Ever since being diagnosed with a malignant melanoma, and having surgery to remove it (thankfully, it had not spread), I have been a bit paranoid (truly, in the clinical sense) of being out in the sun and risking triggering another cancer. However, I find it hard to stay away from the golf course.
I learned to play here - at the tender age of 46 - and used to play Simi Hills a LOT . . . and I do mean a lot. I could play this course in the dark. Actually, I have - with glow balls. I easily recognized the picture of the cart path as leading up from the tee on number 5, for instance. However, I haven't played here much since becoming a father 9 years ago, until yesterday.
Though I haven't played in a while, I did take advantage of the practice facilities during the summer because, with the kids out of school and sleeping late, I could get up early and avoid most of the sun. This is possible in part because the driving range, which is quite nice, sits next to a hill and the east side of it remains in shade for a couple of hours after sunrise.
There's also a small chipping area (which is sometimes a bit overgrown and never quite like a real green, but useful for practicing this part of your short game), and a reasonably large practice green. My main complaint about the green is it's too flat and not very challenging. There's also a practice bunker off the entrance drive, but it's so far from the clubhouse I've never used it. They used to have a practice bunker at the far end of the driving range, but I'm not sure it's still there. It was reserved primarily for teaching pros and their students anyway.
Using their online booking system I reserved a tee time for 3:00, reasoning that sunscreen, hat, turned-up collar, and moving to the shade often would keep me from too much exposure to the sun's rays. I played with two former colleagues and a single who joined us. Overall, the course was in excellent condition, though late in the day the greens tend to get a little bumpy after all the activity they see.
After years of management by American Golf, I'm happy the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District has taken over the course. They've done a good job of maintaining it. Hole number six, which had been the number one handicap hole, had one of he nicest greens on the course and had deteriorated dramatically. Since I was last on the front nine, the hole has been redesigned by the addition of a large fairway bunker, moving some of the tees up a bit closer, and adding at least one level and some undulation to what was always a fairly ample green. The green was in great shape as well.
On the 16th hole, a slightly downhill dogleg right, we had a pretty large gallery of rabbits sitting out-of-bounds to the right, a doe and two adolescent fawns (I uploaded a picture of them) grazing down by the green, and a mother duck leading four large ducklings as they waddled across the green . . . forcing one of my playing partners to wait before pitching onto the green.
All-in-all, Simi Hills is a nice, challenging yet fair golf course; perfect for most golfers looking to have a fun round without spending an arm and a leg. read more