Played without a reservation as a walking single on 2/23/15, teeing off at ~10:25AM. Due to rain the previous night, driving range was closed, so warmup consisted of putting and free swinging. The s... Continue »

Played without a reservation as a walking single on 2/23/15, teeing off at ~10:25AM. Due to rain the previous night, driving range was closed, so warmup consisted of putting and free swinging. The starter sent me to the back nine first, as there was still some flooding around the seventh hole, the lowest point on the course. I worked my way around the back nine without seeing hardly a soul, but by the time I finished the back nine, they were sending groups off the front nine. I worked myself between a group of 3 and a group of 2 on the first hole, and was able to play through the group of 3 on the second hole. Playing at a relaxed pace, I finished easily under 4 hours. No drink cart service on the course this day. Played from the blue tees (6,850 yards/124 slope rating/72.0 course rating). Tee boxes were level, some just a bit shaggy, with little to no divot damage - always easy to find a good spot to hit from (maintenance crews were mowing as I played, so shaggy tee boxes probably improved through the day). Greens were typical for El Prado - they held well-hit shots, rolled true at medium speed (some downhill putts were quick), but had far too many unrepaired ball marks; many of these older unrepaired ball marks have left ugly dark spots. Rough was as usual a mixed bag, ranging from bare dirt to fluffy grass that left balls sitting up perfectly, to thick, lush and penal, where balls were difficult to advance. The several bunkers from which I had to play had hard packed sand (no fluffy sand at all); some still muddy from rain. Best of all were the fairways! The grass was green and lush, with good coverage all around, with balls sitting up nicely, except for a few spots where my ball ended up in unrepaired divots. I have noticed much improvement to the fairways here over the past several months, with current fairway conditions about the best I've seen here in recent memory. Amazing what only a little rainfall can do for a golf course!