Played Riverwalk 18 today using the coupon from GK, such a good deal at $35. Course was in overall good shape. Tee boxes were a little beat up but playable. Fairways were good for the most part, a lot of new sod but mostly playable. Wasn’t in the sand but my partner was and seemed to be good. Greens were good but a little bumpy. They have recovered from maintenance but need a good mow.

For the price it’s a good deal. Pace was under 4 hours and the course didn’t seem to busy.

Played Texas Star for my second round of the day. Got there around 1130 and was able to get out a little after 12. Course was in good to great shape but not as nice as waterchase, which kinda surprised me. Payed $60 with a cart (newer cart with GPS).

Most of the course was great. Found a couple of brown areas but none that were in play. Found a lot of the holes to be pretty straight forwarded and easy to figure out. I was very disappointed in all the Par 3's. Every one of them was down to one tee box and each played around 130 yards. All the other tee boxes were closed so the one tee box was just destroyed. Not sure if they are preparing for a tournament but it was very disappointing.

Greens were good but couldn't figure out the speed. Some holes were very fast and some were considerable slower.

It is a fun course and I could see playing again but would want to make sure the par 3's were back to normal.

Went out to Texas to catch the Packers / Cowboys game with the family. Sunday was a great day at the stadium with a packers win. The stadium must have been half full of packers fans!

Used Monday to get 36 holes in before coming back to Cali. Played waterchase first thing in the morning. My review is based on someone who has never played a Texas course before and can only compare it to Cali courses.

I was second off with a pair of older locals who were great to play with. Around $50 for the round with cart was a good deal in my mind. Course was great. I was very impressed with how lush the course was. Everything from tee to green was great. I was very surprised by the greens. They were California country club smooth with almost no ball marks or bumps. They were very fast and fun to play.

The course is challenging with lots of water and out of bonds but not unfair and not target golf. I really enjoyed the course and would play it regularly if I lived in the area.

Played today using a certificate I won at a tournament. Course is a mixed bag and will be closing soon for a few weeks for maintenance. I really enjoy the layout of this course and think it’s a good challenge.
Conditions were good. Tee boxes were level and lush. Fairways were lush with almost no brown spots and gave a decent roll. Sand was a mixed bag. Most of the front 9 sand was filled with gravel and marked ground under repair. Not sure what is going on. In a couple of bunkers on back 9 and they were in good shape. Greens were the best part. Smooth and fast.

Unfortunately hole 6 the big downhill par 4 was closed. They are working on the fairway and turned it into a par 3.

Played in just over 4 hours and never felt rushed. If you can find a good deal the course is a must play.

I’m happy to say Eastlake is back in playable condition. The greens are looking vastly better and they were freshly cut when I played yesterday. I know this is a love / hate course for a lot of people but at least it’s back to a decent playable condition. Played Saturday morning on a busy day. They were running about 10 minutes late but still played in about 4:30, which isn’t bad for a Saturday.

Tee boxes were nice and lush with good coverage and level. Fairways are good with a little roll and not to many brown spots. Traps were nice with fresh new sand. Greens were good. They would hold shots and rolled fairly smooth and medium fast.

They have a new crew of Marshall’s rolling around. Didn’t see they talk to anyone but seemed to be moving things along. Saw the cart girl twice.

All in all I you can find a good deal you should give it a try.

Decided to go out and play oak today. Looked online and saw it was pretty open for tee times. Got off around 1 and pretty much had the course to myself.

Course is in great shape especially for the heat we have been having. Tee boxes are lush and level with minor divot damage. Fairways are in great shape and give good roll. Some brown spots but not in areas where you play. Greens were great. Very few ball marks and very smooth with a medium to fast speed. They held shots well. Wasn’t in the sand but it looked good.

From tee to green the course is in great shape. This is a very walkable course which makes the green fee a little easier.

Played The Crossings yesterday with an early tee time. Haven’t played this course in years and forgot how fun it really is. Was playing in preparation for a tournament and played the blue tees. Course was in great condition all around. Pace was good at 4 hours, they advertise to play early as the day goes on the pace gets worse.

Tee boxes were the weakest part of the course. Most were lush with just a little damage, but I felt a lot were un-even and not level. But that may just be me.

Fairways were lush and freshly cut. They gave a good roll and had lots of humps and bumps.

Greens were in great shape. Almost no ball marks and very few brown or discolored spots. The greens here are crazy, and it seems like almost every hole has a green with multiple tiers. Be careful where the pin is because I could see a lot of crazy putts. They were fast but not too fast and rolled well.

Rough was about 1-3 inches and made you think. You won’t lose a ball in the rough, but it definitely comes into play on club selection.

Sand was some of the best I have seen in SD. I did find two hard pan bunkers. One in the fairway of 18 and the other next to the green in 7. I was surprised by the one on the 7th hole because it was right next to the green. Still able to get out pretty easy from both. The rest had lots of nice white sand. My partner said it was a little to lose for his liking and he had some difficulty getting out of a few bunkers.

My only issue would be the price. Paid a decent rate because of the tournament but don’t think the course is worth the rack rate. If you find a good deal, then play early!

Played Riverwalk today using the greenskeeper.org coupon. $35 for this course is a good deal.

Tee boxes in good shape, blue and white were combined on most holes. Most were level and easy to play from. Fairways are a mixed bag. Most are good in the center but the more you go to the edges the worse they get. They need to do a better job of marking ground under repair. Sand was good, a little wet due to the rain but still playable. Greens were in good shape and most rolled well with just a few bumps here and there.

If you can get a deal it is still worth playing but I would not pay the regular rate.

So I decided to give Eastlake a try. I haven’t played here since before October of last year. I’ve been hearing the course was getting in better shape and was hoping it would be true but was unfortunately disappointed. Paid $40 with a cart which is not bad but still not worth the conditions of the course.

The tee boxes were in good shape fairly lush and level with very little divot damage. Fairways were very lush, nice and green with good coverage. I didn’t see any thin spots at all. The rough was thick and could be difficult to play out of at times.

The sand traps have all new sand in both the fairway traps and in the green side traps. Unfortunately the fairway traps are too soft and the ball settles down too far to get a good shot out of. The same thing happens with the green side traps and you usually end up with a fried egg.

If you were to stop here the course is actually in nice shape but unfortunately the greens are still in bad shape they say they are healing well. From what I saw they did not appear to be in any much better shape that they were late last year or earlier this year. They have put some type of different form of grass on the greens that is much different than those throughout the regular San Diego courses. I don’t know what type of grass it is but it is not a very nice appearance. I would say roughly half of the greens were still playing very slow and was very bumpy. The other half of the greens were in better shape and the ball rolled better but still far too bumpy. I’m hoping in the next few months the greens get better but I’m worried if it’s going to be a hot summer. I don’t know how the course is going to handle it.

I would say if you can find a good deal it might be worth playing. At $40 with the cart I would pass but if you can play at twilight round or if you can get it down to about $25 with the cart is probably worth playing.

Played the south course today. Course is in ok to good condition. $32 to walk is a fair deal. Course is flat and relatively flat and easy to walk. Tee boxes were ok most level and easy to hit from some with a decent amount of divot damage. Fairways were decent most were green and provided good spots to hit from. There were some bare spots in the middle of the fairway. Sand was good, mostly wet but playable. Greens were a mixed bag. Front 9 were good and back 9 were just sanded. Mostly rolled well with a few bumps here and there.

For the most part it is a fun course. Nothing to crazy and relatively short. If you come don’t expect country club conditions.

Played the Grand yesterday in a fundraising tournament. Course is in amazing condition. Everything from the range to the course is top notch. I know the normal green fee is high for this course but I could see paying it every few years to play this course. Everything was in great shape.

Tee boxes were level and great to hit from. Fairways were recently cut and gave some roll. Didn’t play from the rough because of the best ball format but I could see it would be a good challenge. Same with the bunkers. Greens rolled great at a fast speed and very smooth. If you get a chance to play here I would take it.

Played the canyon/ ranch combo today in the morning. Course handled the recent rains very well. Some areas of the fairways were covered in silt from runoff but nothing to bad.

Tees were great never had a problem and level. Fairways are dormant but still very playable. No real rough to speak off so not really an issue. Greens were great. Held shots well and still had great speed with all the rain. I was only in one bunker. Sand was wet and heavy but still got out ok. Had a great time on a great course.

If you haven’t seen the deal on Costco it is awesome. You would be hard pressed to find to good courses for $40 each.