I am spending some time up here in Pismo and decided to play Monarch Dunes which I haven’t played in a few years. I have played this course many times but on this most recent outing they charge 125 to walk and 150 to ride during the week and 175 to ride on the weekends. It’s considerably less if you live here and you’re a senior citizen. Before I get to the review, regardless of where this course is located for the price they are charging there should be a GPS system detailing course and green views why they don’t have it is beyond me. On to the review, the course design is really great in my opinion but today so many areas are roped off so there is more walking involved which is fine but it just slows down play. Most of the tee boxes are fine, some are a little scruffy but for the most part level and ok. Fairways are ok but again at this price point it should be way nicer, maybe not desert nice but a lot nicer than what it is, I mean some of the fairways remind me of El Dorado or Lakewood. Lots of unkept rough or dead tree limbs and dead grass which start to creep up into the fairway. Greens are firm with little to no ball marks and roll probably 9-10 on the stimpmeter. We teed off at 10:45 and were a twosome and didn’t see anyone until hole 6 and I noticed a lot of private carts so maybe that’s a good thing because the course probably has a strong membership. Bunkers were nice and soft and very fluffy and easily to play from. All in all I enjoyed myself and I played here mostly out of nostalgia but at their rate I’ll stick with my memories and choose other very good options that are close by. Would recommend if only one has a deal of some sort of discount..

Played Indian Wells Players course today and the first since they did the major remodel and moving holes 17 and 18 to the north side of the wash that runs between the property. They replaced most of the greens, bunkers, altered hole number 9 and a host of other things to make the course more playable or as they (city of IW) more walkable. The statement seems laughable because it’s a resort course and who is going to pay 250+ to walk the course. It is narrow in some holes and wider at others but make no mistake walking although good for one’s health probably not advisable here. Oh did I mention that all the greens are rock hard? If you watched the LPGA at Shadow Creek this weekend you’ll understand what I mean. I play there with friends from my tennis club who are residents and pay 50.00 any day of the week from November through May, then 35 for the summer. Guests and Indian Wells Tennis members pay 80-110 Rack rate is anywhere from 225-275. The course opened in November but it is still a little rough around the edges so if you were planning on playing there I would stick to the Celebrity for now until the Players course matures a little more.

Was fortunate enough to get a chance to play Dove Canyon this morning in outing put on by GolfMoose in collaboration with Greenskeeper and Vivid Golf with John, Ron and Mark making sure check in went smooth. I took part in the putting contest which was fun but did not make it in the hole on the 2 attempts. Driving range was excellent and lots of people hitting balls. There was a big water and ice station near the practice green and pro shop was open if you needed anything. I played the combo tees and played with 3 very nice people named Ryan, Richard and Kathleen and I enjoyed playing with them. All the tee boxes were outstanding, fairways were excellent and the 3 bunkers I was in, sand was great to play from. Greens were great and held shots well. At the turn we stopped at Jacks and I had a hot dog which was very good and a few beers . There was a small backup on 10 but it gave us time to eat. There are many undulations on this course and I don’t think walking would be in the cards. Anyways, saw some of my favorite friendly faces again Mark Elliott and David and Starr Bales along with some new friends that I met, overall I had a great day here at Dove Canyon. Thanks to John, Ron and Mark for all that you do for the golf community. If you have a chance to play here absolutely take advantage of it…

Played Olivas Links on a beautiful Wednesday morning the day after it rained and the plan was to play with my in laws(not by choice) don’t get me wrong they are very nice just bad golfers. Anyway, I meet them at the course and we find it’s walking only. I’m not sure if they are willing or even able to walk but they say they will walk as much as they can and we decided to play. We teed off at 10:45 and no one behind us and the fee was only 33.00 so even if the in laws only played 9 it would have been well worth it. The course was punched last week and I think the rain actually helped because the greens had very little sand or punch marks on them. I thought the tee boxes were great, fairways seemed find and looked like they were cut recently but all in all I thought the course was in really good shape. We weren’t in any sand traps so didn’t notice anything there, did see a few sleeping coyotes along the way. As far as the greens, I didn’t notice them to be that slow, maybe a tad slower than normal but still very playable held shots well and when a thin shot was hit the ball kept on rolling off the green. The 3 of us played in a little over 4 hours 20 minutes mostly the in laws were getting tired as they weren’t use to walking a golf course, but much fun was had and afterwards we had lunch at the black bear diner down the street and it in the area it’s a definitely recommended provided you can get a tee time …

Teed off this morning on Los Lagos as a fivesome (7:50) but I was a guest all 4 of the guys are part of the Costa Mesa Senior Men’s Club so we had 3 riders and 2 walkers and everything seem to go smooth, we did have to wait on some holes but we played in 4:30 so it wasn’t too bad. Course is looking good now, greens are rolling quite fast and they really hold shots. I did have to fix way too many ball marks which I don’t understand, but there’s a lot of young guys there so I’m not really sure. I was only in one bunker on hole 2 near the green and it was very playable. All tees seem to be level and everything else was ok and nothing out of the ordinary. I always enjoy playing here especially when you have nice people to play with..

Had a chance to play Los Coyotes Vivid/GK outing and was pleasantly surprised when I found out I was paired with Johnny, Ron and Steve, all fantastic golfers but even better human beings. Had not played here in a number of years and the last I played here it was under rainy conditions, today was a little warm but we had a light breeze so it was a beautiful day for golf.
There are 3 9 hole layouts here and we played the valley 9 and vista 9 and I thought the course was in fantastic shape, fairways rolled firm and very little rough to speak of if you strayed, which I did a few times. It is a tree lined course but very playable with generous fairways despite all the trees. Tee boxes were all level and sanded in , bunkers had the nice white compact sand and I was not in any of them and my playing partners had no problems out of them. The greens rolled very true and although, I missed my share of putts, this is a course I could play 3 or 4 times a week when you are rotating the 3 nines. It was nice catching up with John and Ron and meeting Steve my cart mate and chatting it up with him was great. It was an absolute fantastic day , I had a great time and thanks for Steve, John and Ron for all the work they did in setting everything up and a smooth check in , hope to play with you guys soon..

Got a chance to play the Stadium course today with Billy and Mike before it closes for renovations on Tuesday. I forgot how challenging and fun this course really is, and my goal is to try and play here at least 10 times a year but I digress and on to the review.
We teed off as a threesome at 2:45 because Mike played earlier in the day as Billy and I didn’t and we played in 4:15 so not to bad for a Monday afternoon as the course was very busy.. As I haven’t been here in a while, there are multiple trackman stations if one wanted to use them and practice facility is expansive from chipping and putting to basically whatever you wanted to work on. At the 1st tee the sign says greens speed was 11 and after playing I believe it. For the most part course was in great shape seeing how they are closing it for some time, tee boxes all level, which is probably the most level thing on the course, fairways weren’t overly narrow and were decently wide but the trouble lies when you push the ball a touch here or there because it ends up in the drink even if you slightly miss your target. Bunkers are nice and compact easy to hit from, greens rolled very well, missed some by an inch but none the less excellent speed and consistency. We all played from the white tees and really had a great time and lots of fun. One thing I remember was they use to have GPS in the carts to tell yardages but not anymore it’s just a speaker for music to play, so that would be my only complaint. I would say a great time was had by all as we visited Ernie’s restaurant and if you are in the area it’s highly recommended

Played Heritage Palms today on opening day with Michelle and it was cart path only of course.. We teed off at 11:00 and played with Leah and Sue both very good golfers and nicer ladies. The course is extremely lush and very green with nothing out of place tee boxes are excellent and fairways are perfect. The only concern was that greens were a little slower than expected but other than that it was a perfect day and after golf the 4 of us had a nice lunch on the patio. It’s in excellent condition right now and definitely recommended..

Played the Dunes course yesterday after their opening on November 1 and was paired with a guy named Joe and his 2 adult sons named Sonny and Rory both very nice young men. Joe and I rode together and the kids rode together. Weather was beautiful at 83 degrees and the course looked beautiful only drawback was CPO which was expected and I wanted to get use to CPO as my home course opening on Saturday will be CPO for the next couple of weeks. Check in was simple and I hit a few balls and off we went, Joe and I played the white tees while the young guys played back one which I think was green. As expected everything’s nice and level fairways are green and great, and they rebuilt all the greens here and there are a lot more undulations than I remember. Back in August they had a storm come through and there is still remains of some water and rough parts closer to the hillsides and that it only comes into play if you are really off the fairway. Green side bunkers are excellent but some fairway bunkers have a little bit too much sand so beware of that. Greens are really quick right now and probably will be for awhile but all in all it was great to play here again. They now have trackmans near the restaurant area but I didn’t inquire too see what the cost if any was. Definitely recommended anytime of the year

Played Ewa Beach this morning since it’s directly across the street from the beach (east side of street) and directly next to Army shooting range always lots of commotion ear the course. Check is simple in a small pro shop with nice size restaurant upstairs, fee was 60 to ride and the theme here was Ewa360 don’t quite get it but whatev’s. Course has a lot of left and right holes and some short par 4 holes around 320 but there’s trouble with water or a dogleg at 260 something for the player to think about when teeing off at one of these holes. It’s also aeriation time here but the greens here are healthy are are very fast and firm one needs to put a fair amount of spin on the ball because they don’t hold shots too well. I had no problem with anything under 125, but any other shot say 150 or more , I would hit it short and let it run up. The course is in fantastic shape fairways are mown so ball sits up, rough is a little brutal at times meaning if you are maulka side (mountain side) no chance of finding your ball , too thick and too many trees, if you are on makai side ( ocean side) just a little thick 2inches but at least you can find it. Certain holes are wider than others and so don’t let my review discourage anyone, it really is a great course. They have the packed type of sand so it’s sometimes a challenge but I didn’t have a problem from the green side bunker. Tee boxes are all level and most divots are filled in, greens as I said are firm and fast. If you’re in the area there are 2 courses one called Ewa Beach more of a daily fee and one called Ewa Villages, which is run by the city. Anyways if you’re looking to play somewhere different than the resorts this is it..

Played Mililani today teeing off at 11 am and finishing in about 4 hours 10 minutes. Played with my group of local folks who play on Mondays and Thursdays sometimes I play with them weekly but recently I’ve been back in California visiting with family and looking after our home.
The group here is 15-25 guys aged 60 and over with handicaps ranging from 8-30 but they are all fun to play with. The course is tree lined layout with lots of doglegs both ways and some straight holes as well. Fairways are nice and green as it’s a little cooler and gets a little more rain than in town ( Honolulu) rough can be tough on a few holes but you would really have slice or pull it to be a problem. Tee boxes are all level and not too many divots exist, greens are little harder so not too many ball marks, but most were fixed. It’s that time of year where they are punching the greens but here they were done 3 weeks ago so greens are rolling great but they aren’t holding shots that well unless you really hit them high. The sand here is more of a beach type sand still easy to play from but a little grainy if you know what I mean. The course has a good practice area, nice restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating and overall great vibe. It’s about 40 minutes from Waikiki and it’s a great place to play and chill after a round and if ever in the area definitely recommended…

Played Pali on an overcast but beautiful Fourth of July mid morning. This would be the second time playing here and both times I have gone out as a single. I found out they do give you an option to play/pay for 9. I think the reason people don't play here are because you don't ever know if it's going to rain and conditions of the course. The conditions of the course are not the best, right now tee boxes are a little worn, not uneven but not the best shape as well as the fairways, they are green but its not like Tustin Ranch or anything and they still fine to play from but seem discombobulated if that makes sense, looks like a mixture of grasses. Bunkers are fine sand is normal, greens are a little on the slow side but they still roll true.
The course has a lot lot of up and downs but I still see some people walk. For the resident rate of 52.00 to ride I'm not sure about the price just yet when for 10.00 more you can play Hawaii Prince or other nicer courses in the area, but to play once maybe at twilight would be a wiser choice in my opinion..