This quirky little course is just off I-15 north of San Diego’s core, more in the suburbs. A non-resident and senior was only thirty-nine dollars, to me this is a great value. The course is quite hilly in places and has a number of nice features, like sloping fairways water hazards and the requisite amount of sand traps. So why am I not raving about this course yet? The staff at the pro shop was barely polite speaking mostly in mono-syllabic replies and really not making you feel welcome. I had followed another man into the pro shop. He inquired if he could get on as a single, basically the same question I was going to ask when it was my turn. The reply was curt; I’ll put you on the list. I spoke up and said I too am a single when you could put out a twosome? He scanned his sheet quickly and said ten o’clock. He wouldn’t take our money, I guess he felt we would leave and he would have our money – not bloody likely. I asked for a logo ball and asked if they had a driving range so I could warm up. Yes and the cost of a small bucket of balls - five dollars. These conversations took place around nine-twenty. I was at the “short game facility” by nine thirty. The area has a couple of chipping greens and a few targets to hit at with your short irons and an area I didn’t see until I was walking out to hit long irons and metal wood into a net. I hit seven balls when our names were called. I was annoyed that I just spent five dollars and never had an opportunity to warm up and now I had to pay my green fee, get my towel wet and get to the first tee because the other men whom we hadn’t met had already teed off. I was now teed off and that is never the way you want to start a golf game. Nevertheless we hustled over to the first tee; the other men introduced themselves and gave us the general direction to hit the ball --straight up the hill. At the second tee we once again re-introduced ourselves. Gene Schwarz and Ray Jones were in one cart and David Scholl and I shared the other cart.
On the next two holes I managed to hit both of my drives out of bounds, I’m starting to think perhaps this wasn’t a good idea to come out and play, being aggravated before the game started, and now three holes later having to take a gut check on my emotions. Holes five and six are par fives; Mr. Jones and I were talking just before the green while watching Gene make a nice chip shot onto the green. He turned to me and said how old do you think Gene is? I had internally figured out I was older than everyone except Gene and I thought he might be in his mid seventies perhaps a little younger. Once again you don’t judge a book by its cover. God bless him, Gene is eighty, robust, and swings a golf club with authority and enthusiasm. If I should be alive at that age I hope to be as vibrant as this man. I should mention that Gene was a former Johnny Carson producer and also was involved in one of the first telecasts of golf. He had told us that one particular tournament the entire purse was $15,000.00. How things have changed.
I hate to be picky, however there really isn’t any excuse for having weeds growing in the sand traps. I don’t know the area so this isn’t criticism just an observation, there appeared to be a flying black beetle infestation, because there certainly were many on the fairways and greens.
My putting woes continue unabated, I managed four pars the entire day, the second par five and three par fours for an adjusted ninety-two.
Would I go back? Not likely until I tried all the other courses in the area. My foursome was great but the course and staff left me cold.

Allan