I moved out of California in 2012 but still have friends and family in the state. Now that I live in Dallas it is much easier to visit, at least compared to the trip from Central Virginia!
I had some good golf lined up for Sunday and Monday, but those reviews are coming. Monday’s round was going to be on the 800th golf course that I’ve played, but I needed to squeeze in a quick round on Saturday while visiting family to have all my numbers work out. So, insert Sinaloa Golf Course in Simi Valley!
I parked the car and was on the 1st tee in minutes, even without a tee time. A few groups were out but it was still early enough and most of the crowd didn’t show up until later. I ended up walking/playing in one hour and fifteen minutes, so it worked perfectly given the time I had on Saturday.
Sinaloa is a short course tucked against the side of one of Southern California’s many canyons. The course itself is on flat ground and an easy walk. The 6th/15th is the only hole that has some up and down to it. And, it is a fun little par-3 that is just a flip wedge down the hill.
Every hole here is a par-3, with the distances ranging from 61 to 164 yards, depending on which tees you play. I played the blue tees which are technically the “back nine”. I picked the blues because they play a bit longer than the whites.
The thing that stands out to me about Sinaloa are its clever green complexes. The greens have interesting tongues and curl around bunkers with clean edges. The greens are small and you get a couple narrow ones (the 2nd and 8th, for example), so getting it close with a short iron is no easy task.
Conditions were very nice ($14 walking), with the greens being the highlight of the maintenance. The greens were as good as you’d find on a regulation course – smooth and quick. The tees were a bit beat up and sanded.
One final thing to note is that Dave Axland and Dan Proctor did some work here. They designed Delaware Springs Golf Course (where I live in Texas) and Wild Horse Golf Club (in Nebraska), both of which I think are super courses!
Overall, Sinaloa turned out to be a solid short course with a little character. I enjoyed the walk here and the weather couldn’t have been better.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):