Played here again today with a 7:03 tee time. I'd seen that the Southern California Golf Community Facebook group had a few groups teeing off earlier,... » More

Played here again today with a 7:03 tee time. I'd seen that the Southern California Golf Community Facebook group had a few groups teeing off earlier, so when I overheard the starter saying their 6:36 group was only going to be three, I volunteered to start early and got to meet a few great guys from the group. The group right in front of us was well behind the group in front of them (the entire par-5 10th was open in front of them), but POP wasn't too bad at just a smidge over four and a half hours.

Conditions are very similar to when I played here two weeks ago, except the par-3 5th green is much improved and I didn't encounter any bare spots in the middle of fairways today. Greens were smooth, accepting of full shots, and medium-fast. They seemed to get faster as they dried out toward the end of our round. Overall, they are very nice. Fairways have great coverage and provided good lies all day. Rough is in a little lesser condition but still quite good and not too penal. I was only in one bunker, which seemed to have an interesting maintenance approach where the edges of the bunker were pretty firm but they had added ample sand in the lowest areas where balls come to rest. White tee boxes were mostly good but a few were severely slanted. Again, the tee markers were very close together (less than 10 feet apart, despite plenty of room to have them wider) and at least one hole (15) had them placed in a weird spot that had us aligned with a big bush blocking the left side of the fairway.

I played great and had a great time. Definitely recommended.
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Played here today joined by sparky14 with a 7:00 tee time. Paired with a twosome of nice guys. Started pretty much right on time and despite waiting o... » More

Played here today joined by sparky14 with a 7:00 tee time. Paired with a twosome of nice guys. Started pretty much right on time and despite waiting on the group in front of us all day, POP was good at about four hours and five minutes. Cloudy, misty morning but no rain to speak of.

Conditions are good. Greens are smooth, medium-fast, and medium firmness. They accepted full shots well but felt firm when fixing ball marks. Fairways were really nice, cut short but still providing a little cushion under the ball. Rough was in good condition and probably 2 to 3 inches deep in most places, putting a premium on hitting the fairway, although I wouldn't say it's tough to hit out of rough; you just won't get as much spin on the ball. I was only in one bunker and it was great. No complaints with the blue tee boxes; all good.

Always a fun course despite the unfortunate routing in many spots. Recommended.
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Played here this morning using my JC Golf Anytime membership. Had a 6:54 tee time but checked in shortly after the pro shop opened and they paired me ... » More

Played here this morning using my JC Golf Anytime membership. Had a 6:54 tee time but checked in shortly after the pro shop opened and they paired me with a twosome headed to the first tee right away, so we started a little after 6:00 and finished a little before 10:00. Cloudy skies started to clear late in our front nine; the view from the famous 18th was still a bit hazy but several back nine holes had clear skies and beautiful views.

Conditions are quite good throughout the course, although there are some exceptions. The greens were great: smooth, medium-fast, on the soft side and very accepting of full shots. However, they somehow lost the par-3 5th green and it's in absolutely terrible condition. Fortunately, whatever happened is isolated to just that one hole and the other 17 are all very nice. Similarly, fairway conditions are mostly all great, although there are occasional bare spots here and there. I think it was on the 6th hole I was in bare dirt right in the middle of the fairway. The rough is in mostly good condition and not very penal. Blue tee boxes were cut short but several are unlevel. Oddly, they had the tee markers very close together on almost every hole, maybe only 10-12 feet between them. I was in two bunkers that were both quite good.

I hadn't played here since an agonizingly slow round in 2014, so it was nice to be back, play quickly, and see the course in good condition. I had forgotten how disjointed the routing is, though. Despite that, definitely recommended right now.
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Played South today with a 12:14 tee time using a free round included in my JC Golf Anytime Players Card membership. Even though it's a "free" round, L... » More

Played South today with a 12:14 tee time using a free round included in my JC Golf Anytime Players Card membership. Even though it's a "free" round, Los Serranos' website charges you $2 when booking, which the pro shop said is non-refundable. Not a huge deal, but it also speaks to the crossed wires of Los Serranos being part of JC Golf but also having their own Players' Club membership. The starter asked if I was ok playing alone and offered to have me start early, but a minute later he added a twosome to play with me. We started at 11:52 with no one in front of us and played the first six holes in about an hour and 10 minutes. Then we caught up to groups ahead and pace for the rest of the day was quite slow, finishing in a little over four and a half hours. My two playing partners bailed at the turn. We all rode and played the white tees.

Conditions are good! The greens are somewhat unusual in that they are in very nice condition but deceivingly slow. They are smooth, extremely soft, and slow to medium-slow in speed. Long putts were very difficult to hit hard enough to get to the hole. It's rare to see greens in as nice of condition as these but rolling so slow. Some spots were so soft that it felt like I was sinking into the turf. I suspect they're overwatering in anticipation of higher temps expected later this week -- and summer on the horizon. There were quite a few unfixed ball marks that I repaired, but that's not the course's fault. Also, the fifth green had some bare spots around the front edges. Fairways had good coverage and provided nice lies all day. Rough wasn't too penal, just a bit longer than the fairway. I think I was only in one bunker that was filled with nice, thick, heavy sand. White tee boxes were all good.

I've always loved this course and it didn't disappoint today. I'm not sure I'd ever played the white tees, which changed the course pretty significantly in spots. I'll go back to the blues next time, but the other two guys were playing white and I haven't played much lately, so I was fine with white. Definitely recommended, but eat your Wheaties to get those putts to the hole.
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Played here yesterday in group 1B of the Vivid Golf event operated by GK. The addition of a putting contest before play officially started was really ... » More

Played here yesterday in group 1B of the Vivid Golf event operated by GK. The addition of a putting contest before play officially started was really fun, despite my two pretty pathetic attempts. The event was very well organized and started right on time. Beautiful day in a fun group with Johnny, Ron, and Anthony.

Conditions are very nice. The greens had been verticut and lightly sanded that morning, but I don't think it affected putts at all. Greens rolled very true and fast. They were on the firmer side although well-struck shots would stick and hold. Fairways had good coverage and provided tight lies. Personally, I'd prefer a little lusher turf on the fairways. The rough was deeper but not too penal. Blue tee boxes were all good. I was in a lot of bunkers and they were all very nice.

This was my second time playing here, and I gained a deeper appreciation for the course this time. This is a demanding test with numerous water features, some good risk/reward holes, and significant slope on many greens. While mostly a residential course (although the homes are set back quite a bit), there are a few holes on the back nine that touch the native hillsides, and that's where the course shines brightest, imo. Definitely recommended if you get a chance to play here.
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