Tierra Rejada Golf Club (Moorpark, CA on 11/22/15)

Our Sunday afternoon round was at Tierra Rejada, which isn’t more than 10 minutes from Rustic Canyon. I made my usual wrong turn so it took us about 15 minutes, but we still had time to grab some lunch. Leading up to the trip, I was very excited to get a chance to play Tierra Rejada. The course looks stunning online and it was designed by Bob Cupp, who has worked on some of my all-time favorite courses!

If you haven’t played any golf in the area, then Tierra Rejada will give you some good exposure to Southern California’s terrain. The course is what I would call a canyon layout with holes along hills, in little valleys, and even a couple on top of a small ridgeline! There’s no shortage of postcard views with all the mountains and water features that add a resort feel to some of the course. The front nine is longer, playing as a par 37, and has a nice mix of canyon and ridgeline holes. Most of your nice views will be on the front as that is the highest part of the property. For comparison, the front nine reminded me of The Ranch Golf Club in San Jose. The back nine, with a par of 35, plays almost 500 yards shorter and is less spectacular. Many of the holes on the back nine criss-cross a hillside which means you might be able to find a stray shot. Most of the water features are on the back nine so it still can yield some nice photos! Both nines have lots of elevation change which kept me guessing which club to hit.

The course is a par 72 with five par 5’s and five par 3’s, which is something I personally enjoy! We played the championship tees which are 6557/70.6/129 and I’m surprised that the rating and slope aren’t higher considering that the course features a bunch of target golf and has narrow, severely sloping fairways. Plus, there are some blind shots. Because the course is so tight if you are a little off with the drives then it will be a long day with all the lost ball trouble. I drove the ball great and the course was playing firm so I put together a good score. However, I wouldn’t expect too many handicap lowering rounds at Tierra Rejada unless you can put the ball in play. If you can find the fairways then you have the chance to score well! Many of the green complexes have backstops and sideboards that allow for creativity. I loved this aspect of the design! I played away from the pin a couple times chipping and watched the ball get closer and closer. Try to use these slopes to your advantage!

There’s no shortage of memorable holes at Tierra Rejada! In fact some of them may even be controversial within your foursome. The most talked about holes are probably going to the 7th and 8th which are on top of a ridgeline. The 7th is a beautiful, short par 3 with a green that perched on the edge of a cliff that rings around the green short, left, and long. I’d call it a classic risk/reward short par 3. The 8th, a short par 4, is another signature hole and drops over 100 feet to a skinny fairway. The bigger hitters could probably drive the drive, but it is a small target. Heck, hitting that fairway with a mid-iron is a great shot! It wasn’t the most playable hole, but it had me thinking hard. On the back nine my favorite hole was the 17th which is downhill, 105 yard par 3 with a small green. It looked like you could throw the ball onto the green! I’ve read comments of folks who don’t like it because it seems squished onto the property. That’s true, but I wish every course had a really short par 3 like this one.

I mentioned that the course looks great online. It looks great in person too because of the setting, but my friend and I agreed that the drought has hit Tierra Rejada pretty hard, especially affecting the aesthetics. As you’ll see in my pictures, there is a lot of brown. I would love to have seen the course pre-drought with more green grass contrasting against the mountains and water features! The fairways didn’t look good at all because they were dried out, but they were functional and I only ended up with a couple so so lies. The greens were the highlight of the maintenance! They looked beautiful, had great color, and very few ball marks. They were smooth as could be and on the quick side.

We paid $55 to ride and that is about the max that I would pay. For that price I’m glad we played here and would recommend it, especially for someone to enjoy the views and all the brilliant par 3’s. The rack rate on the weekend is nearly $100 which would be too steep for me. Tierra Rejada is located right off the freeway and very close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. If you are in town to do some sightseeing and have the clubs then I’d suggest keeping this one in mind!

#1 (580 yard par 5):