Hi All,
I just played Sterling Hills GC twilight time from Golf Now for $34.

Getting started was a bit slow as they were finishing a Men's club tournament. Once we got going the pace was modera... Continue »

Hi All,
I just played Sterling Hills GC twilight time from Golf Now for $34.

Getting started was a bit slow as they were finishing a Men's club tournament. Once we got going the pace was moderate, but not as slow as we were warned, I would call the pace 'normal' for a weekend. The first thing we noticed was the very long grass in the tee boxes. This always wreaks havoc for me as your feet settle in lower, and when you tee the ball up above the grass it is relatively higher than normal. I'm not sure why they were so long, but it was a hindrance all day, every single tee box was poor. Also, some of the tee boxes are getting bumpy and not level. While most all areas of this course are fine, they could do with some investment into the tee boxes.

No complaints about the fairway or rough, they were in fine shape. My playing partner thought the bunkers were packed too hard, but I thought that they were 'normal'. Maybe a bit more bunker work to keep the sand from compacting.

The greens were pretty good, consistent and rolling OK. Hard to find much damage on the greens, so that is always a huge plus. Service at the course was OK, and the facilities are really nice. I got a beverage at the turn, they have refillable drinks so that's always something I like.

A really good value for $34 today.

JJ

Played on Sunday afternoon with a 1230 tee time. Joined a single and a twosome. Got off about 10 minutes late but wasn't a big deal. Heard from the starter we were behind two tournaments but he sai... Continue »

Played on Sunday afternoon with a 1230 tee time. Joined a single and a twosome. Got off about 10 minutes late but wasn't a big deal. Heard from the starter we were behind two tournaments but he said we should expect a 4:45 round. Well the tournaments weren't the problem. It was the three groups in front of us playing at a snails pace. Each group had a full hole in between the next leading to a 5:30 round with no cart girl after hole 5. Also absent was any Marshall after hole 11. This wasn't a jam packed course with no way to speed it up. This was obvious slow play by a few groups with no sheriff on duty. Sterling Hills, if you are going to charge top dollar then do what River Ridge does and patrol your course!

Conditions were the same as a few weeks ago. Even and level tee boxes, lush and slightly long fairway grass. They are slowly transitioning the type of grass in the fairways and you'll find all the new lush stuff in the drive landing areas. Great stuff - so easy to take divots.

The greens were what I would call spectacular today. Other than some unrepaired ball marks they are rolling true, mowed tight, and give just enough bounce with irons to keep you honest. The speed was medium and not any faster. Perfect in my opinion.

Played 5-15-15 afternoon on a golfnow deal for $15 including cart. Went out on the backside with another single, joining another twosome on the front and finishing in a little over 3 hours.tee boxes w... Continue »

Played 5-15-15 afternoon on a golfnow deal for $15 including cart. Went out on the backside with another single, joining another twosome on the front and finishing in a little over 3 hours.tee boxes were in good shape, lush and mostly level. The grass on a few of the black tees were a little thick, tee didn't find dirt for a couple of inches. Fairways were mostly lush with a few roped off areas for some over seeding. Rough was a little thin so note much of a factor. Sandtraps had plenty of dark sand and were nicely groomed. Greens were in real nice shape, a little firm and rolling medium/fast speed. Overall course is in real good shape, if they keep improving on the condition I might start playing here more often.

Played this Mother's Day Sunday, 5/10 11am from the Blues. Great deal this Sunday for $32 w/cart. Not many people out on this holiday so our foursome was able to play in about 4 hours flat. Tee box... Continue »

Played this Mother's Day Sunday, 5/10 11am from the Blues. Great deal this Sunday for $32 w/cart. Not many people out on this holiday so our foursome was able to play in about 4 hours flat. Tee boxes are for the most part level, lush, with some areas needing to be mowed tighter but was never much of a problem. The fairways have really come along since the fall and are mostly lush and soft. Some areas of repair but few if any sections roped off. The only negative about the fairways is there seems to be some inconsistency in height. Sometimes it will be almost the length of short rough which can severely penalize a great drive. But if the longer grass keeps the fairways lush then I'm find with it. Rough is probably 50% lush and cut short - not very penalizing. They do take care to keep the rough around the greens very lush and slightly longer which is very much appreciated. Greens are medium fast and plenty soft to hold shots well. Not many ball marks. Sand seems better than I remember, I don't know if they added some or just loosened but it was totally acceptable. There GPS systems are functional but no longer show birds eye views of the hole. Apparently the GPS company they bought the equipment from is trying to charge them extra. I believe this also happened to River Ridge. However, the GPS does work but only gives yardages. Gone are the days during the winter of finding a deal on weekend mornings here. I could often walk on as a single for 45-50 bucks at peak times but now you won't find a deal before 11am. $67 is the rule. I would play this course 3 times a month if they'd open some deals for singles but as it stands once a month it is at that price. Too bad. I love this course.

Hi All,
I am back from business travel and played my first round back at Sterling Hills G.C. I have always liked this course since it opened, a fun, challenging layout in my opinion. Some courses I... Continue »

Hi All,
I am back from business travel and played my first round back at Sterling Hills G.C. I have always liked this course since it opened, a fun, challenging layout in my opinion. Some courses I like I will stay away to save money, but Sunday we got an online tee time at 11:18am for $39 each plus online fee. I booked for two, and a couple of friends wanted to come along as well. The course was nice enough to extend the online rate to them which was nice.

The pro shop guy was all business but nice enough. Checked in with the starter who was trying to keep my receipt, I never understand that why a course gives you a receipt and then trys to take it away. So after a short discussion, the started surrendered my golf receipt back to me.

Tee boxes here are usually pretty good. We played the tips and only encountered a couple of tee boxes where the grass was a bit long. Other than that, they were fine. The fairways were just right in length, well maintained. A couple spots of over watering made low points a bit wet. My friend was complaining about this, but not so much of an issue for me. The bunkers were well maintained, and did not have the 'hard-pack' sand 1 inch below the surface like so many 'poorly maintained' course have.

The greens were in very good shape. Soft and rolling pretty smooth. Just a touch slow for me at maybe a 9.5 on the stimp. A little faster and I would be really happy. Not much damage as the greens are looking good.

Pace of play was a bit slow, about 5 hours 10 minutes. I think this can be expected for play on a Sunday.

Good facilities and practice area, one of my top twenty courses and for $39 on a Sunday its a bargain.

Jeff

Played 3-10-15 afternoon as a foursome in a little under 5 hours. Course is in just ok shape. Tee boxes were in descent shape semi lush and mostly level. Fairways were a mix of green lush grass with g... Continue »

Played 3-10-15 afternoon as a foursome in a little under 5 hours. Course is in just ok shape. Tee boxes were in descent shape semi lush and mostly level. Fairways were a mix of green lush grass with great lies, to dormant hard grass with tight lies, with a few bare spots mixed in. Rough is very short with bare spots here and there. Sand traps were a little on the thin side but still nice to hit from. Greens are the best part of the course right now, rolling medium/ fast and true.

Played on March 9.
Was a Men's Club member until it ended. Too bad. Sterling is in the best shape I have ever seen. The fairways have grass. The rough was a little spotty. The greens were in great sh... Continue »

Played on March 9.
Was a Men's Club member until it ended. Too bad. Sterling is in the best shape I have ever seen. The fairways have grass. The rough was a little spotty. The greens were in great shape and ran about 11. The Marshall responded to a slow group and actually told them to pick it up.
All and all a great value and in very good shape.

Played the blues (6395/70.9/126) in 3H, 45M on an overcast, breezy afternoon for $24.49 on a GolfNow Hot Deal including a cart. Played the front as a single and joined up with a 2some on the back. Par... Continue »

Played the blues (6395/70.9/126) in 3H, 45M on an overcast, breezy afternoon for $24.49 on a GolfNow Hot Deal including a cart. Played the front as a single and joined up with a 2some on the back. Par 71 track, you do not see the 2nd par 5 until the 16th hole which I see as a minus. However, good design overall with many fun/interesting golf holes. The greens are undulating, medium fast and FIRM. They did not hold irons well, I hit a couple of high 8 irons that landed in the middle of the green and ended up on the back fringe. I find the greens here hard to putt, there is more break than I read. Hardly a straight putt anywhere with lots of subtle break, and a few greens have hills or crests that produce severe breaks. They have been working on the fairways and have transplanted a different type grass in large areas that is currently roped off for carts. They already have some prior transplanted bermuda parts of the fairways to go along with a thin blade vertical grass. The newly transplanted areas are coming along and currently look good because they have been keeping carts off them. The rest of the fairways have a few bare hardpan areas, mostly thin coverage with some lush areas mixed in. The rough is also a mixed bag, can be lush close to the fairway and thin, hardpan or dirt elsewhere. The traps were in good condition with nice sand. The customer service was excellent, they got me out 10 minutes early and the Marshall was out riding around trying to keep people moving. No drink cart, but they do have a snack shop available @ the turn. This course is a decent, mid level alternative locally. The problem for someone who just wants to play an occasional round of golf here is that for a decade they have priced the course like a high end club. Yes, they have a nice clubhouse. However, that is not really a lure for a golfer who just wants to play a decent golf course for 4 hours and is not interested in paying for the nice banquet halls, meeting rooms or dining rooms that are almost always vacant the times I have played here over the years. Their main issue is that to get here from the north you have to drive pass Olivas Links and both River Ridge courses. To get here from the south, you are driving by Rustic Canyon, Moorpark C.C. and Tierra Rejada. In my opinion, all 6 of those courses that are within 15-20 miles of Sterling Hills are superior overall considering layout, condition and price. And I think most golfers that frequent Ventura County courses long ago realized that. It has only been recently that the discount rates I see on sites like Golf Now have made Sterling Hills competitively priced with some of the other courses locally that are their TRUE competitors. Sterling Hills warrants playing if you can get a discounted deal, but it is not worth full rack rate. If their prices are in line with River Ridge or Olivas, they will get golfers to play here instead of driving 10 miles farther north. However, if their prices are $10 - $20 higher, like they were for a good portion of the last decade, the golf masses will continue to pass them by.

I'd like to give another review of this course as a follow up to my review from several months ago. At that time the course was in a state of disrepair - or repair if you want to call it that.

I h... Continue »

I'd like to give another review of this course as a follow up to my review from several months ago. At that time the course was in a state of disrepair - or repair if you want to call it that.

I happy to say the course is really coming around now and it will be back into my rotation. Most of the issues that were going on previously are no longer there. The fairways are all mowed short and are in great shapes. You'll find a bare spot here and there but most of it is nice and lush and soft! They still have many areas roped off but it's playable. No more picking up and replacing ball on every shot. The fairways are great. The greens were also rolling really nice and the rough, well, this is closest thing to rough you'll find at a public LA course.

There's a few things still in need of some attention. The tee boxes are still pretty overgrown on several holes, not a deal breaker but it will be nice to see them mowed shorter. The worst thing is the sand traps. As a course that has A LOT of bunkers its mostly dirt, loose dirt if your lucky.

I was surprised, I played Sat 1/17 at about 8am and the place was empty. It was 72 degrees and sunny and there was maybe 6 groups on the course. Really strange. Great for me - 3.5 hour round!