Played today 2/23
First, sometimes things get overlooked due to the price being reasonable for Orange County. At $70 + per person, it offers very little bang for the buck. Numerous dead spots on the greens, grainy/grabby dormant Bermuda fairways and collars they are trying too hard to keep green. We quit after 6 holes due to the pace of play and the conditions.
USed to be a heck of a course to play 3+ years ago, with firm/fast conditions and nice greens.
Now? Just another Southern California, over watered, cheaply maintained mud fest.
Wonder why golf is struggling? Over priced, and too much time. Sums up our experience.

Played Pelican South 2/17
If you see my review of the North, you can just repeat it.
I am rating this based on the pricing for this course. I can pay for parking at the public beach next door and get the same views.
The fairways were long, shaggy, and way too wet. Mud on golf balls was way too frequent. The greens were lightly topdressed, but still managed to be so bumpy that we were giving 3 footers in our matches. If I hit enough bunker shots from the bunker on #11 I was in, the bounce on my wedge would change, it was like a cart path.
Pace of play was a joke. They never told us there was a ten group outing ahead of us, and it took us 5 1/2 hours to play 17 holes, only seeing a course marshall when he retrieved the closest to the pin sign on 16!

Check in help was useless, but the girl in the shop was very helpful when I was looking for a jacket. Same guy at counter was useless when my client was buying a Callaway driver.
COnsidering lunch at the resort is an expensive but wonderful experience, it's hard to believe that the same resort can offer the golf experience that is so bad at the prices they ask for.
My client, who is a frequent visitor to Laguna/Newport has finally told me we won't return.

Played Pelican North today (11am tee time). My review is based on the cost ($610 for 2 of us).
I simply cannot get past that price, and my expectations are high at that number.
The range was on a mat that was very hard, with lots of shock. 1/2 the balls were lousy.
On #1, I hit a good drive and had 230 to the front. Had mud on my ball, which became a trend throughout the day. We had showers the night before, but obviously the irrigation was still on last night based on the the telltale signs around the heads.
Greens were decent, but again, for the cost, only fair. Bumpy at times and inconsistent speeds.
The (going) dormant fairways are muddy and very thatchy, grabbing clubs and producing divots that are hard to describe, more like mud volcano explosions at times.
The service and food in the resort is incredible. The quality of the golf experience, falls FAR short of the price tag.