Joined Johnny and a familiar cast of characters to resurrect (hopefully) GK Plays outings at Mountain View on Saturday morning, 12/20/25, in perfect golf weather – warm, sunny, and almost no wind, pla... Continue »

Joined Johnny and a familiar cast of characters to resurrect (hopefully) GK Plays outings at Mountain View on Saturday morning, 12/20/25, in perfect golf weather – warm, sunny, and almost no wind, playing on a course in wonderful condition. Tee times ranged from 9:30 to 10:30am and we went out on time with few groups in front of us and without anyone close enough behind the final group to cause any waiting.

Conditions were very good throughout the course, which presented as a shimmering green against the muted tones of the surrounding desert environment. Fairways had wall-to-wall coverage of firm turf that gave excellent lies. Coverage in the rough adjacent to fairways was 1-2 inches deep and somewhat wet at the start of the round, but was very playable; if you got too wide there were scraped dirt areas and scattered rock fields to navigate. I was not in any bunkers, but playing partners looked like they had good lies with sand having a fairly shallow playing layer of firm sand. Tees were well-marked and all level and provided good peg opportunities. I hit from the turf on the par-3s and had perfect lies available.

Greens were challenging from the standpoint of firmness and quickness. Most ballmarks were very small and full shots released significantly. Downhill putts had significant rollout and all greens have many subtle small breaks that surprised all of us through the day. Coverage on the greens was excellent and speeds were consistent throughout the day.

Saw the cart girl once on the front and several times on the back side. Restrooms are well-marked and clean and all have water/ice stations. Carts with good-quality GPS, comfortable with ice chest and ball/club washer. Staff was very helpful from bag drop to coordinating the start to receiving golfers after the round.

Great to see old friends again and meet new GKers. I’m hopeful that the GK Plays can take off and be well-received by the SoCal GK community. Playing fun, well-conditioned courses like Mountain View helps to enhance the experience and increase anticipation for future events. Thanks to Johnny for all he does.