Played 36 here today after a last-minute invite to attend The Kingdom, a special event put on by The King Kollective this weekend. The course is closed to the public for the weekend as a result. (Or I... Continue »

Played 36 here today after a last-minute invite to attend The Kingdom, a special event put on by The King Kollective this weekend. The course is closed to the public for the weekend as a result. (Or I think they said Sunday afternoon public play will resume.) The first round was a three-man shamble with two teams on each hole, and the second was best ball foursomes, with shotgun starts for both. Despite having a buffer of around three holes between each group, the first round was quite slow at around 4.5 hours. We played the second round in a little under 3 hours. Gorgeous day and hotter than I anticipated. Breeze picked up midday but wasn't too bad.

The course is in very good shape. The greens are excellent, medium-fast, smooth, and mostly firm. Full shots hit with lots of spin would stop, but many approaches took a bounce or two before stopping. Fairways are pretty nice, although one type of grass might be right next to another type of grass, and some fairways have some thin/dirt spots. Rough varies from just a little longer than the fairway to some deeper, more penal areas in some areas. I think I was only in one bunker and it had good sand, but I hit a terrible shot anyway. Tee boxes are the lowlight; some are pretty beat up with tons of divots and others are a little better. Wouldn't say any of them are great.

It's always fun to revisit the Goat and see more progress being made to the course. I think someone said in a recent review that's it's the nicest they've ever seen it, and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. The 18th hole is currently under construction and playing to a temporary green, but you can see the permanent green in place and they are building at least three revetted bunkers surrounding it. The green itself looks almost smaller than the old version, which was a pretty small green already, IIRC. Should be a nice finisher when it's done. All in all, a very fun day with breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided, awards, raffles, and lots of great people.

Finally got to play The Goat. My first observation would be - do not walk (which I knew from Mr Weber) unless you are "super" fit. And don't get paired with walkers if you are riding, as it will be a ... Continue »

Finally got to play The Goat. My first observation would be - do not walk (which I knew from Mr Weber) unless you are "super" fit. And don't get paired with walkers if you are riding, as it will be a long round. I left the 2 walkers who were with me (we were first off) after the 2nd hole. I found the layout enjoyable and quite different from any executive courses I have played. What I did not enjoy were the many (and I mean many) awkward side hill and up/down hill lies one gets on this course. Of course that is to be expected on a layout like this, but you need to know how to handle those shots when encountered. Most golfers in S CA don't get this many type of shots in the rounds they play in S CA. And on the par 3's were the cart is not allowed and the hole is an uphill hole (and they have several) it can even be a little difficult walking down the side hills to your ball if you don't hit the green. The course was in good condition. Tee boxes were fine. Fairways were clean/dry and provided good lies and roll. Traps were all clean and playable. Rough was not an issue, but OB areas are plenty. Greens were clean and playable and they putted and chipped fine with good speed of about 9 maybe 10. I was not impressed with the service at check in and will leave it at that. And hole # 18 is under construction and it appears it is a long way from being finished. So it is playing with a temporary green in the fairway at 145 yards and IMO totally destroyed the enjoyment of the round for me. If I lived closer I might play this course maybe once every 2 months. It would not be something I would play on a regular basis. I know they have been working on bringing it back but IMO they have a long way to go. I will read the future reviews and guage my interest accordingly over the next year.

Looking for somewhere to avoid the heat and Goat Hill fit those criteria nicely. Not much changed from when I played here a few weeks ago. Green speeds seemed quicker, and maybe because they had dried... Continue »

Looking for somewhere to avoid the heat and Goat Hill fit those criteria nicely. Not much changed from when I played here a few weeks ago. Green speeds seemed quicker, and maybe because they had dried out faster. Course improves every time I play it. Staff is always pleasant and accommodating. If I lived closer, i would play here more often.

Had not played the Goat for a while so was excited to return and be humbled as usual. Every time I come here, I notice the improvements. I particularly liked the riveted faces on the greenside bunkers... Continue »

Had not played the Goat for a while so was excited to return and be humbled as usual. Every time I come here, I notice the improvements. I particularly liked the riveted faces on the greenside bunkers. Greens were very nice, but since more than half the greens were not mowed, made judging pace was a challenge.

Since we had the first time off, and because of the heavy marine level, we could not really see anything until hole #11. The last thing you need at the Goat is an additional challenge. Fortunately, I have played here enough to have some local knowledge, but still put a damper on the round. (No pun intended )

Always enjoy playing the Goat. While I would not wish to make a steady diet of this course, it certainly keeps your interest the entire round. As I've said before, if you have never played the Goat, I strongly recommend, because you are going to either love it or hate, but you won't leave with an apathetic opinion about the course.

Played Goat Hill Park today for the first time on Saturday 7/29/23. Was going to play it sooner or later, regardless, but received very mixed reviews from y’all and others beforehand. So here’s MY rev... Continue »

Played Goat Hill Park today for the first time on Saturday 7/29/23. Was going to play it sooner or later, regardless, but received very mixed reviews from y’all and others beforehand. So here’s MY review:

It was decent! Course conditions weren’t the BEST I’ve ever seen, but by no means were they bad. Basically average to slightly above average for what you’d expect at a muni (particularly given the fact that it’s a short/executive course).
Sure, it’s a lot of bare areas between tees and fairways/greens, but I’m pretty sure that’s by design, as a water conservation measure. Coverage was fine where it needed to be.

The layout is certainly unique, as there is elevation change on literally every hole. Never seen a course like that. It made for a bit of a redundant layout, as most holes resemble each other, both in yardage and the elevation element.

I played with a couple very nice young gentlemen (looked to be about my age, probably a bit younger). I enjoyed their company, and they seemed to enjoy mine. We teed off around 4:40, and weren’t in a hurry, so we only got in 15 holes (keep your P.O.P. comments to yourselves).

All in all, it was a pleasant experience. There is definitely a chill vibe around the clubhouse and driving range, which some of you had mentioned as a selling point. Would I play there again? Yes. I don’t feel it’s worth the normal green fee rate, but the twilight rate of $37 with a cart is definitely worthwhile, as it starts at 4pm, which is plenty early enough to get in all 18 this time of year. — at Goat Hill Park Golf Course.

Played in our monthly tourney this past Saturday and the conditions are so good right now.

After the rain, mixed with some punching and fertilizing and overseeding, the Goat is probably the best I'... Continue »

Played in our monthly tourney this past Saturday and the conditions are so good right now.

After the rain, mixed with some punching and fertilizing and overseeding, the Goat is probably the best I've seen it in a couple years. It's play firm and fast and that makes for a really, REALLY tough golf course.

I think the greens are absolutely perfect right now. They don't hold particularly well, but I'm a fan of bouncy greens, at the Goat or anywhere. I just think it's fun. But if you play here right now you have to have some serious patience because the ball isn't stopping where you land it and the layout doesn't really lend itself to that kind of golf.

I think if you come to the Goat looking for a challenge, a really cool vibe and some fun golf, it's a 10/10 right now. Just don't look at the scorecard, see par 65 and 4500 yards and think "I'm going career low today!!". Its just not happening.

Great time to play right now.

Loved reading all the recent reviews from the GK outing. It was particularly interesting to read those from people who had not played the Goat previously. While I could not make a steady diet of this... Continue »

Loved reading all the recent reviews from the GK outing. It was particularly interesting to read those from people who had not played the Goat previously. While I could not make a steady diet of this course, I always enjoy playing here. Knowing what to expect, and accepting that I'm going to get some crazy bounces and lies, is just part of the charm,

Looking for someplace which was not going to have frost, the Goat was the best option. As always, staff was great. Not going to say a lot abouit condition, because all the recent reviews said it all. Recommend this course for those who want to experience a different kind of course

I was excited to be able to join the GK crowd at Goat Hill Park celebrating GK’s 20th birthday. I haven’t been able to play much lately and have watched forlornly as GK Plays and Guru outings, and GM/... Continue »

I was excited to be able to join the GK crowd at Goat Hill Park celebrating GK’s 20th birthday. I haven’t been able to play much lately and have watched forlornly as GK Plays and Guru outings, and GM/GK Outings passed me by. It was great to see a lot of old faces again, and to meet some GKers I knew by post and review. And there’s always the need for a hug from Chris (Cpennbo), my literal lifesaver. With limited availability and both of us attending, kviser and I decided to have our GK Cup 19 final match during the outing.

This was my first time at the Goat, having only seen it from the freeway and read some of the reviews. Even after looking it over on Google Earth and seeing many of the comments, I was not prepared for the amount of slope within and between holes – the course is aptly named. Some holes have greens literally hanging on the side of a cliff – see hole 5, and hole 7, and to only a slightly lesser extent holes 6 and 13. The green on hole 17 is not on the edge of a cliff – it’s just a wave-as-you-pass-thru point between the high mound on the left and the cart path at the bottom of the swale.

One of the primary challenges at the Goat is accurately hitting your distances, so that you don’t come up short into one of the sloping swales that take your ball off to another zip code or into a penalty area or brush hazard. This course reminds me of some others in SoCal that are memorable in painful ways. As a mobility-challenged person, courses that have many steep slopes to be negotiated, just to reach some greens, fairways, and tees, are exhausting and treacherous, what I characterize as ‘extreme’ for my game and condition. I harken back to rounds at Champions Club at the Retreat and Hidden Valley GC. Wedged into inhospitable terrain, these courses beat you up while often presenting little or no place to safely play your ball. At some point, quirky becomes just stupid. At the Goat, I got to stupid around hole 6 or 7. Goat Hill Park is the reason I no longer play Hidden Valley.

It’s tough to rate conditions during the winter season, and take into account the ongoing drought in SoCal. Tees were generally fine – level and with adequate cover, except the tee on hole 2 had a lot of past/sanded damage (we played White). I was only in one trap, up against the revetted face on hole 1 greenside, escaping on the third try after try #2 bounced off the face back into the middle of the trap. Other bunkers looked like they had good quantities of sand, and some of the larger/deeper bunkers looked pretty scary. Fairway and rough turf were very spotty and could often be dirt or sand. Some lies in the mown rough between holes were better than that available in the adjacent fairway. Greens were the most consistent aspect of the course and were well-grassed, pretty firm, and mildly receptive. Many greens have significant slope and you need to know how to approach some pin positions. Downhill putts and chips down the slope across the green are treacherous.

Practice facilities at the Goat are fairly extensive, and we saw a lot of people using the practice areas that didn’t appear to have subsequent tee times. The range, while on mats, has spectator seating and some bays are equipped with Trackman-type electronics to view ball trajectories or play golf games. There are 3 putting greens – two are fairly small and flat, but the green on the east end of the practice area is very large and features a good deal of slope, and is much more representative of what you’ll find on the course. The shop is small and focused mainly on Linksoul apparel. An outdoor eating area and firepit seating area promote a relaxed atmosphere before and after the round.

The Goat is not a course that I will hurry back to, especially in current conditions. And it’s not a course I would look forward to playing in a stroke completion, where you MUST go find your ball and play it out. A casual round (or match play) is more amenable to a reload or forget it approach, so company and the course can be better enjoyed.

Recommended as an interesting play, subject to your patience quotient.

Round two of the "border tour" and the event that I built the weekend around.
GK's 20th Bash.
Never one to turn down a party and with golf? Mandatory!
Have heard so much about the course here, I... Continue »

Round two of the "border tour" and the event that I built the weekend around.
GK's 20th Bash.
Never one to turn down a party and with golf? Mandatory!
Have heard so much about the course here, I was anxious to experience it. Sure did live up to the name and then some and my expectations too. You get it all here at my level. Described so well by kvisers review. With Andrews caveats. The good, bad, and the ugly. Playing it down in a GK finals match could not have been easy. Both he and Dave were smiling afterwards. Congrats to the champ D.C.
For example, on a par three with the abyss to the right. Two players in our group hit almost identical shots that landed and rolled onto the fringe one stopped, the other one didn't went OB right downhill after rolling 45 yards. Group in front of us, player pitching from hillside left rolled past pin off green into the same fate. I'd expect the regulars will appreciate when a bunker is restored to hold those shots.
BBQ served up tasty polish dogs, dogleg ale ($6-pint) great. Woody my dog appreciated the dogs welcome kool vibe here.
Living up to it's mantra World Class for the Working Class.
Can't wait to come back and play my wooden three wood again. I pulled from the closet for this event and used it for a rare CTP for a bottle of wine.
Great time Johnny (ie GK's Geoff Ogilvy)