I continue to love Rustic Canyon for its decisively un-modern, anything-but-tricked-up layout, its wide fairways that allow players to choose many routes to the greens, and for the fact that every hole looks like an absolute pushover until you get near those devilish greens. True, it's not the hardest golf course in Southern California. True, it's not the most prestigious public course, nor perhaps the most conveniently located, the best-staffed, the most customer-friendly. It is, however, a gem, and it's in great shape right now with excellent, lush fairways, quick and firm greens that are still receptive to well-struck shots, and although the rough is somewhat spotty and has a lot of bare spots, on most holes it's just fine. I happen to like the "rustic" quality of the bunkers, many of which are more like waste areas with pebbly, sandy dirt - these are, after all, hazards, and when you hit into them, you take your medicine. While I would be delighted to see a customer service upgrade here and would be especially pleased to see some steps taken to improve the pace of play (4+ hours on a weekday in the 2nd group to tee off is totally unacceptable in my view - these rounds should take a MAXIMUM of 3.25 hours), these are minor complaints. I think this place is insanely great.

This course definitely seems a good bit easier the second time around, but it also seems like it's always going to be a good challenge. It's a really solid layout that uses the existing terrain to create angles and interesting lies. The course is in good condition right now although the rough is just on the verge of going dormant and so is rather spongy, thin, and clumpy. Thankfully, the fairways are pretty generous. I particularly like the way the course is bunkered, and the good mix of par 3's (one quite short, one fairly long, all well-thought out) and the mix of par 5's, too. The greens remain quite firm but should soften up by next year and it'll be easier to attack pins.

Today is the first day the Valley is open after overseeding, and it's in excellent shape considering the work. The greens are healing nicely from aeration but are still VERY sandy and need another two weeks to be flawless and fast again. This is only the second time I've played the valley course and I am really looking forward to coming back. If they grew up some rough (don't know if that's possible for winter), it would be one very tough course.

I enjoyed Angeles National from beginning to end. It's challenging but genuinely fair. Fairways are generous but are surrounded by lateral hazards that are definitely in play on nearly every shot, making the wide fairways feel narrow if you let your focus wander. Greens are nicely undulating with only one or two showing such severe slopes that you question the intent. The course features an excellent variety of holes, from reachable par 5s to a driveable par 4 to some real tests of length, and some real tests of your short game, too. It's in great shape with near flawless greens right now, though they are quite firm and many just won't hold a shot. It's the kind of course you have to play a few times before you really know where to hit the ball, but it's also the kind of course that you don't mind coming back to and learning. I hope the green fees stay reasonable, but something tells me this one will be $135 or more once the clubhouse is built. Go soon. It's a good test of golf.

Played early Sunday, May 9. The first green was a riot of unrepaired ball-marks, but the remainder of the course wasn't quite so beaten up. Greens have recovered nicely from aeration and the new 7th fairway looks great - just like it once was. The cross-bunkers on 10 are a great addition. Fairways are in great condition and the rough is up enough now to make it quite a challenge, particularly in some of the areas around the greens and bordering the hazards. The greens yesterday were a good bit slower than I recall but remain challenging and fun. I continue to love this course for the uncommon test that it poses - so many holes look like pushovers from the tees, and then play very tough around the greens. There are always many options to play each hole (except #8, I suppose), and at every shot, the course demands that you think them through. To me, this is what good course architecture is about.

Played Encino early Saturday, 4/17. Greens are in pretty good condition, though they're about to start aerating within the next week. The fairways at Encino are in appalling condition, though. They're clumpy, lumpy, and full of bare spots. There are probably eight or ten different species of grass in these fairways, many of which appear to have been planted in plugs that just never spread well. Don't look for improved conditions here any time soon.

Note to Encino/Balboa regulars: in the bunkers, you'll find stick-like devices with black, rubber crosspieces at the end. These are called "rakes," and it's customary - and courteous - to use them to smooth out the sand in the bunker after you've walked around in there and taken however many swipes you require to extricate your golf ball. Next time you're finished hitting out of a bunker, please consider using one of these "rakes" to clean up after yourself. Thanks.

Played Rancho on Friday, April 9. The course is in far, far better shape than it was over the winter. There's still a ways to go, though. Fairways are looking pretty good but still have the usual bare spots (if you play Rancho a lot you know where these are). Greens are very soft, medium-slow, and moderately bumpy. Rough is pretty good, quite lush with the usual bare or thin areas. Parts of this course still appear to be rather overwatered, but other parts - notably #2 fairway - are nicely firm and drier than usual, and that's where the grass is thriving. The annual Police-Celebrity Tournament is May 1 this year, so expect to see Rancho in its best condition for the year right around that time. Please, if you go out and play it, fix a few ball marks on every green. You'll find dozens.

I can't say enough great things about this golf course. It's a gorgeous layout, a true test of golf, and the conditions are among the best I've seen anywhere. This is absolutely worth a drive from anywhere in Southern and Central California and should be on everyone's must-play list. This might be the best golf value in the state at $65 weekday with a cart. Greens rolled beautifully, the fairways weren't just immaculate, they were perfect. There's not a let-up hole or an easy shot anywhere on this course - come prepared to put your game to the test.

$90 on the weekends seems a little bit steep for this course, but they do serve up a very nicely-maintained facility for the price. This morning, the greens were smooth, sometimes firm, and generally not terribly fast. Fairways were in decent shape with some bare spots and extensive divot damage on a couple holes, notably #8. The rough, however, was fantastic, and I should know, having played out of it most of the day. It's lush, lush, lush, and in the few places it was up over 3", it was rather penal. Tierra is a fine layout that's well-worth playing and I thoroughly enjoyed my round, but I would prefer to come back with a discount of some sort. They do apparently offer a "fifth round free" program, which is a nice perk. Good course, worth a trip. Fix a few extra ball-marks, and fill in a few extra divots while you're out there, okay?

Well worth the 45-minute drive and two-hour wait on the singles list to play this gem again. It's in fantastic shape right now, with very firm greens running medium-fast, and fairways mainly lush with some thin areas and some bare spots. The rough is lush & pretty thick. My only complaint today was pace of play, which was slower than I've seen it before at Rustic, but that's a minor complaint considering the overall excellent conditions.

Wilson features a genuinely interesting layout with lots of doglegs and good use of the natural terrain. The course tends to play shorter than the stated yeardage off the tees, but longer on approaches thanks to lots of elevated greens, many of which are more elevated than they first appear. It's a good test of golf that relies on the older fundamentals of course architecture, rather than tricks, to stress your game. As for the course conditions right now, I'd say they're generally just fair. The greens are okay, though rather bumpy and medium-slow. Fairways look bad but play pretty nicely - there's a lot of brown and plenty of thin areas but for the most part they're pretty good. Tee boxes are quite bad at this course - it's just tough to find one that's level - but despite the shortcomings in conditioning, this course is well worth the $23 weekday or $29 weekend green fee. There are a few modern-day course architects who could really take a lesson from this excellent layout!

Greens are beginning to recover from the fungal infection (or whatever it was) but they're still mostly awful. Some sections of a few greens look pretty smooth, but mostly they're chewed-up, bumpy, full of holes and bare spots. Fairways are looking quite thin and bare in many areas despite the recent (and apparently mishandled) aeration. Sand, of course, is soaking wet all the time because they just never, ever, ever stop watering this golf course. My advice: wait until the week after the police/celebrity tournament in late May or early June. Rancho is just thrashed right now.