Played Woodley yesterday 12/4 with a 12:20 start, riding with another single joining a walking twosome. We all played the whites. To the point, the co... » More

Played Woodley yesterday 12/4 with a 12:20 start, riding with another single joining a walking twosome. We all played the whites. To the point, the course is in good all around shape, with exceptions. The recent rains have given it some greening up and, fortunately, I saw no remaining indications that that the course resides in a flood basin. Although there can be thinner spots beneath the green on the fairways, they are generally pretty good. Teeing grounds here are always good, bunkers were reasonably clean and no complaints abut the sand. Rough here is rarely an issue and very playable while the greens and complexes were mostly in good playing shape with the greens running a nice medium — mostly. The exceptions are greens 8, 14 and 16 which were all sanded. Not mentioned at the course or in the most recent GK post, we were all a little surprised when we arrived on these greens. They all have at least a little elevation to them so you don't know before you actual arrive at the green. They ran obviously slower than the other greens but were playable. If you aren't too fussy, I wouldn't let it dissuade you from playing here as the overall course and majority of greens are fine. If you are that fussy, I'm not sure why you are at Woodley, but now you know before you go. Give them a week.

The weather was gorgeous and it was a perfect day to be out on the course. The kind of day that makes you grateful you are in SoCal in December. Some breeze came up mid round but didn't last. Pace was very good and we got around in 4.25 hours with plenty of light right before sunset. No regrets.
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Never having played Oak Valley and rarely in the area, I drove out on Tuesday, 11/25 to meet a buddy to catch up on life and share a round on his home... » More

Never having played Oak Valley and rarely in the area, I drove out on Tuesday, 11/25 to meet a buddy to catch up on life and share a round on his home course — him literally renting in the development. The week after all the rain, it was good timing because things were greened up but not sloppy. Playing the whites, conditions were solid and a step above my normal muni excursions. Teeing grounds were green, clean and while I wouldn't take a level to them, they were consistently level enough. Fairways had consistently green coverage and good lies. The rough was similarly green and on the thick side, more often costing a shot. Missed the bunkers and the grooming appeared average. Green surrounds could be on the heavier side and hitting into the grain could be an ugly result, while the putting surfaces were clean and running at the fast end of medium.

Not a readily walkable course, $60 with cart seemed like a pretty solid deal. It has a good amount of contour with interesting holes and the occasional altitude drop or rise. A few holes required some carry on the tee shots or the second shots, and there could be consequences for getting off line (drop off, water, etc.) but the fairways were a reasonable target width. I think the main challenges tended to be around the green complexes. Frequently they eliminated or minimized the roll up option with bunkers, elevation or an angled alignment to the fairway so airmail was required to reach the putting surface. Bottom line, between the course itself and the nearby snow capped mountains, there was some nice visual interest and more than a reasonable amount of challenge for those of us not blessed with single digit handicap level games. We teed of around 12:40, had a painfully slow group in front of us, skipped them and the tenth hole at the turn and finished on 17 due to failing light. Don't know if/when I will ever be back, but I would welcome it with the bit of course knowledge I gained.
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Went out on Thursday 11/13, joining a twosome and another single, they all played blue I chose whites. Working backwards, the greens were in pretty de... » More

Went out on Thursday 11/13, joining a twosome and another single, they all played blue I chose whites. Working backwards, the greens were in pretty decent shape, ran the quicker side of medium, were pretty clean and took deep pitch marks. Surrounds were mostly good for short game. Bunkers were not particularly smooth but the sand was good enough. The rough here varies but is not usually punitive where there is grass. Teeing grounds generally had good coverage and were reasonably level — no issues there. Saved the fairways for last because they deserve more explanation. A little bit of recent rain has them looking a bit greener and while the majority of the surface is suitably playable with decent lies, there are thin areas throughout to the point you may occasionally bump your ball over to a fairway-worthy lie. The flip side of the rain is that some of the bare or thinly grassed areas were moist and made for sticky ground contact and I hit one. In the same vein, I also noted numerous spots, mostly in rough but on some fairways, where carts went through soft/muddy patches leaving short stretches of deep tire tracks. Inventorying these anomalies aside, I generally enjoyed the predominantly playable fairways. But, know before you go, eh?


Pace was good at just about 4.5 hrs and, with little waiting during the round, it seemed to move well. Overall, it was good enough that I could overlook the deficiencies and enjoy my round. With the volume of precipitation were are currently getting, I am hoping the fairways will bounce back from the summer with improving coverage.
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Out Friday 10/31 joining another single for a 12:30 start, playing the whites. The course is in all around good muni shape. Tees and fairways have gen... » More

Out Friday 10/31 joining another single for a 12:30 start, playing the whites. The course is in all around good muni shape. Tees and fairways have generally good coverage and offer decent lies. Rough really varies here and immediately fairway adjacent is usually an easy play but dirt/brush/trees are often not far off. Bunkers I encountered were dry, playable and, while not especially smoothly groomed, mosty lacked footprints and signs of abuse. Green surrounds were OK for short game and the greens themselves were pretty clean, resisted pitch marks and ran a good medium pace.

As a muni, it's in solid shape and a viable option for an enjoyable round. Recommended.
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This review a little late but short. Out on Friday 10/24 at 1:30, as a single joining an amiable threesome, all playing the silver tees. No issues wit... » More

This review a little late but short. Out on Friday 10/24 at 1:30, as a single joining an amiable threesome, all playing the silver tees. No issues with teeing grounds, fairways were generally fine, a little on the tight side and some thin patches that were scattered about. Rough is hard to grade because not far off the fairway it can be anything from a dirt patch, to cut down, straw-like grass, to varying degrees of thick green stuff. Bunker sand was slightly heavier grade but clean and in good shape. Green surrounds tended to be a little thicker while the lead-up fairway shots tight. Greens were quick and appropriately challenging. On some holes, even a light touch from above the hole would still leave a 6+ foot come back. Once dialed in, I really enjoyed them.

It was the perfect day for Sandpiper. Sunny, warmish day with minimal wind that died down to nothing by the end of the round. Pace was slow at @4.75 hours but left the 17th green with the setting sun splitting the horizon. Finished 18 at dusk. I'm not here often and it was all I could reasonably ask for.
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