The Golf Club of California

Tough but fair course. A treat to play ist makes you this about your shoe off the tee.

I would love to play this more often.

Pros: Unlimited range balls, Good course layout, good pace of play, greens on the course are in good shape.

Cons: the fairways are dry and the practice putting green is under repair

I would still play this course and recommend others play it as well.

I played here a couple months ago and it was in great shape, now it's all but dead. The first green was freshly sodded and other were as well. The fairways were basically dead and rock hard. I get it, water is scarce here right now, but the ponds were still full and the course is dead. This type of course is really punishing with rock hard fairways and environmental areas just beyond. I won't play here again until there is some green grass.

Very enjoyable course to play. The holes are a good balanced between difficult and easy. Wasn't a big fan of the hole that had a sand trap in the middle of the green. Worth the money and the drive.

Fairways are really dry. Combo of summer heat and drought. But the course has GREAT bones. Some of the toughest string of holes in the county. Need some TLC to bring it back to it's early glory. Love the course though. I wish they would reverse the 9's though. The last few holes are great finishing holes. Currently ends on a par 3.

The day I played it was very hot. I had one bottle of water with me which I drank very fast.I was able to refill on hole #7. Shortly thereafter I filled the dry cart ball washer with the water from my bottle thinking I could refill soon,I was so wrong. The only place to get water was back on hole #7.

I played here 6 months ago and the course was in okay condition. It has since taken a dive! About half the greens are under some kind of repair and all of the bunkers are dug up. The lies on the fairway are very tight and there are a lot of rough areas that have lost all grass. The ground overall was hard leading to unpredictable bounces

This used to be one of my favorite tracks to play. The drought has made it difficult for all courses. But when this happens I would hope that the course would look to other areas for improvement. The bunkers are horrible. I do believe that the course is under new management as of a year or two ago. And they have just let it go down hill. It's a shame. It still holds a great layout. Fun elevation changes and the bunker in the middle of the green on a par 3. Hope they can figure it out!!!

We play this course at least 4 times a year

I'd prefer to play in the winter due to lack of irrigation in summer months.

Greens were somewhat rough with dry conditions. Bunkers seemed regular

Fairways decent. Was very disappointed no cart girl while snack bar closed also.

But still a good course to play.

Lastly, every time we play there is an event going on which steals from your golf experience. There not doing enough for the golfing enthusiast

Thank you Golf Club of California for providing a 5 star experience at an affordable price. We were so blessed by this course and look forward to our next visit.

always a pleasure to play this course

Almost perfect. The greens were just a little bumpy.

Played it with my wife on my birthday. Great time and really enjoyed the course.

This course has always impressed me. A well mix of tight and open fairways. Some of the fairways were showing a slight bit of browning but that is normal for this time of year (drought). The greens were immaculate, when chipped into the greens held and they rolled fast and true but had some very tricky reads. Elevation changes where always a challenge and if you don't pay attention to where the creeks are you will find yourself in a wee bit of trouble. The only down spot for the course were the bunkers, they were in dire need of a good racking. It didn't affect me as I got lucky and managed to stay away from them but my partner found 3 of them and they were literally as hard as baked clay. Stay out of the bunkers and you will absolutely love the course. Definitely not a walking course.

There are some narrow fairways and tight lies out here with one hole that has a sandtrap in the middle of the green and tee off down hill.Bring some extra golf balls if you do not hit them straight.This is one of my favorite courses to play because it is so challenging and the views are great too.Greens are in great shape as well are the fairways and tee boxes.The staff is great and so are the people that play here.i will be back soon.And the 19th hole is very nice.

Played the Blues (6502/72.0/132) with Mike, Tom & member James in calm, sunny conditions. We teed off just before noon and played in slightly less than 4 1/2 hours. This course would be very challenging to walk. Like the course layout that features rolling hills where there are few flat holes from tee to green, a + in my book. The tees were well maintained and generally lush. Level with most divots already properly maintained. The fairways were more thin than lush but still had good coverage throughout. The rough was also more thin than lush but also had good coverage. Both okay but a little thin for my taste. The sand traps looked nice, well maintained with medium texture, dark brown sand. Firm and a little thin in places would be the only complaint. The Poa annua greens putted nice, mostly smooth, medium speed. Firm but held well struck irons well. Lighter green in color than most Poa greens, with the Poa blooming they almost look silver tipped depending on the mowers direction. The customer service was excellent, Aaron in the Pro Shop rewarded me for an ace in the last round with certificates for reduced rates here and their sister course, The Golf Club at Rancho California. No drink cart out on the course, but they have a beautiful clubhouse and places on the course you can call and order food/drink for the turn or after the round. It was easier to know where not to hit on certain holes after having seen the course once. There are holes where you can grip it n rip it here, but there are others where conservative is the prudent play. Enjoyed the experience, Definitely recommended.

I booked a tee time there with my son this past Saturday. They hurried us to the first tee ahead of our reservation and after the 4th hole there were 3-5 groups on each hole. I called into the pro shop and asked where the course marshal was. Several other groups went inside at the turn (5 groups on that tee) to complain. Nothing changed and not many people can enjoy a 6 hour round of golf.

Pros

Nice facility

Nice staff

Challenging layout

Good bunkers

Cons

6 hour round (are you kidding me?)

Fairways are lumpy and between winter/summer grasses

Lots of travel between greens and tees on many holes (if people are walking a reason why the round is so long)

Greens were slow (needed to be mowed)

I went inside to speak with someone in the pro shop before I left. The one employee working was on the phone booking a golf outing for someone. After waiting 10 minutes I left as others did. So I called on the phone and asked for a return call which never happened. This should give you an idea how customers are valued.

Closing thoughts

If you want people to come back, make the experience good for them. It appears this course stacks tee times too close together (make more money) and after that you are on your own. They have no course marshal that keeps pace of play moving along. We had groups behind us quit as it took so long. Like me, they all said they wouldn't be back. After no return call I felt obligated to let others know about this course. Don't waste you time on a drive here unless you want a 6 hour weekend round of golf.

Played the Blues (6502/72.0/132) with 140ver & Tom in fairly calm, overcast conditions. We teed off around 6:15 and played behind a couple of regular member groups in slightly less than 4 1/2 hours. Thanks much to the Golf Club of California allowing me to play for $20 as part of their "week of" Birthday promotion.

My 1st time here, had always read good things about this course and only it's being 100+ miles from my home had kept me away. The layout did not disappoint. Good mixture of shorter, medium and longer holes. You HAVE to keep it in the shorter grass here, as nearly every hole is ringed by native grass/bushes that are knee deep/lost ball gone. Tight in places, but not a super tight course overall. Fair immediately came to mind as I was playing this layout, good shots were rewarded, as I had several under par holes. Bad shots were severely penalized, as I also had several blow-up holes. The layout is definitely a plus, loved #7, an elevated, medium length par 3 with a sand trap in the middle of the green.

The course conditions were good overall for this time of year.

The tees were good, lush, well maintained @ a medium length with most divots already properly maintained.

The fairways had good coverage, no bare spots. However, they were much more thin than lush. They were also spreading steer manure on all the fairways, so they will likely soon both smell and look better than they did today.

The rough was also more thin than lush, also with good coverage. I rated both a 6/10 but they could easily both jump into 7/10 range with a good rain because there are no bare areas, just thinner than I prefer.

The sand traps were very well maintained with medium texture, dark brown sand. I found the fairway bunkers to be better to play out of than the green side bunkers, because both were more firm than soft and more thin than thick.

The greens putted nice. Poa annua, mostly smooth, medium speed. Firm but held well struck irons well. Lighter green in color than most green complexes. After playing 36 in the desert putting on Bermuda my 2 prior rounds, had some early 3 putts adjusting, but I thought overall they were better than average for poa annua greens. Their club was hosting Bear Creek for a match today, and our group was chuckling at many of the pin placements. Definitely tournament ready.

One thing I noticed about the course maintenance that I wish all courses attended to better... EVERY single tee box, 5 per hole, had sand bottles to encourage the golfers to fix their divots. The customer service was excellent, Aaron in the Pro Shop had us set up and in line to play shortly after check-in. No drink cart out on the course, but they have a beautiful clubhouse and places on the course you can call and order food/drink for the turn or after the round. Really enjoyed the course and the experience, definitely recommended.

Apparently the course has new owners and they seem to be spending some money. Some of the greens were lightly sanded and the fairways have been aerated. They even had the sprinkler system running on a few holes in the middle of the day. However, compared to past years the greens were extremely slow and not running as well as normal and a lot of the fairways have portions that are really hard and baked out. Hopefully the new owners are working to return this course to it's former self. It may be the best layout in the entire area.

I played at 2:00 pm on a Thursday and the course was not busy. Tees and greens were very good. The fairways had been punched recently and were quite rough, but playable.

A championship layout with elevation changes, great bunking doglegs etc. Not recommended for the high handicapper.

A cart is a must with some long and confusing trips from green to tee.

I paid $23.00 on a Hot Deal twilight rate and it was excellent value for this price.

The course is a minimalist, sustainable course for water conservation so do not expect a lush green venue.