Interesting that perceptions can be so different. I like Buenaventura and go back a ways with it, so I'm not inclined to denigrate it, but my observations are different than the previous post. I rarel... Continue »

Interesting that perceptions can be so different. I like Buenaventura and go back a ways with it, so I'm not inclined to denigrate it, but my observations are different than the previous post. I rarely get a chance to play there these days, living in Altadena, but happen to play yesterday. Beautiful breezy day, I went out late morning. The generally found no problems with the tee boxes -- either with coverage or finding level spots. I thought the greens overall were in very good shape, reasonably quick and challenging -- some real "potato chips" in the collection. The rough was suitably challenging but not impossible. But I would not say the fairways were in good shape. I generally managed to have playable lies, but the fairways are akin to winter conditions. There are areas with good coverage, but a LOT of extended patches/areas run thin, some to the point of exposed patches/stretches of dirt. I was able to play my lies (I had some thin lies, but never ended up in the worst or GUR stretches,) but it was noticable and for the purpose of a review, definitely worth pointing out. Whether it's because of the nature of the soil there or whatever, apparently it's tough to keep the fairways there full and the reports on BV seem to vary according to whether it's in a good phase or thin phase. Right now, I'd call it thin. All that being said, it was certainly playable, I enjoyed myself, andproblems with my scorecard were player-induced, not course-induced. But given that I'm infrequently in that area and this was a one-day road trip, if I had known, I might have opted to try another area course on the day for more optimum conditions.