Hidden Valley is a mess right now. He's got crabgrass on several greens and about half the fairways. He is losing the road that connects 1 and 2 and 8 and 9 because of a washout. #7 on the front is ridiculous. If you remember, it is a par 5 dog leg right that goes down the hill and then back up. The fairway has rivers of sand across it. #16 on the back has similar problems - but not quite as bad. If he can't manage the water runoff and the crabgrass the course will end up closing in a few years like Sedgewood. I love the layout though - especially the back 9. From the green on #14 you can see a long way.
We also play Charwood, Northwoods and Linrick several times a year and I like those layouts too. The greens at Charwood are kept up and are really fast. The key is to get out early and beat the crowd. Northwoods is always busy like Linrick, and I can't stand to wait on every single shot. I have not played Oak Hills in a few years but if their greens are bad I won't bother. That leaves us with Indian River or going to Camden, Batesburg, Sumter or St. Matthews. Occasionally we go down to Santee and play Lake Marion or Santee National - have not done that in a few years.
I suppose I could join a Country Club. We pay about $1200-1500 a year to play golf. If I could find a club that we could join for that amount I'd probably do it. But I'm like Groucho Marx, why would I want to join a club that would have me as a member?