Rancho California

I finally found some time to post a bit about my latest round of golf. I decided to stay in town and play a local track called The Golf Club at Rancho California. I had practiced a few times here as they do have a rather nice short game area along with a pretty decent range. I noticed that the place looked like it was in pretty good condition, especially compared to the other courses I've played so far.

I didn't play particularly well, shooting 85, though the course wasn't the easiest I've ever played. Part of that was my right elbow giving me some trouble. I originally had issues with it around July and while it will bother me when I first start to warm up it usually goes away and I don't even think about it the rest of the day, however this time was different. I wonder if it may have been due to what I was trying to accomplish with my swing (obviously wrong) and thus the extended trouble. I was definitely doing something different as I was missing to the right instead of left like I usually do.

Despite that, I really liked the course. The first hole is a par five that goes significantly downhill, giving you a nice view of the valley.

The first hole at Rancho California

The third hole was even more pronounced, again giving another terrific view from the tee down to the fairway of this pretty cool par four.

The third hole at Rancho California

While these were the most pronounced elevation changes on the course, the track did have a good bit of change in elevation throughout. One thing that I wasn't ready for was the speed of the greens. I ended up above the hole quite a bit during the round but two time in particular was just absolute death. I had an 8-footer for par that nearly holed out but ended up as a 20-something-footer for bogey. I haven't seen a putt like that in a long time. I found something similar on the last, where I tried to putt from the fringe from about 40 feet and it ended up traveling about 65 instead.

The quick greens didn't bother me, next time I'll be ready for it and just try to remember to stay below the hole. One thing I didn't like were the bunkers, which I had occasion to find a few too many times. They were lacking in the actual sand that a bunker generally requires, leaving me to bounce into a few of those shot no matter how much I tried to adjust for it. I imagine all of the rain we've had was a big reason why they were like that so again I can't be too upset. I'll just see if I can't avoid them when I play it again.

My elbow is doing better now so I think I probably just pushed it a bit too much. I had been going out to hit the range for lunch during the week and then try some more on the weekends whenever the weather allows. If a string of good days comes along I want to take advantage before the next storm front comes through and I probably shouldn't be doing that quite so much. I need to learn to mix in the short game a bit more often. Once the spring and summer comes and the rain becomes a nonfactor I'll be better able to pace myself when it comes to that. I broke down and bought one of these elbow strap thingys, just in case I end up needing it. Will it help? Maybe for healing and recovery, I don't know if it'll really help while I play. Maybe we'll try wearing it the next time I practice and see what happens.

Diamond Valley

Last weekend I ventured back out to the Hemet area to play Diamond Valley Golf Club. Since I had read that this place wasn't located within a housing development I figured it was worth a try. Its a little desolate, there isn't a whole hell of a lot out where the course is, in fact I have no idea where Hemet even was in relation to the course. Still, the views were nice and the course seemed to be in decent shape compared to what I've seen recently.

I played pretty well overall, shooting 80 from the regular tees. The course is a little quirky, which I generally like even when it might cost me a shot or two from the eventual surprises. The greens are huge, like what Rock Springs Ridge was like in Apopka. Perhaps even bigger. They certainly had some undulations, the greens that close out each nine were triple-tiered. They also had several holes where there was a cliff-like effect to the fairways, if you missed to one side or drove through certain areas your ball would be ten, fifteen or even more below the level of the short grass.

One hole on the back, I think it was the 14th, was a short par four that could be considered reachable. The guys that were playing with me said to be careful of going to the right. No problem, my miss is left at the moment so I felt I'd give it a go. I hit it what looked like about ten feet left of my target line but a little high, so I figured I'd be a little short-left of the green. Nope. Seems the left side also had a cliff falloff and it seemed quite severe. My ball ended up pin high but it rolled waaaay left down the hill onto the fairway of the next hole. My lie was horrid though and I pitched over the green, ended up with a bogey. Could have been worse. If I play there again I think I'll just punch a five-iron down the fairway and take my chances that way.

As far as my overall play, I started well. I was 1-over after six holes but ended up with a 41 on the back, going bogey-double-bogey to close the nine. I then started the back bogey-par-double as things just weren't going my way. I had two three-putts, a chunked wedge, and a couple of poor drives that did me no favors. The last six holes I managed to get back on track, going even par the rest of the way to finish 41-39=80 for the day. I birdied the 15th (a bounce back after the aforementioned 14th) and had good chances on 16 and 18 that went begging.

It wasn't the most difficult course despite what some people would consider the tricked-up greens and fall-away fairways, but for the most part you could see what you were getting into. There was a few holes with some water in play that gave the place a little different look from the rest of it but overall I thought it was a fun track. The pace of play, on the other hand, was kinda horrid. We teed off just after noon and finished just as it was starting to get a little dark, nearly five hours. Since some of the holes had more of a desert/waste type rough it could be difficult to find a ball after having it bounce around in there. That seemed to be the issue with the group ahead of us anyway.

So, I don't know if I really made improvements on what I've started. I hit ten greens and a number of those iron shots were pretty good but overall I felt pretty average. Putting was fine, I made the short ones and the two three putts were from quite a distance on these big, undulating greens. Off the tee I had a little more trouble that the last time. I have a feeling I'm releasing the right arm early, trying to cover the ball and get my hands in front as I come into contact. Since I pull it left pretty much every time I miss I'm thinking that needs to be something to address in the next week (as I write this I don't think I'll play tomorrow, possible rain and it could be a bit cooler than I like).

I think next time I play I'll actually try to play somewhere around here if I can get a good enough deal. I'm technically a member of the golf club at The Legends Club Club at Temeku Hills since that is where I was assigned by the SCGA when I got my GHIN number, I'm thinking I oughta play there a couple times. Murrieta itself has two courses, California Oaks Golf Club and The Golf Club at Rancho California. The first one is a short par 70 track within a senior living development of some sort. I've walked up there, from what I've seen its in decent shape. The latter I've seen from the road, its a bit more run down but its a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design so it might have potential.

We'll see what happens next.