The good news is that I have an updated review of the River Ridge Victoria Lakes course, which I hadn't played in a few years.  The bad news is that the rating actually went down a little, which is fairly unusual for me when I've played a golf course as many times as I have this one.  I understand the plight of "mid tier" public golf courses these days in Southern California as a lot seem stuck between staying fully busy (by lowering prices) and trying to over-price things and make profits that way.  Very few golf courses get it right, whereby there is value and good conditioning and/or relatively fast rounds.  Rustic Canyon probably gets my award for that in the SoCal marketplace.  This golf course, however, used to fall in that rare category of balancing it right, but has really fallen into disrepair.  To be fair, their greens are still very good, which I will give credit for and why my rating still keeps the golf course as an average value.  However, the tee boxes are unlevel in many places, devoid of grass in spots and the rough patchy to the point where a golfer can expect only the unexpected.  I hope they are able to rebound with better conditioning and earn their rating back again.

Happy Hallmark Holiday to everybody!!  Now that I officially got to make my annual profession of my undying love for my wife with candy, flowers, dinner and a movie, I can move forward with my wife might call my other love: golf course reviews.

I recently was invited by a friend to go to the Amex PGA tournament in the Palm Springs area and got a chance to go play Cimarron's Boulder course for the first time in 15 years.  It was pretty much how I remembered it, with a little more "growth" in and around the washes and lake, but fairly consistent with my memory.  However, I added a lot more photos to upgrade the review.

It took a year, but we're to the end of the series from the Maui trip taken in January of 2024.  After having it be on my list but keep getting knocked out for various reasons, I finally played the Bay Course at Kapalua on my 5th trip to Maui.  I found it to be pretty similar to how I had heard it was before: lots of good views, a few really good holes and a chunk of holes that are sort of less memorable parts of the journey.  Fortunately, I played well and had a good overall weather day for golf, which led to a pretty positive review.

My first post of 2024 was about a round in Hawaii and how I would do better in 2024 with timely posts.  My update from 2024 was from that same trip and my first post of 2025 will be the last part of that golf trip.

Self assessment would say I did do better than the last year or two on golf course reviews, but that was mainly updating golf courses I've played before and, so, here I am at the end of another year with a similar sized stack of unreviewed golf courses.  In my defense, I did have a kid graduate high school and my wife go back to full-time employment, which gave me a lot of additional domestic roles to accomplish.

So, here's to looking forward to 2025 being a year where I catch up.  For the first time in many moons, I do not have a trip to Bandon Dunes planned and similarly, have no golf trips with my buddies that involve new destinations.  My family vacations will also be repeat visits as well.  So, there might be some new golf course reviews here and there, but not as many as in years past.  So, I should be able to finally get to my 2024 trip to Wisconsin as well as the multitude of updates to various golf course reviews in California I've been sitting on.  Here's to hope, and happy New Year!!

Legacy is something that crosses the mind of most folks as they age, especially as it relates to their children and/or accomplishments.  Although I can't say that this website qualifies as something monumental, it does capture a lot of my memories and golf legacy. 

​For the first time, my son played a golf course and took over duties of the golf course review.  Maui Nui is a golf course I played a very long time ago and only took 3 pictures.  On our 2024 trip, my son played it twice with his cousin, had a great time, and took more pictures at my request.  He didn't know I'd ask him to help write the review, but he did and I'm very appreciative.  Who knows, maybe he'll take up the mantle some day?

Well...the first blog of 2024 started with a re-review of Poipu Bay in Kauai and here in November, I finally return with an updated review of the Wailea Emerald Course in Maui, which I had not played since 2004.

The second half of our trip to these islands was a fun family affair where we joined my sister and her family, and my mom, for a few days in Maui.  As part of that trip, my son and his cousin (two days apart) got to play a lot of golf together after both having really good freshman golf campaigns in high school (my nephew won his individual league championship).  So, it wasn't really a surprise when my nephew crushed me while playing the tips from 400 yards back of me.  It was really fun to watch him and my son get along and play good golf together.  Also, it was an extra treat as my daughter also played with us making it the first time I've got to play golf with all three of those youngsters and it was a day to remember for all.

​Stay tuned as there should be more Hawaiian golf reviews from this nearly one year old trip on the way.

In an ever increasingly cynical world, rife with selfishness and greed, this may end up being my favorite golf related story I'll ever tell.  But, like many epics, this is not a short tale (at least for a blog).  My last post was about being a father proud of his son for almost beating him on a tough day at Pacific Dunes.  This one is about a dream long in coming, perseverance, kindness, and, ultimately joy experienced at Sheep Ranch.

When my daughter was younger, she exhibited strong talent for golf but, like so many others of her generation, struggled with doing anything consistently for 5 hours and, thus, not wanting to embitter her against the game, I begrudgingly stopped pushing her to play it with the hopes that she might pick it up again.  In high school, when given a "choice" of which sport to play, she did just that and ended up playing three years of varsity golf.  It helped that matches were only 9 holes, but I spent three years also helping to build her confidence, pay for lessons and generally give her mental advice as all golfers struggle in that regard.  For my part, I was able to get her to golf with me a handful of times a year and, to my surprise, she told me in November of 2022 that she actually finally enjoyed playing 18 holes with me (once in awhile).

Through three years of high school golf and, sadly, three separate coaches, she struggled to find her groove.  She showed flashes of brilliance, and is actually one of the best lag putters from 30+ feet I know.  However, it always seemed one part of her game would collapse and, although she showed improvement, I know she never put it all together.  We set goals and stretch goals and, in her final match in 2023, she finally achieved her stretch goal we had set for her high school career.  This Bandon trip was (in part) an acknowledgement for my daughter's hard work, who graduated high school the week before and I wanted to give her a chance to play some of the best golf courses in America, with Sheep Ranch being the one golf course I knew set up  well for her game (wide fairways, no bunkers and tough greens that require good lag putting).  We set up that day to be a golf round that my wife, who does not golf, would also walk with us.

Then, fate set in.  As mentioned in part 1 of this series, I hurt my back the afternoon before at Bandon Trails.  By the time I gave up on sleep around 5am, it was looking bad as lifting my right arm was not an option.  Knowing they had a massage center, I called and, of course, they basically said they were booked but that I could walk over there when it opened and see if anybody opened up a slot.  They mentioned that one masseuse, an older lady, only did 1 massage a day but might be willing to help me.  So, I left my sleeping family at 7am (our tee time was at 10:10am) and walked over there.  The receptionist said there was little hope but I asked her to just see if the lady would talk to me.  Around 7:45am she did.  To my surprise, she was indeed older and explained how/why she does one a day.  I basically fell on the mercy of the court, explained my issue and a brief version of this story and she agreed to at least see the extent of the issue and she'd let me know if there was any point in trying.  Sometime between there and getting on the massage table I found out that she shares a first name (Patricia) and an age (undisclosed as I know the rules) as my mother.  This sealed the deal and she took pity on me, found the knot and then proceeded to beat the crap out of me for 30 minutes (in a good way).  By the end, we had discussed much, I had given her my mother's contact information (they eventually exchanged letters) and my back actually felt better as the golf ball sized knot felt more like a pea.  By the time I got back to the room and woke up the family, I could raise my arm again and even give a ginger swing of the golf club.  My trip and plan was saved, thanks to Pat being as close to a selfless angel as I've met in a long time.  I didn't even care if I played well, because I knew my family day was restored.

Now for the payoff to the story.  My back kept feeling better and better.  Although I was visibly bruised and very sore, by the time I got through a couple of golf holes, and a few advil, I could swing easily.  That, combined with a little extra focus, led me to a shocking 75, my low on this golf course.  But, that's the icing on the cake.  The other side story, which might normally be the lead story, is that my son played very well and shot what ended up being his low round with me ever, 85, which, as outlined in a previous blog, only happily lasted for 24 hours.

Then there is my daughter.  After years of effort, training, patience (even when it didn't seem very patient to her), some disappointment, and ultimately perseverance, my golf dream for her came true.  Not only did we get a bluebird day, but she finally found out what it was like to piece it all together for 18 holes.  She broke 100 for the first time, counting all her strokes, joining the ranks of golfers worldwide who dream of that feat.  Not only did she do that, but she crushed that barrier, finishing with a 94.  

I can say that I held it together and didn't cry, but I will also forever say, that my father pride and joy was so strong that I very much wanted to and still want to while writing this.  Having my wife with us that day, encouraging my daughter to focus along the way was also key in this round, as she has been central to helping my daughter grow into the awesome college student she is today. 

This is a great story where the day was saved by an act of kindness from  a stranger, not even knowing how impactful it was, just doing what helpful to another.  Thanks to Pat's help, no matter what happens in the future with our individual golf games or even if we ever go out as a full family to a golf course ever again, nobody can take away from us the joy that exuded from the round of golf played at Sheep Ranch between 10am and 2pm on May 29, 2024.

The last round of my trip this year (but not the last blog of this series) was played in fairly windy conditions (2-3 clubs) at Pacific Dunes.  There is some debate whether this golf course or Bandon Trails is harder, but the latter is usually shielded from the worst of the winds for most of it.  So, I'd weigh in and say, for pure golf course difficulty, I'd give the nod to Coore and Crenshaw for designing the harder golf course day in and day out.  HOWEVER, when the wind blows hard, the tight confines of Pacific Dunes is without a doubt a more difficult test of golf.

Either way, on this trip, I played good golf and broke 80 every time, except here.  However, by the time we were into the back nine, the focus of this day was not on my game, but on watching my son play his best round of golf I've seen.  In the harrowing conditions, he hit solid shot after solid shot and mastered the extraordinarily difficult into the wind stretch from 10 to 13.  It was at that point that the confusing intersection of the feelings of pride and fear set in, realizing that he was beating me for the first time in his life.  That lead stretched a little and by the time we stood on the 16th tee, he was 2 ahead with 3 to play.

You can see my comments on the 16th hole, but I can confidently say that I tried to get my son to lay up here, but he is 15 years old, slightly over-confident, and was hitting it well.  Needless to say, discretion is the better part of valor and, after a long birdie putt from me, the 2 shot lead was gone and I was back on top.  After a very unlucky shot on the 18th from Sam doomed his final hole, I was able to stretch my lead and remain "undefeated" at the age of 47.

However, that "win" meant nothing to me compared to the satisfaction of watching my son play his best golf for 15 holes on a world class golf course, shooting his low round ever with me.  I write this today fully knowing that 47 years old will probably be the last year I live where he doesn't beat me at golf, and there is no fear, only gratitude to be able to play more golf with him as he gets even better.

Before I continue the series on Bandon, I wanted to post on the Open Championship at Royal Troon.  I watched a lot of it because I have played the golf course and enjoy watching professionals play where I have.  I understand their tees are longer, but a lot of the clubs they hit on holes were similar to me. The picture here is from my scorecard in 2009 and I dealt with shifting winds & a little rain, much like the players did in 2024, finding the course very challenging.  I played roughly 12 holes into the wind from the White tees & after a three bogey start, consider the final 15 holes to be one of my greatest rounds compared to difficulty of all time.

My first trip to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort was in April of 2005, when there were just two golf courses on property (Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes).  I've been fortunate enough to be able to go back more than a handful of times, most recently in May of 2024.  I tell folks all the time how much these golf courses have changed over the past 20 years, mostly with regard to the resort making them easier by the removal of a ton of course and other hazards, which also opens up some more expansive ocean views.  In this most recent review of Bandon Dunes, you can see some newer pictures of a few golf holes and a couple of added holes.  In the slideshow above, I show differences between the 2005 and 2024 versions of hole 8 (bunkers removed and moved around over time, fewer trees) and hole12 (removal of gorse/bushes and more fairway room for a bad shot).