I played with yesterday's GK Meet and Play, grouped with mpisarski01 and larryq2001. Looks like the course is currently in the process of verticutting... » More

I played with yesterday's GK Meet and Play, grouped with mpisarski01 and larryq2001. Looks like the course is currently in the process of verticutting the fairways with most of the front nine in very rough shape. It has been raining a lot lately and the weather was very cold and windy. We did miss the storm that passed through earlier today, or it just skirted around Oxnard, but we got a lot of strong wind late in the round. We started out as two groups of three, but finished as a fivesome as larryq2001 had enough of the wind and cold by the time we finished Hole 14. Sorry, buddy! You missed Johnny hitting driver on the par 3, 15th hole into a stiff head wind.

The verticut fairways, combined with winter dormancy and lots of poa, seriously detracted from the quality of this course. As one of my favorite tracks, I was personally disappointed for the guys who had long drives to play this course for the first time. I totally understand how discouraging it would be and not want to come back.

Greens were great. Good speed at 11.4 and no bumpiness or weird breaks. The few ball marks I found were easily fixed. The green on 14 had a lot of twigs, leaves, and seeds from the nearby eucalyptus trees, thanks to all that wind. That was rough! There were times your ball would just get blown around as the wind picked up, making lining up your putt a challenge.

Fairways were definitely a mixed bag, as we like to say here (I'm going to tip my hat to sixpez, who I think I first heard the term from). The main grass in the fairways, if I'm not mistaken, is Bermudagrass. However, it could be seashore paspallum or a mixture of the two. Either way, it's dormant and really off-color. There's also quite a bit of wild poa annua that is all over the fairways. It's lighter in color, stands up taller, and makes the course look shabby. There's no good way to get rid of it, so it's something to live with. As the weather warms up, it will be just fine.

Rough was sometimes heavy and also a mixed bag of grasses. You could have your ball sitting up or laying down deep. Hope for a good lie, but take your medicine if you have to. Either way, it wasn't terrible by any means.

Tees were all quite level and had nice coverage. We played the blues and they seemed to be in slightly better condition than the white tees. I think the tournament in front of us played the whites.

Bunker sand was plentiful and nicely raked.

POP was terrible and I can only blame that tournament. This is usually one of the few courses around that strictly enforce POP. However, the 5.5 hours pace was really a bummer. The cold and wind did not help at all.

Overall, I know I will be back. I hope Matt and Larry find their way back here as I think they will find conditions much improved later in the year. This is a great location for summer golf as it's usually around 70 degrees and the course is in better condition.
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Played this morning; heading out at about 6:50 a.m. Pace was fairly nice at about 2.5 hours. I followed a single walker, who was following a riding tw... » More

Played this morning; heading out at about 6:50 a.m. Pace was fairly nice at about 2.5 hours. I followed a single walker, who was following a riding twosome. It could have been faster, but the slow pace allowed me to hit extra shots and putts for practice between holes.

It was cold and clear this morning. Residual wetness in low areas. Good grass coverage from tee to green. Some of the deep rough has been mowed; other areas are kept rather long for punishment to errant shots.

I found lots of divots to fill with the provided sand. I grabbed extra bottles and even filled two more bottles with bunker sand. There were so many divots on the third hole landing area in the left fairway near the bunker complex.

Several greens had many areas of about 6" square repair areas throughout. Weird, but they must have been fixing something. The repair patches were decent enough, but need time to really grow in to match the adjacent turf. When I worked at Hansen Dam we would make repairs with turf from the edge of the green, then place the nursery patches there.

Overall, the greens were nice. Soft and medium fast in the early morning; most likely getting quicker as the day wears on. There were only a few ball marks to fix; seriously though, there shouldn't be any if I'm the third or fourth golfer out.

I played the white tees and I found they were fairly level and had a moderate amount of abuse, especially the par threes. I had no real issues with finding a place to tee from, but I wouldn't say they were all completely level.

Bunker sand was really nice. I had to hit from the fairway bunker on hole 3 and had no issues. Other bunkers found some of my practice balls and they all looked decent.

I paid $43 to ride and I think that is a good price. I'd pay that any day for prime time golf. I could have found a better rate if I had found a partner or two earlier in the week as there were deep discounts on Teeoff. I think I had almost booked it last Wednesday for $33/player, but no takers.
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I played here last Friday, getting out at about 8:00 a.m. with some guys from work. They all got a senior rate of $24 riding, including a breakfast sa... » More

I played here last Friday, getting out at about 8:00 a.m. with some guys from work. They all got a senior rate of $24 riding, including a breakfast sandwich and drink. I'd like to say I got that deal as well since I'm close to 60 years old, but I don't want the starter to get in any trouble. Let's just say it was great customer service and leave it at that!

Yes, this is an executive course, par 60, and it can be slow! I think we got through in about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Not too bad considering this is one of the slowest courses I have ever played.

Greens were medium fast, smooth, and soft enough to leave deep ball marks. I think folks have been fixing their ball marks lately because I saw only a few that needed attention.

Fairways and rough were in good shape. There were lots of thin and tight lies, but overall it was mostly lush and easy to hit from.

Bunkers are okay with lots of brownish, medium course sand. It's fairly easy to hit from these bunkers.

Tees are well used and some of them are a little overused. We played the white tees and I never had any real problems finding a good area to hit from.

As I said, the customer service was good. The starter thought at the senior price point they should be crowded with more golfers. I have to say, the food was not that good. I did get a domestic beer with my round, so I liked that. I'll probably come back since it's so close to home.
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I played here both last Saturday and Sunday, using a couple of vouchers from GroupGolfer.com. It was $34/each round to ride after 10:00 a.m.
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I played here both last Saturday and Sunday, using a couple of vouchers from GroupGolfer.com. It was $34/each round to ride after 10:00 a.m.

It was pleasant weather both days. There was no wind and the air temperature was right around 60 degrees. Good customer service from the pro shop and I got out right away each day.

Greens: Fast and smooth; rolling at least 10-11. There are lots of contours on the greens here and a consistent break towards the desert floor. The greens were also on the firm side and very few ball marks were seen; however, good shots seemed to hold nicely.

Fairways: Nice coverage throughout the course. Some areas were tight lies, maybe even a little on the thin side. I used plenty of mix provided in the cart to fill many divots all over the course.

Rough: Pretty much the same as the fairways but cut a little longer. Most of the time the grass would hold your ball as if it were on a tee. Yes, please! On the other hand, there are areas of the rough that can be just hard pan or dirt, but not too many of those.

Tees: Mostly level and lush on the white tees. I never had an issue but I'm sure there are those areas that need some maintenance. I just did not notice any.

Sand: The bunkers I saw were all very nice with clean, white sand. I did have trouble on Sunday getting out of one of the pothole bunkers on hole 11. The sand in the front-right bunker was thin and my technique was not quite right.


Pace of play was 2 hours and 40 minutes Saturday, when I played as a single. Sunday, our foursome needed 4 hours and 30 minutes.

I highly recommend this high desert golf course. When you can get a discount, go for it!

Fairways
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I played here yesterday. It was a Monday holiday and I was surprised to see the parking lot nearly empty when we arrived at 7:30 a.m. for our 8:03 tee... » More

I played here yesterday. It was a Monday holiday and I was surprised to see the parking lot nearly empty when we arrived at 7:30 a.m. for our 8:03 tee time. Unfortunately, that dream did not last as it was fairly busy both ahead of us and behind. We did finish in about 4 hours, so it wasn't terrible. I used a text message special they had to save $10 riding; however, it was $45 dollars to ride. Check the course website for specials as they do have a few.

Greens were really nice. Not many ball marks. They held shots, were medium fast, and rolled nicely without any bumpiness.

Fairways were mostly dormant paspallum grass with various other grasses mixed in as well as the occasional weed. Not the good kind, either. There was the occasional tight lie in the fairways, and with the recent rain it made for challenging conditions. Way too easy to fat shots and remove a ton of sod if you are hitting down on the ball.

The rough was usually nice to hit from as there was more of a mix of grasses that really held your ball up like it was on a tee. Most areas were cut to about an inch and a half, except around some of the water hazards where it was shaved down.

Bunkers had lots of light colored sand and seemed nice to hit from.

Tees were level and in okay condition. I never had a problem with finding a level spot. We played the blues, which seem like the most popular tees on this course. There were a few divots, but mostly it was fine. The other tee boxes looked pristine.

No snack bar facility at this time due to a plumbing problem. We did see a small bbq grill and ice chests when we finished for the day, but nothing before or during our round.

Overall, I like this course and I will return. I just don't like their rates, so I will continue to try to find discounts online through their website or elsewhere.
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