I played a senior team match at Cottonwood (Ivanhoe) on May 31 and was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the course. I last played the course in October, 2012, and the course was not in great ... Continue »

I played a senior team match at Cottonwood (Ivanhoe) on May 31 and was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the course. I last played the course in October, 2012, and the course was not in great shape. Now it is in good shape with nice fairways and greens. The food in the 19th Hole was very good. If you have stayed away from Cottonwood because of the bad reviews the course has received, revisit the course. It's now in much better condition.
You will enjoy your round.

This is the first time I've played here in a year. Not worth the drive from Oceanside. The greens are very slooooow and bumpy but did "hold" the shots. The fairways/rough are typical winter condition,... Continue »

This is the first time I've played here in a year. Not worth the drive from Oceanside. The greens are very slooooow and bumpy but did "hold" the shots. The fairways/rough are typical winter condition, thin with lots of bare spots. Sand traps are terrible, hard packed sand. Pace of play was the only good thing to report!

Played in threesome at 8:45 AM on a Saturday.

We were stuck behind a 5-some for our entire 5 1/2 hour round. There was no one was ahead of them but our group and another foursome behind us were... Continue »

Played in threesome at 8:45 AM on a Saturday.

We were stuck behind a 5-some for our entire 5 1/2 hour round. There was no one was ahead of them but our group and another foursome behind us were stuck behind them for the entire round. The starter and the front desk didn't seemed too concerned by their slow play. They seemed to be part of the "Old Boys Club". We never saw a Marshall all day.

Course was in good condition, but it was SO SLOW!!!!

Cottonwood Golf Club Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Was first off this morning by myself, so pace was not an issue. Zipped around the course quickly, which was nice. Otherwise, it seems these courses get plenty of traffic, so I could imagine the pace c... Continue »

Was first off this morning by myself, so pace was not an issue. Zipped around the course quickly, which was nice. Otherwise, it seems these courses get plenty of traffic, so I could imagine the pace could be quite slow if you tee off at the wrong time.

Based on all the GK reviews, I wasn't expecting too much out of this course, but it is what it is. It's a decent value as it seems like they have a lot of deals throughout the week. The conditions were that of an average muni, but solid overall. The greens looked a little beat up visually, but they played fine. The surface was medium speed, but smooth. Soft and receptive on approaches. The fairways were pretty good for the most part. Some patchy/thin areas here and there, but overall lush enough. The rough was a bit more hit and miss. Some areas were thick and lush, others were patchy and clumpy and others were plain dirt/mud. Tee boxes mostly level, never hard to find a decent place to tee it up. I didn't hit into any sand traps and there really aren't that many on the course. The sand in them looked decent, but they were horribly maintained. Lots of lumps, footprints, etc. I couldn't blame the people in front of me since I was first off, so the staff could do a better job of preparing the traps at least at the beginning of the day.

The layout is nothing too spectacular. Pretty flat overall with plenty of trees. Some funky holes like #14 where you basically have to hit over some trees to have any shot at the fairway. A little ravine runs through a few holes on the course to mix things up. Otherwise, it's nothing too noteworthy. The back nine is a little more scenic and interesting than the front. The staff was friendly and it seemed like mostly regulars out there for an old school vibe around the clubhouse.

Cottonwood Golf Club Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

I don't expect much from this course but wow were the greens bad. Rolled super slow, bumpy, and infested with crabgrass. Most of the sand bunkers were solid as a rock. The only bright side is they... Continue »

I don't expect much from this course but wow were the greens bad. Rolled super slow, bumpy, and infested with crabgrass. Most of the sand bunkers were solid as a rock. The only bright side is they charged $29 for you to suffer through a round. I think the only reason people go there is management only hires good looking girls so leave the clubs at home and go there for there good food.

Cottonwood Golf Club Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played here today. Not that enjoyable. First course conditions: Range signs ask you not to hit anything over 200 yards. Some greens were a little beat up. There was really no rough. Fairways were... Continue »

Played here today. Not that enjoyable. First course conditions: Range signs ask you not to hit anything over 200 yards. Some greens were a little beat up. There was really no rough. Fairways were not consistent and covered in clovers and different types of grass. I was only in 1 bunker; it had it's fair share of rocks, but wasn't packed.

Now the real problem. It was very busy and there were long delays on every hole. There were 3 fivesomes just a few groups ahead of us causing the slow play. When there are this many people on the course, fivesomes shouldn't be allowed. My round took around 5 and 1/2 hours and made for an entirely too long of day, especially on a mediocre course.

Cottonwood Golf Club Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played 9/1 for the first time. Greens seemed to be slow but receptive to shots. Grass surrounding the green was lush and sticky. Fairways were bare in spots and tee boxes had same issue. One nice ... Continue »

Played 9/1 for the first time. Greens seemed to be slow but receptive to shots. Grass surrounding the green was lush and sticky. Fairways were bare in spots and tee boxes had same issue. One nice feature at the clubhouse is you can drive up between the ninth and tenth holes and get you food and drinks without having to run inside.

For the money, it is OK.

Played Cottonwood Ivanhoe today 5/19/11. I noticed there haven't been many reviews here. This is a pretty good old school golf course. There is nothing fancy about it and there is nothing tricky ab... Continue »

Played Cottonwood Ivanhoe today 5/19/11. I noticed there haven't been many reviews here. This is a pretty good old school golf course. There is nothing fancy about it and there is nothing tricky about it. I enjoy playing here because of the layout and the green conditions are usually pretty good. They punched here a little over 3 weeks ago and the conditions are coming along. They were a little bumpy but not too bad. One more week and they should be good to go. There are some good deals to be had out here also. We played a 2-some for $40 with our ilovegolfdeals.com coupon. They have two separate courses at cottonwood so you have some options. For the money its not a bad bet as long as you aren't looking for anything high end. The cart girls and the staff are all very friendly and the par 3's are very good.

Played this tract just after playing the Lakes and I found the conditions to be better and more consistent. The greens were very slow, however, which was a contrast to the surprisingly quick greens of... Continue »

Played this tract just after playing the Lakes and I found the conditions to be better and more consistent. The greens were very slow, however, which was a contrast to the surprisingly quick greens of the Lakes. Those 3 and 4 foot tap ins that required just a “tap” on the Lakes’ greens just died on Ivanhoe’s greens. The fairways and tee boxes were in better than average condition. The rough was still pretty much non existent.

As a bit of a warning, errant shots into the areas between holes seemed to disappear. Lost several balls that I kept a line on in these spaces. Well-placed trees will frustrate errant shots that you are able to find. Overall layout, interest and challenge are still muni standard. A couple of the holes have fairways that drop off severely so that a missed drive will leave you with a recovery shot that’s several meters below sea level

There is a turn after the front nine with access to the snack shop. Got a certificate for a free hot dog, which wasn’t bad. I think that these two courses are great for locals—probably pretty cheap and accessible for the area. Not a destination course, though. But not a bad day of golf either.