Oaks/Lakes at Valley Oaks Golf Club

Quick winter update

Saturday before SBLII

Even with a tournament that started in the morning pace was surprisingly good

Course is mostly dormant with tees and green complexes being overseeded.

Greens were smooth and in good condition. Running medium/slow

Fall update

Greens are in good shape and like many in the area are running quick thanks to favorable temps. Tees are all green with occasional torn up patches and a few unlevel areas. Bunkers are hard with a very thin layer on top. Fairways going/are dormant. Pace was very poor due to tournament and a great special they are running, which resulted in too many players and nowhere to go. 5hrs groan.

Quick update--

Played the Valley and Lakes nines

Tees and fairways have excellent coverage

Bunkers hard with crust and/or wet and/or furrowed

Greens were hit and miss, some were still in good condition while others were very poor with what appeared to be some sort of fungal damage or disease (on the Valley nine in particular) both nines had areas of late summer ball mark damage from unrepaired marks dying in the heat

A rare bump up to four stars for this course that typically rates as an average three compared to other courses in the area. The conditions currently are very good all around and the greens are rolling true and medium speed. Get out and play here before the summer heat affects the course conditions.

A little update after all the storms.

The course is understandably very wet, soggy, muddy in areas and produced the corresponding mud balls.

The tees are all lush and if anything a bit shaggy from not being able to mow.

The fairways are in the worst condition. The combination of traffic (carts were path only the day we played) and still dormant grass has created many areas that were very torn up and had little to no grass. Tee shots hit and stopped.

Bunkers were all wet and many had standing water. Although playing out of the wet packed sand is not difficult, they clearly need work.

The rough was BRUTAL, as the grass was not dormant off the fairways and ranged in length from ankle deep to don't even bother looking for the ball jungle.

Now for the good part.

The greens were as smooth and without any bad patches as I can remember seeing. I was astonished at how few ball marks were evident. Lack of play? Great drainage? I don't know, but they were in fantastic shape. The speed was slow, but a worthy trade off to have that quality on this highly played muni.

Previous reviews apply (always vary on some ratings) Course is in good condition and green everywhere.

Pace of play was poor -- please stop overbooking behind tournaments -- it is no secret that charity tournaments take forever and then selling every time right after them is a recipe for gridlock.

Course is in winter/fall condition, which means dormant fairways with green surrounds and tees being over seeded.

Greens are excellent this time of year like most courses in the area due to weather and lack of play.

I changed my value rating due to the cost. Twilight is after two even in the winter and the 44.50 price is absurd for starting after 1pm on a weekday. There are very good courses nearby that have earlier twilights and better prices. If VO ever figures this out maybe they can lure more out of town play, because the course is worth the drive.

I have played this course a few times over the years. My last visit was not fun at all. We were immediately confused if we playing soccer or golf? Nobody monitored pace of play. The group in front of us was hitting two sometimes three shots from the same location. Groups were jumping around from different holes all day. We notified the Marshall who did nothing. Then we tried to have a beer at the restaurant and got attitude from the cashier. We were paired with a twosome who we didn't know, they were also very disappointed. Bad experience

Tees were good and greens rolled true and fast. Fairways have been allowed to go dry due to the draught. Rough was unpredictable with some really tough conditions and lies possible. Overall it was a good test of ones game. I want to play this course again in the summer when conditions should be better.

Valley Oaks is a fun golf course with 27 holes surrounded by beautiful scenery. While some holes may vary in difficulty others are challenging. Pros and amateurs will enjoy the course's upkeeping.

Course is dormant in most places, good grass on tees and green complexes. The greens are in much better shape than during the summer. They are running quicker and much smoother.

Lakes and valley courses were fun to play. Not to hard but in good shape. First 9 was so slow we waited on every shot. The back 9 was great but by the time we got to 7 it was getting dark. Fun course, good condition but can be slow.

Decent course. Greens on the valley course need some love, a lot of ball marks not cleaned up.

I love the mature oaks and the parkland feel of the course is probably it's best asset. This is your typical muni with average to fair conditions and facilities. The three nines offer a good mix of holes with more emphasis on accuracy over distance. Like much of California they are focusing/reducing water usage. There are brown areas both in, but mostly around, the courses. Overall it is a good option for players whom like to play more than just their home course. We hooked up a great deal on golfnow so even on the weekend the cost was low.

It's the only public course in town so that's obviously taken advantage of. Costs are too high for a course with concrete sand traps, foot golf being played, and guys in jeans & tank tops playing...if you're lucky you'll get a guy with popped collar working in pro shop who will act like you're ruining his day - especially if you book via GolfNow. It's not a terrible course - but they need to pick what they are going to be. An average come screw around or a legitimate golf attire only course with golf ediquit being held as a standard.

Right now it's just make as much money as possible because it's the only course in town. At some point someone should open another course locally and that would change everything. I enjoy playing the courses and can shoot low scores but the other culture issues and prices don't quite match up.

Was a good course the greens were a little rough from people not fixing their divots. Overall good course, friendly staff.

Out of the 3 9 hole courses here definitely recommend you the Lakes Course.