the fringe around the greens was absolutely beautiful. Some fairways could use a little love (Mother Nature is probably going to take care of that in the next day or so) but really my only complaint is the sand traps. If there was sand in them rather than gravel it was perhaps 1/2 thick, seemingly poured over concrete. Some of them I wouldn’t wanna hit my ball out for fear of busting my club head.
So the moral of this review is to stay out of the sand ... or the gravel pits.
Fun day on one of my favorite courses. The views are epic.

second round of 2021 turned out to be a super windy trek through oak quarry. always one of my favorite tracks, but haven't been back since the pandemic price hikes. a friend wanted to try it out so o... Continue »

second round of 2021 turned out to be a super windy trek through oak quarry. always one of my favorite tracks, but haven't been back since the pandemic price hikes. a friend wanted to try it out so ok whatever played early saturday morning, they have some nice new carts and everyone goes out in single carts. greg norman thing on gps but i didn't bother with it. 17th and 18th are now 1 and 2, which i'm sort of 'meh' to as you don't get to start near the range but i guess the old 17 and 16 make a better 1 and 18 than the previous. conditions were excellent for winter. very nicely groomed and flat tee boxes throughout the blues. fairways are brownish dormant but still nicely playable, and the rough is green, making an interesting color contrast which is usually the other way around. rough is light, cut low, and easy to play out of. greens were receptive and putted smooth, medium speed, with minimal ball marks. fringe areas were kept up nicely. in a nice surprise, the greenside bunkers actually had some decent sand in them that was nice to play out of, which is not the usual around this track. a nice improvement. the winds picked up fiercely after the sun came up though, making club selection difficult, and even standing still to hit the ball was difficult due to wind gusts. never played when it was so windy here, putts were getting blown offline. hit a couple of 300 yd drives and also a few <200. felt like all the par 5s (new 10,14,18) were all into the wind making things especially difficult. POP was <4h as a foursome as should be expected teeing off before 7am. wind killed my score quite a bit as i usually do okay around here, but i still made par on the signature hole #16 so i'm good. a bit too pricey to recommend at rack weekend morning rates ($161 at 7am next saturday egads) but if you can find a deal it's a fun course. hopefully the wind doesn't bite you in the ass.

Played yesterday, the 4th in two foursomes in the morning. I like the reassigning of holes on the front side. Even though this course is a trek for me to get to, I’ve always like the layout. Right ... Continue »

Played yesterday, the 4th in two foursomes in the morning. I like the reassigning of holes on the front side. Even though this course is a trek for me to get to, I’ve always like the layout. Right now typical winter conditions. The fairways are dormant so you get that extra ten to fifteen yards of roll. The greens are in great shape and seem to hold approaches. The rough was patchy on some holes but very manageable. It’s a nice change getting away from the kikuyu/crab grass around the city courses. The rye grass gives you more choices around the greens. It turned out to be a gorgeous day with fantastic views. Some of the guys had never played Oak Quarry but really enjoyed it. All want to come back, if for anything, the plush golf carts.

Played on Friday at Oak Quarry again for the first time in a while and was thrilled to see the course's hole reassignment that now has players starting their day at what used to be the old 17th hole -... Continue »

Played on Friday at Oak Quarry again for the first time in a while and was thrilled to see the course's hole reassignment that now has players starting their day at what used to be the old 17th hole - a far superior opening hole than what is now the 3rd hole. The scorecards at Oak Quarry also reflect this change, so it appears (hopefully) to be a permanent change - may need to update that ScoreTracker, Johnny!

The Pro Shop is still closed and check-in is very basic, but most every other aspect of this tremendous course is not, but that also includes the negatives. Let me explain, but first we'll tackle all the positives of this unique track.

The layout and signature hole are awesome. This is definitely not a 'grip it and rip it' course by any means, with all manner of thoughtful tee shots requiring a strong commitment to lines after making said decisions. Plenty of risk-reward out there as well, and some of the scenery is just spectacular. That signature hole, now #16 instead of #14, is as fun as ever, and even better when you land your 8i to fifteen feet and enjoy the trip down to the green.

The carts at Oak Quarry are also terrific with plush seats, great GPS and Bluetooth functionality. And in terms of conditions, the greens are currently in really great shape. They are not overly fast but there are a lot of interesting reads at The Rock and you will need to be sharp to score well with the flat stick. Greens hold shots well and roll true - just a joy to play on once you sort out the speed and lines.

But of course, we must also discuss some of the negatives in play right now, which are unfortunately quite a few. First off, and it's not a great tragedy, the fairways are definitely very playable but dormant and not very aesthetically pleasing. Found a few too many thin areas as well around the greens, but this situation is not unique this time of year. What is more disappointing is the condition of the bunkers and many of the tee boxes. Bunkers had very hardpan surfaces with many being waterlogged or just plain dirt. And while some of the tee boxes were fine, others were very chewed up and more or less just that same dirt.

POP was also very disappointing, but not unexpected after reading so many of these reviews before. We had a 10:44am tee time and did not tee off until around 25-30 minutes later, then spent the entire day waiting on each hole behind the group in front of us. I believe the group in front of them was actually slower than they were, but we barely finished before the sun went down and that means the round was probably just shy of six hours ... a bit more tolerable at a great course with good company, but still, too much for a high-end experience.

Still, all in all it was a great day and I always think this is a great place to bring players who've never experienced it before to watch their reactions throughout the day. It's one of the more unique golf experiences anywhere, so don't ever hesitate to play it, even if on some occasions it can be a little rough around the edges.

Out to Oak Quarry yesterday with a few buddies. The high Santa Ana winds scared off a ton of golfers. POP was 4 hours 15 minutes. It didn't help that half way through the round, there was a huge br... Continue »

Out to Oak Quarry yesterday with a few buddies. The high Santa Ana winds scared off a ton of golfers. POP was 4 hours 15 minutes. It didn't help that half way through the round, there was a huge brush fire about 10 miles east of the course. We could see the black smoke for 6 holes. There was a few tense moments where we thought we had to evacuate. Luckily, they put out the fires in about 2 hours. The wind was blowing a consistent 20 mph with gust up to 50 plus mph. For example, the par 3 Hole # 12 was 185 yards. I nutted a 3 wood (about 220 carry) to the middle of the green. That's a 3 club wind!! The course is in good shape. The highlights were the greens. They were soft, a few bumps, but ran around 10 on the imaginery stimpmeter. Remember the general pull of putts will be towards the huge granite quarry Southeast direction. New fleet of golf carts, which was a nice touch. They have updated the scorecards to start on the old Hole #17. The fairways were the weak part of the course. They were a mix of hard pan, dried out grass and some spots of nice grass. The aprons around the greens were immaculate. The traps were raked and above average. The views and layout are a treat and huge reason to play here. We had a drink in their patio after the round. The proshop was well stocked and open. Please support their retail business too. Cart gals made her rounds on this slow day. I wish they had combo tees as the blues played at 6,600 and whites at 6,000. Blues played too long for our group, but whites seemed a little short. Do not know who to make that suggestion to. Will return again!

Second time here and while I didn’t play my best on either occasion, this is a beautiful course. Greens were consistent, soft and would hold a shot and the fairways were great. The fringe around the... Continue »

Second time here and while I didn’t play my best on either occasion, this is a beautiful course. Greens were consistent, soft and would hold a shot and the fairways were great. The fringe around the greens were absolutely gorgeous. I guess I’m not that good a golfer when I read reviews re the divots on the tee boxes (using a tee...does it really matter?). Maybe and in all likelihood I am missing something. As long as they’re flat...and these were. And most were in great shape.

The personnel at the clubhouse are great (cart girl could use a smile every now and then...wow). And there was literally the slowest foursome two groups in front of us. Human rain delays. I don’t wanna play speed golf but five hours is a long round! So that’s really my only complaint. I look forward to playing here again. Beautiful course and facility. And no, I didn’t par the 16th!

I’ve never played this course before so I can’t compare the current conditions to previous rounds. That said, I thought it was in great shape. Greens, tee boxes and fairways were all in solid condit... Continue »

I’ve never played this course before so I can’t compare the current conditions to previous rounds. That said, I thought it was in great shape. Greens, tee boxes and fairways were all in solid condition. Never saw a course marshal and the foursome in front of us were slow as molasses and could have used a kick in the “cart” but all in all a great day. Challenging course, beautiful views and I will be back. The rough was thick but hit fairways were rewarded with a carpet like surface for the most part. Greens seemed to hold well and I recommend this place! Quite a drive for me but well worth it!

Rode the Whites (6028/69.0/126) with Perry, Chuck and Dave for a GK Cup match in 4H, 15M. Watched some really good golf, wish I could have participated more in the making of it than I did. The weather... Continue »

Rode the Whites (6028/69.0/126) with Perry, Chuck and Dave for a GK Cup match in 4H, 15M. Watched some really good golf, wish I could have participated more in the making of it than I did. The weather was clear, sunny and mostly calm in the 70's. $79 a little stiff for during the week. Tees were bizaare. On almost every tee box, one side was like playing out of the rough, whereas the other side was thin and sanded? Had no challenges finding a level lie on all holes, but not close to good overall. Fairways were mostly good to play from. More winter thin than lush and a few collection areas had alot of old divots. Primary rough was lush and thick. Punitive in that balls sat down, but good in that it was so thick good chance errant shots did not make it to the native areas. Sand traps were mediocre. No rakes, and no issues with the firm fairway bunkers. I had several greenside sand shots and while the quality of the sand was decent, I thought all could have used more sand. Large poa greens were firm and medium speed. They looked great and held irons well. Hardly any ball marks because of the firmness. To me they looked quicker than they actually were. More impressed with the layout on each visit. Challenging course up/down rolling hills with large, undulating green complexes and several holes that feature great elevation changes. Very fun to play with lots of forced carries, but not so punitive that it beats you up. Drink cart out patrolling and there are only a few water stations on the course, with all closed due to COVID. The upgraded carts have Shark Experience GPS where you can measure to different landmarks. Would be a very challenging course to walk with all the hills. Nice all grass range and the customer service from all encountered was excellent. Definitely recommended.