Super time with GK Gurus last week out at Cascata! Thank you to everyone that came.

This was my third time “experiencing” Cascata. I say “experiencing” because unlike any golf course I’ve been too, it so much more than just your golf round. I’ve played courses with little bit better layouts and better playing conditions (not to say Cascata’s playing condition were not excellent, they were – and to be fair to Cascata, I’ve never played it in its peak Spring conditions), but to play Cascata is to experience the “treatment”. Luxurious, over the top service and attention from the moment you go through the gates to when they bid you farewell. The clubhouse and practice facilities are as beautiful as I’ve ever seen. The food it excellent. The caddies I’ve experienced are perfect. The staff is professional and polite. It’s an unforgettable unique day. Never gets old.

Conditions this time around had the greens running moderately fast and smooth. There we some brown marks on the greens but they did not affect the roll. Fairways and rough mostly lush with some heat stressed areas but providing great lies all day long. Tee boxes excellent shape, level and the views you get from them are as good as anywhere. So many elevated tees. The only negative, and I’ve never experienced this before, were their bunkers as they were very firm with occasion pebbles. I learned quickly how to pick it clean from them but it was their one blemish.

As long as Cascata keeps appreciating have GK Gurus visit, we’ll keep booking this outing and you can bet I’ll be the first one to sign-up! – Highly Recommended

Played out at The Club at Sunrise with 7 other fellow GK Gurus Tuesday afternoon. Teed it up around 4:45, heat of the day, but a breeze picked up on the back nine and as the sunset it helped lesson the heat considerably. We played in about 3 hours.

This was my third round here, first time in the heat of summer, and understandably, the typically awesome greens were being keep shaggy to fend off the heat. The greens looked very healthy and lush so I’m sure if they cut and rolled them, they would be pure. Fairways were improved since the last time I played a couple months ago, still some brown areas, and occasional thin areas but overall more lush and pleasure to play from. Bunkers were improved as they were better manicured with quality sand. Tee boxes about the same, lush and level. The Club at Sunrise was in good shape and had the greens been cut and rolled, would have been great shape.

As kviser mentioned, when you play this course you have to avoid the right side, the wash, in other words what many call the ditch. Balls missing the fairways to the right will almost always end up in it. And once in it, good luck hitting it, that is if you even find it. The rough is long and the ball will sit down. It’s going to be an awkward stance as well as with not a clear look at the green. And on the opposite side, you can’t bail out left due to homes and gravel. You got to be straight off the tee here, it’s the golf course’s biggest defense. I lost around 6 golf balls Thursday missing right. Fortunately I did not put any shots in the homes left.

They have nice small clubhouse, friendly service, affordable green fees, normally pure greens and always a fast pace of play. I think the course would be fun to play anytime but as a early morning or late afternoon round, when you want a quick round, this place is ideal. I will be back!

Very fun morning Thursday out with 6 others GK Gurus to play Riverwalk. We played the Presidio to Mission combo teeing off at 7:37. It was a good pace of play at 4:15 with some overcast giving away to sunshine. I thought the golf course was in very good condition with the greens leading the way. I don’t think I’ve ever played this course and the greens had not been at least in very good shape. They were mostly smooth (only bumpy at times due to ball mark damage), holding shoots and medium/fast. I thought the fairways were in better shape this time around with almost all of the past trouble spots gone or re-sodded. Again, I’m talking about the Presidio and Mission nines, not the Friars nine. However, Riverwalk is currently re-sodding many of the fairways on the Friars nine so look for that course over time to have good coverage too. Rough was mostly lush/at times thin adjacent to the fairways but lush greenside. Greenside bunkers were in good shape with decent quality sand to play from and the fairway bunkers I experienced were rather compacted but very suitable to hit from. Tee boxes mostly lush, level and in good shape.

Something I noticed about playing the Presidio – Mission combo. On Presidio nine almost all the big trouble in on the right side of golf holes. On the Mission nine it’s a pretty even split. Also the vegetation in the river that runs through the course needs to be trimmed. On holes 5 & 8 of the Presidio nine your view to the pin is obstructed too much. My favorite hole of the two nines, likely every one’s favorite hole, is #3 of the Mission 9. The green complex is stunning with its small creek/waterfalls draining into a lake protecting the front of the green and right side of the hole. Lastly, hole 9 on the Mission 9 is a beast of the finishing hole. I don’t think I’ve ever finished out with the ball I started with on the tee!

This is a challenging enjoyable layout that gets lots of play being in the heart of San Diego. I always have a great time out there and look forward to playing it again. Posted some fresh photos to take a look at :)

What a week that was for me, 5 GK Guru rounds and a GK Plays, loved it. My final review is of our GK Plays Yocha Dehe Golf Club outing. Thank you everyone that came! Please remember to post a review too.

I know many of you, myself included, had very high expectations of playing Yocha Dehe Golf Club in its typical immaculate conditions, it’s disappointing it was not due to the heat wave that ravaged the area for weeks of 100+ temps prior and during our outing. That said, IMO, the golf course was still in great shape and the back nine played beautifully. As a first-time player, Yocha Dehe Golf Club layout met my expectations as well as outstanding service and facilities. They did a fantastic job working with me as group organizer and the added touch of surprising us with souvenir hats was very nice. After golf, they provided our outing a private room, with servers and excellent food showed off how much they cared. I’m so impressed with how much effort they put into trying to make us happy, I’m going to be looking into coming back up here, in the Spring next time, next year for a GK Plays, I hope many of you will return next year to join me. I posted some beautiful photos of my round. I’m in the process putting together the GK Plays outing recap on our GK Events page, social media and forums. Ringworld will be making a GK Blog post to recap it as well. Was a great day of golf!

I played some great golf courses on my trip this month to NorCal, but it was my last stop on Sunday, at Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club, just outside Fresno, on 7/23 that proved to be the best playing conditions by far. It was just me and CenCalHack enjoying a GK Guru round, I invited many others but for different reasons none could make it. We teed it up at 10:30am and finished in under 4 hours. I was 100+ degrees but didn’t feel that hot and consequently the course was pretty wide open.

I’m a big fan of this challenging long yet fair layout and always try to schedule a round here if I’m passing through the area. The course is always in great shape, I mean always. They have plenty of water and with pure bent greens combined with pure berumada fairways, you get the picture. This time around, the course was wall to wall thick lush grass. Greens holding shots, moderately fast and smooth. In past experiences, they did not grow the rough long, consequently very poorly hit drives occasionally ran through the rough and into heavy grass/brush. This resulted in long ball searches and much frustration. So with the longer rough now, I mean a 3 to 4 inches, it’s tougher to hit from but it keeps the ball in play and resulting in a faster pace of play.

Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club also has outstanding facilities. An amazing driving range, with multiple dedicated areas for wedge game and short game practice. The clubhouse is clean and well stocked. The restaurant has quality food, beautiful patio onlooking the 9th green and does a great job servicing the surrounding area as well. The enclosed banquet facility is very large to accommodate weddings and golf tournaments. It’s funny, especially the first time, you never expect while driving through the rural area a golf course/facility like this to pop up. I love it. I posted a bunch of photos.

I think of Ridge Creek Dinuba Golf Club as GK’s hub in the Central Valley. I’m going to be coordinating more GK Guru visits and look into a GK Plays there in 2018. Highly Recommended.

Teed it up with GK’ers BGarcelon, Istraaatch and Krajan01 on 7/21, 1:06pm – good times on the course and at the 19th hole. I really enjoyed this course back in October last year. With all its big trees, fall colors and beautiful Sonoma Wine Country surroundings. It was fun to come back and experience it in the Summer as well.

This is a relaxing course to play that will challenge your game to be accurate off the tee and if missing the greens some delicate short game touch to score. The greens were once again in great shape, rolling smooth, holding shots and medium/fast. Fairways mostly lush with some dry thin areas. Rough mostly lush with a bit drier thin areas than the fairways. Bunkers had decent sand and tee boxes were in good shape. Pace of Play was just over 4 hours.

The course is clearly a community hub to the area and just about everyone I saw there had a big smile on their face. Good vibes for sure. We grabbed drinks and appetizers in the restaurant after which has a beautiful view.

I played Bodega Harbour in the morning which was ocean side cool temps and then after teed it up here at Oakmont GC under sunny very warm conditions. I liked the contrast. What made it even nicer was the excellent service of the cart girl and affordable drinks. At the turn they have an exceptional snack bar. I did not order food from it but heard their breakfast sandwich is fantastic. I’ll be returning to Oakmont West again. Fun place to play. Posted some more photos so check them out.

Teed it up with GK Gurus sixpez (Keith) and Iscraaatch (Ian) on Friday, 7/21. This is a sensational golf course and likely one of the most unique courses I have ever played. It’s a Par 70 … hidden gem … must play. It’s tucked into the Northern California harbour coastline of Bodega Bay. A beautiful, secluded, small city/community well known as the filming location for Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds. The course provides very visible ocean views on every hole with holes #16 and #17 carved into environmentally sensitive wetlands where golfers are required to park their golf carts and walk those two holes. I posted a video on Greenskeeper.org Facebook and Instagram to view that experience, its something else. The conditions of the golf course are excellent. Lush fairways and rough, smooth rolling firm greens, quality bunkers and tees. We were fortunate to catch the course on a clear day and the photos I took/posted are spectacular. They have a small practice putting green and no driving range – so it’s not a place to work on your off the course. On the course, you’ll need every aspect of your game to handle the many elevation changes, tight fairways, ocean breezes and challenging green complexes. They have a nice size clubhouse and restaurant detached from the golf proshop/snack bar that was the original golf proshop and now a gym. Ian bought me a breakfast burrito at the turn (thanks bud), that was big and delicious. The staff was very friendly and our pace of play was under 4 hours. I was so impressed with this place, I’m envisioning a GK Plays outing there. Would be a wonderful area to spend a weekend and tee it up. But don’t wait for that to happen. If you get a chance to play this course, jump on it.

Played Paradise Valley GC with GK’ers parman72, BGarcelon and Cit. Last time it was an early morning start in October and this time a hot afternoon start at 2:00pm. I liked the hot afternoon start better!

It was a fast place of play and the golf course was in very good condition. Greens ran well, moderately fast, mostly smooth and firm. Fairways and Rough not as lush as in October but still in good shape. You can have a perfect lie to a thin dry lie. You can tell the course has been a little stressed from the recent 100+ heat. Bunkers had firm sand but playable. Tee boxes good shape, lush with a little divot damage. Overall the course presents itself beautifully. I liked it this time seeing the lakes more full than last year during the drought. Especially hole #6. This time we played the white tees as opposed to the blue tees. Big difference in challenge. Actually, more fun IMO and I’m a long hitter. Before the round, I made it point to eat again in the restaurant sports ball. Grabbed beer and burger, tasty. Big place that I’m sure will be blast on NFL Sundays. I liked this layout even better the second time. Course keeps growing on me. I’ll make sure to play it again if in town. Excellent practice facilities. Posted some fresh photos so check them out. Highly recommended.

That was a fast track last week for me with all the GK Guru rounds and GK Plays to run but finally catching up.

My first round of the trip started at Rancho Solano Golf Course Thursday morning, 7:16am, with BGarcelon and Cit. I loved this course for the first time playing it with it's huge challenging greens, elevation changes, doglegs, great variety of holes and fair/demanding tee shots. I loved it again. Course was in great shape. Greens again the highlight, smooth, moderately fast and firm. Fairways and rough lush with just a few brown areas. Bunkers firm but playable. Tee boxes lush in good shape. I snapped a bunch of photos I just posted. Rancho Solano Golf Course is known in the area as 4-putt capital of the world. I believe it if they had the greens running fast. There are lots of shelves on the greens, especially the back halves of them, where big trouble brews. When you see a blue pin, go after it. You’re better off over the green than short on it.

Friendly staff, nice big clubhouse, fast pace of play, the golf course is also known as one of the best values in NorCal. Highly Recommended.

Played the front 9 at Goat Hill Park on Friday with AndrewZ28. Walked, great workout even for 9 holes. We had a blast. It was my first time playing it since the renovations were completed. Challenging course not to be taken for granted. Small undulating greens. Lots of elevation changes. Nice views. Lots of forced carries. Holes you are tempted to bomb your driver on but best to play smart. I’m disappointed I did not get in the back nine but, hey, great reason to get back out there hopefully soon. Super cool vibe by the staff. Very relaxed ambiance with some music playing. I met the GM Peter, great guy with plans to build a kitchen and improve the driving range. I think the course overall was in very good shape. The greens were in great shape. Moderately fast, smooth and firm. Greenside surrounds lush. Fairways mostly dry but lush in many places. Bunkers well maintained with quality sand that I was in. Rough, besides greenside, not very existent which in turn adds a difficultly factor to the course where if you miss the fairways in some areas, your ball will find some hardpan and go for an unexpected journey. Here is what you don’t want to do, take someone on that has USGA index at Goat Hill Park. Especially on their home turf. The golf course is massively under rated. Another thing you don’t want to do is walk this course if you have a heart condition. There are some very severe hills to take on. But what you do want to do is play this little gem. I know I will. Posted some photos. Check them out!

Last time I played The Crossings at Carlsbad was in April, golf course was in great shape, this time, even better. Teed it up with GK Gurus dconnally, leef2020 and Tubedude Thursday, 6/22. Made the 2 ½ - 3 hour drive down and back for this from Westlake Village, 5 hours of total driving, got home sooner because I stayed after golf to enjoy their Buckets & Brews driving range party and missed traffic. They do their Buckets and Brews once a month. $10 gets you two quality craft beers and medium bucket of balls. Music and BBQ as well. Loved it. Anyway, as for the course, very green, very lush, every aspect in great shape. I think conditions will be peaking at the course for at least another month. This place is a must play right now. Terrific layout I continue enjoy more with every round. Interesting holes, no two holes even remotely alike. Difficult and at times crazy undulating greens. All par 5’s offer Risk/Reward. I have such a blast out here. Leef2020 joined their Crossings Club program, if I lived in the area, I’d do the same. Food is always good as well. I got a hot dog, chips and soda for only $5 at the snack shack. After at the Buckets & Brews, got a cheeseburger, high quality, good grub. The IPA’s were Karl Strauss, had a very satisfying enjoyable day. Play The Crossings at Carlsbad - Highly Recommended!

Also, just posted some fresh photos, got cloudy on the back nine, coastal onshore clouds.

Had a great time on Tuesday at Eagle Glen Golf Club. Played with fellow GK Gurus Tubetude, Stickboy, Larryq2001 and Gary00. It was blazing hot so naturally there were very few playing so instead of having us play as threesome & twosome, they allowed us to play as a 5-some provided we did not play too slow. Well, we finished in 4 ½ hours.

This was my third time playing Eagle Glen and like the layout better and better. This time the fairways were not only much more green and lush, they were overall in very good shape. There are still some patching thin areas and some new sod. I’m impressed with how far the golf course has come in improving the fairway conditions and expect them to continually get better. The greens are always very good to great at Eagle Glen and this time was no exception, although not as fast and smooth as my previous rounds here, still mostly smooth and medium/fast. Rough was thin in some areas, a few bare areas on the edges, but mostly grass covered and good to hit from. Bunkers has quality sand although thin but playable. As far as tee boxes, we played the blue tees, they were mostly lush yet many were not level. Overall the golf course was in very good shape.

After golf, I had a bite to eat in grill with stickboy and larryq2001. Ordered the patty melt, delicious. Good service as well.

Looking forward to playing out here again soon.

Check out the photos I just posted.