Played today in my first GK Plays outing! I had played it only once before, around a year ago. I don't want to sound negative, but I would say it wasn't QUITE in as good of shape as I remember it. The... Continue »

Played today in my first GK Plays outing! I had played it only once before, around a year ago. I don't want to sound negative, but I would say it wasn't QUITE in as good of shape as I remember it. The greens were fine, and so were the bunkers, and the tee boxes; but the fairways and rough were a little spotty in terms of coverage. Not bad, or unplayable, just not as plentiful coverage as what I remember.

Maybe it's just cause it's the peak of summer heat, plus no rain, plus water restrictions cause of drought (and also the fact that the other time I played it, I want to say it was spring or fall, or maybe even winter). Now that I type all that (about the heat & lack of water), I'm sure that's what it was. In that case, you can't really blame the course. They have to comply with the water restrictions placed on them by the city and/or county, and they obviously can't control the weather.

Aside from that, it's a fun course with a cool layout, which has several tees to choose from. If you play it all the way back, I'm sure it's quite challenging. From the middle tees, not as much , but you still need to know where to miss, as there are plenty of bunkers, a few other hazards, and many elevated greens, which are fairly large, with significant undulation.

It's a good value, family owned, with a beautiful clubhouse and a pretty good practice facility (including part-time grass driving range, and a chipping green with bunker).

Played Sterling today, 5/2, 10*45am start. Check in & Starter nice people. I mentioned I'm with the GK website. Tee boxes were in very good condition. Fairways were nice, a bit thin, not super lus... Continue »

Played Sterling today, 5/2, 10*45am start. Check in & Starter nice people. I mentioned I'm with the GK website. Tee boxes were in very good condition. Fairways were nice, a bit thin, not super lush, but good coverage. Rough not very deep, easy to hit out of. Rough near outskirts of the course gets dicey, mixed long weeds ect, but it's really far out. Greens were firm. Rolled really nice, med-fast. Collar areas cut very tight, in great shape. Allows for the putter from sometimes 15' off the green if one doesn't trust a wedge. Bunkers fine, with an inch or 2 of loose sand on top of firmer ground. POP was around 4 hours. No drink cart on a Monday, don't know about other days. "Free" lunch with green fee. Food fine, although I would prefer $5 off green fee instead. Overall Sterling is in pretty good shape & I had a good time. I recommend & I'll be back!

Played in a charity scramble today 9/30, teeing off on the 3rd hole in Santa Ana winds. I'm thinking conservatively it's been 15 years since I've played this course — back before it went into a bit of... Continue »

Played in a charity scramble today 9/30, teeing off on the 3rd hole in Santa Ana winds. I'm thinking conservatively it's been 15 years since I've played this course — back before it went into a bit of decline and now again after it has recovered. Long enough that I had no memory of most of the layout and vague memory of the rest. I found the course in pretty nice overall shape. Teeing grounds only stick out in my mind when there is an issue and I can't think of any — all green at an appropriate height and level. Fairways were in good shape leaning towards tight with good rollout and if there were any brown or bare spots I don't recall them. Rough was mostly very playable. We never played out of a bunker but they were all groomed and looked nice. I walked in one and it was on the firm side, leaving only very shallow footprints. The greens were quick, clean and in good shape as was the immediate surroundings for short game. The clubhouse is nice with a beautiful view out the back side, but they are doing some upgrades so there is a little construction going on, especially in the pro shop. The golf carts are basic with no electronics for yardage, but they ran well enough. From the golf conditions perspective, I definitely recommend the place and am glad to see it in good shape after years of negative reports. As an aside, the tournament was a little bare-bones. No goody bags, sponsors on the tees or giveaways, no coolers around the course or even a circulating beverage cart. For $165 bucks base price I found that aspect surprising and lacking, but I would attribute it to the tournament organizer's choices/budget and not the course. The BBQ tri-tip and chicken dinner buffet put on afterward was very good and the sides and salads that went with it were worth noting, and I attribute that to the course facilities/kitchen.

Played 8-19-21 afternoon with John, Kevin, and Matt getting around the course in about 4 1/2 hours with little to no waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, level and lush. Fairways were in decent shap... Continue »

Played 8-19-21 afternoon with John, Kevin, and Matt getting around the course in about 4 1/2 hours with little to no waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, level and lush. Fairways were in decent shape mostly good lies with some areas being roped off. Rough was a mix, some nice, some thin, some a little over watered. Was in two greenside bunkers that were in nice condition with a decent layer of sand. Greens were pretty nice rolling mostly smooth at medium pace and a little on the soft side. Overall conditions were in good shape with a few rough areas here and there.

GK guru round with MrKich, kviser and rgm2525. Also kviser and I played a GK Cup 17 match. See results in the forum post. Great time.

Beautiful weather on a late Thursday afternoon. We rode the Bl... Continue »

GK guru round with MrKich, kviser and rgm2525. Also kviser and I played a GK Cup 17 match. See results in the forum post. Great time.

Beautiful weather on a late Thursday afternoon. We rode the Blue Tees. About 6400 yards Par 71 from the Blue Tees. Plays all of it. Many tees are elevated and you don't get much release/roll out with your driver from the kikuyu fairways. Very fun green complexes well guarded by bunkers, slopes and hazards. Many of the greens are amoeba shaped greens with lots a places to tuck pins. Hole #8 pin placement, par 3, up front, I thought to myself I've never seen the pin that up front before ... now I know why! - LOL. We played in just over 4 hours teeing it up around 2:30pm

Overall condition of the golf course is very good shape. Greens the highlight. Medium/Fast, mostly smooth and holding shots. Fairways all have full coverage from a variety of turf types and play well. There is some all season turf overseeding taking place on Holes 5 and 7 with those areas designated as GUR. The fairways are predominately kikuyu/bermunda turf. The rough is spotty lush/thin/bare on 1/2 holes as far coverage adjacent to the fairways but around the greens its lush and challenge to pitch from. Turf is predominately kikuyu. Tee boxes are lush kikuyu/bermunda, level, a little long and in great shape. Regarding the bunkers, good shape. Quality sand and cared for. Not the golf course's fault but golfers need to do a better job raking them after playing them.

Sterling Hills GC is always a good option to play, especially if you are trying to escape the heat of the SFV.

Recommended!

Check out the photos I posted here!

I played here yesterday with Johnny, Ron, and Matt. Thanks to Johnny for setting up this Guru round. The course is in good overall condition. Pace of play was about four to four and a half hours.

G... Continue »

I played here yesterday with Johnny, Ron, and Matt. Thanks to Johnny for setting up this Guru round. The course is in good overall condition. Pace of play was about four to four and a half hours.

Greens were running smooth and at a medium fast speed. They all had a great look to them; no excessive damage, consistent roll, and they held shots very well.

Fairways and rough were mostly good. There were few, if any bare areas in either the fairways or rough. I never had a really bad lie, but there are areas beyond the rough throughout the course that are either not watered and have wood chip mulch or is just dirt.

Tees (we played the Blue tees) were very level and had good grass coverage. It's mostly kikuyu grass and sometimes you needed a very long tee to penetrate through the turf. I never had an issue with uneven ground or poor coverage.

Bunkers were all in decent condition with lots of good quality sand. There were rakes available, although a couple of bunkers had footprints that weren't raked.

This course has an interesting layout and there are several elevation changes that will have you second guessing club selection. Nice customer service and everyone seemed pretty laid back. Beers in the snack bar were good, but a bit pricey. No cart service on the course. It's definitely not a stuffy atmosphere. For what it's worth, I can recommend this course.

Our Golf League, Gold Coast Golf Association played Sterling Hills today for our monthly Club Tournament. I have played Sterling Hills many times and played it back when they first opened probably 25... Continue »

Our Golf League, Gold Coast Golf Association played Sterling Hills today for our monthly Club Tournament. I have played Sterling Hills many times and played it back when they first opened probably 25 years ago. In the early years the course was AMAZING!! Right now they are trying to maintain the course and doing a good job. All staff are friendly and welcoming. The course is in decent condition. Greens are very smooth and semi fast. Fairways on some holes are under construction in some areas. Overall rating for this course for the price and playability would be a 6 on a 1-10 rating.

Played Sterling Hills for the first time, on 2/20. Had our semi-final cup 16 match, starting at noon and finishing with POP in 4.75 hours. Weather was great, 60's temps, calm at noon and about 10 knot... Continue »

Played Sterling Hills for the first time, on 2/20. Had our semi-final cup 16 match, starting at noon and finishing with POP in 4.75 hours. Weather was great, 60's temps, calm at noon and about 10 knot winds starting around 1pm. Range, practice and chipping greens all open. Snack bar open.
The white tees were pretty chewed today, lots of divots, some filled and some not(there were sand bottles on the carts). I saw some were aerated, and some had some slight crowns that made you search for a better footing to tee advantage. Thier tee boxes seem smaller than most, not as wide, and not as long.

The fairways were winter thin and firm, with plenty of rollout. A little dry too, like the winds had been here for a few days prior. Still playable.

The rough was both thin and thick kikuyu. Mostly dry as well. Try to stay away from the rough under the canopy of the many eucalyptus trees...the kikuyu seems to not do well in winter there.

The traps, had real sand...and juuust deep enough, to honor how traps should be.

The areas around the greens were mostly cut enough the have the ball sit up nicely. On the par 3 15th, I missed left and this area was thicker than most and sticky for the flop I attempted.

The greens were tricky for me today. Firm and with plenty of ball marks. I thought they were med-fast. It seemed like approaches from beyond 150 lost a lot holding power. Spend extra time on the practice greens, it should pay dividends.

The drink cart came around twice, no rakes, mats on the range, 1 drink and range balls included with the green fee. Marshall on duty and good customer service. Had a good match with John, Eric & Perry...I'd play here again.

Teed off as a foursome on Monday 2/15/21 at 8:03am. Nice cool morning turned into a perfect day in the mid sixties. Overall Sterling Hills is in average winter condition. The fairways are thin with ma... Continue »

Teed off as a foursome on Monday 2/15/21 at 8:03am. Nice cool morning turned into a perfect day in the mid sixties. Overall Sterling Hills is in average winter condition. The fairways are thin with many bare spots. Some fairway lies had decent cushion under the ball and some were a little more hard pan. They are playable. The rough is a mixed bag. Some areas are thin and bare, and some have other grasses that are thick. The tee boxes were fairly beat up. But with a tee in the ground, not a problem. I was in two greenside bunkers. They had plenty of firm sand, and were easy to hit from. The greens were medium fast, but quite fast downhill. The greens were on the firm side, but held well struck shots just fine. Mostly they were smooth, with a bumps now and again. The greens at Sterling Hills have lots of undulation. You better be on the proper side of the hole, or you're in for a tough putting day.