ianchin

Both El Prado courses are a little rough around the edges (and this starts with a parking lot that needs repaving), with various bare patches around the fairways and some wild overgrown areas, but the bunkers, greens (and immediate surroundings), and tee boxes are in good condition.

Two interesting layouts and some challenging holes make this the best bang-for-buck course I play in Orange County / San Bernadino / Inland Empire. Walkers pay only $27 w/ Twilight starting at 12PM!

I have been playing at San Dimas occasionally for the last 15 years, and I like the course, and the conditions have always been decent. However, my most recent round there may be my last.

While I expect Friday late morning rounds won't be lightning fast, the pace was horrifying. We started by teeing off 20 minutes on a perfectly sunny day. Hole #1 and #2 generally play slow on this course, a short Par 4, followed by a short Par 3. After the late tee-off, we slowly worked through both holes, arriving at #2 with a group in front of us in the box waiting to hit.

#3 is a Par 5; in experience, this is where groups space themselves out, and the pace becomes normal. That didn't happen this round. We again had to wait as the group in front of us waiting for the group in front of them to clear. This repeated itself on #4, where we caught up to the horror of seeing three groups waiting to hit on the adjacent Par 3, #5. There were 16 golfers, four hitting when we worked past them on #4. We then waited 30+ minutes to hit on #5, realizing we had played just four holes in about 80 minutes after teeing off 20 minutes late.

Pace did pick up slightly, and we completed nine holes in 2:45 minutes, but none of us bothered to continue when we saw three groups waiting at #10. The kicker was when we approached the staff at the temporary clubhouse only to be told this was normal.

San Dimas has a burnt-down clubhouse, portapotties, and 5+ hour "normal" rounds now, and won't ever get my business again.

Deep off the 15 in Norco, Hidden Valley is a pretty course, in good shape, with elevation changes and challenges throughout.

As a first time player here, I found the greens to be hard and slick. There are a number of holes where you're hitting into blind landings spots and greens. I can't recall the last time I lost 2 balls in a round of golf and I lost 4 playing here.

The only disappointing item was that they don't allow walking and pair everyone up in carts. I won't play here again until that either changes *or* we're past the pandemic.

I'm not a big hitter but had to club down to woods and long irons on about half the holes due to doglegs and elevation. Very interesting layout but probably *not* for your weekend hacker. Target golf from tee to green.

The overall conditions were great. The tee boxes and fairways were well kept, and with the exception of one hole, the greens in good shape (though the greens speed was somewhat inconsistent from hole to hole).

As a past member of this course I've must have played it over 200 times. It's a absolute gem in Orange County with great playing conditions, the best range/practice facility within 10 miles, and a service first staff.

The course itself is nice. It's in the middle of Irvine but you'll never see a house or building outside of the grounds. It's not a overly difficult course. Very forgiving (soft) greens and a layout that rewards distance off the tee. I've never had a issue with pace early in the day, though afternoons tend to run on the slow side.