Played today with bro at 1p on a GN deal at the twilight rate of $170, which is a steal for this track at that time. » More

Played today with bro at 1p on a GN deal at the twilight rate of $170, which is a steal for this track at that time.

Short and simple since a reviewed it a few months back:

Tee boxes, fairways, greens, sand and rough are ALL immaculate, as usual here.

There WERE a couple greens that were sanded and mini punched, which still played fine. Disappointed nobody mentioned but not enough to complain about. Other than that though, greens we're soft and receptive to all approaches but still rolling true and pure, and fast fast fast. Perfect elite level stuff, as usual.

By FAR AND AWAY the biggest difference from last visit was the rough, which played more reasonably difficult than the next to impossible it had prior. Not only was it much shorter, but more importantly it was MUCH THINNER than they had it set up for the LPGA'ers. Right now it's a great test, but you can still FIND YOUR BALL AND HAVE A CHANCE TO REACH THE GREEN. Couldn't say that before, it was simply TOO DEEP AND THICK for the amateur.

Service was ELITE again, everyone over the top friendly and professional.

It's ridiculously expensive on rack rate, but this course will NOT disappoint.

World. Class. Golf.
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Played today in a nice 3.5 POP. Customer service was excellent at all levels. Starter said the greens were at 10, but he... » More

Played today in a nice 3.5 POP. Customer service was excellent at all levels. Starter said the greens were at 10, but he did not do his homework? If they got to 7 all round, I would have been surprised. So needless to say, we had 10 in our head and were frustrated all round with the greens (which looked great) but chipped/putted SLOW. Even the fairways did not provide any roll all round, though they did provide good lies. They were soft and spongy, so if you could drive it long, you had an advantage (no doubt keeping it wet, to avoid burning with recent hot weather?). Tee boxes were all level/clean with no issues. Bunkers were all clean and very playable. Rough was about 1/2" and sticky (needed to be avoided). No issues with the carts, as they are fast and comfortable. Hope the greens are at 10 and the fairways faster, my next round. Truly a good golf course.
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Greens terrible - plugged 5 weeks ago should have been great but bare patches everywhere and tufts sticking up on most o... » More

Greens terrible - plugged 5 weeks ago should have been great but bare patches everywhere and tufts sticking up on most of the greens except two. Something is not right with the grass.
what a shame.
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Back out to Oceanside for an early morning round with a friend visiting from Arizona. Course has not changed much since... » More

Back out to Oceanside for an early morning round with a friend visiting from Arizona. Course has not changed much since I last played here about three weeks ago. I thought the greens rolled very well and were perhaps a bit quicker than my previous round. The fairways were generally good with plenty of grass. The rough was rather inconsistent with some spots very thick while other rather sparse. Both bunkers I found were well groomed with plenty of sand.

I know there are some which do not particularly care for this course, but I find this course a pleasure to play. Lots of fun holes, some rather unusual ( #12 for example) nice mix of long par 4 holes, as well as easy holes. Also enjoy the varied lengths of the four par 3 holes.

To my surprise and delight, the last couple times I've played here, it has not been too crowded, so easy to get out early and enjoy a nice pace of play.
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Played here Tuesday July 17, 808am.

Review of 6/24 by ecjaye99 is still appropriate.

Driving range clo... » More

Played here Tuesday July 17, 808am.

Review of 6/24 by ecjaye99 is still appropriate.

Driving range closed on Tuesdays, so only chipping and putting available to warm up. Putting green was very slow but was consistent with what we found on the course.

Asked starter before we teed off if beverage cart was on course, and he said no, so we loaded up with what we needed, from snack bar, prior to heading out.

Tee boxes were a bit long in most cases, in need of a cut, but otherwise lush.

Fairways were excellent except for some grass clippings, and the par 5 11th which was being chopped up / aerated while we were on the tee box. Large holes and grass / dirt plugs along the entire fairway. All other fairways were very nice and produced very good lies. A few spots marked GUR.

As mentioned above, greens were agonizing slow. All were recently vericut, in some cases, in two directions which made a checkerboard of cuts and slowed putts even more. Very soft as well. Even after playing them all day, very difficult to get speed right. Given a the slow roll, not very true rolls at all. A few greens also had piles of grass clippings behind or adjacent.

Bunkers were mixed bag, a few very firm and others just right.

I enjoyed the layout, I thought there were a lot of interesting holes. Well bunkered, a few blind tee shots, but fair overall. A shame conditions were not up to spec, and if they improve the greens, would recommend. Could be that I just happened to hit the course on a particularly off day in terms of amount of maintenance going on.
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I had a great time playing here at the GK Plays Luaghlin. I'm glad they were able to bring an event here because Laughl... » More

I had a great time playing here at the GK Plays Luaghlin. I'm glad they were able to bring an event here because Laughlin is on the cusp of being a great golf destination with a little help.

I love this course. It's spectacular, challening, while always being fair. The views and elevation changes, and unique holes are second to none. I did get a little spoiled as the conditions were immaculate last time I played.

It wasn't necessarily the courses fault but I can't help and admit I left unsatisfied because the course was a near miss to being close to perfect again.

Due to being unable to mow after the monsoon the greens were awfully slow. Even my hacker playing partners were leaving putts significantly short. They were in good condition just painfully slow.

Also a lot of the bunkers were under repair or maybe being let go to make the course a little more playable. It was odd to look at but makes sense to do this during the summer heat.
Also extensive rocks in the bunkers need to be raked.

Great course, staff, conditions, but the slow greens took a lot of the excitement out of the round. Can't wait to come back and play it when the greens are fast.
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Played here Saturday morning with the Greenskeeper OG's. JohnnyGK live and direct, Kevbig, and mpisarski01. Big shout ... » More

Played here Saturday morning with the Greenskeeper OG's. JohnnyGK live and direct, Kevbig, and mpisarski01. Big shout out to Kev for hooking up the hometown discount, and Johnny for making the drive much appreciated.

I don't need to rehash all that was said below as they are spot on. It's a beautiful course. Great views and water elements, as well as forced carries over ravines. Every hole was different and it felt like many different types of courses blended into one with a wide variety of holes. The views of the reflection along the water are one of a kind.

It was a shame it was so unbearably humid at the end because it took a lot of the enjoyment away but the course is one of a kind. Only minor nitpicking was the shaggy greens but you can't win them all.

Course' layout isn't too difficult but I rarely had a flat approach which led to the difficultly and emphasis on shot making and ball striking here.

Great time with good people and a great course.
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Played here Thursday afternoon following the monsoon. They sent me on the front 9 north front 9 south rotation. I rea... » More

Played here Thursday afternoon following the monsoon. They sent me on the front 9 north front 9 south rotation. I really enjoyed this rotation as the south front 9 is the signature 9 and the north 9 is better than the south back 9.

The course drained well. Fairways were much lusher. Still brown patches and yellow areas but grass was much softer due to the rains. Greens were great. Softer and lush. Rolling medium. I believe these are some of the best greens to be had in the city currently.

Bunkers were wet and hard to be expected.

The humidity made it hot towards the end but a great round. Always love playing here.
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Played Tues Jul 17th had a 705 tee time so got there at 530 from norco, breakfast at 550, check in early and got out ea... » More

Played Tues Jul 17th had a 705 tee time so got there at 530 from norco, breakfast at 550, check in early and got out early as there was no one in front of us, 4 walkers, nice time to play, POP was 344, nice pace. Course was in better shape than the classic, tee boxes level, soft, fairways nice ( when I was in them lol) rough was long and penal, had trouble finding the ball at times, was not in any bunkers so can't comment, greens were great, soft and receptive and rolled very nice. It was a good place to try out the new driver as the trees are smaller and you can recover from erant shots, which I had to do allot lol. I decided to use one of those cool towels around my neck for the back 9 and I must say it really helped.
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This was originally supposed to be our third round yesterday, but the course was super packed and we feared we wouldn't ... » More

This was originally supposed to be our third round yesterday, but the course was super packed and we feared we wouldn't finish before dark. Today, we were able to get out there early (3:50) and there were no worries of not finishing. We did skip one 3-hole stretch on the front that was super backed up. We played 8-18 and then came back to finish 5-7 without any hassle, which saved us a lot of time and allowed us to finish at a perfect 4-hour pace. This course seems like it is probably always crowded, so you can never expect a super fast round here. Price only $28 with cart on weekday twilight.

Conditions were good overall. Tee boxes good. Fairways were nice for the most part with some weak areas here and there. Rough a little less consistent, but generally lush enough in the areas that mattered. There are a lot of native areas with long, golden grass. Looked beautiful, but not always easy to find a ball in it. I wasn't in any bunkers, but they seemed decent from what I saw. The greens were also good, rolling pretty smooth at medium/quick speeds. Plenty of natural slope to contend with.

This course is a real hidden gem. "Hidden" might not be the best term, though it is quite tucked away and completely secluded in the hills of Berkeley. However, it's certainly not a secret as it obviously gets a ton of local play. Beautiful setting and fun layout with a real mountain golf feel. A few quirky holes, but never boring and each hole a little different. If you picked this course up and put it in Tahoe, it would demand a high rate. Instead, it is quite affordable and easily accessible in the East Bay. Very recommended, but just brace yourself for a fairly slow round.
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Today I celebrated a special personal milestone of 1,000 different courses played. And, I was able to play a very specia... » More

Today I celebrated a special personal milestone of 1,000 different courses played. And, I was able to play a very special course thanks to a friend of a tenuous connection of a member, etc. It couldn't have worked out better to play such a top-notch private club that is not easily accessed. Played with a member who has been with the club since 1974, so he gave us the official "tour" of the Lake Course from past to present. We walked and this hilly course is a good workout with a few steep climbs, finishing in a little over 4 hours as a foursome. It was pretty busy out there, but we were never really pushed much. Of course, we stopped at the turn shack for the famous burger dogs (not as exciting as advertised, if you ask me, but still kind of a tradition at Olympic). Top-shelf facilities, locker room, friendly staff and all the perks you want at such a club.

Conditions were basically immaculate all the way around. There were a few minor soft spots in fairways, some chunky areas of rough around some of the bunkers and that's about all I could find as a couple teeny tiny flaws on an otherwise perfectly manicured track as they get ready for the upcoming Pacific Coast Amateur. One of the nicest courses I've played.

The Lake Course is a beast, even from the forward white tees. Plays so much longer than the listed yardage as there are only three par-5s. The softer turf and hilly terrain really make this course play pretty long. Other than a few places, it was not too tight off the tee, though the fairway cuts are pretty tight and there are some tough side slopes to contend with. There are no water hazards and there is literally only one fairway bunker on the course. Most greens are elevated and very well protected by big bunkers. Greens have some good undulation with everything sloping toward the lake, rolling super pure at medium-quick speeds. These things could get really treacherous if they get them running firm and fast. I can only imagine what it was like in the US Open.

Sounds like most members prefer playing the Ocean Course more often because it's much less demanding, but Lake is the showcase course here. Someday I hope to have the rare opportunity to come back and play both the Ocean and the par-3 Cliffs Course, which both also look incredible. If you ever have a chance to play Olympic, do not think for a second. Even if the course beats you up, it's an experience you won't soon forget.
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Played 7/14 around 945 with a rate of around $40 off their website. Rate included range balls as well as GPS on the cart... » More

Played 7/14 around 945 with a rate of around $40 off their website. Rate included range balls as well as GPS on the carts. Quite a bit of play going on and I started as a single but joined with another twosome after a foursome in front of me decided they didn’t want to let a single play through.
The course was well conditioned for the time of year. Some bare spots on the fairways but they still had grass on them. Recent rains probably helped the situation. Greens were all in good shape and on the slow side. The course provides opportunities to score well as long as you keep it in play. Desert areas and native grass areas protect the course. The back nine is definitely more difficult with some long par 4s. The 18th is a tough finishing hole as a par 5.
As of right now Vistancia is a place to go. The 303 freeway makes it much more accessible.
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