Just posted some photos of the course from last week’s GK Review Guru round. We had 8 players. I played with leef2020, larryq2001 and sr129. Great fun and good timing on a rare perfect weather day in ... Continue »

Just posted some photos of the course from last week’s GK Review Guru round. We had 8 players. I played with leef2020, larryq2001 and sr129. Great fun and good timing on a rare perfect weather day in February. Course was in good shape. And considering the large amount of rain only days before, as well as this season, I was very impressed how well it handled it. Very few soggy areas. The only area of the course that showed saturation were the greens. Thus, the green speed was fine but a bit bumpy from footprints and very soft accepting shots. Fairways were green, provided decent lies but still winter thin due since most the turf is bermunda which thrives in the summer. Rough was spotty with some lush and thin areas but again due to it too being predominately summer turf. Tee boxes in very good shape. Mostly level and lush. The highlight was the conditions of the bunkers. Looked like all of them had new fluffy sand. I found quite a few and they played beautifully (with exception to my fried egg lie in a fairway bunker – lol).

I love this layout, played the blues, just over 6500 yards, lots of elevation changes, nice views, dog legs, mixes of long and short holes, well protected greens, risk/reward opportunities, no parallel holes and fair undulating greens. I think hole number 8, called appropriately cyclops due to a bunker being in the middle of the green is my favorite (see photo).

The service was excellent but would have enjoyed seeing a beverage cart on the course. Was getting pretty thirsty out there. A cold one would have been nice.

This is a simi-private golf course that was once totally private. Fancy clubhouse and amenities. I’m looking very forward to returning.

Late to the review party – I played the white tees with the GK Gurus at 1140 on Thursday, 2/9/17. Thanks to GKers jerry64, zgolfinman, and 140ver for a fun round. I like the setting and layout of this... Continue »

Late to the review party – I played the white tees with the GK Gurus at 1140 on Thursday, 2/9/17. Thanks to GKers jerry64, zgolfinman, and 140ver for a fun round. I like the setting and layout of this course, and I wish it was closer to me so I could play it more often. I found the staff very accommodating, the course in good shape, and the day very enjoyable. Overall the course was fairly damp and soft after all the recent rain, although the temperatures in the late morning were quite warm, and I found myself overdressed as locals showed up in shorts! Greens had good coverage, with some occasional thin areas around the edges – they were medium fast and got slower as temperatures dropped and day went on – generally held shots but some areas of some greens were firmer than others. I didn’t see too many old ballmarks. Fairways had good coverage but lies were tight. Rough was cut very short and playable, but could be clumpy. Sand traps around the greens had plentiful and fluffy material; however, there were many unraked areas in the traps (see: jerry64!). Tees were just fine. Friendly starter. Pin sheet for that day on the cart – nice. First few holes started with a ‘gate’ entry/exit system for the carts, which in my opinion helps reduce casual/random wear and tear on course conditions along the margins of cart paths. The starter made a point of telling us about it – but the system was abandoned by the course for whatever reason after the 4th hole, and we never saw the gates again! Drainage areas between the holes are pretty torn up after all the recent rain/runoff – many of these areas look like they could use some thinning, both for aesthetics and for more effective flood control and drainage conveyance. The driving range grass was fuzzy but fairly level – it’s a nice separated range area that also has a chipping green/sand practice area. However, the sand is not like that next to the greens around the course – the practice bunker is very damp and hard packed with only a thin playing layer. No cart girl -there’s a grill at turn but it’s far from the travel line from #9 to #10. The course needs more water stations. I didn’t see a bathroom on the front nine. An unfortunate cap to the round was running into a total loser 20-something single on #18 tee – he was scruffy in cutoffs, hat backward, unshaved and mouthy and rude when we called him out for cutting in front of us (“I came off the 9th green and the 10th tee was crowded, so I drove over to #18”!!!). Left a bad taste in the mouth, but definitely not enough to spoil the great day I had playing with other GK Gurus. I had to head for home right after the round, so I missed out on staying afterward to get to better know GKers in the second group that I had barely met before - sorry Larry and Lee. Definitely recommended.

Joined Johnny, Steve/SR129, Larry/larryq2001 on Thursday for a sunny day of golf, teeing off in the 2nd group, about 11:50am. Was impressed with the course layout overall, several very interesting, a... Continue »

Joined Johnny, Steve/SR129, Larry/larryq2001 on Thursday for a sunny day of golf, teeing off in the 2nd group, about 11:50am. Was impressed with the course layout overall, several very interesting, and a variety of holes and scenery. Certainly a good challenge - even from the whites for a short-hitter, required some shot strategy, particularly navigating (mostly dry) ravines on approach shots to a handful of greens, but holes were fair, except on one par 3, where Johnny and Larry, playing the blues, actually had shorter yardage than Steve and I had from the whites!?! I thought the tees were mostly very smooth, nice and green. I do remember 3 tee boxes where it was challenging to get an even lie within the ropes, including the par 3 18th. So, I cheated. Fairways were pretty firm, getting a decent amount of roll. Mostly lush and green, divots were fairly well filled in with sand from golfers. The fairway grasses and rough were a bit spotty here and there, but nothing too much to complain about. Not up to the standard right now of Goose Creek and Black Gold, but pretty decent. I found the greens looked great from the fairways. They were green and had good cover, but were not cut as crisply as I'd hope for, and the grain was not always consistent. Maybe a rolling is in order? A bit bumpy-putting from foot traffic and shaggy cups. With a few (faster) exceptions, I thought they were medium-speed to start, ending a bit medium-slow later in the day, as Johnny had predicted the grass was likely to grow quite a bit by the end of the day - he knows his stuff! I did enjoy the variety of undulations that made for some interesting putts. Was disappointed that we never saw a cart lady/person on the course, no ball washers on the course to be found, and only 1 jug of iced water on the 7th and a drinking fountain along with the loos, about the 13th hole. Really impairs the on-course player experience on this point. Would be brutal in the summer. There is a snack bar at the turn, but it is very much out of the way inside the clubhouse - not good when you're trying to maintain contact with the group in front. The lady marshal came around on the 3rd hole and urged us to pick up the pace, as we were probably 4-5 mins slower the the first GKer group at that point. Like that I finally saw a marshal do their job. We finished in 4:35 mins, so she should've kept watching us. ;-) Mia serving drinks in the 19th hole is a gem, great personality, and took good care of Larry and myself. Look forward to giving this course another go, bringing a stash of my own refreshments next time. Really had a very enjoyable afternoon with this group, and look forward to a chance to tee it up again with them! Cheers. Lee

I also played in the GK Guru event with JohnnyGK, SR129 and Leef2020 and had a great time. Turned out to be rather warm and beautiful day so all conditions were perfect. Also had a nice conversation... Continue »

I also played in the GK Guru event with JohnnyGK, SR129 and Leef2020 and had a great time. Turned out to be rather warm and beautiful day so all conditions were perfect. Also had a nice conversation after our round with Leef2020 as he taught me a lot on club making. Learned a lot. Got there a bit late and wanted to get to the range and Landon, our host gave me keys to a cart, directions to the range and a complimentary small bucket. Very nice of him to do so. He also came out greeted everyone which was bit of class! Beautiful setting and really nice club house and restaurant. I found this course pretty challenging. A good mixture of long and short par 4’s. Some of the par 4's play very long. The par 3’s are also really challenging. Elevation changes and/or hitting over water made you really concentrate on trying to hit a good shot. The pin placement on #7 was incredibly difficult adding to fact that there is a bunker smack in the middle of the green. Fairways were nice. Some tight/thin lies but overall good. Bunkers were real soft and fluffy which is great to see considering most course have very hard sand or even hard pan. Greens were pretty soft but rolled nicely. Good iron shots held very well. Not sure if that’s always the case here as I bet they will make ‘em pretty fast once the rain stops. Some greens were tough to read with some of the undulations. All in all a very enjoyable day. Got around in about 4.5 hours. Great rate for playing what used to be a private course at one time. Hope to get out here again one day.

Played in the GKGuru event today at GC of Ca. with Jerry64, Zgolfman and DConnally at 11:30. Grass range had good coverage with nice fluffy grass. The landscaping around the clubhouse was as good a... Continue »

Played in the GKGuru event today at GC of Ca. with Jerry64, Zgolfman and DConnally at 11:30. Grass range had good coverage with nice fluffy grass. The landscaping around the clubhouse was as good as I've seen it, giving a very nice first impression. Pro shop was friendly and efficient, had me quickly out to the driving range. Practice bunker was still a little muddy and not as nice as those on the course. Practice green was medium pace and similar to course conditions. Tees were lush and level. Fairways had good coverage of tightly mowed mostly bermuda with many well-repaired divots in the approach areas. Sand was good and hats off to the ground crew for getting them in such nice shape. The greens were in good shape, held shots well, but it was a nice sunny day and the poa was in full flower by 2:00. They were medium speed and a little spongy by the time we finished. Rough was uneven and a bit thin. They have a really nice bar and a couple craft beers but could use a couple more locals, but got to keep the regulars happy. I do enjoy this course. It has a nice variety of holes that present different challenges than the usual courses I play. The par 5s all play a little differently and even the easy par 4s can give you a number. Had a great time with our group. Couldn't seem to keep out of Bob's putting line, but I noticed he stopped making putts after I stopped tramping through his line.

Teed off just before Noon in a Greenskeeper outing. First time playing here in over a year. Forgot how challenging this course is, make sure you play the proper tees for your skill level. Friendly an... Continue »

Teed off just before Noon in a Greenskeeper outing. First time playing here in over a year. Forgot how challenging this course is, make sure you play the proper tees for your skill level. Friendly and helpful service in the Pro shop and with the starter. The course survived the recent rain storms without any major damage that I could see. Greens: a little bumpy but to be expect at the end of the day. Speed was medium. Greens were holding. Fairways: very good for the winter season, great to see green fairways and a majority of divots filled. Not a lot of wet spots on the fairways. Traps: plenty of sand but some traps not raked by thoughtless golfers. Rough: some bare spots but not a major problem. Great practice area! This course is a must play especially if you can get a special rate!

2/2 $20 birthday round 4hr POP playing thru a kind 4some on 3 and an accommodating 2some on 12--mostly like having the course to ourselves. Started out about 815 with heavy dew on the fairways that d... Continue »

2/2 $20 birthday round 4hr POP playing thru a kind 4some on 3 and an accommodating 2some on 12--mostly like having the course to ourselves. Started out about 815 with heavy dew on the fairways that didn't dissipate until about 10. Fairways have decent cover--ok lies generally firm and cut tight. Rough along fairways not too thick but still can grab your attention but is playable. Tees level with good cover--par 3s a little chewed up. Bunkers looked to be maintained recently groomed--the 2 I found had heavy damp sand from which I had some difficulty escaping. Greens started medium becoming medium fast as the day progressed. Greens are generally on the large size with contours slope and elevation changes--for example #1 pin on front lower right--my ball in the center about 10 feet from the incline and another 12 feet to the pin--rolled quickly by to about 13 feet. Rule of the day--find the right place on the green--which for me was an adventure. Greens mostly smooth rolling ok--still another course that has un-repaired or marginally repaired ball marks. Another course in a very natural setting--lot of wild under brush and off limit ESA's. Scenic tract with enough variety to provide for an enjoyable outing. Staff very friendly and made us feel really welcome. Thank you for the birthday hospitality

Being concerned with frost, I checked the weather for the course before I left home. The website indicated it would be low 50's with winds from 16-18 mph. When I left the 5 freeway it was 57 degrees,... Continue »

Being concerned with frost, I checked the weather for the course before I left home. The website indicated it would be low 50's with winds from 16-18 mph. When I left the 5 freeway it was 57 degrees, but by the time I arrived at the course it was THIRTY FOUR degrees. Yeah 34. I thought, "Oh great, drove all the way down here and I'm going to get frosted out" However they said the greens were OK, so we had to start on #5 and it was carts on the path till 8am. Let me tell you that 34 degrees is cold! The ball goes nowhere and there is no feel in the hands. But it's better than no golf.

The fairways were still frozen and very thin, so got lots of roll. The greens were also frozen and some were so fast it was silly, while others were kinda slow. (Tough to putt under those conditions!) Rough was hit or miss, with some bare areas. Tee boxes were very shaggy.

I really like this course so it was worth enduring the harsh conditions, plus Tom in the pro shop is great to work with. While I prefer to walk, it was not a lot of fun playing cart path only, but due to distances between some holes, walking is not practical. I just kept telling myself that it's December 19th and people in Buffalo would love to have these conditions, so suck it up and enjoy the fact you can play golf in December.

I played Sunday 10-2 with a Meetup group of 21 players. We had perfect weather and a 1pm tee time. Check in was easy and were told to take any cart with a white roof (the black-topped ones are for m... Continue »

I played Sunday 10-2 with a Meetup group of 21 players. We had perfect weather and a 1pm tee time. Check in was easy and were told to take any cart with a white roof (the black-topped ones are for members). The carts didn’t have GPS but did have a club/ball washer although we found out later it was nearly dry.

I had just a few minutes so I didn’t have time to warm up on the nice grass range. I did hit a few putts, though. The green is large and undulating but super slow, as were the greens on the course.

The course is very pretty with lots of large trees, elevation changes and relatively few houses on most of the course. The fairways were extremely tight from recent maintenance. The grass was only long enough to give the impression from a distance of being green. I have a hard time hitting from such hard ground, but the extra roll always made up for it.

It had been about 3 years since I’d last played here so I had forgotten about some of the rocky ditches that aren’t always visible. Yardage markers were tough to find, so a bit of course knowledge would really be helpful here. Few fairway bunkers were in intimidating places, but I managed to find a couple of greensides. The sand was clean, soft, a bit heavy but free of stones and footprints and rake marks (I guess I was the only one in there today!)

The par 3 #7 is very fun. It has an elevated tee and a bunker in the middle of the green. I won closest to pin so I would say that was my favorite. I definitely recommend this course and want to play here again .