Day one of a two-day work trip out to the Phoenix area so we played Whirlwind first just an hour or so after getting off... » More

Day one of a two-day work trip out to the Phoenix area so we played Whirlwind first just an hour or so after getting off the plane. We were supposed to play the other 18 at this 36 hole facility, but it was even more crowded after a frost delay in the morning so we had the opportunity to get out on the Cattail 18 right away and took it.

It was a very cold and somewhat windy day so I'm not sure how much that factored into the day's performance, but it was certainly something one doesn't expect when playing out in Arizona. But it wasn't raining so that was a nice change from LA of late. As for the course, really nice. I'm not sure if it's quite the rack rate price nice (over $150), but it's very close to that for sure.

It's also a fun design with plenty of water in play, lots of risk-reward holes, some hilly areas but no major elevations, and lots of strategic placement off the tee that will require some assistance of the in-cart GPS. Conditions are pretty great all around, from the dark green fairways with great lies all day, to the super nice and glassy greens that were fast, true and held shots pretty well all day. Rough was a nice length to hit from and the bunkers and tee boxes were in very good shape as well. Really zero to complain about at all.

Practice range is grass with Callaway balls provided, plus there's a large chipping and sand area right behind it to test your skills. No actual 'turn' on the Cattail course, so make sure you either have enough food and drink from the start, or good chance you'll get cart service if it was around numerous times on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon.

Overall, a really nice facility and a great day of golf, even if I did have to trade the hat for the beanie on the back nine and put on a third layer to fight the cold. I would love to come back here on a perfect AZ spring day.
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Had a playing lesson this morning 2/19/2019. Cooler morning with beautiful skies. Crowded course this morning for a Tues... » More

Had a playing lesson this morning 2/19/2019. Cooler morning with beautiful skies. Crowded course this morning for a Tuesday morning. I am impressed with the new management. Since I have played here last they continue to make improvements to areas just in front of tees, around trees, etc.

The greens were in great shape. They look quicker than they putt. They putted very smoothly. Would say maybe a 10 on the stimp. Very few ballmarks but some foot traffic around some of the holes. Gil Hanse architect of this beauty created huge putting surfaces here with some undulation. Staff can put the pins in 6-7 different locations to challenge lag putting here. Greens held shots like darts and were in very good shape. Highlight of the course. Rated 8/10.

All bunker complexes have newer white sand put in within the last year. My student was in bunkers on 12 and 16 and I was in the bunker on 17--they are all in great shape. Soft sand that you need to thump. Rated 8/10.

The fairway grass is slowly coming back into shape. I saw more green grass. There is still some underlying mud and wet spots from the recent rains. In the coming weeks I can see the grass really growing in and getting better. Current fairway rating 6/10.

Tees for the most part were OK. They should look at leveling the par 5 5th hole tee box.

Rough was muddy and spotty but in not too bad of shape. Mowers were out cutting the grass this morning.

Student and I really enjoyed the day here. Great staff, great prices, nice greens and sand conditions. Fairway conditions will be improving each day with all the rains we received.

Recommended.
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Last minute went to Balboa to try and get out before twilight . . . I mean it's been cold and rainy for days I thought I... » More

Last minute went to Balboa to try and get out before twilight . . . I mean it's been cold and rainy for days I thought I had a shot, nope. Booked up, first spot 12:52. Seeing how packed it was and that many of the golfers that I was seeing go out before me, well, how do I say this kindly? They didn't look like golfers . . . sooooo no one was going out on the 9 and I haven't played it since I played it with Keith/sixpez on his quest to play everywhere large and small.
So I went out by myself, never waited, hit two balls here and there and was done in around an hour. The course was in good playable condition with some wet areas, debris from the wind piled up here and there but mostly clean. Greens were in fantastic condition rolling true and fast. Bunkers were almost perfect and fun to play from (I was in a couple and hit a few shots from another), the rest of the course was fine, but nothing spectacular, plenty playable. Great to have that option for a quick 9!
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Played an early morning round on 2/16 on the tail-end of a series of very wet and windy storms that rolled through The B... » More

Played an early morning round on 2/16 on the tail-end of a series of very wet and windy storms that rolled through The Bay Area. The weather was mostly cooperative, but very windy & we had to dodge a few showers during the round. Cart Path Only, but it is a very walkable track, so no worries there.

The course was very playable with no plugs and ample fairway roll out. No lost balls & very little standing water on the course (except for the 5th Tee Box, which was a swamp). The rough was wet & penal, but totally doable. Tee Boxes were in good shape & every bunker I saw was dry & the ones I were in were very playable. The greens were surprisingly firm & fast and definitely the highlight of the course. The only downside is that some of the fairways are very thin & appear to be suffering the effects of a high play-rate. This course gets a TON of play, so hopefully they can keep the conditions up over time.

Overall, I was very impressed with the condition of this course, especially in light of the wet winter we have been experiencing. Definitely recommended if you want to play golf instead of slopping around in the mud looking for plugged balls.
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31 degrees ! That's right, thirty one degrees when we teed off at 6:15am. Now that's cold ! Frost - everywhere, but no... » More

31 degrees ! That's right, thirty one degrees when we teed off at 6:15am. Now that's cold ! Frost - everywhere, but no restrictions ??? For those of you who have not played in those temperatures, let me tell you that the ball goes nowhere, not to mention how tough it is to get loose. Bottom line : difficult to score.

The course drained exceptionally well from all the recent rains, but still many areas of thin/muddy lies. (Actually the mud was frozen) The only damage I could see was made from allowing carts out in those conditions. Come on people, you can not drive up muddy slopes and expect not to destroy the grass.

The greens were very good, considering they were frozen, but that did not prevent maintenance from mowing them? Bunkers were almost all just bare dirt or at best very thin sand. Fairways and tee boxes were OK, rough, not so good.

I really enjoy this course. The scenery is fantastic, great views, interesting fun holes which are all different. Not just typical back & forth holes like some courses. The best part is you get all these wonderful features for $15.75 as a senior. What a deal !
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Played an afternoon round on 2/18. Course was really wet, but the weather was sunny, although cold & windy. Our tee ti... » More

Played an afternoon round on 2/18. Course was really wet, but the weather was sunny, although cold & windy. Our tee time was delayed about 15 minutes & PoP was awful at around 5.5 hours. It was a holiday & one of the first days in a long time that the weather was decent, so I understand why it was so crowded.

With all of the rain we've had, course conditions were extremely wet & sloppy. Lots of standing water & balls were plugging in the fairway, rough & even on the collars of the greens. The fairways offered no roll & just walking on them was an adventure. The rough was wet & nasty. It was about a 40% chance to lose a ball if you didn't hit the fairway & if you found it, advancing it was brutal. 80% of the sand traps were little lakes, with 2-3 feet of water in them. The few that weren't were surprisingly playable. The greens were nice. Soft, but rolling at medium-speed. Definitely the highlight of the course.

The course is green & beautiful, but I would suggest waiting for a couple consecutive weeks of dry weather before playing here. Late Spring/Early Summer & Peacock will be in wonderful shape. For now, I would suggest trying Rooster Run in Petaluma & Corica South in Alameda, as both are far more playable.
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Played on Monday, Presidents day and the course was full, as expected. Teed off around 945 and was expecting the slow p... » More

Played on Monday, Presidents day and the course was full, as expected. Teed off around 945 and was expecting the slow play and the expectation was meet. Waited on most holes and POP was around 5 hours. The course was in very good shape, considering the rain. I was expecting a lot more standing water but it was minimal and only in low areas and some of the bunkers. Greens were firm and fast and they had the pins on every slope and ridge they could find so putting was challenge.

Fairways were thin and wet but only had to move my ball a few times. We played lift and clean, so the mud on the balls didn't affect our play.

Bunkers were in poor shape and are all going to have to be given some tender loving care, we saw a few with standing water but most were in fairly good shape.

Tee boxes were in pretty good shape with only a few having divot damage.

track was in much better shape than I expected and my groups had fun. Well worth getting out to the Vineyards
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Wet, Wet, and then some wind. The sun was out but make no mistake it's still winter conditions. The greens were excel... » More

Wet, Wet, and then some wind. The sun was out but make no mistake it's still winter conditions. The greens were excellent. Completely smooth and probably mowed for the first time in a few days. Rarely a pitch mark to be found and it goes without saying with all the rain we've had that the greens were soft. Tee boxes were also of top notch quality. Lush, level and divot free.

And then there was the rest of the course. Soaked!! Fairways were ok at best. Some thin areas mixed in with what would normally be mostly lush. However, about 50% of the fairways were soggy swamps. To the point they had some sump pumps out pumping water out of the low spots. Off the fairway and it was pure quagmire. No carts were allowed out at all but kayaks were!! Seriously, it was that wet. MY guess is carts won't be allowed out for a few days maybe longer if additional rain comes in.

There were only a handful of groups out so POP was fine. Overall, it wasn't too bad. Chilly for sure when the breeze/wind kicked up but walking helped keep warm.
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Played at was formerly named 'Desert Island CC'b this past Sunday in a scga event. After the guard let me through the ga... » More

Played at was formerly named 'Desert Island CC'b this past Sunday in a scga event. After the guard let me through the gate following his verification of my name on a printout, I parked and headed straight to driving range in hopes of warming up. This was not to be, as the number of range stalls between both sides of the range were not nearly enough to accommodate the demand for such an event. Aside from that, the range itself was very nice, much like what a high end low volume country club range is envisioned to be.
Okay, fair warning, there will be a recurring theme in this review, much like the rest of the course, the tee boxes were very lush. I can not remember even one unlevel tee area. Divots on the par three's were minimal.
Although the fairways, like the tee boxes and rough; which was pretty thick in some places, not as much in others, were lush with ample coverage, in some places it was a bit thin.
Bunkers were hit and miss, as expected with the recent rains. A few bunkers were as expected, most were more playable than they appeared with the moist sand, and more than a couple had rather deep pools of water in them, lol.
Rough was lush virtually everywhere. Never so tall as to not find your ball, but extremely penal in some places. More penal than the rough was the water, which is in many places throughout the course.
The greens on this day were quite quick, if I had to guess I'd put them somewhere between 11 and 12. In addition, they were very very firm, as others in my group noted as well. Shots under 150yds barely made indentations in the greens, and had trouble staying on the green if not landed on the front 1/3. We saw several very short downhill chips land on the fringe seemingly perfect, only to roll across and off the green on the other side.
The staff were energetic and eager to help with every interaction concluding with a smile, this is vastly underrated.
All in all, a very nice course, highly recommended, deal available on underpar right now.
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As Gary00 mentioned, played today 2/18 on a brisk/sunny day with semi-variable weather conditions. First time playing Pa... » More

As Gary00 mentioned, played today 2/18 on a brisk/sunny day with semi-variable weather conditions. First time playing Pala Mesa after having driven past it hundreds of times and was glad to get out on a weekday, meet a new GK member, and check another course off the list. Conditions were about as expected after heavier rains in the last week, including some heavy downpours the night before. The layout was a mix of Mission Trails and Shadowridge CC; tighter on the front, a bit more open on the back with houses around. Gary gave a good summary so I’ll just add a bit to it.

Tee boxes: As mentioned, they were okay, some better than others but nothing that was so egregious that it warrants a negative mark.

Fairways: A mixed bag as some were muddy and murky messes that required the lift, clean, replace tactic just to have an enjoyable round. A few fairways seemed untouched by rain, however as mentioned, very little roll and lies weren’t always pleasant.

Rough: Varied in its condition and length. I specifically remember being past the 9th green and finding rough equivalent to Torrey. Other holes had rough that was anything but, overall with the rains and rough length, it behooved anyone to stay on the fairways.

Bunkers: Plenty of sand on the course, however, the rains took their toll on just about every bunker! Some had inches of water and sand that was clean enough to hit from was packed and difficult to get those sand saves.

Greens: As Gary mentioned, the highlight of the round. They were smooth, quick, and sloped at times enough to make you scratch your head.

ETC: Carts has great GPS with Shark software that allowed your phone to easily hookup its Bluetooth; a nice touch. Staff was very friendly and food at the turn was fast and delicious (nothing like a freshly-made sandwich from a lovely person). Pace was slow at first and sped up as the round went on, even as our group in front slowed down; perplexing, but nice to not hit the 5 hour mark! Don’t think I’d go out of my way to play here again, but glad to get to play and make a new friend.
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Played here today, Monday, President’s Day holiday, the 18th of February. A little cool in the morning with a little fr... » More

Played here today, Monday, President’s Day holiday, the 18th of February. A little cool in the morning with a little frost delay so I had a chance to see some folks or should I say they all had a chance to give ol’me some good poking- always great to see the guys.

The greens were good, although I’ve seen it in smoother conditions, but it was fast and wobbly at times. The bunkers were okay with sand and they’re not so uniformed all the way through- i was in a few of them (lol). The rough was up high and not a good place to be. The teeing grounds were fine, but the frigging fairways were mudball city ALL DAY!!! Dead Bermuda grass in mixed crust and mush... ugh.... ugh... ugh... horid. But it’s not my course and really don’t play there much at all.
Thumbs up on food and bev, with good service including the pro shop. Bev cart came around more than a few times and probably knew we were thursty.
Good times like always though.
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Played here on Friday and Saturday February 15 & 16 with high winds and cold conditions during SCGA Team Play matches ag... » More

Played here on Friday and Saturday February 15 & 16 with high winds and cold conditions during SCGA Team Play matches against some pretty good golfers for sure.

The fairways don’t look much but the lies were fine and ran just little more than during the summer months. The teeing grounds were okay, they’re not chewed up and they’re level. The bunkers had good sand although the prep raking wasn’t done right or are they missing teeth leaving deep groves- some of them are taller than the ball on fairway bunkers making it very difficult to advance a ball!!! Ugh ?? but rest assured their greens are the best to putt on. So true, so fast, so pleasureable to putt on- BETTER than most. We saw the course grounds keepers roll the greens on Friday and Saturday. The little Billy Bell designed course is still a real fun course to play. Just wished it was closer to me. Love ?? the course!!
Pro shop staff... ehhh... there’s so many other places who knows customer service. Dining area staff, they’re fine. Food, I’d give them an 8 out of 10. Food prices are $$ out of 5.
No bev cart.
And btw the place is now called “Apple Valley Golf Course” not country club.
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