Unfortunately when the date for my monthly golf group was announced (but not yet the venue), I checked to see if I was free and alas I was, so I opted in. Then a week ago I saw that we were playing at... Continue »

Unfortunately when the date for my monthly golf group was announced (but not yet the venue), I checked to see if I was free and alas I was, so I opted in. Then a week ago I saw that we were playing at Cresta Verde and it was too late for me to back out. I tried to make the best of it and imagine that maybe things had improved here dramatically since my last visit.

Not so much. I won't spend an hour here writing out everything wrong with the course that hasn't been said before, but it's not any better than it ever was, and that's sadly saying something. The greens are damaged, bumpy and inconsistent, the fairways are patchy where there's grass (never any guarantee of that) with the oh so infrequent area that's nice to hit a ball from, there's chaos, dirt and methane everywhere, the tee boxes are uneven and sparse, and there are no bunkers because they've been abandoned and turned into grass craters.

It is what it is. Wish I could report better news but that would be disingenuous. Maybe someday it would be worth coming back, but next time I'm getting the intel in advance before committing.

When I heard that one of my friend's had booked a good 8am tee time at Cresta Verde earlier in the week for today, I had a few trepidations of course based on prior experience there and other reviews,... Continue »

When I heard that one of my friend's had booked a good 8am tee time at Cresta Verde earlier in the week for today, I had a few trepidations of course based on prior experience there and other reviews, but also thought it's always a good idea to give a course a second chance. A lot can change when you visit a track for the second time with a little local knowledge and some good foreshadowing of what's to come. I won't be giving it a third chance. The bones of this course could actually make it quite fun to play, but the conditions simply don't allow any joy. This could easily be one of those quirky but challenging private courses if the conditions were prime, but it's nowhere near that. It's the Inland Empire's Links at Victoria I reckon at this point, but maybe I just haven't played somewhere worse. Let's at least touch on the positives though. The staff are very kind and gracious, while there was also cart service 2-3x available on the course, which is especially great on a hot Saturday. On the course, the only really decent (perhaps even 'good') part were the greens. They are actually in good shape, roll well at medium-fast speeds and hold good shots with no issues. Unfortunately that's where the accolades abruptly end. There are some very narrow and hilly tee shots at Cresta Verde, so when you hit a nice, long and accurate ball off the tee, you expect to be rewarded with a great lie. But alas, here you won't be. I can't even count how many times I hit good shots only to end up in dirt, rocky patches, or previous divots. You also might want to avoid the toxic dump site left of the fairway on the 15th hole. The rough is pure mayhem and there's just not enough good lies to be found when your shots find their mark. Before discussing other conditions, the carts are archaic with ripped up seats and absolutely no frills, including, in the case of my cart, a steering box that wasn't loosey-goosey all over the place. The cart paths are a total disaster and you'll find yourself in need of a chiropractor after the round with all the bumps and bruises from either the cart paths or ditching them for the fairways with all their mounds and gopher holes. I wasn't in any bunkers all day, and come to think of it, most of the ones I saw were former bunkers that had now been converted into grass areas. Tee boxes were very beat up (we played from the blue tees) and it was a good find when you got a patch of moss to set your ball down for your tee shot. POP was definitely on the slow side as well, but once the sun came up it was a beautiful day so that was the least of our worries. I'd love to say more positives about this place but I just can't. I will say the last three holes, in terms of sheer design, are quite good, and 18 is a very nice closing hole - again, only in design terms, not condition. I would absolutely love to see this place get a million-dollar makeover and come even close to complimenting the design. It's a shame that, at least from the looks of things like the driving range, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Hadn’t played here in many years as the layout and general poor condition kept us away unless as a course of last resort. Was pleasantly surprised to find things have markedly improved. Greens are goo... Continue »

Hadn’t played here in many years as the layout and general poor condition kept us away unless as a course of last resort. Was pleasantly surprised to find things have markedly improved. Greens are good, roll well and quick for the most part. Fairways are hit or miss but seem to be improving. This course smartly has covered up the old sand traps and turned them into grass bunkers. I wish more clubs would do that instead of keeping ill maintained bunkers fill or dirt and rocks. Tee boxes rather chewed up. Price is right at $34 weekday am. Staff was exceptionally friendly. No chance to partake of food or beverages today.

Having a 6:30am tee time, which I knew would still be dark, I thought it would be empty, but when I arrived just before 6am, it was already busy, with quite a few people waiting for the shop to open. ... Continue »

Having a 6:30am tee time, which I knew would still be dark, I thought it would be empty, but when I arrived just before 6am, it was already busy, with quite a few people waiting for the shop to open. Since 6:30am was the first tee time, I was not too concerned, but knew then I would be hitting in dark for the first couple holes. However, thanks to the pro shop being a but slow, did not get checked in until about 6:40, so that helped.

I did not expect much in the way of conditioning, but found many of the fairways to be in remarkably decent shape. Still lots of bare/thin areas, but that's what I expected. The greens were much better than expected, but very slow. Additionally they had a thin layer of sand, so being early & wet, the ball gets covered in the material, so if you forget to wipe the ball off, when you strike the ball, it only travels about 2/3 the distance. Just a pain to have to wipe the ball off after EVERY putt. I found zero sand, so can't really comment about them. Tee boxes were pretty beat up, both in terms of divots, bare spots, and not being level.

Because I know what to expect when I play Cresta Verde, was not all that disappointed, but I think most people would find this course unacceptable. For me, it was cheap, easy to get a first time off, not too far to travel to, and since it had been a while since I played here, a change of pace. But honestly, I would/could not make a steady diet of this course.

In my time, we would call Cresta Verde a goat track. From tee to green, you never know what you will get but it probably won't be good. The fairways were in horrible shape. There were more dirt patche... Continue »

In my time, we would call Cresta Verde a goat track. From tee to green, you never know what you will get but it probably won't be good. The fairways were in horrible shape. There were more dirt patches then grass at times. Wasn't sure if I should wear my golf shoes or hiking boots. The only saving grace the the greens and the area around them. The greens were in perfect shape and the area around them was also in great shape. Speeds were medium fast and ball rolled true. The grounds crews are working on the tee boxes and that was a positive sign, but many were in extremely bad shape. My only suggestion, only play here if the price is right or you can't get a reservation anywhere else.

10/28 using teeoff deal time $23 with an easy 345 POP including waiting on the last 12 holes. Had been at least 20 years since last visited so my memory was foggy and what with houses tree growth onl... Continue »

10/28 using teeoff deal time $23 with an easy 345 POP including waiting on the last 12 holes. Had been at least 20 years since last visited so my memory was foggy and what with houses tree growth only a couple of holes looked vaguely familiar. This is an old course and one of the few of this age still standing unlike Mountain View/Serfus CC or Corona National. The layout is interesting with elevation changes tree line fairways really small greens and compact tee boxes. Check in was very friendly and the pro shop attendant offered to send us out as a 2some since there were openings. Atmosphere is that of a neighborhood coffee shop with an abundance of regulars. As to course conditions if the driving range featured in Tin Cup were a golf course it could very well be Cresta Verde. Fairways are end of summer thin with a few patches of better grass so lies were tight and challenging. Rough is dry and whispy with dirt and weeds beyond that. Lot of ground squirrel and gopher activity mostly along the edges. Tees are beat up but to the course's credit they are repairing some which resulted in markers either move to forward boxes or just placed in front of the box on the down slope. I do not remember seeing any bunkers. Greens are small some with some good slope and medium medium fast speed. Many greens have some invasive grasses--either kikuyu or devil grass--made for a little extra bumps.
There is a driving range, mats only, putting reen is small about the size of a parking spot and also a small area for chipping. Carts are basic and cart paths are in pretty rough shape.
Still had fun and enjoyed the journey back in time.

I played here Thursday, first time in over a year and was very surprised. Course in very good shape and very green. They have removed all bunkers and let the grass grow in them so they play like colle... Continue »

I played here Thursday, first time in over a year and was very surprised. Course in very good shape and very green. They have removed all bunkers and let the grass grow in them so they play like collection areas. Greens were smooth and hard to find any ball marks, players doing a good job of fixing them. Most golfers there were knowledgeable about how to play, didn’t see any hackers. Course is worth more than they charge so keep that a secret.

One of my monthly groups came out of quarantine this weekend and reserved tee times for all 18 of us at Cresta Verde. I had heard things about this course before, and none too flattering. But then I a... Continue »

One of my monthly groups came out of quarantine this weekend and reserved tee times for all 18 of us at Cresta Verde. I had heard things about this course before, and none too flattering. But then I also read from some recent reviews that it was in the best shape they'd ever seen it, so that seemed promising. We all met up in the parking lot ahead of our round because we were encouraged to keep our distance near the clubhouse. Fine. We rode two to a cart, most likely because it was quite busy and there's no way they would have had enough for everyone flying solo, and this is not a great walking course as many of the holes are far from each and require drives across city streets and pathways. I'm going to say some nice things first. The opening hole is actually quite nice and fun. In fact there were a few nice holes out of the 18 that were of fine stature. The greens were mostly in good shape, not all that fast of course, but coverage was good, albeit a bit longer and slower than it should have been. Tee boxes were okay as well but a tad bit beat up. Now, speaking to the layout of this course, well, it's a bit confused. It's almost got a quirky, super tight and weird country club layout to it, but at least the country clubs are in great shape so it makes up for the weirdness. Here it's just weird and mostly bad. Again, some of the fairways were in good shape, but others, like holes 8 and 15, were some muddied up dirt patches and there was a weird smell out of the ooze on the left side of 15. Not ideal. If conditions here were top shelf, you might make an excuse for the bizarre holes, strange elevations and angles, and overall head-scratching feel of the place. Bunkers were not in good shape from what I saw of others hacking their way out of them. Rough was very thin in most places and/or unplayable dirt. Keep it in those parts resembling fairways. But hey, it was open and it was golf so were essentially happy. But it is somewhat terrifying to hear that it's in its best shape right now. As for the other details, they were very adamant after the round that GTFO, which was odd since we wanted to purchase more things and they have been closed for two months, but maybe they have other rules post-virus for a while that I was not aware of at the time. It's just quite a weird place I must say, but some of it is interesting. I think 17 is a pretty cool hole for sure, as are the openers on each nine, but not a lot after that. The par 3s are quite strange as well, but fun enough. Would I go again? Not likely unless in a pinch, but I wish them well as the crowds re-emerge now.

Having been on the disabled list for several weeks, I was looking for a place get back into playing again that looked short and friendly. Chose Cresta Verde as I have never played here before but hea... Continue »

Having been on the disabled list for several weeks, I was looking for a place get back into playing again that looked short and friendly. Chose Cresta Verde as I have never played here before but heard there were some short holes. Got there around 11:30 on a pretty warm Friday afternoon. Paid $24 to ride and went out solo. Judging from the previous reviews, I wasn’t expecting much but still wanted to see for myself. Started out good as holes 1 & 2 were ok and in good shape but the rest of the course was pretty beat up. Weird course and I really did not enjoy it. A lot of elevation changes and there are a couple of holes that are actually kind of cool but not many. Some of the holes are really close to some homes. In fact some of the cart path go within feet of some of the backyards. A lot of bad lies out there and some are in the middle of the fairway. Bunkers were brutal. Hard, packed sand. Greens were really nice however. Smooth and rolled great. How sad though to have nice greens but lousy everything else. With all due respect for those who regularly play here, this one is not for me!