12/23/25 Early bird tee time only thing available for my partner and I on Tuesday, 7:24am. Fog had just receded as we se... » More

12/23/25 Early bird tee time only thing available for my partner and I on Tuesday, 7:24am. Fog had just receded as we set up the balls. First time I had to play with my hoodie on this year. This course is also a bit out of my driving orbit 1hr 20 min from O.C. Green fee price and condition of the course made up for that. Beautiful setting ,deer everywhere. Small driving range, good carts (no GPS), beverage cart service, 5 holes have access to bathrooms. Fairways just about perfect, rough could be trimmed, narrow mature tree lined stay out. Greens healthy and fast.....lots of slope will frustrate the best on these surfaces! Let me say it again, the GREENS protect against low scores. Staff is casual but very organized, especially the starter keeping everybody informed and ready to roll. Pace was perfect all through the round. I'll be back.
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A true hidden gem. This course reminded me very much of Quail lodge, only slightly more scenic and slightly less difficu... » More

A true hidden gem. This course reminded me very much of Quail lodge, only slightly more scenic and slightly less difficult. Blue/white combo tees of about 6,400 offered a fair challenge.

I really liked that each hole seemed to have an offset fairway bunker, one on the right reachable for the short hitter and the one on the left reachable for the long hitter. They were sculpted, deep and I assume penal. (luckily, I missed them all) You really had to plod and think your way around this course. You need to shape shots around trouble and possibly lay-up on some holes as a dry wash comes into play on many holes.

The first hole tees off at the highest point on the course and most of the rest plays along the valley floor. Course was built in the fifties and designed by Bob e Baldock. He is responsible for quite a few private courses in the central valley. I always seem to enjoy his layouts, but this one blew me away.

Great valley setting surrounded by green hills and sparkling white bunkers. Course was a touch winter thin but didn't affect play at all. Just a real treat to play if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.
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Tough,tough,tough. Might be the most immaculate course I've ever played. Not a blade of grass or grain of sand out of pl... » More

Tough,tough,tough. Might be the most immaculate course I've ever played. Not a blade of grass or grain of sand out of place. Greens were smooth as glass and speedy. 6,332 white tees might have been the longest 6,300 I ever played. Steady 10-20 mph winds pretty typical in the afternoons I was told. Course had the look of a rolling layout to it, but it was deceiving. I believe I read a review that said the grass was kikuyu and that explained a lot. With the wind and no roll, the course played long. Tons of deep, flash faced bunkers didn't help the cause.

If that wasn't enough the sticky grass coupled with being constantly short made the day a true chipping adventure. Bump and runs wouldn't run, lofted chips would hit the firm greens and run for miles. After only playing it once my best guess how to score here is either try sculling all your chips and maybe they get close or play as far up as possible and hit every green in regulation. LOL

I checked out the photos on Greenskeeper, and it looked like they added a ton more bunkers and took out the pond. It's a pretty course for sure. Decent amount of elevation change throughout. I saw plenty members walking but the course is surrounded by housing so they would disappear. I don't think I'd want to walk 18 especially in the wind.
One review was written over 10 years ago and I paid about 3X what SCGA charged which is probably why they don't run outings out there anymore.
If you get invited, I highly recommend it, a little pricy for a reciprocal.
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Flat 10-hole par three course that was pretty green throughout. Small, elevated greens added a little challenge to a ver... » More

Flat 10-hole par three course that was pretty green throughout. Small, elevated greens added a little challenge to a very green course in decent shape. Easy walk and a good place to practice short irons. Clubhouse is a temporary trailer, and it looks like they are working on the regular clubhouse, so money being spent. Nice warmup if heading somewhere else.
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Few days late posting this review. Played on a Friday morning teeing off about 7:15. Dense fog caused a 15 minute delay ... » More

Few days late posting this review. Played on a Friday morning teeing off about 7:15. Dense fog caused a 15 minute delay to tee off. The first holes of both courses are parallel in the same direction. The starter had a spotter out between the first holes radioing in to him when it was clear to tee off. After six holes it was clear enough see. Still finished in about 4:20 despite the early fog. The greens rolled smooth with medium/fast speed. The fairways had mostly good coverage with some thin/bare spots. The rough was mostly good with some bare spots and long enough to affect shots but not too penal. The one bunker I was in had decent sand. The tee boxes had decent coverage and were mildly unlevel. As many reviews point out the course can play very slow. In my experience playing on weekdays teeing off in the first hour to hour and a half of light gets me finished in 4:15 give or take 10 minutes. Los Lagos is an enjoyable layout with some rolling terrain and water coming into play on a handful of holes. The staff was friendly.
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Nice to be able to get out before the rains. If the forecast is correct, I suspect it will be a few days before I can pl... » More

Nice to be able to get out before the rains. If the forecast is correct, I suspect it will be a few days before I can play again, and then it will car path only for goodness knows how long? Like the North Course, the South is also in very nice condition. The greens are not nearly as fast, and certainly less severe than the North, so scoring was much easier today. Fairways, tee boxes, rough, bunkers all in good shape. Congrats to the staff for their effort and hard work.
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What a fantastic day yesterday at the outing. Perfect weather and perfectly run/organized event. Very cool course, too... » More

What a fantastic day yesterday at the outing. Perfect weather and perfectly run/organized event. Very cool course, too!!

Those greens were absolutely insane, very fast and almost impossible with downhill or side hill putts. They held shots well and we had a few bump off line, but for the most part it was entertaining, to say the least. I putted off the green three times!!! Hole 8 on the Vista was a joke as putts came back down hill a good 5 feet from the hole if you missed, but the rest of them were fun.

Everything else about the course was in great shape!! I could easily be a member here. Great layout and convenient location. 3nines is always great, too.

Thanks Johnny for taking excellent care of everyone. My entire group was impressed.

You know what, I'm going to edit this post and provide a little more detail into the people that were in my group and what an incredible guy Johnny is. My brother is a retired fireman, LA City, he retired in 2024 and was diagnosed with agressive cancer at the same time. He's hanging in there and he was the main reason for this golf outing. Then my BFF of 50yrs (I'm 56 to give you perspective) was with us, obviously he's very close to my older brother as they've known each other that entire time, as well and share the name of Greg. Then the fourth was my brothers fireman comrade, Greg Malais, who got his leg ran over by a fire truck on the job back in 2002 and is an amputee. He fought like hell to get back on the fire task force and proved he could still be as good of a fireman as any able bodied guy, also working his way up to Captain II like my brother. So johnny welcomed them all with open arms and put us in group 1A and we just had a magical day!!! thanks to all.
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Walked the golds this afternoon 12/22/25 at 12:10pm with my buddy Mark, his buddy Kyle and a nice single Ed out from the... » More

Walked the golds this afternoon 12/22/25 at 12:10pm with my buddy Mark, his buddy Kyle and a nice single Ed out from the Midwest. Very little wind today under partly cloudy skies and cooler temps for Goleta around 60 degrees. Met by nice proshop and cartbarn staff. Used there putting green which mirrors speed on the course well. Our pop was 4 hrs 35 minutes finishing with about 15 minutes to spare.

Greens were in great shape rolling very smoothly and were very firm above the hole. Greens held iron approaches so just a beautiful combination. So these are what pga tour speed greens are like 12 stimp and pure glass Rated 8.5/10

Fairways were in good to great shape with only minor portions wet/muddy. About 95 percent of every Fairway was perfect. Rated 8.5/10

Tees very lush, some divot damage on par 3s and mostly all level. Rated 7/10

Rough just lining the Fairways in great shape. 9/10

Was only in one bunker right greenside on #14 that was nicely raked, contained just enough sand and had that wet brown look and texture that all the bunkers have here.

One of my favorite courses in socal. Highly recommended!!
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Out Friday 12/19 with a 12:20 start, joining a twosome and sharing a cart with another single. Something that has become... » More

Out Friday 12/19 with a 12:20 start, joining a twosome and sharing a cart with another single. Something that has become more standard lately rather than issuing you a separate cart. One played the blues (and further) the rest of us the whites. Overall conditions were pretty decent all around for this time of year. Teeing grounds not usually an issue here, so no real complaints. Fairways had some occasional thin or wet patches but overall were well covered. Where there was grass, the rough was usually playable with little or no penalty to it. I was in two bunkers with one on the firm side and damp while the other one was dry but had a little extra depression at the bottom that created a problematic lie. Probably not the case in most of the other bunkers, but some issues in my limited experience. Green surrounds were playable enough, if occasionally on the tighter side. Greens themselves were tight, played firm but took deep pitch marks. Not a pristine surface but played cleaner than it looked. I had a much better than average putting day so they must have been true enough and I enjoyed them. I seemed to have the pace dialed in all day.

Pace of play was slower on the front but seemed better on the back. We probably got around in 4.5 hrs or so, finishing in the dusk but enough light that we were not the last group coming in. I enjoyed it. Recommended.
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Played in the GK final plays 12/20/2025. I found the course to be in immaculate shape. Deep green and lush everywhere. W... » More

Played in the GK final plays 12/20/2025. I found the course to be in immaculate shape. Deep green and lush everywhere. What a contrast to the SD courses at this time. All though I played from the rough more than the fairways. The fairways where perfect, with great lies. The rough was lush but manageable at around 2". The greens were firm and required really good ball striking for any stopping power, but very consistent. They ran at a solid quick pace with very good roll. Many subtle breaks that you really need to look out for. I was in a couple of traps and they were in excellent shape. A few too many foot prints left behind !!! A couple of the tees had some unevenness to them, but not too bad. Cart girls were by a few times. Pace was good. Had to wait on a few shots, but over all not bad for our group. An absolute treat to play these courses this time of year. A nice mix of hole layouts and overall design. Highly recommend.
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Because of the overcast marine layer, it was not as cold as expected at 7am. Much appreciated. Prior review was spot on.... » More

Because of the overcast marine layer, it was not as cold as expected at 7am. Much appreciated. Prior review was spot on. Greens were brutal at times; in fact, I putted two balls off the green and the putts were not that far off from being really good. Need to keep the ball below the hole or you have a lot of stress. Overall, the course is in fine condition. No issues whatsoever. It will be interesting to see how the forecasted rains affect conditions.
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Joined Johnny and a familiar cast of characters to resurrect (hopefully) GK Plays outings at Mountain View on Saturday m... » More

Joined Johnny and a familiar cast of characters to resurrect (hopefully) GK Plays outings at Mountain View on Saturday morning, 12/20/25, in perfect golf weather – warm, sunny, and almost no wind, playing on a course in wonderful condition. Tee times ranged from 9:30 to 10:30am and we went out on time with few groups in front of us and without anyone close enough behind the final group to cause any waiting.

Conditions were very good throughout the course, which presented as a shimmering green against the muted tones of the surrounding desert environment. Fairways had wall-to-wall coverage of firm turf that gave excellent lies. Coverage in the rough adjacent to fairways was 1-2 inches deep and somewhat wet at the start of the round, but was very playable; if you got too wide there were scraped dirt areas and scattered rock fields to navigate. I was not in any bunkers, but playing partners looked like they had good lies with sand having a fairly shallow playing layer of firm sand. Tees were well-marked and all level and provided good peg opportunities. I hit from the turf on the par-3s and had perfect lies available.

Greens were challenging from the standpoint of firmness and quickness. Most ballmarks were very small and full shots released significantly. Downhill putts had significant rollout and all greens have many subtle small breaks that surprised all of us through the day. Coverage on the greens was excellent and speeds were consistent throughout the day.

Saw the cart girl once on the front and several times on the back side. Restrooms are well-marked and clean and all have water/ice stations. Carts with good-quality GPS, comfortable with ice chest and ball/club washer. Staff was very helpful from bag drop to coordinating the start to receiving golfers after the round.

Great to see old friends again and meet new GKers. I’m hopeful that the GK Plays can take off and be well-received by the SoCal GK community. Playing fun, well-conditioned courses like Mountain View helps to enhance the experience and increase anticipation for future events. Thanks to Johnny for all he does.
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