I wanted to get some swings in before a tourney this weekend, and after the unhappy pro shop experience at Tijeras Creek a couple weeks ago I decided to try down at Talega. I really like the layout do... Continue »

I wanted to get some swings in before a tourney this weekend, and after the unhappy pro shop experience at Tijeras Creek a couple weeks ago I decided to try down at Talega. I really like the layout down there but have been put off by recent reports of poor conditioning – it had been 24 months(!) since I’d been down there. With the recent wet winter I hoped that vegetation would be in better condition and the course had had time to address the bunkers and some other conditioning issues. It was the first sunny day we’d had for a while in south OC and the warm weather and only light breezes made for a pleasant afternoon at 2pm on Wednesday, 5/29/19. I was paired with a threesome of vacationers from the San Fernando Valley who had played the course in the past. They were anxious to get started, so we jumped out early with no warmup – we started on #10 as the shop told us they were doing bunker work on the front nine. I paid $42 with cart on GN, which apparently was less than the threesome paid. Overall the course was in pretty good condition. Fairways had pretty good coverage, the usual tight turf that promoted runouts off the tee, and the ball generally sat OK. Rough was generally 3-4” deep and you had to pay attention to get a solid strike on the ball. We played the white tees, which were frequently pushed forward of the white plates, and tee turf was generally good. As usual the tee on 17 was torn up and bumpy. Greens were firm and rolled at medium speed, with good coverage. Greens on holes # 7 and 17 were badly marked up with unrepaired marks and scattered small bare areas. Sand traps we were in were in generally good condition, although frequently wet and packed down. The left front greenside bunker on #3 had plenty of sand but the underbaggie was showing in some parts. Greenside bunkers were marked as GUR on #s 2 and 5 and improvement work was evident. Cost cutting at Talega continues. The basic carts had a cooler but no water/ice, and no club cleaner/ball washer on the cart. The GPS is downgraded now to a simple ProShot with basic yardages. The main building men’s bathroom accessories are gone. Many ongoing changes that affect the visual and strategic aspects of the course continue – on the right side of hole #2 several traps in the driving area have been removed. On #4 along the right side of this “driveable” hole traps have been removed or made smaller. Traps in the driving area on #11 are much smaller. The greenside trap on the right front of #18 is smaller, and the large trap behind the green has been eliminated. I had pleasant playing partners but they were very casual in their approach– hitting a 2nd ball, freely giving putts, and PICKING UP MY BALL WHEN WE WERE SEARCHING FOR IT, etc. A nice touch is divot sand refill boxes – I saw them on #5 tee, #8 tee, # 10 tee, and after 11/15 greens. The course uses entry/exit gates to control cart wear on fairways. Lakes were full and the course had an overall groomed look. The light was out in men’s bathroom behind #4 green – the locked door was propped open with the soap holder. The safety mirrors at the entrance to path tunnels after #1 and en route to #10 were missing. Recommended – the blind teeshot on the par-5 #15 is still the most visually intimidating tee shot in SoCal, and without a 'picture' GPS or a yardage book, you have no idea where you are going.