Played first off Monday with the "Under Par" deal, which was quite a steal. Despite the obvious error i was treated very well and never made to feel guilty about the "mix-up"

When I called for a ... Continue »

Played first off Monday with the "Under Par" deal, which was quite a steal. Despite the obvious error i was treated very well and never made to feel guilty about the "mix-up"

When I called for a tee time, they actually squeezed me in before the first off, which was 7:18 so they have me 7:15. (that's really really a late time for me to start) I was asked to play slow so as to not catch maintenance, which I did, but even crawling at a 3 hour pace caught them on #15.

The course was in wonderful condition! However the greens were not nearly as fast as they looked. They did roll true so it just took some adjustment. Had not played here since 2001 and the course is every bit as good as I remembered. But for the price I would play here often, but geography and economics do not allow me to make this a part of my regular "rota"

Played Wednesday, 5/28. Went with high expectations considering their standard green fees and being on Golf Digest top 100 public courses list. The three main categories I was considering were: layout... Continue »

Played Wednesday, 5/28. Went with high expectations considering their standard green fees and being on Golf Digest top 100 public courses list. The three main categories I was considering were: layout, condition, and service.

The layout was excellent. The course has a hilly terrain. There is a good variety of short, medium, and long par 3s and 4s. The fairways had reasonable width off the tee but danger does lurk throughout the course. The $5 yardage book helped a lot considering my dad and I had never played the course and there are a few waste/creek areas that cross the fairways. I did not feel any of the holes were odd or quirky in design. Overall it was a solid and enjoyable layout.

The conditions of the course overall were great. The greens were at the top end of medium speed. The speed was a good match for the large undulating greens. The fairways and rough had good coverage with uniform length. The bunkers had quality sand with good fill. The tee boxes were good to great.

The service exceeded my expectation even with the great mention here on GK. From the time you hit the parking lot until you left the staff was there to help. I especially liked the cold damp hand towel they offered at the end of the round. Nice on a warm day. The club house was nice. The driving range is included in the green fees and there are two practice putting greens. Were the green fees worth it? That depends on an individuals value system. On Maderas' booking system $150 seemed to be the going rate for a weekday during prime hours. At that price for me the course and service would be worth it for at least one play. I did end up booking at $85 on Maderas' site four days before I played. There were 8 tee times between 8am and noon for that price. I do not know if that price is common. For under a $100 a course of that quality and service is definitely worth multiple plays.

Played Saturday, 5/10. Not much to add from the other GKers who played here on the same day. Nice conditions right now, highlighted by the fairways, except No. 6, which others mentioned has a complete... Continue »

Played Saturday, 5/10. Not much to add from the other GKers who played here on the same day. Nice conditions right now, highlighted by the fairways, except No. 6, which others mentioned has a completely sanded fairway for some reason.

These are some of the most deceptive greens I've ever putted on. I had a hard time telling what was uphill and what was downhill until I hit my putts. Or maybe the grain is exceptionally strong in one direction? It seemed downhill putts would slow down and a few seemingly uphill putts raced way beyond the cup.

Got to play Maderas for the first time Saturday. Tee'd off on time at 10:54 with Sixpez and itslikeimsayin for the amazing price of FREE! All the other reviews were pretty spot on. Check in was very e... Continue »

Got to play Maderas for the first time Saturday. Tee'd off on time at 10:54 with Sixpez and itslikeimsayin for the amazing price of FREE! All the other reviews were pretty spot on. Check in was very easy, free range balls but range turf was heavily sanded. Course lacked in color a little on the front and seemed to green up on the back but all played very well. Greens still had signs of top dressing but the sand was very light and they still rolled smooth. Sand was all good and plentiful, a couple I was in were a little damp. Layout is fantastic. I really loved just about every hole, even the ones that beat me up. Course knowledge can really help you along here especially knowing the greens. Even though they give you the pin position sheet some shots into the green are blind and just able to see the flag. We never really had to wait for a shot and no one pushing behind made for a very relaxed round. Would love to come back some day but will wait for a great deal to come around.

Played 5-10-14. Scored a great deal on Under Par for 2 at a price less than rack for 1 with free replay. Took full advantage of the deal and played 36. This is a challenging but fun course. There are ... Continue »

Played 5-10-14. Scored a great deal on Under Par for 2 at a price less than rack for 1 with free replay. Took full advantage of the deal and played 36. This is a challenging but fun course. There are some tough holes but a few easy ones mixed in. Conditions were very nice but not what I would expect at full price. The bunkers had very nice sand but it was very heavy so tough to blast your club through. The greens were the best part. Undulating so that there were no easy putts and though they said they were running at 11 I felt they were a little slower but good speed for the variety of putts you face. Downhill putts did not run by very far and even came up short at times and you could be a bit bolder on uphill putts. Overall I enjoyed the course very much but could not justify paying full price. Our first round took 5 hours so not a big step up from most courses. I would rate the course at a 9 overall. The one complaint is that when we stopped between rounds we were going to sit and eat before heading back out. We waited about 10 minutes at a table without being acknowledged. We saw the snack bar was open so went over there. It still took about 5 min. to be able to place an order and when we got or food they had gotten the order wrong. At premium prices for food you should at least get what you order. I will keep my eye out for another deal and take advantage if I can.

Played 36 holes on Saturday starting at 9:15 with wife and Gkers CPennbo and Sbogey. Expectations were very high considering we had played Aviara a few weeks ago and that Maderas was ranked #43 on Gol... Continue »

Played 36 holes on Saturday starting at 9:15 with wife and Gkers CPennbo and Sbogey. Expectations were very high considering we had played Aviara a few weeks ago and that Maderas was ranked #43 on Golf Digests top 100 public courses in America.

Here are my thoughts

Service/Staff (excluding snack bar/lounge) - 9/10. Just a very top notch bunch of folks

Snack bar/lounge - 3/10. lack of attention, confused and wow...overpriced

Course Layout - 10/10. I thought it was simply perfect, Challenging and scenic

Tee boxes - 7/10. a few weren't perfectly level and some were pretty chewed up.

Fairways - 8/10. wouldn't you expect some pretty nice fairways on a top ranked course? One fairway was sanded...not quite sure what they were doing with it.

Greens - 9/10. hardly any ball marks, speed yesterday was an 11, challenging pin locations on a few. These were some of the best greens I have played on.

Bunkers - 7/10. Didn't hit many, but they were pretty fluffy...course has a LOT of bunkers, so have your beach blanket ready in case.

Carts - 7/10. great seat for your butt, no GPS - maybe they want you to invest in the caddie to give you the yardage?

Cart Service - 9/10. Cute Cart girl deserved 10/10, but prices drop it down....

Driving Range - 6/10. Good location, but Grass was pretty beat up, Not a lot of targets and wasn't sure of the distances. Practice Green wasn't nearly as fast as the course greens.

Overall I would give this an 8 out of 10. We had a really good deal with underpar. Rack rate is pretty steep...if you can get a sweet deal or just have deep pockets then go play Maderas....One of SoCals better courses for sure.

Played here today with GK buddies Itslikeimsayin and mnehls86. I had my GolfNow reward from last year about to expire (free threesome on a hot deal), so this was a good course to use it at. $140 for a... Continue »

Played here today with GK buddies Itslikeimsayin and mnehls86. I had my GolfNow reward from last year about to expire (free threesome on a hot deal), so this was a good course to use it at. $140 for a 10:54 tee time, but we played for free, so you can't beat that! Not busy at all, so we teed off a few minutes early and enjoyed our own pace all day. Never ran into anyone in front or behind us all round. After the last couple of reviews, I'll admit I was a tiny bit let down with the course. It was in nice overall condition. Everything a little dry and tight, which is understandable with the drought, but I naturally tend to get a little pickier at a course that charges so much. Tee boxes good. Fairways firm and tight with a lot of roll-out, but I always had pretty good lies. Rough shaved down completely, so it was not a factor, other than not keeping your ball from rolling into trouble. Bunkers good, though softest sand was up against the lips rather than in the flat spots. Greens were in pretty good shape, as well. The starter told us they were rolling at an 11, but there's no way that's accurate. They were soft and rolling at medium speeds. Of course, on these undulating, optical illusion greens it's often hard to tell what's uphill and downhill sometimes, so we really struggled figuring out the speeds. Also, it's worth noting that for some reason, the 6th fairway has been completely scalped and sanded. Not sure what's going on there, but it definitely took the fun out of that hole. You'd think the starter would make mention of it so it wasn't such an unpleasant surprise. This was my second time playing here. I do enjoy the Maderas layout and setting a lot even if the greens mess with my mind, but I don't know if it blows away all the other good canyon style layouts throughout SoCal enough to justify such a lofty price tag. The service is good, the facilities are nice and the lack of crowds is refreshing, but I wouldn't want to pay full rack here. For free, it's hard to beat, but if I had paid $140 (which was actually a discounted hot deal price) I would have been a little underwhelmed. If you can get a good deal, though, it's well worth the visit.

Played in a tournament over the weekend at Maderas. The courses conditions were amazing. Everything from the teeboxes, to the fairway, to the bunkers, and the greens were in fantastic shape. The cu... Continue »

Played in a tournament over the weekend at Maderas. The courses conditions were amazing. Everything from the teeboxes, to the fairway, to the bunkers, and the greens were in fantastic shape. The customer service is also top-notch. This course is a must play for anyone who has not played it before. My only knock is that the carts should have GPS on them since the green fees are steep. They do have coolers on them already filled with ice and water which is a nice touch.

This is a bit of a late review but I played 36 holes over the weekend and what can I say? It's Troon golf! And from all of my experiences, Troon golf means a top notch golf experience and Maderas didn... Continue »

This is a bit of a late review but I played 36 holes over the weekend and what can I say? It's Troon golf! And from all of my experiences, Troon golf means a top notch golf experience and Maderas didn't disappoint. Although the fairway on 18 had noticeable maintenance recently performed on it and some of the greens had some very slight aeration marks (did not affect play at all), the course was in very good condition. The tee boxes were lush and level, the bunkers had consistent and deep coverage, and the fairways and greens were also very good. The POP was very good and I appreciated that the marshal came around regularly to check on things. The overall service was friendly and courteous; from the bag drop assistant to the pro shop employees to the driving range attendant to the cart girl and the cart attendants. It was an amazing day and it would only have been topped if I played better. I did have essentially a kick in eagle on 14 so that was nice. If I could play here more often, I would....but I'd also go broke. I'll be back at some point.