I played CMR on Sat., Mar. 23 at 12:30pm on a beautiful sunny day in San Diego. My opinion of the layout of this course fluctuates from odd to interesting. There are some forced carries, sharp dogle... Continue »

I played CMR on Sat., Mar. 23 at 12:30pm on a beautiful sunny day in San Diego. My opinion of the layout of this course fluctuates from odd to interesting. There are some forced carries, sharp doglegs, a drivable par 4, and plenty of tight-ish holes. I just find back to back par 3s and a short par 5 followed by a beastly 200+ yard par 3 (depends on your tee box) somewhat weird to me. However, there are some risk reward opportunities that makes the course fun. The greens are still healing from the last aeration and should be really good in 1-2 weeks. The tee boxes were mostly decent with a couple of them being not level. Fairways were pretty good overall. Fairway sand traps were very firm with thin coverage and the ones greenside were a little softer. The POP was really good as we finished in about 4.5 hours....I consider that very good for a weekend tee time. I paid $28 which I felt was a good value despite the course still healing from maintenance. The cart girl came around several times.

Played 2/24 11 am. 4.75 hrs. Tyipical weekend p.o.p. But seemed slower. The course is mostly green. They had fertilized the greens and fairways today, so they should be getting even greener. Tees in ... Continue »

Played 2/24 11 am. 4.75 hrs. Tyipical weekend p.o.p. But seemed slower. The course is mostly green. They had fertilized the greens and fairways today, so they should be getting even greener. Tees in good shape, some slightly uneven but nothing too bad. Fairways in good shape. Thin/ dry areas here and there. Greens were in very good shape, but very slow. Much slower then normal. Traps were horible. Little to no sand at all. Good for the fairway bunkers, but extremly difficult around the greens. Even with 2 holes that I hate (6 & 18), I still enjoy this course in the rotation.

Played 12:30PM on 12/06. We chose this course because it was recommended by a friend and at the cost of $32, we figure we couldn't go wrong at that price. Arrive 20 minutes before our tee time so we... Continue »

Played 12:30PM on 12/06. We chose this course because it was recommended by a friend and at the cost of $32, we figure we couldn't go wrong at that price. Arrive 20 minutes before our tee time so we warmed up quickly at the putting green and then few full shots in the hitting bay. They have a netting set up and you get to hit off the artificial mats. Unfortunately, net is set up only about 10 feet in front of you so you cannot tell what type of ball flight you have at all.

This course is definitely not walker friendly. Distance between the holes are ridiculously far apart and driving across many streets.

Layout of the course was pretty interesting. It has moderate elevation changes so I enjoyed the layout. Fairways are narrow for modern standard and there are few doglegs through out the course. Even from the Blue tees (6200 yds), some of the par 3s were 200 yds or longer and up hill. With the ball not traveling as far here compare to Ohio, I had to hit driver on 2 of the par 3's. Tee boxes were level but there were quite bare spots where you could only see dirt patches. Fairways weren't in ideal shape either but adequate. Some of our tee shots ended up on bare patches in the middle of the fairway so we played those area as ground under repair even though it wasn't marked as such. Bunkers were in good shape but there were very little sand so you couldn't play chunk and run. You'll have to just barely get under it or else you club bounced off the floor of the bunker. Greens however were in excellent shape. It was smooth and very consistent. It was also very soft on the top so everything checked up just fine. Great condition of the greens made us less wary of the other minor condition issues. Bottom line, I wouldn't mind playing this course again as long as I'm not paying more than $50. At the current twilight rate, its definitely worth playing but I would not make this course a focus of a golf trip.

We did not see the cart girl not even once and we never saw any bag attendants. Course itself is not a newbie friendly and errant tee shot can easily end up in someone's back yard or their window so be careful.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played 11/22. 9 am 3:45 round. The course is in good condition over all. Fairways are mostly green and soft with a few brown/dry spots here and there. Greens were very good to fantastic. Soft, ... Continue »

Played 11/22. 9 am 3:45 round. The course is in good condition over all. Fairways are mostly green and soft with a few brown/dry spots here and there. Greens were very good to fantastic. Soft, receptive and rolled well at medium fast.
A few spots on the greens were rough, but mostly great.

Good time this week at Carmel Mountain Ranch. Played fast, about 3:45. Greens were good, grass everywhere else was ok. Wish I could have stayed for 36.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
... Continue »

Good time this week at Carmel Mountain Ranch. Played fast, about 3:45. Greens were good, grass everywhere else was ok. Wish I could have stayed for 36.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played yesterday for 40 bucks on golfnow.

I have to agree with the previous poster - the practice green is probably the best in all of SD, with long greens, chipping area and bunker.

The cours... Continue »

Played yesterday for 40 bucks on golfnow.

I have to agree with the previous poster - the practice green is probably the best in all of SD, with long greens, chipping area and bunker.

The course is in so-so condition. I'd give it B- Greens had few divots but were inconsistent with speed - some were really slow, and others fast. It's a good idea to scan the greens for "furyness" (is that a word?) before putting.

The fairways were spotty. Not horrific but you could land in some brown patches.
Layout is great...it does play really short. Plenty of opportunities for eagle putts.

If I had to rank the courses I'd play in the area right now for the 40 dollar range it would be:

1) Vineyards
2) Eagle Crest
3) Carmel Mt Ranch
4) Doubletree

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

I used to play this track on a regular basis when it was first unveiled to the public back in the mid-to-late 1980s, long before the somewhat intrusive housing development took hold and necessitated s... Continue »

I used to play this track on a regular basis when it was first unveiled to the public back in the mid-to-late 1980s, long before the somewhat intrusive housing development took hold and necessitated some design reconfigurations. Despite the homes that abut the golf course, it's still a challenging and entertaining place to play, especially since the conditioning has seen some improvement in recent months.

Level fairway lies are few and far between here at CMR, which only serves to elevate the challenge factor. Dramatic elevation changes and undulating greens are the norm so precise shot placement from the tee and fairway is paramount to posting a good score. Showcasing a varied assortment of holes, which includes four excellent Par 3s, CMR will hold your interest throughout the round. There are a few holes that are somewhat nondescript but if you "look below the surface" you'll appreciate the subtle demands the course architect bred into his design.

Overall, the course was in good shape but certainly not up to the standards seen during its' heyday in 1992-93 when CMR was named one of Southern California's Best 20 Public Courses. The greens were relatively smooth but nowhere near as fast as what used to be the norm. There was a time when a 6-foot putt from above the hole had three-putt written all over it but the present day slower speeds, which I would rate medium+, have now minimized that risk. Still, it's essential to keep the ball below the hole on many of these greens if you want to stay in attack mode. A few putting surfaces showed more ball mark damage than others but it was more of a cosmetic flaw than anything else; they were receptive and held well.

Fairways, for the most part, were good although there were holes where the turf was very thin with some dirt patches. Same could be said for assorted fringe areas as well as isolated spots in the rough. Bunkers were okay but inconsistent, with the sand varying from firm to very hard.

The driving range at the bottom of the hill has been replaced with houses (no surprise) and a "hitting cage" now occupies a small area between the putting green and 18th hole to allow a pre-round warm-up session. I think it looks a bit tacky but the Pro Shop attendant remarked that "it's better than nothing"...and he's probably right. The screen lies about 15 yards in front of each hitting station and the length of the tee is roughly 50 yards or so. It certainly looks like a batting cage but the owners appeared to do the best with what little space was available to work with and made an thoughtful effort to blend it into the staging area.

And speaking of the practice green, I always considered it to be one of the best in San Diego County and that still holds true today. Large in scope, it is slightly sloped to provide a great preview of what to expect on the golf course, although you'll encounter more severe breaks on the course. What stands out is the faster speed, which is close to what things were like nearly 20 years ago. Although CMR is located 30 minutes from home, I find it well worth the drive in order to get in a productive practice session with the putter; the feedback on this practice green is as good as it gets.

Staff was friendly and courteous; cart girl made four stops during our round, including one @ 4:30 or so. Thought that was worth mentioning since some courses call it quits around midday. The pace of play was excellent as our twosome clocked in at 4.5 hours for a very relaxed and unhurried round sandwiched between a couple of threesomes.

Although economic conditions may prevent CMR from ever returning to its' conditioning glory, I was pleased to see that an effort is being made to elevate its' status with regards to other courses in the San Diego area. It's definitely worth playing as it is now...and, to quote Bob Dylan, "that's good enough for me."

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played here on 5/18 for the first time in 3 years and the course was in better than average condition. Greens were smooth and were holding most shots. Fairways were in good condition. The rough was le... Continue »

Played here on 5/18 for the first time in 3 years and the course was in better than average condition. Greens were smooth and were holding most shots. Fairways were in good condition. The rough was less than 3 ". Some of the trap could use a little more sand. Pace of play was around 4 hours. Beverage cart came around 4 times.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

One of my favorite courses - challenging and a good value if you can find a deal on golf now. Don't play this course if you are just starting out - lots of shots over canyons, ravines, blind shots - y... Continue »

One of my favorite courses - challenging and a good value if you can find a deal on golf now. Don't play this course if you are just starting out - lots of shots over canyons, ravines, blind shots - you will definitely lose alot of balls here. And this course has some tighter holes going through housing developments and some longer par 3's. And alot of undulations. Definitely can't walk this course as the distance between some holes is 200-300 meters. Course is always in good shape and the staff is always pleasant. The range is a bit dumb as you can only hit into nets, but the putting and chipping green are fine. Only recently started playing this course and will definitely go back.

Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews