Played here in group 1B of Monday’s Golf Moose/Vivid Golf/GreensKeeper.org outing. Just a spectacular day all around! Huge thanks to Johnny for allowi... » More

Played here in group 1B of Monday’s Golf Moose/Vivid Golf/GreensKeeper.org outing. Just a spectacular day all around! Huge thanks to Johnny for allowing us to gain access to places as special as The Saticoy Club.

Conditions are excellent. The greens were smooth, accepting of full shots, and medium-fast speed. I’ve seen them faster here in the past, but these were great. Fairways might be the highlight right now with a uniform smoothness to the turf that not only provided perfect lies all day, but looked fantastic to the eye and really accentuated the contours of the course. The rough varied from semi-penal to extremely penal in spots where it got really deep and juicy. Bunkers were well maintained and had sufficient sand. We played the blue/white combo tees and all tee boxes were in nice shape.

I fell in love with this course the first time I played it in 2014, and that love only grows each time I return. It’s an amazing place and I feel extremely fortunate to have spent the day there trying to capture its beauty with my camera and being challenged by the course. Thanks again to Johnny and Vivid Golf for providing exceptional opportunities like this!
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Played nine holes here today on a gracious invite from dconnally. We had a 2:52 tee time on Course 3. We were supposed to be paired with another twoso... » More

Played nine holes here today on a gracious invite from dconnally. We had a 2:52 tee time on Course 3. We were supposed to be paired with another twosome but they started early just as we were arriving at the first tee, so we played by ourselves. Group in front was very quick and we were being rushed a bit by a foursome behind us, but we finished in less than an hour and 40 minutes. This nine is the shortest nine of the three, with only one par 5 that is just 440 yards from the tips, so it’s almost an “executive” nine.

Conditions are decent. Greens rolled smooth at about medium speed and accepted full shots well. The ninth green had some bare spots on the far left edge. Blue tee boxes needed a good mowing, as I kept finding areas of thick, spongy kikuyu that made it difficult to gain good footing and determine how high the ball was teed. It didn’t seem like they were differently mowed than the white boxes, but David speculated that the whites get more use and were likely stomped down more. Fairways were pretty good; maybe a bit on the thin side. Rough varied from thin to thick kikuyu, meaning there’s definitely a premium on hitting the fairways. I was in two bunkers; one could’ve used some more sand and the other was pretty nice.

Despite living within 10 minutes of this 27-hole facility most of my life, this was my first time playing here. This course doesn’t waste much land, with parallel fairways stacked right against each other in spots. There are some nice contours and elevation changes. The greens are quite small and didn’t seem to hide many tricks – what you see is what you get. Looking forward to seeing the other two nines at some point as well. It was great catching up with David and finally playing this course I’ve driven by a million times.
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Played the Canyon and Ranch nines here today with an 11:30 TeeOff.com “Deal” time. After a 20% off promo code, I paid less than $58. More like “Steal”... » More

Played the Canyon and Ranch nines here today with an 11:30 TeeOff.com “Deal” time. After a 20% off promo code, I paid less than $58. More like “Steal” Canyon at that rate! Checked in the shop around 11:00 and then the starter in the staging area was very friendly and offered to let me either play at my time as part of a foursome, or start early by myself. I opted for playing alone and hit the first tee within a couple minutes. Didn’t catch anyone until around the 12th hole, and then things were pretty slow for a while until I was able to play through a group on 16 before zipping through 17 & 18. Total POP was great at about 3:25, often taking my time to take pictures or practice chips and putts after holing out.

Conditions are decent to good. Greens are the highlight, running smooth, medium to medium-fast speed, and quite accepting of full shots. Fairways are pretty firm and have mostly good coverage, but I did find some bare spots. Rough varied from light to thick Bermuda where the ball would sink down and cause some issues. Blue tee boxes were mostly good but some were a mix of grasses and a bit clumpy. I was in two bunkers, both of which looked decent at first but probably could’ve used more sand once I played my shots.

This was my first time here and I’d wanted to notch it off the list for a long time. It’s a decent course but not quite as impressive nor dramatic as I anticipated. Could be the summer conditions or midday lighting that just didn’t “wow” me much. There are some nice elevation changes on the Canyon nine but no one hole really captivated or excited me.

After the round, I inquired about playing the Vineyard nine as well, which looked wide open. The pro shop guy said sure but wanted to charge me $50. Considering that’s almost what I paid for 18, I passed, especially knowing from Jay’s reviews below that I’d already played the two best nines. Overall, definitely worth what I paid but I couldn’t recommend it at full rack rate, which for me as a non-San Diego County resident would’ve been an absurd $152. Even the $102 county resident rate is a bit steep for a weekday, imo.
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Played in group 1B on Monday with Johnny, Ron, and Steve. Great times! Event was well organized and pace of play was decent. Beautiful day and the cou... » More

Played in group 1B on Monday with Johnny, Ron, and Steve. Great times! Event was well organized and pace of play was decent. Beautiful day and the course looked gorgeous!

Conditions are great. Greens were smooth, medium-fast, and accepted full shots well. I didn’t see many ball marks. Fairways were excellent, full coverage of lush kikuyu providing good lies all day. Rough was also in good condition; most was not too penal but there were some spots where the depth of the rough definitely impacted contact. I was in a few bunkers and they were good, although my escapes from them were not. White tee boxes were solid all day, no complaints.

I’d only played here one other time on a day where the sun never really penetrated the cloud cover. Sunny conditions brought it to life a bit more and I enjoyed it even more this time. The layout is solid yet unspectacular; lots of strong holes but very few that are especially memorable or exciting. The 1st and 18th holes are probably my two favorites, and it’s always fun to play a downhill par 3, which Western Hills has two. Definitely recommended right now.
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Played here Monday June 16 with an 11:15 tee time, with my wife riding along as a spectator. I've been using all my JC Golf Players Club card benefits... » More

Played here Monday June 16 with an 11:15 tee time, with my wife riding along as a spectator. I've been using all my JC Golf Players Club card benefits before they expire later this week, one of which was a "bonus" coupon to play here for cart fee only. I asked the starter if it was busy, and when he said it hadn't been for the last hour, I asked if we could play by ourselves. The starter deferred to another employee who said no, we were scheduled with a threesome, and sent us to the tee. Turned out the threesome had a few riding spectators as well and also wanted to play alone, so they suggested we go ahead. Total POP wasn't too bad at just about 3:30, but the vast majority of that time was waiting around.

Conditions are good. Greens were medium speed, softer than they were firm, and very smooth. Fairways had good coverage and provided nice lies. The rough was a mix of grasses of varying conditions; some bare spots, some sticky kikuyu, some crabgrass, among them. I was only in one bunker and it had plentiful sand but could have been better maintained. Blue tee boxes were mostly fine.

This was my first time here and it's a really fun little course (par 62). The most surprising element is how much tilt is in these greens. I feel like executive courses often have mostly flat greens to cater to beginners, but these have some significant slope, even if there aren't all that many interesting internal contours. I had a couple chips and even short putts get away from me that rolled well beyond what I expected. A few holes play up against the mountains, which are probably the most memorable spots on the course. The rest snake through the resort buildings, so there are rarely parallel holes. There are some funky mid-distance holes that the card lists as Par 4/3, which is always confusing to me. I'm not sure who's to say if you play it as a par 3 or a par 4. Overall, I had a good time and would recommend this place to anyone seeking a more-interesting-than-normal executive course in a nice, picturesque setting.
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