Got out on Sunday for my traditional Super Bowl Sunday afternoon round and found a good deal online for Skylinks with a 12:04 tee time. I was of course expecting the course to be empty by that time wi... Continue »

Got out on Sunday for my traditional Super Bowl Sunday afternoon round and found a good deal online for Skylinks with a 12:04 tee time. I was of course expecting the course to be empty by that time with all of the parties going on, but alas it was not to be. Skylinks was absolutely packed and with fivesomes to boot, so the round was quite tedious with a lot of waiting on almost every hole but we did manage to finish just as the sun dropped below the horizon.

Conditions at Skylinks are certainly not in their usual optimal state, with the biggest culprit being the dried out fairways. Optically, it looks quite bad, but for the most part you can play from it without too many problems. I did however find quite a few dry patches and plenty of burned out divot holes in the fairways that were disappointing. The rough was in nicer shape though, not as burned out and cut a good bit longer than the fairways.

I was in far too many bunkers today (yet played them quite well actually) and the sand was for the most part very playable and I had no real problems getting good contact out of the fairway bunkers. The greenside bunkers were just fluffy enough to be considered a positive. Tee boxes were in great shape throughout the course.

And the greens you ask? Yes, they were in fine shape, probably the best part of the course right now. Lots of subtle and not-so-subtle breaks on the Skylinks greens, but they had very nice, green coverage, not too many ball marks to complain about, and rolled true at medium fast speed. All good there.

So I would say the only knocks on Skylinks today was the POP with a full house and probably not staggering the tee times enough, and the burned out, dry looking fairways that could really use some winter rains to get them back to their preferred state. Other than that though, it's a fun layout and an intriguing, challenging track to play. Get a midweek lowered rate or an online deal and it's still well worth it right now.

Played some birthday golf on Tues with Kassper7 but, because of an ill-timed dentist appointment in the morning, could not take advantage of a far off birthday deal at another course, but got a great ... Continue »

Played some birthday golf on Tues with Kassper7 but, because of an ill-timed dentist appointment in the morning, could not take advantage of a far off birthday deal at another course, but got a great $36 with cart deal on TeeOff (plus 10% discount code) for Skylinks, which was still close enough to the South Bay to reach for a full 18. We played the blue tees and I'm not sure why the slope and rating seem so low for them! As for course conditions, it certainly doesn't look pristine at the moment, but in truth it was rare to find anything worse than a firm, thin lie anywhere. The fairways are very dried out in appearance and look as if they would play terribly, but it's actually not the worst surface to hit from. It's just the aesthetics which are a little disheartening. The rough is actually mostly cut low and often more favorable to hit from when just off the fairway. Greens were very tricky and some very tough pins. Very fast at the moment, or at least it seemed that way early as our group of four had trouble catching up to the speeds until the back nine. But they held shots well enough and rolled true, but the breaks were so very deceptive and puzzling all day. Not too many ball marks though to contend with so that was nice. Tee boxes were all in good, serviceable shape, and the bunkers that I was in (which were many) had mostly very nice sand greenside, and of course a bit thinner on the fairways bunkers, but will say that they should likely be even thinner when 150 plus yards from the greens. I found myself plugged in one or two fairway bunkers and that's just no fun. POP was pretty good but always surprising to play on a Tuesday afternoon and find a crowded parking lot. We finished in around 4:30, so it was fine, but expected even faster. Layout at Skylinks I enjoy more and more each time even though there's not a single elevation on the course. A lot of bunkers to contend with, some water here and there, and some mature and daunting tree trouble to keep you honest and (hopefully) straight. So it's worth a visit right now, especially if you can get away from the usual overpriced weekend rack rate. Just be prepared for the less-than-perfect optics that will greet from the first tee box until the last.

Played 11/25 at 652. POP was 4 hours on a beautiful day. Service was nice as always. This course is what it is: Good not great, a bit overpriced with interesting green complexes. The layout is pre... Continue »

Played 11/25 at 652. POP was 4 hours on a beautiful day. Service was nice as always. This course is what it is: Good not great, a bit overpriced with interesting green complexes. The layout is pretty boring but definitely wide open with great bunkering.

Tees: A little long but even with only a few divots.
Fairways: More yellow than green, but I love how bermuda rolls out and there were no bad lies to be seen.
Rough: Nothing too punishing. Maybe 2 inches, I was hitting the same clubs maybe a half more depending on the lie.
Bunkers: Wasn't in any greenside but the fairways had adequate depth and were great to hit from.
Greens: The real highlight (they usually are here) as they ran smooth and medium fast. I really love the way these greens are designed. Subtle but fun breaks. Nothing crazy.

Overall I really enjoy this course and would recommend at this time.

I should've checked greenskeeper. My fault. Pro shop should've warned us all about greens being aerated today. $40 is too much for this course in this condition. Tee was crap. Nothing but divots and u... Continue »

I should've checked greenskeeper. My fault. Pro shop should've warned us all about greens being aerated today. $40 is too much for this course in this condition. Tee was crap. Nothing but divots and unmoved. Not coming back.

Great day out at Skylinks on Thursday 9/28. Tee'd off about 10am, and finished about 2:45, as a 5some. We even waited a bit here and there, so all in all, pretty good POP.
According to the GK updat... Continue »

Great day out at Skylinks on Thursday 9/28. Tee'd off about 10am, and finished about 2:45, as a 5some. We even waited a bit here and there, so all in all, pretty good POP.
According to the GK updates, they are going to punch starting next week, so I thought I'd get over there before hand.
Good thing I did. Course is in great shape. The only knock are the tee boxes, and I know that maintenance will address them with the upcoming work.

Tee Boxes - Shaggy, hairy, patches of dirt and burned out areas... and not great level lies and stances - Only knock on the shape right now.
Fairways, bunkers, rough are all looking good - has that "browning color scheme", but nice lies throughout the fairways, and the rough was a little thick, but good enough to play out of.
The greens are great right now. Running about a 10, so med-fast. Smooth and running true. They are going to punch starting 10/2.

Lots of air traffic overhead, but nothing too bad.
I highly recommend right now.

Played Sunday morning the 24th with a 6:52 tee time with a friend of mine. Was paired up with another twosome that knew the routing of the course and were able to give some sight lines off of the tee ... Continue »

Played Sunday morning the 24th with a 6:52 tee time with a friend of mine. Was paired up with another twosome that knew the routing of the course and were able to give some sight lines off of the tee boxes. POP was a little over 4 and a half hours, which I am told is great for the area on a weekend morning.

Tee boxes were fairly level and lush, not many divots to be had on any hole, and never had a hard time finding a good stance. Fairways were in great shape, it was like playing off carpet. They do seem to keep them cut fairly tight which is something that I am not used to and took a few holes to get used to, but once adjusted they were a pleasure to play from.

The rough was lush and I found it to be penal. Not overly long, but deep enough that your ball would sit down in it and made getting good contact a little difficult. Sand traps were in great shape, and I was in more than enough to get a good feeling on. Greenside, fairways you name it my ball seemed like it wanted to be at the beach and not on a golf course.

The greens were excellent, putted true and held shots well. Wish more people would take care of ball marks as that was my only complaint with the course, but my group seemed to clean several up per hole, so hopefully that helps.

I really enjoyed the layout, and not two holes really felt the same. I will definitely like to come back and play it again, now that I have a little knowledge of the course. Recommended.

Played on 9/9/17. Pro shop staff was friendly and helpful. Course conditions are nice. The tee boxes are flat. Fairways are a little thin in some spots but overall provide very good lies. Rough is not... Continue »

Played on 9/9/17. Pro shop staff was friendly and helpful. Course conditions are nice. The tee boxes are flat. Fairways are a little thin in some spots but overall provide very good lies. Rough is not long but nice coverage. Greenside and fairway bunkers have the right amount of sand in it. Greens are smooth for the most part with medium speed but no one fixes there ball marks here! The layout is decent, you have some options off the tee, not just grip it and rip it. 4 water hazards that come into play.

Played a twilight round at Skylinks today after calling ahead to El Dorado and Navy only to find them completely booked up, so Skylinks was a nice alternative in the general vicinity of where I was. P... Continue »

Played a twilight round at Skylinks today after calling ahead to El Dorado and Navy only to find them completely booked up, so Skylinks was a nice alternative in the general vicinity of where I was. Pro shop was great getting me out there solo (it was surprisingly quiet until I joined up with another single on the 8th hole), playing blue tees for around $39 or so with cart.

Nice conditions all around remain at Skylinks. Nothing really stands out as outstanding, but nothing poor either. Greens are in good shape with a few ball marks here and there and some dried out areas, but roll was true and running medium speed. Fairways for the most part in good shape with a few thinner areas, but not often finding a tough lie. Rough is nice, bunkers are in good shape overall, and maybe the tee boxes weakest part of the course right now but no big deal at all.

Good work with the cold water stations every few holes, too - it's much appreciated on these sweltering hot days. Only gripe yet again? Fix that left side of the driving range fence/netting so that the entire right side of the fairway on the 10th hole isn't covered with range balls!

POP definitely slowed down a bit on the back nine, but my poor play was probably just as much to blame for that as anything else. My single that I joined up with is quite the golf enthusiast like the rest of us and I made sure to tell him all about GK so hopefully we've got a new member.

So overall, despite my failings, can't say much bad about Skylinks currently and it's a nice option to play right now.

Played the Blues (70.3/121/6343) with nodoubles22, and Peter x 2 on their standard weekend twilight rate of $41 which included a cart. The POP was better than expected playing right behind the L.B. Ci... Continue »

Played the Blues (70.3/121/6343) with nodoubles22, and Peter x 2 on their standard weekend twilight rate of $41 which included a cart. The POP was better than expected playing right behind the L.B. City Championship, about 4H, 45M. Overall, the course was in very nice shape. I like the course layout. Few straight holes, many dogleg & unique golf holes. Especially like the raised green complexes and both the shape & large quantity of the large sand traps. The tees were the only part of the course not clearly above average. Good coverage but not lush, with many unrepaired divot marks. The fairways were good overall. Mostly fluffy Bermuda (occasionally thin) that was usually good to hit from. The Bermuda rough was mowed down, usually nice to hit out of. The abundant traps were very well maintained with nice, fine, high quality sand. They are large, plentiful and well placed from a design perspective. The greens putted nice overall, relatively smooth, medium speed. Remarkably few ball marks for a Sunday afternoon following a tournament. The customer service was excellent in the pro shop and with the starter. No drink cart out today, which was surprising for a hot weekend afternoon. The carts had very nice GPS systems. Course knowledge would be beneficial here. Holes with fairway bunkers hidden behind other fairway bunkers, 90 degree doglegs, a few lakes. Not a tight course, but stray off any fairway and you will probably have multiple trees to contend with. Definitely recommended.