Catching up on a review from last week. Teed it up with sparky14, itslikeimsayin and briano1985 at Dove Canyon Golf Club 8/17. This was my 100th event. What started with me running the events solo in July 2021, not sure what to expect, became 99 rounds later filled with good times and lots great golf experiences for my fellow golfers. Dove Canyon Golf Club was one of the first ... » More

Catching up on a review from last week. Teed it up with sparky14, itslikeimsayin and briano1985 at Dove Canyon Golf Club 8/17. This was my 100th event. What started with me running the events solo in July 2021, not sure what to expect, became 99 rounds later filled with good times and lots great golf experiences for my fellow golfers. Dove Canyon Golf Club was one of the first to welcome our group, in fact last Monday was our 11th event there. Despite the 20+ clubs I’ve had these events at, the 4-5 hour round trip drive it takes me (from Thousand Oaks – traffic sucks) and the punishing difficult layout, it’s in my Top-5 host clubs we play. It’s a phenomenal Jack Nicklaus Signature Course layout that is a blast to play. Jack’s Den at the turn is my favorite place to grab a bite. The food is delicious and affordable + plus that give out free big delicious muffins. The clubhouse is magnificent. The service is top-notch. I love this place.

While the playing conditions on 8/17 were not up to Dove Canyon GC’s typical lush, beautiful standards, the course did not disappoint. With cooler temps and overseeding around the corner, Dove Canyon GC will be bouncing back soon.

I’m already looking into booking a 2027 Spring event. Don’t miss it.
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Despite being a San Diego resident for 45 years, I finally played Oceanside GC for the first time on Saturday. Overall, I was impressed with what the golf course has to offer, not only from a conditioning perspective but also with regard to the subtle demands it places upon one’s game, despite being relatively short at 6400+ yards from the ‘Tips’.

Tee boxes were in go... » More

Despite being a San Diego resident for 45 years, I finally played Oceanside GC for the first time on Saturday. Overall, I was impressed with what the golf course has to offer, not only from a conditioning perspective but also with regard to the subtle demands it places upon one’s game, despite being relatively short at 6400+ yards from the ‘Tips’.

Tee boxes were in good shape, despite a few uneven lies, while the Par-3 holes, naturally, showed a bit more wear and tear. Didn’t amount to much of a bother though so no complaints there.

Fairways, however, were a different story. While some were uniform in their growth, coverage, and turf consistency, others were a mix of different types of grasses. When it came to those holes, lies were quite thin with nothing more than a ‘veneer’ of grass covering the base underneath. You could be looking at three or four different strains of turf within a ten-foot circle.

As a result, ball striking had to be precise from those spots in order to ensure solid compression. I did find it necessary to ‘bump’ the ball out of a few bare depressions in order to give myself a fair chance at doing so…and this was especially true when it came to short irons/wedges.

I suppose it’s just the nature of the soil, turf, etc. but the difference between the fairway grass on, say, #1 and #15, were like night and day. Still…I gathered enough positives from my total experience that the turf issue isn’t going to discourage me from returning.

The real highlight was the greens. They were in great shape: soft and receptive to approach shots where you were literally throwing darts out there yet medium-quick on speed with consistent, true rolls on every green. Putts from above the hole may have been a bit quicker but nothing outrageous.

Also want to mention that although the putting surfaces were soft, I saw very few unattended ball marks. If repaired promptly, as should be the case, these greens can remain fairly pristine from sunrise to sunset.

Rough isn’t much of a factor as most perimeter areas are characterized by hard-packed sand/crushed granite. It gives the course somewhat of a desert-like appearance but sure does help with reducing maintenance costs while also keeping play moving…although we still had to endure a five-hour round.

Bunker sand was good but played a bit ‘heavier’ than I anticipated. I was in just one trap so I can’t comment on their consistency but they did appear uniform in that regard.

While the course is considered ‘short’ by today’s standard, it does demand precise shotmaking in order to score well. The closing stretch is solid…and even more so when the wind is up…and the size of the greens provides another option to stretch the yardage further than the card.

Whenever we encountered a ‘back’ flag position, it was ALL the way back! There were more than a couple of greens that measured some 40-50 yards from back to front. I really like golf courses that have this type of ‘interchangeability’; you may play one hole and approach the pin with an 8-iron one day…and 5-iron the next from the exact same spot in the fairway due to the flag’s location.

Course is flat until you hit the steep, uphill Par-4 12th (be aware of the severe ‘false front’)…which is followed by the dramatic downhill Par-3 13th…but there are enough twists and turns where it’s never monotonous and being able to shape the ball both ways off the tee is an asset.

Staff were friendly and accommodating, facilities and grounds spotless, and the vibe casual and relaxed. $55.00 to walk ‘Prime Time’ on the weekend with an additional $15.00 cart fee has value written all over it when you add everything up. And that’s amplified just a bit more if you happen to play during the week and walk.

While it’s an hour’s drive for me, I anticipate playing here a bit more in the future. Love the layout and if the greens continue to be maintained at their present level, it’s an absolute no-brainer for this kid.
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Rode the blues this morning 8/24/26 as part of the Vivid/GK Golfmoose event under hot conditions for Somis almost 90 degrees. Pop was 4 hrs 40. Joined by buddies John, Ron and Matt.

Great run event with smooth check in and a nice warm up area with two practice greens and an elevated range on mats.

Greens were in great shape. I have seen them quicker around us op... » More

Rode the blues this morning 8/24/26 as part of the Vivid/GK Golfmoose event under hot conditions for Somis almost 90 degrees. Pop was 4 hrs 40. Joined by buddies John, Ron and Matt.

Great run event with smooth check in and a nice warm up area with two practice greens and an elevated range on mats.

Greens were in great shape. I have seen them quicker around us open qualifying time here but they were still pretty quick with pure rolls. Due to the heat there were a couple sections of real dry patches creeping in like the middle of 17 green. Rated 8.5/10

Fairways just in great shape perfect lies. Rated 9/10.

Nasty rough today probably the thickest I have seen out here. Balls would nestle way down just off the fairways and would catch barely off struck drives like a catchers mitt. Very long but in very good shape. Rated 8.5/10

Tees were in very good shape with no issues. Rated 8.5/10

Was in greenside bunker on 1 and fairway bunker on 16. High quality raked perfect sand here. Rated 8.5/10

Love this golf course. You have to golf your ball well here to score well here. Plenty of bunkers, red and white penalty areas and rough to challenge the best of players. Members are blessed here! If you have a chance to play here jump on the opportunity to!
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Played early this morning as it is starting to warm up again and to hot to play later in the day.

Course is in good shape at the moment. A little wet but that's to be expected with the warm weather.

Tee boxes all playable.

Fairways wide and good coverage with good lies and hit miss in the rollout depending upon fairway and elevation.

Traps... » More

Played early this morning as it is starting to warm up again and to hot to play later in the day.

Course is in good shape at the moment. A little wet but that's to be expected with the warm weather.

Tee boxes all playable.

Fairways wide and good coverage with good lies and hit miss in the rollout depending upon fairway and elevation.

Traps all clean and playable at this time of the day.

Rough is playable and able to find your ball and advance it.

Greens are slower than normal due to watering but still large and very important to land in an area to get within good distance to the flags. My new LAB putter is working just fine at the moment.

Always good customer service in the shop and from all employees encountered.
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First time back at Wilson in exactly one year and just the second time in the last four years ... and of course saved it for my worst round there since 2019 under the sweltering summer sun.

My friend and I rode obviously, playing the white tees and with an 11:15am tee time, paired up with two others. Did I mention it was hot? This was especially brutal on Wilson becau... » More

First time back at Wilson in exactly one year and just the second time in the last four years ... and of course saved it for my worst round there since 2019 under the sweltering summer sun.

My friend and I rode obviously, playing the white tees and with an 11:15am tee time, paired up with two others. Did I mention it was hot? This was especially brutal on Wilson because of course there's no cart service and you don't reach the snack shop until the 11th tee box.

The course looks and plays dry thanks to the summer heat that's pressed down on SoCal for the past month. There is also a fungus growing on a lot of the greens which might explain the punch marks in the middle of August - that's rare, right? Pin positions were also as diabolical as possible which I didn't even think they could do on Wilson's greens, but other than that they actually rolled pretty consistently despite the clear work done on them.

The course is playable for sure, but it's seen better days. Riding carts over the fairways and other areas feels like taking a dune buggy out after a WWI trench battle - it's rough out there. Take your Advils and be prepared for that wild ride.

Fairways have better coverage on the back nine (14 and 16 remain tremendous holes) but you can feel the thin and dry just about everywhere. Rough is fine, bunkers played okay and the tee boxes were a little short of good - level but very beat up in some cases.

One thing of note regarding the driving range - you can (at least currently) NOT use a credit card to get range balls, so you have to get your code from the starter. This was frustrating for me because whenever I play at Griffith Park, they always advise you to first check in 15-20 minutes before your tee time, so I went straight to the range this time, only to find out now I had to go to the office anyway. Minor gripe but an annoyance at the time.

In summary, Wilson is playing just as you would expect right now with the current weather conditions. I would certainly wait until things cool down again and the place gets a chance to fix things up.
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