Inland Empire Golf Course Reviews
Vellano Country Club Review (closed 2018)Chino Hills, CA
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Vellano Country Club Overview: This semi-private course in the hills of Chino offered many challenging holes and featured a lot of elevation changes. However, none of them were particularly unfair, even though some were severe and punished the errant, aggressive shot. The course also is the only one I remember where the two hardest holes (handicap 1 and 2) are both par threes. Unfortunately, due to a nasty fight between the homeowners association and the golf course owner, this shut down in 2018. The best holes that were, are reviewed below:
Vellano Country Club Hole 1: This dogleg left starts the driver with a choice: cut the corner (coming up short will be a steep angled shot out of rough at best and a penalty stroke at worse) or lay up to the right side. The green is narrow and very deep with left being a big no-no.
Vellano Country Club Hole 1: This dogleg left starts the driver with a choice: cut the corner (coming up short will be a steep angled shot out of rough at best and a penalty stroke at worse) or lay up to the right side. The green is narrow and very deep with left being a big no-no.
Vellano Country Club Hole 2: This might be the only real breather hole on the front where no real danger lurks. The bunkers on the left are 300+ yards (reachable by a big hit if downwind) but there are steep slopes left and right covered in rough so although not ideal, there are really no penalty strokes on this hole, which is unusual for Vellano. The green is also pretty wide open.
Vellano Country Club Hole 4: This is a really nasty par three from pretty much every tee. The green is angled so the back of the left of the green is even with the front of the right. The translation is that distance and accuracy (from over 200 yards) are key to avoid a tricky up and down from a steep lie or pot bunker, or worse.
Vellano Country Club Hole 5: I find this par five to be truly unique. The landing area appears very tight, like a runway cut out of the trees, and this is true. But, if the drive can carry far enough, the fairway really opens up and is more like 100 yards wide with a steep slope on the far end that actually returns balls to the fairway. So, this is almost like the anti-layup hole. For the short-hitter, it might be the hardest golf hole ever. From the fairway the hole turns right and goes uphill to a green that has two defenses. First, it has a big bunker short-left. Secondly, it has a very steep drop off short and right that will make up and down difficult to any front pin placement.
Vellano Country Club Hole 6: A short par four, everything slopes right to left so the player can hit really any club from 7 iron to driver out to the right and, unless it catches trees or bunkers, it will roll down to the middle. Of course, there are more bunkers there and a huge drop off to the left, so the player can't get too greedy. The green is also guarded by one of the deepest bunkers front-left, so avoid that at all costs.
Vellano Country Club Hole 8: This downhill par four has OB right and hazard left. It doesn't take a long drive to leave a mid iron, but the approach is over a series of bunkers, with hazard short of that and a back yard of a large house long and right of the green for the over-correction.
Vellano Country Club Hole 10: The start to the back nine is a shorter version of #8, with an easier tee shot, but much tighter green complex, over a deep canyon.
Vellano Country Club Hole 12: This downhill par five is all about the drive. If it can stay in the fairway, the ball can roll for a a very long time and make going for the green in two quite possible. Of course, anything hit left of the tee is likely to roll right into the trees or out of bounds and there is also OB or more trees right. The green is way downhill and fairly large, but with bunkers surrounding.
Vellano Country Club Hole 13: The player cannot go right on this hole. The left has a big embankment that will send most shots back down near the fairway, which is a much better play than the trees / hazard to the right. The green is narrow and raised, so missing in any direction makes for a tough up and down.
Vellano Country Club Hole 15: The last downhill hole of the day has a cool drive over trees and features a long view of Riverside County. The bunkers on the left are reachable, but anything just right of them is good for the tee shot. The green is pretty wide open and flat to putt, so birdie is out there to be taken.
