Played the Blues (6651/72.3/128) in 4H Saturday as a 4some mid-day following a tournament. The weather was breezy, overcast and in the high 70's.

I really like this layout, nice variety of long/short and straight/dogleg holes. The par 3's are tough and demanding, the par 5's challenging. Advanced GPS on above average carts.

The tees were semi lush and nice to play from except the par 3's which were pretty beat up.

The fairways were semi lush and well maintained with few divots.

The rough was mostly semi lush with some hardpan and wood chips mixed in under and around the hundreds of trees that line the fairways.

The sand traps were well maintained with fine, hard packed sand.

The greens were medium speed and mostly smooth. They held approach shots well and were firm. They are large and while not many have multiple tiers, they all have crests and crowns to deal with. Getting irons or chips on the correct side of the green where the hole is located is important here. The greens were slower and did not putt as well as I have usually experienced here.

The customer service was excellent from everyone encountered, especially Gary the starter who got me out in a group 30 minutes before my tee time. Drink cart out patrolling, we saw it numerous times. Everything was above average, but the course is usually in better condition than I experienced this visit. I enjoy the layout, fun 18 holes of golf. Recommended = Yes.

Played Friday with a Golf Moose voucher at 7AM. Pace of play was fast, less than 4 hours. Overall, course is in great shape for the value. My only complaints: traps were wet for the first hour (spent too much time in them), a few tee boxes were a little off level, and range balls are rock hard. Other than that, no complaints as overall conditions are great including greens (ball marks repaired - thank you!!!!).

Only saw the drink cart once on 16, but passed. If you fill out the customer service survey, you earned a free drink at the clubhouse. Not bad! Still a great value in North County.

Course was in excellent shape with greens running fast at 10. The fairways were will maintained and bunkers full of soft manageable sand. Its a physically taxing layout that requires taking higher risk reward shots to score. I'll be back to improve on the score!

After 36 in the morning yesterday at Cimarron, I found an incredible price for one of my favorite courses, La Quinta Mountain (see GolfNow forum thread for details). I played by myself starting at 1:57 and basically had the course to myself (to start, anyway). Starting on No. 10, I caught some groups, played through one, and then waited the rest of the way. POP was still great at around 3:20 or so. It was hot but not too bad and there was a nice breeze throughout much of the back nine to keep things tolerable.

From the parking lot/clubhouse, the course looked to be in really nice condition, but the greens ended up being a bit disappointing. I know it's summer and they have to be kept longer to survive, but they were inconsistent speed and cut throughout the course. They were all slow to medium-slow, but some were shaggier than others. Not terrible, but definitely a step down from Cimarron in the morning. They accepted full shots well. Fairways and rough were nice for August. Both the waste bunkers and standard bunkers were in really good condition. Tee boxes were good.

Another unfortunate development is there's a huge construction project taking place between the 14th and 15th fairways, which is the beginning of the marquee stretch of the course. There's a lot of grading going on and bulldozer-type vehicles parked on raw dirt. I called the pro shop this morning and a woman told me they're building some sort of flood plain. (From the look of things, I feared/still fear houses are being built between those two holes.)

Overall, very happy to get such a great deal on one of my favorite courses. Had the greens been more consistent, I would've been even happier.

Played 36 with sixpez yesterday morning using two-for-$39 UnderPar deal. Can't beat $19.50 pp for two rounds of golf! In a weird twist of fate, our morning round found us paired with the same guy mpisarski and I were paired with last year when I used this deal! Like Keith said, we were finished with both rounds by noon, so no complaints on POP, even if the course was surprisingly busier than expected during our second round.

Conditions are really nice, relative to the time of year. The greens were very smooth, a little crusty on top and slow to medium slow. Despite being pretty firm, they accepted full shots quite well. Fairways were mostly very nice (for August). Same for the rough, but it might have had a few more thin areas than the fairways. Bunkers were by far the low point. They were wet, uneven, compacted and looked like no maintenance had occurred in them for months. Try to avoid! Tee boxes were all good.

Played The Champions course with the GK Guru’s on 8/18 and it was a real thrill to play here. Thanks to JohnnyGK for getting such a great deal. Played the blues which made the course a real challenge for me at over 6,700 yards.

What a beautiful and well laid out golf course. Fairways were in real nice shape, bermuda and not kikuyu for a change!! :-) Some tight lies but for the most part, fairways had some cushion. The first cut of rough was not super thick but you definitely had to power through it. A little more off the fairways and near some of the hazards, it was very thick. Sand was what I expected from a course like this – good, firm sand.

Greens were nice. They didn’t roll very quick but did roll true. Many un-repaired, ball marks which was disappointing to see. I fixed my own pitch mark as well two others on just about every hole.

Pace of play was disappointing. We were moving very well, probably at about a 3½ hour pace until we hit hole #6. At that point we came to a screeching halt and waited several minutes on every shot. The two foursomes just ahead of us were part of a group together it seems but they fell way behind. They were having fun which was nice to see but they needed to keep up. We finished just short of 5 hours.

Overall, the course played as I expected it to. Some holes are not real difficult but no cakewalk either. Some holes are just brutally long. From the tees I played at, # 12 is a 244 par 3 and #14 is a 472 yard par 4!! Crazy! Par 5’s are pretty long also and # 18 has a drive of about 230 yard carry over water. Still was so glad I played here and definitely recommend.

Played Bellevue yesterday morning (8/19/17, 7:00 am tee time) with a friend, and found the place to be pretty reasonable. Greens had a few bumps, but not nearly as many as I expected. They were pretty soft, and accepted most any shot. Pace was medium, not too fast and not super slow either. Elsewhere the course is pretty hit and miss, fairways and rough were ok, some tee boxes horrible with others decent. I found 1 greenside bunker, and it had good, heavy sand. Sadly, even though there were 2 rakes right next to it there was an awful lot of footprints. Pace of play was shockingly good, my friend and I walked it with another 2 in a cart and got around in about 3:45. We played here since I didn't have a lot of time, and it fit the bill. I wouldn't go out of your way for it, but since its right around the corner from where I live, it was worth it.

Played the Guru outing with Larry and Henry on Thursday (17 Aug). Conditions were much better in regards to weather (low to mid 80's vs upper 90's and humid). As for the course, there are a couple of areas that need some work and it appears these are being dealt with. Beyond that, the fairways were very inviting and the ball sat up well enough to take advantage of pin placements. The only real hiccup I can come up with for the course would be the ground crew left the cuttings in the rough on a few holes. This left me with a couple of interesting shots and a nice coat of grass cuttings down in my socks and shoes.

Overall, this is a really fun layout with the exception of one hole that has my number. The greens were quite hard and playing at a nice speed (maybe 10-11 max). I wouldn't suggest this course try for 12 or 13 on the stimpmeter or some pin placements would be severely unfair. Tees had some wear and tear, but nothing too bad. Most tee boxes could use a little bit of leveling and the bunkers could use some softening of the sand (I prefer soft sand green side, and am not a fan of not being able to splash the ball due to sand depth). Beyond that, the course is in really good shape.

Side note: Hit my 7th pin (still no ace) on #10. One of these days that hole will give up the ace... I can feel it. Love the look of 10 and 17, but 17 keeps suckering me into going after the back left pin.

Played today with an 8am tee time, made at the last minute on Thursday afternoon. We paid $29 residents rate. Staff is what you expect from a Troon course. I was met in the parking lot and my bag was taken out to the driving range where John_T was already with the cart. Rich the starter (great guy!) asked if we wanted to get out a few groups early with another 2some, since we would be a 2some stuck behind some 4s if we went out on time. Gladly jumped at it and finished in 4:10 with no one in front, and a 2some stalking that did not want to pass through.

Course was in almost great to bad shape. Tee boxes were fine, level, some divot damage. Fairways were great. Starting to dry out for re-seeding, but still lush with plenty of run. The rough was brutally thick and deep, up to about 4 inches in some area. It was great that if you ran off the fairway, you would not run through the rough and into the waste areas, however, there was a 50/50 chance you found your ball. I found 2 from previous groups just feet from the fairway.

Now to the bad. Similar to last summer, Aliante has lost 6-8 greens, which were heavily sanded. Starting with #1, which was brutally damaged, they gradually became better and by 6, they were pretty good. The back 9 also had about 3 sanded greens. The greens that were still in good shape, ran fast and in really good shape, but those others were really bad. Bunkers were hard and heavily packed, almost like hardpan.

Just like last year, I hope the greens grow back during re-seeding and I hope they figure out how to keep them in the summer. If all the greens were as good as the ones still alive and kicking, it would of been a great experience. Hold off a visit until Fall.

**Rating came out to 6.2, probably due to great fairway/rough numbers, overall should be closer to 5-5.5.

Played with the GK Gurus at 8am on Friday, 8/18/17 – thanks to Matt and Nick for a fun round. I had never played here and was interested in seeing the course (I know many military courses are very nice tracks), as well as getting together with GKers. I found the conditions and facilities to be very good, and the price is great, but it’s bad news as far as the course and my game matching up. We had a nice day with clouds fort the first 6 holes, clearing and warming for the rest of the round with only light breezes.

It’s wall-to-wall kikuyu here, and with my low ball flight I wasn’t getting any runout on the (few) good drives I hit, so I was left with very long approaches into these greens. (Additional difficulty – I moved back to the blue tees with Matt and Nick [6,865 yards]; my game would have been much better off at the white tees! [6,443]) The kikuyu grass definitely makes the course play longer than the card distances. The par-3s play especially long from the blues, and there are a number of par-4s over 400 yards, and my game wasn’t up to that task on this grass.

Course conditions overall were very nice. There’s an all-grass range with flat teeing areas and good grass to hit from, and nice club/tee holders for each station. The large putting green doesn’t have a lot of slope, but speeds were very indicative of what we found on the course. Also a couple of practice bunkers available. In addition, there’s a nice little 9-hole pitch-and-putt course along the hillside next to hole #9 – distances range from 60-120 yards. I couldn’t tell what kind of quality the small greens were, but if they are like the big course they would be very nice. We were treated to a sleeve of quality balls, divot tool/marker, and chilled water. Carts are pretty basic otherwise, and there’s no yardage book, but there are plates in the fairways and marker sticks for distances approaching the greens. Conditions were fairly wet to start, drying out somewhat as the day progressed.

Greens were in very good condition, firm and rolling smoothly at medium speed. Greens don’t have a lot of undulation, mostly sloping from the back, but some greens had quite a bit of slope in the front half, and a few greens were crowned slightly or had distinct tiers. Nothing crazy, and the putting lines were generally right in front of you. Just remember that everything generally goes down the canyon. We didn’t see that many old ballmarks, and greens were pretty receptive to well-struck shots. Green complexes are relatively simple – nothing tricked up, although #15 green has some interesting moguls and swales surrounding it. Most of the greens are slightly elevated as you approach from the fairway.

Fairways gave good lies, although we saw scattered thin/bare areas. Rough was 2-3 inches deep and could be challenging when wet or if the kikuyu was stringy! In areas where the kikuyu was deeper the feel under your feet could be pretty squishy, and the stance was uncomfortable. Sand traps were great – the recent renovation is very attractive and in-bunker conditions were good. After the renovation, the course re-turfed the bunker margins with another (non-kikuyu) grass, so you get a little different feel immediately adjacent to the sand. Not sure why they took this approach. Tees were level, although a couple of the par-3 tees were uneven in the teeing area (#14) and some were slightly sloping.

The GM stopped by after the round to get feedback – he also talked about future improvements they are planning. Very good food values in the grill after the round – they were crowded as they get outside business from Base personnel as well during the lunch hour. This course is likely flying under the radar because of a lack of general advertising emphasis and its “hidden” location on the Marine base, which makes access a little more difficult. This isn’t a “drive by” course. While I thought the course was in great condition, and an excellent value, I don’t see myself returning very often only because the grass type doesn’t fit my game, but I’d recommend the course to friends without hesitation.

Played Friday with the GK Gurus. Thanks to JohnnyGK for setting up this little get together of GK Gurus.

Course is in pretty good shape. Fairways were lush with nice padding underneath. Rough was thick and sticky. Careful to watch you ball though; it will sink to the bottom of the rough. Traps both along the fairway and around the green complexes had plenty of sand with just enough sand to get through the ball. Greens had subtle breaks. For me it was hard to read but the ball rolled relatively true; just had to hit it firm enough to stay online.

Pace of Play (POP) was fine up until hole 6 when it ground to a halt. Not the course's fault just remember it's a resort so you will get hardcore golfers mixed with novices. Service was a step beyond.

My personal thoughts were I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Course was in decent to very good shape. GPS was spot on and the laser friendly flag sticks were great for my little range finder. Recommended for their stay and play deals. There is a little bit of everything for everyone especially families with younger kids. The little water park on site looked fun.

Easily a recommended place to play when down in San Diego.

Played Fri Aug 18th at 7.30. Check is was easy, walking senior $20, good price. POP was 4.15 which was ok, we could have played allot faster but the fourse was crowded It has been 2 years since I was here and I was pleasantly surprised with the course. Tee boxes, level, fairways were green, some of the rough was very thick and it was difficult to find the ball at times. Was in 2 green side bunkers and they had acceptable sand. Greens were in decent condition although I did not putt well. One note, the starter was crumpy to everyone. Lol