My son and I played Tijeras at 12:08 today. Story of the day is the absolutely abysmal pace of play. We teed off right on time and finished at 5:45, for a total of 5:37 on the course. Making matters w... Continue »

My son and I played Tijeras at 12:08 today. Story of the day is the absolutely abysmal pace of play. We teed off right on time and finished at 5:45, for a total of 5:37 on the course. Making matters worse, at the ninth tee box, a marshal tried to act like we were behind when we'd waited on nearly every shot all day to that point. It was so bad, the couple we were paired with bailed after the front nine. Then after waiting at least 10 minutes on the 14th tee box (we were there before the group in front of us had even teed off), a guy in the group behind us has the nerve to tell us we need to "pick it up" – us, a twosome, sandwiched by tons of foursomes and after watching the group ahead play the entire hole. When I pointed out that we'd hit as soon as the green cleared and asked him what else we were supposed to do, he became a jerk and said, "Just get outta here." So obviously pace of play is a major problem and has everyone on tilt here.

Fortunately, the course is looking beautiful and playing just as good. I rated it 8s across the board except for the fairways were a 7. For some reason the fairways were a little bit shaggy today, as if maybe they weren't mowed this morning.

Played the Creek ($60 w/the card) at 8:08AM this morning (Fri rate is $10 more than M-Th). PoP slow (4.5 hrs) due to the clueless foursome directly in front of us. Marshall tried to move them but to... Continue »

Played the Creek ($60 w/the card) at 8:08AM this morning (Fri rate is $10 more than M-Th). PoP slow (4.5 hrs) due to the clueless foursome directly in front of us. Marshall tried to move them but to no avail ... people who play early need to keep their position or pick up IMO. We waited on every shot on the back side except our tee shots after the par 3's. Anyway, dconnally's review from yesterday is spot on. Only change was the greens which were not cut this morning so we had a few bad rolls due to uneven putting surface and spike marks. As he mentioned, they are firm and not holding shots very well, at least not consistently ... some approach shots would release and bound while others checked up. Made it difficult to commit to how you'd normally play. The newly installed cart GPS system is not the best setup I've seen, for sure ... some program/design flaws which need to be corrected. And some distances did not match our rangefinders and Skycaddies distances. As far as the singles ads: dconnally must be married ... I'm single ... I didn't mind them one bit :-) Great food in the Cantina after the round and great customer service throughout. Golf here is definitely worth it with the Creek Card which pays for itself easily, even if you only play there twice a year because with it you get a free M-F round and a free twilight round, plus much more. Heck, there's your $99 right there! If you don't believe me, just ask Johnny.

Played Tijeras on Thursday, 1/22/15, at 11:15am on an invite from a friend whose regular 4some was missing a player. I only play here about once a year because of the fairly high rack rate, but today... Continue »

Played Tijeras on Thursday, 1/22/15, at 11:15am on an invite from a friend whose regular 4some was missing a player. I only play here about once a year because of the fairly high rack rate, but today we skated on my friend's senior Creek Card for $50. We went off on time, but play slowed on #3 and stayed that way to finish with a POP of 4.5+ hr. We played a two-man scramble from the Whites, so the round was easy and relaxed. All tees were moved forward, so the White tees were generally on the Green boxes (5800 vs. 6200), so the course played short. Since I don't think many people usually play the Greens, all the tees were in good condition. Overall course conditions were generally good. Greens were way too firm and failed to hold even wedge shots. They rolled consistent and well at medium-fast speed. Fairways were generally OK, with some thin/bare areas. We were able to work around any problems with tight lies with the scramble format. Rough was generally cut short and very playable. Traps were all in good shape, with a soft, deep playable layer. Carts were in good condition, pretty basic but comfortable. There's a GPS system in the carts that may be new - I don't know how long its been available. I found the system difficult to use. Menus and interaction are difficult. Graphics (fairway aerial, green view) are hard to see and don't provide needed info. The system in our cart died on #11 and had to be rebooted, then we got "low battery" messages on the last 4 holes. And the system has advertising included, with an ad for "singles in your area" - gross! Overall recommended for conditions.

Played Tijeras for the first time since buying The Creek Card for 2015 (and the first time for me since right after they opened in 1990). Had a great time! My son and I played with a 12:00 tee time fo... Continue »

Played Tijeras for the first time since buying The Creek Card for 2015 (and the first time for me since right after they opened in 1990). Had a great time! My son and I played with a 12:00 tee time for $70, thanks to their great policy of juniors play free with a paying adult. Check-in was friendly and they informed us they were running a few minutes late, which was appreciated. We teed off around 12:10 and front nine pace of play was atrocious, just under 3 hrs. Fortunately things sped up a bit on the back and we finished 18 practically in the dark.

Conditions were generally quite good. I thought the greens were great (8) and most of the fairways were quite nice, too. For some reason any holes with water hazards seemed like they were in poorer condition than the others – a lot lighter green vs. lush green fairways on the others. Fairways on the non-water holes were very good and marginal on the water holes. Rough in most places was lush and probably 3-4 inches but not too penal. Bunkers were fine. Tee boxes were a little bit shaggy – I wondered if the rain prevented them from mowing them this morning.

The best news of all is how much I enjoyed the layout. I remembered the front nine as being very boring, sort of like Tustin Ranch Lite. I was totally wrong. It obviously matured a lot since I played here last, but even the routing seemed a lot more fun and interesting than I remembered. Then the back nine is even better! And when you add on the fact that it's only about 15 minutes from my house, it's hard to beat. Can't wait to get back out there!

Played Monday first off, but with no threat of frost. After last week, it was nice to return to normal So Cal weather ! The staff was perfect, got me out as a single first off so I could zip around a... Continue »

Played Monday first off, but with no threat of frost. After last week, it was nice to return to normal So Cal weather ! The staff was perfect, got me out as a single first off so I could zip around and avoid the crowds. The course is in the best condition I can remember. The greens were just OK, but the rest of the course was lush, green and well manicured. Green fees are going up as of mid April, so I thought I'd get out there now and save a few $$.

Booked a NYE 10:30AM round at the Creek, hoping conditions were improved since my last visit and after reading murrlaw1's most recent review which said the course was 'basically unplayable'. I even c... Continue »

Booked a NYE 10:30AM round at the Creek, hoping conditions were improved since my last visit and after reading murrlaw1's most recent review which said the course was 'basically unplayable'. I even called ahead to make sure the fairways and rough had been mown ... they said 'yes' ... and they were. The Creek is actually in very nice winter condition right now, tee to green. Front side bunkers were not yet conditioned so they were wet, firm, and uneven, but the greenskeepers did at least smooth them out by the time we played the back ... they just need to be turned and dried out a bit. Greens cut and rolling fast, still soft from the rain. I noticed (and fixed) a few unrepaired marks on every green, mostly small ones from chip/pitch shots. Fairways nice, most divots had sand/seed filled, and the rough was cut to 1-1 1/2 inches, so it was full and very playable. PoP was 4:10, CPO today. Snow in the surrounding hills made for spectacular views and it was very cold (no frost delay) on the first tee, then the sun came out and the strong winds subsided ... turned into a great day for golf. Green fees here are up there, it's the OC, even with the Creek Card it was $80 and I think $120 without. But if you play here even a couple times a year, the $99 card is worth every penny. Great 19th hole and practice area, too. Recommended, just a tad high in price.

Played TC Sat 20-Dec-14. The course was basically unplayable. We were told it was still too wet to mow, so every hole was cartpath only. The rough was 3-4" and many balls took forever to find or were ... Continue »

Played TC Sat 20-Dec-14. The course was basically unplayable. We were told it was still too wet to mow, so every hole was cartpath only. The rough was 3-4" and many balls took forever to find or were lost. The fairways were very shaggy and you got zero role, mud on most drives. The course will be in good shape once the grounds crew come back to work (probably after Christmas).

Strongly recommend you check in advance to see if they have mowed greens, fairways, and rough before playing. Golfer beware!

Happy Holidays to All!

Had a Sunday noon time at T-Creek with a couple of buds but they were concerned about potential rain, so they bailed. The accommodating staff hooked me up with a local and off we went hoping for the ... Continue »

Had a Sunday noon time at T-Creek with a couple of buds but they were concerned about potential rain, so they bailed. The accommodating staff hooked me up with a local and off we went hoping for the best, weather wise ... never even had to open my umbrella. Cool and windy, but that makes for a challenge. What a difference a week makes: the course was not in the green and clean condition I expected. In fact, almost the opposite. Looks like the greens crew took the day off, as they were 'gruff' and many putts moved off line due to uneven surfaces. I was in a couple greenside bunkers which were unkept and not raked (footprints). Fairways had many thin/bare areas surrounded by overseeded rough which was 2-3" deep and muy dificil to play from. Coots, ducks, and geese leaving dropings anywhere near water ... I hate coots, good for nothing birds. Otherwise, still a great layout but pricey for what you get ($70 twilight). PoP was an incredible 3:40, so that was nice, too. Maybe some rain will help here, I hope so. And get the greenskeeper out on the course.

The course just finished their fall maintenance and they did a spectacular job. The course is looking excellent. I was told they are going to be mowing down the rough and fairways a little more coming... Continue »

The course just finished their fall maintenance and they did a spectacular job. The course is looking excellent. I was told they are going to be mowing down the rough and fairways a little more coming up, as they were a little long in some areas, especially the rough. A couple of times we watched our drives land, but still couldn't find the ball in the rough. Tee boxes were level, well kept and overall terrific. The fairways were as green as could be, no bare spots to be seen. The greens were also very well maintained, rolled very true. We played in the afternoon though, so we did see a lot of foot traffic on them, but still, they rolled true. Overall, I would highly recommend Tijeras. My only negative comment would be the POP. We finished in about 5 hours and change... Which in my mind is incredibly too long. I knew it was a Sunday @ 12:15 pm though, so i wasn't too frustrated. If courses would just allow more time between groups, we could alleviate this issue. Other than that, amazing course, great staff and a great round of golf.