Bruination

We played here in the heat of August, a few days after the Hurricane/Tropical Storm blew through the valley. Surprisingly, the course was in pretty good shape considering -- though there were a couple of new "lakes" on the front nine. There were a few rough spots here and there and on a couple of greens, but overall, I really liked the track, enjoyed my round and will definitely play it again. The signature peninsula hole and the island green back to back are great holes for a closing stretch. TIP: Bring a Cooler! No cart girls were there the day we played. Fortunately, we had a fully stocked cooler that we emptied over 18.

This course is in a newer development in the west valley and is only a few years old. It features several scenic holes and a magnificent finishing signature hole that includes a 220 -yard carry over a lake from an elevated tee. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this course, which has a wonderful desert layout -- with one exception -- the course had just re-opened after over-seeding and was cart-path only. This course was not meant to be played cart-path only. I walked more, being restricted to the cart path, than I think I have ever before with a cart. The pace of play was impacted by this, but not as and as I thought it would be. I think our round lasted about 4 hours and 10 minutes on a Friday morning. Overall, the cause was in great shape. The greens were a tad on the furry side and a bit slower than your typical desert course greens, but they were fair and true. I totally recommend this course. It is a fun track and I will be back to play it again -- just not when it is cart path only.

After lamenting the poor conditions at nearby Blacklake Golf Resort, which we had played the day before on 2-day golf getaway from SoCal, we were pleasantly surprised to find this gem of a course. The weather was perfect and we had a great morning of golf. The course was in good condition. The greens ran true. Note: It is a LINKS course, which means blind shots and target golf. You can't see every green from every tee. That noted, it is a fun, but challenging layout. Fortunately, the Starter gave us tips for some of those holes, as it was our first-time playing here. All the staff we dealt with were very friendly and helpful. I'm looking forward to another round when back on the central coast.

I returned to this golf course with fond memories of over a quarter-century ago, when this was one of my favorite tracks to play on the Central Coast. The wonderful layout is still there, but unfortunately, the course conditions have degraded dramatically. It seems to have fallen on hard times, due to poor greenskeeping of the course. We played the Lakes/Canyon, which was my favorite track. Several Tee boxes were in bad shape and quite uneven. Worse still, several greens had weeds growing in them and were extremely furry. It was sad to see (and play) what was at one time a premiere golf destination. It needs an infusion of cash and love to bring it back to where it needs to be.