Temecula Creek Inn Golf Review

When you live in Los Angeles, you tend to get very geocentric in your golf adventures. If you fall into that trap, you miss out on all the great courses in Simi Valley, Ventura County and all the Orange County and San Diego County courses.

An oft neglected region in the LA golfer's eyes is the Temecula Valley is typically known for its vineyards but which also has 6 really good courses, perhaps topping them all is the Temecula Creek Inn course which has 3 distinct 9s you can play. I ended up playing the Oaks and the super tough Stonehouse courses to round out my 18 holes.

The Oaks 9 is a straightforward but pretty parkland nine with disguised swales and some elevation changes that keeps each hole fresh unlike most parkland courses. The biggest thing about Oaks is the prominence of the mountains surrounding Temecula. Not only are they beautiful but you have to be mindful on the greens which way the green breaks to the mountain.

Temecula Creek is not an overly long course (the tips clock in at 6,700+ yards) and where it the course continues testing you is by having a lot of greens be higher than the fairway. So many shots to uphill greens on this course!

Oaks also has one of the most beguiling par 3's I have ever played. The green at about 160 yards sits between two lakes with the front side being no more than 15 yards across but the green goes back at least 30 yards. It is a crazy, dangerous and fun hole and makes the Oaks worth it just on its own.

The "back" 9 for me was the Stonehouse 9 which has a crazy amount of elevation gains and losses, blind shots, elevated greens and creeks make it for a really challenging 9. The hazards also pick up the pace with trees placed in interesting places on the fairway.

The bunkering also picks up the pace with a lot more sand traps both placed and artfully crafted on the Stonehouse 9.

And elevated greens? You betcha.

The greens rolled true although speeds varied throughout the day and I wished the patrons would fix their ballmarks a bit more on the greens. The rest of the course was in very good shape which makes sense given all the rain we have had in SoCal during the winter.

 My only criticism of Stonehouse is that it is a bit too severe in places but nearly as much as other courses in the area like Champions Club and the scales weigh more on the fun side of the ledger than penal.

Overall I am super happy I played at Temecula Creek, they have a really fun parkland course that gives you great views and gets you into a relaxed state of being which is rare on a golf course. Check it out and grab yourself a bottle of wine while you are in the area!

For more information on Temecula Creek Inn check out this link: https://www.temeculacreekinn.com/golf/