Played last Thursday taking advantage of the $39 after 10am rate in the Golf Deals section.

Generally the course is in decent shape. New green on #1 is open, still growing in but very playable. ... Continue »

Played last Thursday taking advantage of the $39 after 10am rate in the Golf Deals section.

Generally the course is in decent shape. New green on #1 is open, still growing in but very playable. Green on #4 needs a LOT of work but all the others were in good shape. The back tees on #2 are not in play and there were 2-3 that needed some minor leveling - par 3's showed some divot damage but never had an issue finding a good spot.

Bunkers varied, most were good, a couple were a little thin on sand and a couple others were pretty heavy/wet (WAY to much experience with them for my liking! lol). Fairways had good coverage, a few thin spots here and there, but were pretty hard with lots of roll. Great if you were in the middle, but on this course that can also bring a lot of ESA into play if you stray towards the edges (again, too much experience with that particular issue). Greens were a little firm, fairly fast and rolled well - be careful out here, if they're running quick there's a lot more subtle breaks than it may appear. Rough ranged from "Wow, that's as good a lie as a lot of fairways" to "Dang - where the heck did my ball go!".

Good variety of holes, very solid but not really any that make you go "Wow". Enough elevation change and slopes to make each shot just a little more challenging. Practice green is being worked on so only a small section open but it did play about the same speed as the course (one of my "pet peeves" is when the practice green has no carryover - why bother?)

Pro shop staff was very nice, said I could go out when I was ready, even if it was a little early for the rate. No cart service, not much water around so make sure you are stocked up before you tee off. Clubhouse facilities are excellent (used to be private and you can definitely tell).

Went out as a single, passed a couple other groups, then caught up to another on #11, they apparently didn't believe in letting people play through so I backed up replayed 11, then took my time and got in some around the green practice on the remaining holes. Still manage to finish in about 3:35, with about 2:15 of that on the back nine.

Not sure it's worth the rack rate at the moment (especially on weekends) but for what I paid it was fine. Recommended if you can get a good rate.

Played a birthday round here on 8/11/16. Payed $20 for cart fee. Was able to get off right on time as a twosome. Had the entire 1st hole to ourselves and thought it might be a quick round but hit a 4 ... Continue »

Played a birthday round here on 8/11/16. Payed $20 for cart fee. Was able to get off right on time as a twosome. Had the entire 1st hole to ourselves and thought it might be a quick round but hit a 4 some on the 2nd tee and they played very slow. Luckily they let us pass on the 3rd tee box but that 2nd hole took forever. Back to the 1st hole, temporary green was still in place. Not even worth trying to putt. Just the fairway cut down an extra step. I hit on to about 15ft and just took a 2 putt. Course was very tough for us both being first timers. Golf shop did give us a yardage book which did help with the pictures of the holes because of how many doglegs there were but was still difficult knowing how to try to set up shots. Tee Boxes were okay, a little uneven in places and some bare areas but good enough to be comfortable teeing it up. Fairways were pretty good, minimal bare spots, thin areas, lots of bumps, humps and good and bad bounces. Rough was hit or miss ranging from very lush to to very thin. Sand was still GUR on some holes. Looks like they were fixing the drainage at the bottom and there was zero sand in them, just hard packed dirt and rocks for drainage. Other holes had plenty of sand and were in great shape. Green's were also mixed. A few really bad ones but hole 4 really stood out with bare strips about 4" wide going across maybe 1/3 of the green. They were however receptive on full shots and pretty quick and rolled out on chips. Even though the course was lush in some areas, you can see the drought has hit this course hard with how brown and thin it is. Facilities were very nice and high end. I believe this course used to be private and still has some of it's old memebers? I'm sure there are a lot of people who like this course but I wasn't a fan of the layout. There were a couple nice holes but nothing really stood out. I might give it another shot now that I have played it and know what shots I might play differently but not in any rush to get back.

Played 8/8 on Underpar package, starting at 7:20. Called the evening before and when the recorded message said, "please leave a message with your phone number and we will call you back," left a messa... Continue »

Played 8/8 on Underpar package, starting at 7:20. Called the evening before and when the recorded message said, "please leave a message with your phone number and we will call you back," left a message I'd like a 7:40 tee time and they needn't call me back if that was ok. When we arrived the pro shop apologized, said they cannot retrieve any messages on their system. Hmm. He did get us out 20 minutes early and apologized profusely. Were paired up with Ron and Mike who were good guys, even though Ron had Cowboys ball marker. Tee boxes were good. Fairways were a little thin, but decent lies. They were putting new sand in the bunkers and some were in the process and should have been GUR. Temporary green on 1. The new green looked good to go, I think they said it would open the 12th. The rest of the greens were mostly good, but there were some bare spots on a number of them. I just can't figure why they put the pins in spots to show off those bare spots. They putted medium fast and fairly true. Aprons and collars were showing the heat and not up to this course's usual standards. POP was about 3.5 hours on round 1 and 2:45 on the second. Enjoyed the round and the green damage was definitely not enough to keep me away. The new sand looked great with none of the gravel you get with the cheap stuff.

Played here today with a free birthday round (still $20 for cart, good a week before or after your birthday M-F). I called ahead and they said to just come on out. I teed off by myself around 12:40. D... Continue »

Played here today with a free birthday round (still $20 for cart, good a week before or after your birthday M-F). I called ahead and they said to just come on out. I teed off by myself around 12:40. Didn't see anyone until the back nine, played through a couple groups and cruised around at a brisk pace. I knew to lower my expectations after Itslikeimsayin's review from last week. I think he was being too kind. I was pretty disappointed with the conditions. Everything was very dry, brown and thin. Tee boxes fine enough to get a tee in the ground. Fairways very thin in most places with a few nice sections here and there. Lots of roll-out and very tight lies all day. Rough pretty spotty. Fairways and rough do improve and get greener the closer you get to greens. You can tell that's where they are focusing their water right now. I was in one bunker (greenside #4). It was a mess with footprints and some kind of drainage damage (big depression running down the middle). Thankfully, my ball found a good spot and the sand where I was at, though crusty on top, was actually nice to hit from. The greens had some burnt-out brown spots, but were very soft and rolling pretty well at medium speeds. Hole #1 is still a temp green, set to reopen August 13th according to a sign I saw in the clubhouse. I only played here once before. It was several years ago. I really liked the layout then and I really liked it again this time. I was disappointed with conditions and glad I only paid the $20 cart fee for my birthday round. I love courses that offer the birthday deals, so that earns a big plus in my book. Unfortunately, the course is really showing the effects of the drought and late summer heat right now. Otherwise, it's such a cool course and I look forward to playing it again when it's back in better shape.

When I finished playing The Vineyard at Escondido around 3:00 yesterday, I called over here to see if I could get out. They said there was no one on the tee sheet, and that was still true when I arriv... Continue »

When I finished playing The Vineyard at Escondido around 3:00 yesterday, I called over here to see if I could get out. They said there was no one on the tee sheet, and that was still true when I arrived, so I went straight to the first tee by myself. I used my free birthday round (good one week before or after your birthday for $20 cart fee). Pace was excellent, as I played the first eight holes by myself and then joined two fun guys for the rest of the way. Total POP was 3:15.

Conditions are very mixed here but quite playable. As mentioned in the last review, the first green is a temporary green 40 yards short of the real green. Thanks to GK, I don't recall playing one of these for many, many years (or maybe courses just don't do that much anymore), but it was kind of a novelty to play that. Greens 2-18 are probably the best part of the course, but even then, a few look beat up in spots, namely No. 4. They rolled good, however, and accepted full shots well. They ran medium fast speed. Fairways are a little on the thin side, but mostly acceptable. Some were lusher than others. Same for the rough, which varied from the occasional bare spot to lush. Grass coverage in the rough was a step down from the fairways, however. I don't think my ball was in a bunker, but I had to stand in one to hit a shot and the sand was excellent. Tee boxes were good, no complaints.

I'd only played here one other time, under cloudy skies, and I enjoyed the course much more this time around. Even without pristine conditions, it was bathed in beautiful late afternoon sunlight, and the layout captivated me more this time. One thing I didn't like was the total lack of drinking water out on the course. I only saw one jug, on the 7th tee, and it was empty. My cart had a cooler with ice, but there was no beverage cart to purchase drinks.

Flickr photo album of 47 photos here: https://goo.gl/B1FYED

Temporary first green.

Practice putting green is under repair. Many of the greens have areas where they are being repaired.

Tee boxes are lumpy and divot filled.

Somewhat dried out cours... Continue »

Temporary first green.

Practice putting green is under repair. Many of the greens have areas where they are being repaired.

Tee boxes are lumpy and divot filled.

Somewhat dried out course....but it is also summer time and hot out.

Return to GC of California, one of my favorite courses. The course just "fits my eye". As I drove to the first tee, looking at the practice green, it was in terrible condition. Then when I got to #... Continue »

Return to GC of California, one of my favorite courses. The course just "fits my eye". As I drove to the first tee, looking at the practice green, it was in terrible condition. Then when I got to #1, it was no better, and I thought "What the heck happened since the last time I played here just a few weeks ago?" However, the rest of the greens were much better, some still had issues, but overall, decent.

Fairways, tee boxes, rough were all just OK. Bunkers were hit or miss. I guess because of my fondness for this course, I might not be as objective? I hope not!

Second group off following a couple members, so pace was fine......... until we ran into a ladies shotgun on # 16, when things grinded to a halt. This has happened countless times to me on this course. My problem is that we are NEVER advised of the situation????

Otherwise I still enjoy this course, staff is always great, and using the underpar coupon, price works out OK

Always look forward to playing this course, as it is one of my favorite So Cal courses to play. I had a 6:10am tee time, which was supposed to be the second time off, but when I arrived I was informe... Continue »

Always look forward to playing this course, as it is one of my favorite So Cal courses to play. I had a 6:10am tee time, which was supposed to be the second time off, but when I arrived I was informed they had an 8 o'clock shotgun. When I called and asked if there was "anything going on", I was told no. They admitted they "looked at the wrong date". That said, they apologized and said they would stand behind the underpar certificate, and allowed me to play up until 8 o'clock anyway. Good PR, and the correct way to handle their mistake. The course was in OK shape, the greens being the best part. Fairways were a hit or miss. I was in a couple bunkers and they were both fine. (Just wish they had bigger rakes) Looking forward to return here and getting to play without issue.

Actually let down today. Greens were not as good as I remember and were slower than before.
Fairways were cut short (bermuda), and lumpy. Normally, courses with bermuda over-seed. Not the case here. ... Continue »

Actually let down today. Greens were not as good as I remember and were slower than before.
Fairways were cut short (bermuda), and lumpy. Normally, courses with bermuda over-seed. Not the case here. We teed off at 8AM. Didn't see a cart attendant till the 16th hole.
Bummer experience this time.