PHehir

Played in a two-day tournament at River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard, CA. While I think the staff are nice and friendly and the pace of play was not too bad for tournament playing, there were some significant problems with the course. First, the driving range is probably the worst in the area. We were hitting on very worn mats, balls need replacing, and you hit into what appears to be a movie set for WWI trenches and bunkering. Tee boxes were very thin and many dried or overused portions. Fairways were inconsistent. However, the poorest conditions were the bunkers. Unfortunately, I hit into many on the two day tourney and they were, simply, terrible. This course is minutes from the beach and yet sand was sparse. We are in the middle of summer yet many were full of mud. Not standing water but mud and wet. While I do not consider myself a bunker whiz, I had so many shots where my club skipped through the ball because there was 1/4 inch of sand on the bottom. At the least, they should take a machine and groom each bunker. It’s embarrassingly bad. Workers caring for the course conditions simply have no pride. While everyone should rake after their shots, there were so many footprints and divots in the sand it was just frustrating. Whoever is maintaining the grounds is definitely not taking care of the bunkers. I will leave it on this point. Unless I had to play in a tournament there, I would not waste my money. Los Robles Greens, Rustic Canyon, Moorpark Country Club are all nearby courses that place the conditions of this course near the bottom. Maybe Camarillo Springs has worse conditions but that is becoming a toss up.

I had some extra time to kill while near Yosemite so I walked over to the course (now called Big Trees Golf Course), to see if the course was open. I was greeted by a person in the "pro shop" that was extremely polite but had absolutely no idea about golf. I had to rent a set of clubs for $17.50 that consisted of a mixed set of beginner clubs with no 8 iron but 2 five woods and 2 4-hybrids. Of course I had to purchase golf balls and tees. It turned out that course was closing the next day but I still paid full price. That would not be a big deal except for the fact that the tee boxes were not mowed, the fairways were spotty, the rough was 8 inches deep as if it had not been trimmed for weeks and, to top it off, the greens had not been mowed or groomed for weeks. I think the stimpmeter would have been about a 2. The greens had a pillow-like feel and SLOW. I do not think the hole location for each green had been changed for days as grass was growing into the top of the cup. Course runs through beautiful forest but course conditions were so bad I spent more time tracking ball then looking at beauty. I lost 2 of 3 golf balls within 10 yards of green simply because the rough was so high around greens. Bunkers were pancake flat sand. Sadly, with some care this course would be fun and challenging. Instead, I paid full price to play a course that was not "up to par." I dislike companies that are trying to save money by not maintaining the course but make patrons pay full rate. "Fool me once, shame on you..."

I took advantage of a wonderful opportunity to play a private course near my home. A typical Monday round for the public to play a private course. When I arrived in the parking lot, I was met by a golf course staff member who proceeded to offer to take my bag and instruct me where the sign in table was and the range. All staff I encountered treated me warmly and professionally. We hit off of golf mats on the range which was unfortunate, although I could see that the range also has a grass option for members.

Our group played from the blue tees and the course is relatively short at about 6200 yards. Tees and greens were very nice. Some holes were well designed and water comes into play on several holes. My big disappointment came from the fairways and some bunkers. While we have a drought, some fairways were soggy. Maybe they were overseeding. Several fairways had very sparse grass areas and several were sectioned off with new sod that was roped off. I normally would not rate so low but the fairways were just bad. Greens were receptive and rolled fairly true to me. Although I played poorly, several of my golf shots that landed in the fairway ended up in divots, uneven grass or mud. Made a tough round even tougher. Overall, the course layout is short and tight but beautiful. The only other negative comment I thought of during the round was that the traffic around the perimeter of the course was constant and loud. The constant traffic noise was also surprising as I expected it to be set away from the "hustle and bustle" of the area. While I would certainly play there again, I would want to check if the fairways were significantly improved if I was going to have to pay for another round.

I have played Tierra Rejada approximately 10 times. The positives are that they have a nice grass range, a number of different tees to play from and the greens are above average. My negatives are that the pace of play can get slow at times. I played recently on a Monday, joined a twosome and within a few holes caught a foursome that were struggling yet playing challenging tees. At the end, the group was probably 3 holes behind. Course can get windy. Course has many holes where if you are off fairway, your ball is in rattlesnake country so you need to hit your targets to score well. Certainly, this is one of the better courses in Ventura County excluding private courses. Pro shop staff don't seem too thrilled to welcome guests but cart persons have been very nice.

Took my son to play here for his first time. Staff members are excellent and very courteous. Greens had been recently sanded so that was disappointing, however, otherwise conditions were excellent. Did not have time to sit down and eat. Drinks from cart person were very over-priced.

If you want to play a beautiful course with a classic look and feel, this course is a must.