played sanjuanhills back 9 this morning. I had fun. Good price for a sunday back 9 only $23.

They are trying to get the tee boxes fixed up so all the tees on the back [and probably the front] are pushed all the way to the very front of the box. [Reds/Whites/Blues all stacked up]

These areas are getting pretty beat up but I think it is a small price to pay once a year to get the tee boxes in good shape after the long summer.

Here is your chance to get a crack at San Juan with the easiest tee placements ever. Didn't help me any, still found all the usual trouble - had fun though. Greens are in great shape, fairways are just fine with a few patches that they are working on.

Always a good value and great service here. The starter told me about a tournament next sunday so the early morning back 9 wont be available on the 29th - I appreciate that heads up, it's always a drag to show up for a round and 200 groups are lined up in front of you - saved me a panicked rush to Shorecliffs!

I played Strawberry Farms this morning and really enjoyed it. Played like hell but I cant blame the course for that. They have an early morning back 9 special. $40 dollars to walk with a free breakfast. Teed off at around 645am and walked off of 18 at 835am.

$40 is about twice as much as I am used to paying for a back 9 rate [san juan = $18 / El Toro = $18 / San clemente Muni $17] But I think it was worth it.

If you are a walker, the back 9 is pretty nice. It was a bit of a hike to get to the 10th tee but after that it was easy. Very peaceful out there in the morning. The starters looked at me like I was nuts, I guess nobody walks anymore.

The course was in tip top shape. Greens were in great shape, very firm. Teeboxes are big, clean and set up nicely. Fairways were plush and draining well as the morning went on. Bunkers were a bit heavy with the morning moisture but everything looked great. The crews were out cutting the greens and were very concerned about the players. They always stopped what they were doing and allowed me to play up and putt - machines off and standing motionless. I sometimes prefer it when they continue working because it gives me a built in excuse... not today though. One guy saw me 3 putt three consecutive holes.

The breakfast deal is awesome! They hand you the menu and it is pretty much whatever you want...Free. [within reason I suppose]. If you are a HOG like me, you can stretch out that 40 dollar green fee quite a bit. Great food and service. 10 cups of coffee later I was ready to go to work.

Complaints? Hmmmmm.... I guess I could have used a scorecard with some hole layouts on it. I have only played here once before and it was at a tournament 2 years ago where I got pretty drunk. I had no idea how the holes laid out and do not recall seeing any monuments up by the tee boxes. Hit quite a few shots into trouble without realizing it. The website has a fantastic hole by hole layout which i will study before my next outing.

A great time... treat yourself to a round here if you are an early morning person. If you join their players club the rate goes down to $35 with cart! Not bad.

Played the back 9 on Tuesday morning 11/15/2005. It was pretty cold at sunrise but warmed up quickly. Saw some guys teeing off on the front at a few minutes past 6am. Dudes were sprinting up the fairway! LOL. SJH is great about getting you out really early if you are pressed for time. The starter is one of the nicest guys I have ever dealt with at any course.

The course is pretty thick right now, lots of growth from the overseeding. Heaviest rough I have seen in my 3 years of playing here - but still very well groomed and no real muddy spots to deal with. Fairways in very very good condition.

The staff has done about all they can do to get the greens in top shape. They were rolling true and were pretty much perfect with one exception - ball marks!!

I counted 5 on one hole that were just simply left unpatched! Come on people - I have to putt over those things and I never get it close so it really affects my game. Unless they hire kids to sit by the green and fix the ballmarks for us, it won't ever get better. Fix your ballmarks - don't be lazy! Didn't your Grampa teach you when you were a kid?

Bunkers were pristine with new sand. Trust me - I was in 3 of them.

Tee boxes in above average condition. Probably my only complaint with SJH is the tee boxes. They are usually pretty beat up and bumpy, not to mention slanted in many cases. [Are they trying to make me slice it into those houses down there!?]. They did a ton of work over the last 3 months to try and improve the tee boxes and it shows. I know they completely redid 16, they also had 13 and 14 closed for a while. All are back in production and seem to be holding up much better.

18bucks to walk 9 holes, finished by 830am and then fly in to work. A great deal. If you are dying to play, but have no time - this is the best "dawn patrol" deal in orange county.

I will definitely be back - we play there 2-4 times per month.

Tried Shorecliffs for the first time last week and was pleasantly surprised. I had heard a lot of bad press about this course but it seems like they have been working hard to make improvements. I did the 9 holes for $15 early bird special - Cart and breakfast included. It was the greasiest egg sandwich I have ever eaten - delicious! I regularly play early morning back nines at El Toro, San Clemente Municipal, San Juan Hills and Aliso Viejo. I found this course to be the best value - especially if you need the cart.

Lumpy tee boxes and some bald spots around the perimeter of the greens were my only complaints, but for $15 you can't be too picky. It looks like they are doing some work on a few of the holes so I expect play to only get better. New sand traps and trees were going in on #15.

The front nine was closed down until 8am so the back nine crowd got mixed in with the folks who were playing 18, even with 4 groups in front of us, we got through 9 holes in 90 minutes with very little waiting. You may want to call ahead if you need to tee off before 630.

Definitely worth a shot if you are a cheapskate who is not satisfied with executive courses. It is also lots of fun to drive the cart through 3 feet of water, which you will need to do to get from hole to hole because the course is connected via storm channels! A true golf adventure.

Call ahead if you have never been there because there is no way to get to this course from the 5 freeway! It is maddening because you can see about 4 differen fairways from the freeway but no exit will take you there. You have to take PCH or something, I got totally lost.