Played a Friday round at Los Verdes this week with an old high school buddy just getting back into golf and then found out he's been on GK for years longer than I have! Good fun playing with toddieo and getting to see all sides this Palos Verdes gem has to offer.

Our weather fluctuated all afternoon from warm, blue skies, to rolling fog and putting the pullover back on depending on the hole. Slightly more consistent were the course conditions that were not too bad depending on where you found your ball. There were a lot of good sections in the fairways, but also a few too many thin spots for my liking, but this course gets an unbelievable amount of play, so that must always be kept in consideration.

The greens were running quite nicely. They weren't necessarily as fast as I remember them in the past, but they rolled true and consistent - evidenced by a no 3-putt 29-putt round. They held shots well but are also quite tricky and many a slope if you're unfamiliar with them. The tee boxes were in good shape (we played from the white tees) overall, while the rough and the bunkers were also very playable but not quite pristine. Everything is in good working order right now - let's just put it that way.

Price is always right for Los Verdes and we got a great tee time online the day before. There was no cart service that I can recall but stopped at the cafe/grill during the long(ish) walk from the 9th green to the 10th tee. This course will still give you plenty of challenge from the white tees if you're a mid-handicapper like myself, and I've realized that I have a lot more fun playing it from there than maxing out on the blues.

A true LA experience that rarely disappoints, except of course if the POP is out of whack, which it often can be, but we did pretty decently in that regard this past week, despite a rather slow group ahead of us who got better at keeping pace as the round went on.

Rounded out the busy golf week with an RPGC tournament round at the home course on Sunday. My flight put me in the white tee box and we had a 12:30pm tee time on a very hot but gorgeous summer day in the Cheviot Hills.

First and foremost, the greens right now are running great at RP. They roll true, they're much faster than they look and are holding good shots well. Absolutely getting it right currently when it comes to the flat stick surface. And to be fair, the rest of the course is pretty darn good right now as well.

Fairways have plenty of green and lush areas but you'll also get some thin especially up around the greens and in some runoff areas. Rough is generally mixed but nothing too crazy that I found. Bunkers were in good shape with ample sand but you're not mistaking it for Augusta. Tee boxes were good - flat and level. Everything is working properly at Rancho right now.

No cart service but that's standard at Rancho Park, but the snack shop on 12 remains one of the best in the business. The driving range is really interesting because it's absolutely packed with all walks of life - range rats, Instagram influencers, coaches, college kids and everything in-between. The people watching at the range is LA pure.

So yes, overall, good value for your money right now at Rancho Park and definitely a very good challenge for your game at all times.

Mattias and I decided late on Friday morning to play and looked online and found a nice 1:52 tee time at Los Amigos. Please note that time. We arrived early, warmed up on the somewhat depressing driving range, and then made our way to the putting area to await our turn to tee off.

From the first looks of it we could tell it was not going to go well. At first they told us that they were about fifteen minutes behind, but we finally teed off (along with two singles) at around 2:20pm. From then on and for the rest of the round it was an utter disaster with no marshals and a 2-3 group backup on every single hole for the rest of the round. Usually things clear up after the third or fourth hole here, but not today.

By the time we putted out on 18 to finish the round, the clock read 8:12pm. Read that again. We literally JUST made it before it started getting too dark. With a 1:52pm tee time. Absolutely and ridiculously unacceptable. It's just mind-boggling how poorly the day was organized by the staff there. Unbelievable.

Course was also not that great if we're being honest. Greens were a bit bumpy and slow with some dead areas, the fairways are 'okay' at best, while the rough is fine and the bunkers were a little on the lame side. You would think that maybe the tee boxes were the course's saving grace, but alas - no. They were thin, beat up and all over the place.

I will always keep returning to Los Amigos as it's almost always a good value round and while it won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon, it usually provides a 'good enough' golf experience for its patrons. That was absolutely NOT the case this week. Very disappointing.

Busy past week of golf started out at Rio Hondo midweek just before the 4th of July and the course is in really good shape right now from tee to green. It's all good ... nothing super spectacular, but also no glaring faults that come to mind.

Driving range is not bad at all, and it's two-tiered if you're into that kind of thing. We played from the blue tees and this course will throw all its toughest angles at you on the front nine. The back nine is kind of a picnic in comparison, but there are always a few holes here that can get you.

Greens were in very nice shape but not rolling ridiculously fast or anything. They did hold their lines well and were very consistent. Same with the fairways - lots of really good areas with the occasional thin ones, but very playable indeed. The rough has a few thick areas but for the most part not very penal and easy to play from. Bunkers were good, not great - again - playable. And the tee boxes were flat, level and decently maintained enough to not cause any issues.

There was no cart service throughout the hot day which is always a bummer, but also understandable midweek. I walked so I can't speak for the current conditions or accessories with the carts. But yeah, all in all a good showing from Rio Hondo and not a bad choice right now.

First time ever playing Hidden Valley this past week for my GK Cup match with JaySolinari619 and it was quite a memorable and enjoyable experience. This is one of the most utterly un-walkable courses you will ever play so don't plan on getting your steps in - you are 100% riding and by the back nine you'll be very happy about it.

This course is about as target golf as target golf gets. I can't think of more than a handful of holes where you don't have blind shots to small areas or split fairways with invisible barrancas tempting and teasing your ball. You absolutely have to be sharp with your club selection, ball flight accuracy and ability to check the ego here. You're very often tempted to bite off more than you can chew, and if you get it wrong, the punishment is severe.

Course conditions were actually quite good all around with one very glaring exception - the bunkers. Terrible. Dry, hard, rocky and completely miserable. They're bald. You can't do anything with them but hit and hope. The rest is good. Not great, but good, even very good. The fairways had much better coverage than expected, while the very few areas of rough were thick but not unplayable (there's very little rough because it's either fairway or 'desert'). Tee boxes were good (I played the whites, Jay played the blues) for the most part but some were a little worn, while the greens themselves had some ball marks spread around but mostly rolled quite true, held shots well and had nice coverage.

We got a late start so we only got cart service on the front nine, but we stocked up well and handled the hot temperatures just fine. Carts were in very nice shape and also had a good GPS system but the governors are ridiculously fine-tuned and far too slow on some of the downhill sections (did I mention there are a ton of elevations and long distances between many holes?). Quite aggravating! But overall, it's a fun experience with nice conditions.

I don't think Hidden Valley is the type of course I would want to play every week or join the men's club or anything, but it was a much better experience than I anticipated and would actually love to go back another time with some course knowledge that I now have.

Our monthly group got four spots at Hansen Dam this past Saturday and it was a scorching hot day with our first tee time at 10:40am. Carts were preferred under hot sun as walking would have been a real energy drain. I was in the second group off and we played from our customary white tees with this ensemble.

Course conditions are bizarrely better it seemed on the front nine than the back nine. The greens were all pretty consistent - holding shots well, rolling pretty true and running at medium-fast speeds - no complaints there. But the grass seemed to be somewhat lusher and there was better coverage on the front in the fairways. The rough was definitely thick in some areas and it's not hard to lose a ball in there right now. Bunkers were okay/average - nothing spectacular, but nothing too bad to make a fuss over. Tee boxes were fine.

There was no cart service and that was disappointing on such a hot day, but more to that point, in order to secure the four spots, we paid a pretty outrageous $82 each, which included the cart but did NOT include range balls for warming up. I found that pretty insane to be honest. The carts are on the newer side and have good GPS, but no coolers for ice on the sides.

At a normal greens fee I don't think all of these factors would have rubbed me the wrong way, but we paid kind of a premium price for a non-premium experience. My next solo visit I won't have any of these complaints I'm sure and I'll just go back to enjoying Hansen Dam like I almost always have before.

Played a solo round at Skylinks this weekend after booking online with GolfNow. I knew in advance that this course won't deduct the price if you choose to walk instead of riding, so I left my cart at home and decided to ride.

When I arrived around 40 mins early for my 9:10am tee time, I asked for a medium bucket of balls and leisurely got them, found an open stall and began stretching out. As I was just about to hit my first ball, they called my name on the loudspeaker to go to the first tee. This was about 15 mins before my tee time, which is normally not an issue, but if you they knew we were going out early, why let me waste the money purchasing a bucket of balls? I also had no time time to hit the practice putting green so we were off to a poor start.

I normally really love this course but I was already in a down mood after that start, and then found the course to not be in the kind of shape that justifies premium pricing just under $100 on a Sunday morning. In good shape, no problem paying that price. But yesterday the fairways were pretty thin and had lots of dry spots, while the rough was often very thin or just mud/dirt. There were of course some good areas as well so don't think it's all a mess.

The greens were in good shape for sure so no complaints there ... they were at nice medium-fast speeds but took me a few holes (and two 3-putts) to get the speed down after not having any warmup reps. Nothing overly tricky on Skylinks greens so you get what you give. Good lines, nice coverage and holding shots well if we're being honest.

The bunkers were very disastrous though. Mostly incredibly thin and just miserable to play out of while giving every golfer there minimum confidence to make the shot. I don't ever recall the bunkers here being as poor as they are currently. Very tough pill to swallow when you're constantly finding them with every errant shot on an erratic back nine. Tee boxes were also just average or slightly above.

No cart service throughout the day which is kind of wild on a busy Father's Day Sunday, but at least there's a quick and easy snack shop at the turn. POP was really great for the first 5-6 holes as we were all alone, but we caught the group in front of us eventually and things slowed down for the rest of the round, but nothing too horrific in the end.

So overall it's tough to give Skylinks a great rating after yesterday's many disappointments, but I have no doubts that my next visit will be far better. I would just personally wait until you hear that the bunkers have been reloaded with some actual sand.

I was very much looking forward to getting back down to Redhawk six years after my last visit for my GK Cup match with mpisarski. Matt was good enough to book us an 8:30am time on Sunday morning and, after a nice little warmup on their quaint but effective little driving range, we set off, opting to play from the black tees and riding in their very nicely appointed carts (including the small, not so in-your-face monitor for the GPS that Matt was gushing about).

Really fun layout with a nice variety of holes, some decent elevations (including the wild par 3 17th), strategic bunkers and water features, and some very deceptive greens that have some wild tiers to navigate. My past memories of the course were quickly dispelled as we found a Redhawk that was in pretty prime shape from tee to green - a far cry from the dried out and somewhat unkempt version that I remember from long ago.

Fairways are nice and lush and almost always providing a nice lie, while the rough was very thick in spots and there was also a lot of boggy, muddy areas that still had nice coverage but were quite difficult to shoot from. The bunkers were a little underwhelming to be fair, but playable, while the tee boxes were all in good shape. The greens, and more importantly the green complexes, were super fun, challenging and rewarding of solid putts. They were deceptively fast though as we watched plenty of them race past the hole until we got better at judging speeds. But as previously mentioned, there are some diabolical tiers at this place, and no green ever felt like it was going to give you anything easy.

POP was very good all day after we let a twosome pass us on the fourth hole. We never got pushed from behind for the rest of the round and we only had minimal waits for the group in front of us, so that was very cool. Cart service popped around a few times as well so it all went very smoothly for the day.

With a riding rate of $100 I believe, it was well worth it to play this much-improved version of one of Temecula's better courses. I think if you're planning a trip there soon that you won't be disappointed after your round.

Played Encino this past week with kviser for our GK Cup match and am happy to report that this heavy-usage track is actually in quite good shape right now and well worth your time for the value. We played from the blue tees and I walked with a ridiculously affordable $32 rate. That just can't be beat anywhere, can it?

No one is going to mistake Encino for Bel-Air anytime soon, but it's at or near the top of its user-friendly game right now with well-covered fairways that mostly left good shots available (yes, of course you're going to find some thin patches out there), decent rough that wasn't difficult to play from, average bunkers that were playable and tee boxes that were far from pristine but level and in good working order.

The greens were in very fine shape indeed, however they rolled a bit slower than they appeared, however we all adapted fairly quickly as the day rolled on. They are consistent, hold shots very well and rolled pretty darn true. I can't even complain about too many pitch marks as it seems that most patrons had done a good job fixing them. Long may it last!

POP was pretty good as well with no major delays until the par 3 15th. It's a very long and tough hole so it usually always backs up there with so many bogeys or worse on the table. Didn't see any cart service either to my recollection, but we refueled at the turn a bit.

I would definitely recommend Encino right now for a great value and a solid if unspectacular golf course that will give you your fill as required.

Played a midweek round here with some buddies for a birthday and was looking forward to it as I had not played here in around three years. I always remember how tough this course is as it's target golf pure on the front nine and then eases up a bit until the last three holes get a little crazy again.

First off - big props to the starter as the person who booked our foursome online only actually booked a twosome, but they managed to move things around for us to accommodate all four of us and keep our 10:10am tee time intact. They even made sure we got the online rate so that was truly above and beyond and many thanks for that.

We played from the blue tees and rode as this is most certainly not a walkable course. The elevations and gaps between some of the holes would render this a six-hour round every single time. That did not stop us from having a slow round ourselves though, but that leaned heavily on our group as one of our players was very ... deliberate. One thing I had never seen before though - on the cart display we actually got a POP time warning that said if we received two more we would be asked to leave. I've NEVER seen that before! Luckily we never got another one as we kept better pace with the group in front of us after that.

In terms of conditions, well, the greens are by far the best part of the course. They were slower than they appeared though and I kept missing putts short all day. But the lines were true and the coverage was nice. Held shots well, too. The rest was not as great. Fairways are really thin in a LOT of areas, there's a lot of dirt patches and the rough isn't much better. The cart paths themselves dive into lots of construction zones and there's kind of chaos all around on many parts of the track.

Bunkers were very odd as well as on some of the early holes there was pure, white sand that looked like a country club, but I never landed in any of those. When I did finally find bunkers on the back nine, they were of the more 'rustic' variety meaning thin, dry and with a few too many pebbles for my liking. I don't quite understand the inconsistency but it is what it is. Tee boxes were generally fine with some a little more beat up than others but all level and playable.

We had cart service a few times on a VERY hot day so that was good, and the carts are pretty nice and have everything you need with a decent GPS system. One other thing that was odd that we noticed around the 17th hole was that there were no ball washers on any of the tee boxes? Or did we simply miss them? Some of the routing here is testy but we managed.

I'm not sure I would be in any rush to come back to Eagle Glen as it's a place that is a lot of fun when you're hitting your spots, but very frustrating and even 'gimmicky' when you're not. Conditions are simply not the best overall either, but if they were then it would be a fun challenge again, just not anytime soon I feel.

Played a recent emergency round at local course Alondra and just wanted to leave a quick review on current conditions. In a word - 'meh.' The fairways have a ton of dried out or dirt patches to contend with, and sometimes even a perfect drive ends up on some patchwork thin landing area to really frustrate you. The rough is always of mixed length, but also a lot of mayhem off the fairways. Bunkers were actually okay but the tee boxes were particularly beat up.

The greens are 'okay.' They're not particularly fast, they're not particularly consistent and about the only good thing you can say is that they hold shots well because of their relative sponginess. I've seen them worse for sure, but that's not exactly saying a lot.

POP was not great either as we had a very slow group of older gentlemen in front of us who remained at least a hole behind the group in front of them the entire round. No cart service either (which is common) but a very good little cafe in a convenient spot at the turn.

One thing of MAJOR note if you're very familiar with the banal layout at Alondra. The massive tree in the middle of the fairway/landing area on the 18th hole has been completely removed. It absolutely changes the difficulty of the hole and more clearly defines the hole's line into the green. It may shock you the first time you get back out there but what's done is done!

Played another RPGC tournament this weekend at Simi Hills and, besides actually finishing in first place in my flight, found the course to be in pretty great shape with one or two minor exceptions throughout the round.

I was in the final group with a 12:50 tee time starting under grey skies that eventually cleared out as we approached the turn. I was assigned to play from the gold tees and rode with a fellow competitor. We had a nice POP most of the round and had cart service on the course a few times so everything in that regard was very solid.

Fairways are in good shape with mostly good lies on any fairways, but of course there are going to be a few thin areas here or there. The rough is thick but not too penal. Bunkers were not the best to be honest - found myself in two and both were very thin and dry but ultimately playable with a good shot. Just not inspiring much confidence. Tee boxes were all level and fairly well kept.

Greens were in really nice shape. Held shots well, were rolling consistently at medium-fast speed and the coverage was nice and uniform. Not even a lot of pitch marks anywhere to complain about so kudos to the greenskeeping crews there for having their greens in pretty optimal shape.

Fun layout, great value and just an all-around good time at Simi Hills. Make it happen.