BigEdRover

Coming from Los Angeles, its always so refreshing to visit Mojave for a round. From the moment you walk in you'll get a warm welcome and friendly attitude. If they could figure out a way to get out earlier, ITS NO BIG DEAL. If they can't, you'll get out on time anyway. AND when you catch this course before it gets too hot, you'll experience excellent conditions all around. Never a bad experience here, because they're happy to have you there.

Two Marshalls/Starters on the first hole. If the 11:30 tee time is not on the tee at 11:27, they should be skipped. The 11:40 tee time I was part of was all there and ready, while we sat and witnessed the 11:30 tee time hit the last of their multiple tee shots at 11:39. That already puts us behind 10 minutes. Over the course of a day it puts your whole course behind. As I walked through the 18 holes I really could not see why I had to be there for 5 hours to complete the round. Only reason I could see is mis-management at the first tee.

Kudos to the greenkeeping staff at this desert course. I had avoided Huukan for a few years because I could only recall conditions in the middle of summer. My buddy kept bugging me that we needed to try in the Winter. Boy was he right! Started right on time. Played not a minute more than 4 hours. Plenty of people on the course, but managed starts by the cart man/starter make everyone flow super nicely. Any surface you're supposed to be hitting off is comparative to $200 courses. In other words the fairways, short areas, greens and bunkers were all in fantastic shape. I had a great time and was really impressed with the course conditions.

When I arrived and looked at the first tee, I knew that the parking lot of golf carts was bad news. Sure enough, after a quick check in for my 11:36 tee time I was sent with whoever I needed to share a cart with that day, and we proceeded to the starter. He told us "you'll be starting a little bit behind" Is 18 minutes a little bit? Howd you get to this problem? Why are their 2 fivesomes teeing off ahead of us? I don't play where fivesomes are allowed so I always call head to ask. Yet, it can't be helped that I drove 80 miles to play here, if they lie when you call ahead. Needless to say, 5 hours and 10 minutes later we arrived back at the clubhouse. Interestingly enough at the turn, the starter who was now working in the clubhouse stated "No, there shouldn't be any fivesomes. Where are they?" I said, "Haha, where are they? Look at them they're on 10 tee and 10 fairway." Nothing was done.

Arriving at Rec Park 20-25 minutes early, it immediately looked like a crazy Friday. That was OK though, as my mental state was "even if the round is 5.5 hours, I'll still finish before dark. There were many players already waiting with carts on bags, a full driving range, and scores of walkers. I walked in to a pro shop with NO LINE. I was helped by a SUPER PLEASANT and EFFICIENT starter/cashier. Who took all of 15 seconds to find my Golfnow reservation, let me know I was prepaid, handed my a cart key and receipt. Then, TO MY BIGGEST SURPRISE, we started 3 minutes before our 12:10 TEE TIME! Then, to an even more pleasant surprise, pace of play was so fantastic that we finished in 4 hours 10 minutes!!!! Great day at Rec Park! Greens were medium fast, fairways and rough were green all around with good lies. Sand was decent in most all bunkers (only visited 1). Cleared all my stereotypes from past experiences there.

I thought I had found the perfect tee time for a Wed morning. I CALLED AHEAD and asked how the greens were healing after learning from Greenskeeper.org that they were punched on March 27/28th. In the fairway on the 1st hole I found out that this is not the only AERATED fairway. My playing partners told me that they saw the punching machinery active on the back 9 AS THEY DROVE UP. Turns out 16 of the 18 fairways were aerated all on that day. Playing at 11 am meant the machines were finishing each fairway just as we were approaching each tee, lifting up fresh mud balls, and eliminating any chance for distance or good lies. NO WARNINGS FROM REC PARK before the round or even at check in. NO WARNINGS AND NO HELP from TeeOff, either before the round or upon calling to complain.

Excellent pace for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Never had to wait very long and was mainly playing golf instead of complaining about the group ahead.
Check in was easy and friendly. No attitude and made me feel like a regular. Prices at snack bar/cafe are very reasonable, tasty hot dogs.

I finally benefitted from scheduling errors at Brookside 1. I booked as a single with TeeOFF and got a great deal after the 20% promo, paying only $24.80 with cart at 12:20pm. When arriving I was sent directly to the tee, only to find out that the other Brookside starter had accepted a 4some at 12:20, maybe a walk-up or in-house reservation? No idea. Either way, this meant I got to play by myself. Course was open in front of me and I enjoyed every minute of my 3.5 hour round.
Brookside is doing a good job of keeping a volunteer Marshall on the 1st tee, as there's always arguments about who's next on the tee. Keep that person there at least until a 1/2 hour until twi-light and everyone will continue to start their round without the emotional downfall of having to hit your first shot immediately asserting your tee position.
Now if they could stop overbooking and/or making sure they only have 4 players for time slot, life on the 1st tee would even be greater.

Simple - roll your greens from 18-1 or let your players out on the back 9 and roll from 1-18. Seems like a simple solution to make your reviews better. Instead as a once a year visitor Florida, I'll find another of the 100's of choices to play, and happily pay more for better greens. We were followed by the green roller from 1-4, finally on 5 we said, go ahead and roll this one quickly and we'll let you get ahead of us. "No, I can't go as fast as you." Ok then, how bout you go to 18 and start rolling in reverse order? 'No, Im not allowed." At the turn we pleaded with the starter to a "What it does it matter, the greens are the same either way." Can you please ask him to start rolling the back, and maybe we could play 3-4 greens in their best condition? "No" "That's how he does it". Bummer!!!! I wouldn't care either if I hadn't got to play the 4th green which had been 1/2 rolled. So I putted from one side full of water, debris, bumps and divots from weekend play, to the other side which was 50% faster, very true, debris free, dry, and smooth. That's the memory I left with, still can't figure out the simple lack of logic and disdain for customers who tee off at 7:30 AM on a summer morning to avoid the worst hear.

DeBell continues to care about having great greens. Everyone of the 18 holes was receptive to the correct shots, then fast and true for the putts. I can't think of any local Munis with this combination.
Go and enjoy the layout for what it is. Try and shoot your best and then realize the course is not as easy as you thought.

I decided to take my chances with Empire Lakes on a $22 Hot Deal. Worth every penny of this rate at that time. Yet, that would definitely be my maximum. Greens are still maintained, everything else has been let go. If you close your eyes, its a good track with many blind doglegs and tall mounding. Open them back up and there isn't much to look at.

Been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a Hot Deal at Vellano. So happy I finally did. I had no idea this track was so nice, hard, and well conditioned. Second time around might be a bit easier as at least I'll know where "not" to hit it, but I'll still have to execute. Played from the GOLD tees (tips) and the forced carries into narrow landing areas were awesome, scenic, and provided a great deal of satisfaction when executed. One singular complaint was that there was no one there to monitor pace of play. Called pro-shop to complain about slow group, they addressed it, but group completely ignored it and again delayed completion of round by another 30 minutes. GET WORKING MARSHALLS!

South course is so nicely maintained right now that anything under $40 to rise there is an outstanding deal. So, being able to pay $20 on a Hot Deal is outstanding.
Course was very well maintained, a truly challenging track from thei Blue tees.
Nothing but good stuff.

Finally had a chance to use my Golfnow rewards for a buy 1 get 1 free Hot DEAL. So decided to play somewhere nice for a change. As always called ahead and asked about the conditions of the courses I was booking online. Interestingly, I was told by the golf shop, that even though Golfnow said those were the 2 nines I'd be playing (Stone/Oaks), that wouldn't be happening for the tee time I was booking. Since I never played there I figured id take the chance and play whichever ones they put me on. NOT A GOOD IDEA. The CREEK is a flat resort-style course that doesn't offer much fun, scenery, or any interesting golf holes. You could essentially hit 3 wood from the tips on every hole and still be within 160 yards of the green. Water barely creeps into play on #9.
Thus, you don't get what you pay for and communication between Golfnow and this course needs to improve. DON"T POST ONLINE TIMES THAT YOU CAN"T COMMIT TOO. For what I paid, the STONE/OAKS courses would have barely been worth it.

Whether Chino Creek or Butterfield Stage, I jump on any chance to get amazing riding deals from Golfnow for either track. Yesterday it was Chino Creek for $12 at 10:58 AM. Are you kidding me? Fantastic deal. Where else could you exercise the long game for less than $20. Unfortunately, the only thing missing was a Marshall who could help with the 5some ahead of us and the 4 some behind us continuously hitting into us. Other than that, for a good challenge and a nice day, I always recommend taking advantage of the Hot Deals here.
PS - Pro Shop staff are TRUE GENTLEMEN.. They make everything easy, doable, possible, and get your round started in a great mind-set.