Following on Weber's recent review, I was out Friday 3/27 as a threesome plus one, all riding, three of four playing the whites. I'll differ only slig... » More

Following on Weber's recent review, I was out Friday 3/27 as a threesome plus one, all riding, three of four playing the whites. I'll differ only slightly with his review so check his first. I have to say the course seemed about as lush as it gets here. Could even use a touch of mowing on some fairways, but good lies and no complaints. I was in two bunkers and I think it was less about lack of sand than lack of grooming and surface anomalies. Some rake time smoothing things out and I think the actual sand quality would work fine. But somebody has to actually do that. Rough was good, not overly thick or penalizing. Surrounds were good enough for short game and the greens were as green as I see them here. For what it was worth, some in our group were complaining about the speed (slow). I thought they were a lazy medium and while I might like them quicker, I thought they were still an acceptable pace. The key being they seem to match the practice green and were fairly consistent on the course. After an introduction to the pace, the challenge is to adjust. I played recently when the greens were much quicker, and I like that, but I adjusted for the difference and enjoyed myself. It's a muni guys.

Being Friday probably didn't help the pace and it seemed longer than usual at about 5.25hrs. I'm pretty chill about getting along with whomever I'm paired with on the course, but it was day when I definitely enjoyed the course more than my companions — and the ambiguity of that statement works both ways.
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Out Tuesday 3/24 at 11:40 as single riding with a single, joining a riding twosome who played blues while we played whites. Road testing some swing ad... » More

Out Tuesday 3/24 at 11:40 as single riding with a single, joining a riding twosome who played blues while we played whites. Road testing some swing adjustments and so wanted to take advantage of Woodley's open forgiveness. Teeing grounds never a problem here. Fairways were mostly good but I did experience some hardpan/bare lies as they are firming up and getting thinner in spots. As a result, more than average rollout. With a few slightly thicker exceptions, rough here is not punitive and adds to the expansiveness. I was in one bunker, the sand was good, but it needed some cleanup and grooming. The green surrounds were good. I had good day with my short game and frequently having a nice lie for chipping contributed to giving confidence there. I enjoyed the greens and they were the highlight — clean, mostly true and at a nice speed on the quick side. I recall the ninth green had some scarring issues in spots but that was unusual. Pace was good @ 4.25 hours. While not all aspects of my game were strong, it was a better than average round for me and reinforced the adjustments I'm making. Good times.
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Out Friday the 13th as a twosome joining two singles for a 1:20 start. Three out of four playing the whites and all riding. Summarizing first, I thoug... » More

Out Friday the 13th as a twosome joining two singles for a 1:20 start. Three out of four playing the whites and all riding. Summarizing first, I thought the overall conditions were very good. Decent and fairly consistent coverage on the tees with no real unlevel issues. Fairways were consistently good as to coverage and lies. Rough was mostly green and not punitive but with both bare and thicker lies occasionally in the mix. Bunker sand was a nice consistency but the state of the grooming, while mostly OK, varied subject to those who came before. Green surrounds were in generally good shape for short game. As munis go, the greens were pretty nice. Consistent with the practice green, they definitely had some quickness to them and required attention to the pace. Nicely challenging, they were clean and usually only gave up modest pitch marks.

A warm day, but not unpleasant, it would have been more of a factor if we had been walking. As it was, we kept hydrated and especially by the last few holes, it was a nice day with modest to minimal breezes. Pace was good at right around 4.5 hours. I had not been out on Harding for a good while. I find tee times at Wilson and Harding hard to come by and was surprised to find some options while checking the day before we played. I saw no active aeration on GK and was a tad suspicious there might be some issues to explain my good luck. In the end, no problems, nice conditions and I really enjoyed the day on a venue I enjoyed revisiting. Recommended.
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Out last Friday the 13th with a foursome, all riding and playing the whites. Not really a walking course for most people and not sure it's even an opt... » More

Out last Friday the 13th with a foursome, all riding and playing the whites. Not really a walking course for most people and not sure it's even an option. Last time I played here was about a year ago and about 25 yrs before that. Conditions on the day were solid all around. Last time, the greens were unexpectedly punched and sanded while this time around they were fine — running the quick side of medium and pretty clean.

Minor quips: the cart was a bit sluggish and the range has a touch of sidehill to it. Otherwise, perfect weather, some great views, the pace was good, drink cart came around numerous times. An interesting layout that can require specific placement and course knowledge to best maneuver some of the doglegs.
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Got an 11:00 start as single joining another single and a twosome, all playing the whites. Probably 20-something years since I've played here, I was f... » More

Got an 11:00 start as single joining another single and a twosome, all playing the whites. Probably 20-something years since I've played here, I was favorably impressed and it felt a step above average my average muni experiences. Teeing grounds were level with consistent, tight coverage that was worn close to more of a suggestion of coverage at times in the hitting zone. As these are teeing areas, i.e. using a tee to set up the ball, I saw no issues with them. The ground is firm and sometimes required a little extra to get the tee set. Fairways were nice: good hitting surface, a little on the tight side with good roll, visually clean and generally consistent. Rough varied greatly. Usually playable fairway adjacent, but also extensive areas of chips/dirt a little beyond that. There are also areas around the property with trees, foliage and weedy undergrowth that has become lush with the rain and it can be easy to lose balls there. I was in way too many bunkers so I can vouch for the condition which is generally pretty clean, firm-ish with good sand on which the ball sat up more than not. Green surrounds were clean and good for short game, albeit frequently more on the tight than lush side. Greens were firm and ran at a good quick speed that was not excessive. Where repaired, they tend to show ball mark scars even though those visual traces don't impact the roll. There is a firm, sandy quality to the soil that requires a little more attention and effort with the tool to repair pitch marks. Most greens had some element of contour and I enjoyed putting on them.

I'd had my eye out to catch a round here with my regular golf buddy, but I never saw availability late in the week when we play. As it was a Tuesday (my birthday) and I was going single, I was able to score the booking on short notice. In addition to the nice overall conditions, the group ahead pulled away while the trailing group was usually about a hole behind, so we had a sense (illusion) of an uncrowded course and our own pace (4.5 hrs). There were a couple of negatives to mention. First is the proximity of the freeway and that noise, especially for holes closer to it. Because it is constant, I treat it as white noise and it really doesn't bother or faze me, but for some it would definitely be a consideration. The other issue was odors, at least on that day. They were patching the clubhouse roof, so there was the tar smell in that vicinity. Closer to the freeway and the construction areas that are still active was a smell somewhere between sulfurous and sewage wafting about. It was somewhat localized but not insignificant, and in the vein of "know before you go" be forewarned. Again, I observed it, but it wasn't going to ruin my round nor would it keep me away. Bottom line, I was impressed with the improvements and conditions and will definitely look forward to playing here again.
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