Played on 8/27/20 - I've always liked this course, it has a lot of good shots on it. Yesterday we teed off early (before 8) in order to play before the heat. In my opinion they need to have someone en... Continue »

Played on 8/27/20 - I've always liked this course, it has a lot of good shots on it. Yesterday we teed off early (before 8) in order to play before the heat. In my opinion they need to have someone enforcing the "Play early, play fast" rule. We were behind two threesomes that had the entire course backed up by the back nine. Endless practice swings, not clearing the green, not being ready to hit when it's your turn...These are very basic things. If the players can't do them, a marshall needs to show up and keep things moving in the interests of the other players on the course.

It's possible that they're just putting too many groups out. The course is a little ratty at the moment, IMHO, not it the best condition I've ever seen it. But the good news is that we could get a tee time...

Played 8-3-20 in the afternoon with GDR23, JohnnyGK, and Sbarajasjr walking the course in a little under 4 hours. Overall conditions have improved a little since last time played here. Greens were ver... Continue »

Played 8-3-20 in the afternoon with GDR23, JohnnyGK, and Sbarajasjr walking the course in a little under 4 hours. Overall conditions have improved a little since last time played here. Greens were very nice, smooth with medium/fast pace and in great condition. Fairways have filled in a little more giving mostly good lies and good roll out. Rough was in okay shape with some bare and thin spots. Was in two fairway bunkers that were both thin and crusty, and in one greenside bunker on 16 that was also crusty on top but still had a decent amount of sand to hit from. Tee boxes were in decent shape with some being a little thin. New owners are still making improvements, hope they keep it up.

My second round was at Sterling Hills Golf Club at 1:47pm with GKers GDR23, rgm2525 and sbarajasjr. Great time!

Worked out perfect to play Soule Park in the morning to beat the Ojai heat and then ... Continue »

My second round was at Sterling Hills Golf Club at 1:47pm with GKers GDR23, rgm2525 and sbarajasjr. Great time!

Worked out perfect to play Soule Park in the morning to beat the Ojai heat and then play in the afternoon in Camarillo where the weather in the Summer is almost always perfect. We left Soule Park around 1:00pm with the temps in the mid-90s. Got down the mountain to 101 in Ventura/Oxnard and the place was still cool/overcast in the low 60’s but upon arriving at Sterling Hills low 70’s, sunshine and perfect. Tell you what, could not plan it any better. Soule Park in the morning and Sterling Hills in the afternoon is great day of golf in Ventura County.

Conditions at Sterling Hills are very good with the greens in exceptional shape. The greens are always in great shape at Sterling Hills but Monday they might have been the best I’ve ever played them. Fast, smooth and mostly firm. So fun. The turf through the green is in good shape with the fairways, rough and tee boxes mostly lush Bermuda/Kikuyu with some browning. There are bare areas on the golf course but they are in sections of the golf course where it is highly unlikely a ball will go (such as just off the tee). The bunkers are mix between firm wet sand and good sand. I noticed some sod replacement work going on which to always good to see a golf course investing in improvements. The most notable is the front right side of the #9 green.

Sterling Hills is a moderately hilly golf Par 71 IMO. I chose to walk it and I got a great work out but don’t recommend walking if you are at all physically challenged. It’s a long walk from the 9th green to the 10th tee so its good idea to pack a snack/water so you don’t have to stop at the turn for bite. Afterwards by all means hang out for a bite. They’ve got good food at a decent price. I posted some new pics so check them out. Recommended!

Walked the Blues this afternoon 8/3/2020 at 1:50pm with John, Ron and Sal(very nice to meet you Sal!). POP was just over 4 hours with temps in the mid 70's with a slight breeze. COVID-19 precautions... Continue »

Walked the Blues this afternoon 8/3/2020 at 1:50pm with John, Ron and Sal(very nice to meet you Sal!). POP was just over 4 hours with temps in the mid 70's with a slight breeze. COVID-19 precautions included no rakes, foam insert in cups, no ballwashers and masks in the pro-shop. Range was open with mats and looks like they are re sodding the putting green. Friendly staff inside the pro-shop including friendly starter on hole 1. Greens were the highlight of the course putting and rolling very smoothly. Hardly any ballmarks to be found. Loved the greens and they looked like they might have just been rolled. They were receptive to shots with a high trajectory and spin. Rating the greens a solid 8 bordering on a 8.5. Fairways were semi-lush and have improved some since my last round. Some very minor wet spots and a few dry spots but overall playable and decent. Rated 7/10 Tees mostly level and lush. Couple tees you had to hunt for a level stance but overall in above average shape. Rated 7/10 Was in greenside bunker on 7 that was nicely raked with a perfect amount of sand to splash out of. Rating this bunker 7/10 Rough was thick in most spots but manageable. Rated 7/10. Even though I played well not my favorite layout. Only 3 par 5's is a minus in my book. I do love the back nine here. 16/17/18 are fun holes to finish on. Conditions were good today and the greens were in the best shape I have ever seen them. I would recommend Sterling Hills right now. Above average conditions in most facets of the golf course and great green conditions.

Walked the whites yesterday, started out the driving range did not open till 8:30, so with an 8:00 tee time the free range balls aren't a plus, the course still seems to have drainage problems, but th... Continue »

Walked the whites yesterday, started out the driving range did not open till 8:30, so with an 8:00 tee time the free range balls aren't a plus, the course still seems to have drainage problems, but they seem to be working on it. Fairways were ok, still bare spots and uneven lies, and were very soggy in some spots. Greens were receptive and in very good shape and rolled well. Was not in ant bunkers. P.O.P. was 4:20. Very crowded everyone was riding so if you play in the afternoon carts will be hard to come by. For the price $43 with lunch included is a good deal.

Teed off at 8am as a single playing with 3 retired sheriff's deputies. Very nice guys. And a lot of fun to play with. The weather was cloudy, cool and in the 60's for most of the round. The sun came o... Continue »

Teed off at 8am as a single playing with 3 retired sheriff's deputies. Very nice guys. And a lot of fun to play with. The weather was cloudy, cool and in the 60's for most of the round. The sun came out and warmed to about 70 degrees while playing the 16th hole. Perfect golf weather.

Unfortunately, this is not any where near a perfect golf course. It is mediocre at best right now. The tee boxes are very rough and chewed up (white tees), but playable with a tee stuck in the ground. The fairways are a mix of grasses. The coverage is decent but the turf is thin, with occasional lush areas here and there. There is not a lot of distinction between the fairway grass and the rough. Except the rough is less consistent and with more bare areas.

I was in two fairway bunkers. Both had heavy damp sand that was very firm. I was in one greenside bunker. It had adequate sand but was very chewed up and hard. The turf surrounding the greens was very tight. I ended up putting more than usual from off the green because it was too difficult to get under the ball for a good chip.

The greens were the best part of the course. They were medium speed, smooth and held shots fairly well. They were soft and rolled nicely. Right now this course is just OK. Being 45 minutes from my house and costing $43 to walk for a senior, I won't be back.

Played 5-11-20 early afternoon with John, Kevin, and Gary, walking the course in about 4 1/2 hours. Tee boxes had good coverage with a few being a little un-level but nothing really bad. Fairways were... Continue »

Played 5-11-20 early afternoon with John, Kevin, and Gary, walking the course in about 4 1/2 hours. Tee boxes had good coverage with a few being a little un-level but nothing really bad. Fairways were in pretty decent shape, good roll out with nice lies. Rough was not much longer than fairways and in okay shape with some minor bare spots. Was in one greenside bunker on 11 that was a little crusty but still had a good layer of sand. Greens were semi soft and rolling medium pace and smooth. Overall course is in good condition and worth a play.

My first round in 9 weeks and my first experience with golf COVID-19. Teeing off at 12:30pm Monday 5/10 joined by GDR23, Kviser and RGM2525 we had a super time.

Pulling in I’ve never seen so many ... Continue »

My first round in 9 weeks and my first experience with golf COVID-19. Teeing off at 12:30pm Monday 5/10 joined by GDR23, Kviser and RGM2525 we had a super time.

Pulling in I’ve never seen so many cars in the Sterling Hills Golf Club parking lot on a Monday non-holiday weekday. Upon walking up to the clubhouse I noticed it was closed off the public entrance with open doors and check-in taking place at the cart staging area. We chose to walk but had someone in our group had a physical issue they could have opted for a cart. Range balls were available for players with mats and spacing on the range. At the first tee was a staff member with mask and gloves on giving us guidance. Out on the golf course mask was not required and pins had the foam pool noodle insert about halfway down the cups to allow the ball to drop. No rakes in the bunkers nor ball washers as expected. Personally I hardly felt COVID-19 disrupted all day as a walker plus I got great exercise on a golf course I almost always ride. Felt amazing to be playing with friends on a beautiful day on a fun track.

Conditions were overall very good. Greens mostly soft, rolling smooth at about medium speed. Fairways mostly lush with some minor dry areas and good coverage all around. The fairways were a blend of warm and cool temp turf so I would expect a minor transition period moving into the summer months. The rough is mostly kikuyu with mixtures of other grasses and mostly lush. There are many elevated greens and tight pin placements so be glad you spent all that time in COVID-19 backyard quarantine with your lob wedge! Bunkers had quality sand with some containing non-raked footprints (no rakes makes that understandable). Tee boxes (played the blues) had good coverage. Little inconsistent from box to box as far as levelness and turf height but overall in good shape.

4 ½ hour pace a play with a little bit of waiting.

I took a bunch of photos of the golf course I encourage you to check out here on GK.

Looking forward to my next round at Sterling Hills already.

I agree with and don’t have a lot to add to Gary’s review, but I’ll give it a try. I like the layout of the course and it was an easy walk today. The course does come close to a few houses at times. T... Continue »

I agree with and don’t have a lot to add to Gary’s review, but I’ll give it a try. I like the layout of the course and it was an easy walk today. The course does come close to a few houses at times. There’s room but an occasional errant shot could hit a house or back yard, so on there are times that you have to be aware. That’s all I have to say about that.

Greens are nice overall. I fixed quite a few ball marks though. These are fairly large greens with lots of undulations and subtle breaks. Speed was on the medium side, maybe running around a 9, if I had to guess. You will do yourself a favor by trying to hit the pin and not worry about going too long.

Tees were nice with good turf coverage. A couple had some minor issues with level but you could always find a good spot to hit from.

Fairways were a real treat. Great coverage of turf grass most everywhere. Lots of rollout on most drives. Lots of great landing areas that just beg for you to rip it. It looks like the fairways are recovering or fully recovered from a recent aerification.

Rough was decent. There were areas that you would wish were cut more, but nothing crazy. It’s mostly kikuyu with some Bermuda and ryegrass. I am usually about 35% on fairways so the rough can really make or break my score. Today it was nice.

Sand was nice in the one bunker that I was in. They all looked like they got a grooming from the sand pro and I didn’t see a lot of footprints.

We had a good walking pace at just under four and a half hours, waiting on a few shots here and there but falling off the pace on the final two holes. The parking lot looked pretty busy when I arrived at 12:15, and it appeared that they were busy, but really I had no issues with the pace. I’m learning to take it easy now.

Big thanks to Sterling Hills for opening up and having this nice venue. Also I thank Johnny for making this Guru outing available to us. Good times today with three great fellow golfers. I recommend this course and I look forward to coming back.