Looking for some sun on the Peninsula, I headed inland and played Carmel Valley Ranch on a picture perfect day. I often forget about this great course and don’t know why. It’s a spectacular track. ... Continue »

Looking for some sun on the Peninsula, I headed inland and played Carmel Valley Ranch on a picture perfect day. I often forget about this great course and don’t know why. It’s a spectacular track. I played 36, once from the brown tee’s and once from the orange. The course was super quiet and I felt like I had the place to myself except for about a 4 hole stretch where I ran into a grandmother and her grandson who seemed to be oblivious that there was actually someone else on the course!

Condition wise the entire place is just short of a 10! In fact one could easily justify rating it at a 10. The greens were awesome. The rolled super smooth at a nice fast pace. It was a pleasure to play on greens that rolled fast like this. The best part was that the greens kept a consistent pace throughout the entire day/course. The only reason I didn’t rate the greens a 10 was that they were a tad firm on approach shots.

Fairways were in that 9.5-10 range and I gave them a 10. Fairways were nice and lush and emerald green throughout. There was one fairway that was damp and swallowed up tee shots preventing any rollout. Other than that, Perfect.

Tee boxes were perfect. Level, lush, very few divots (which were filled in with sand). Sand boxes had high quality sand. Rough was very manageable. Yes this is a resort course and plays like such, but it’s a gem with water hazards on the front nine and elevation changes on the back. I need to put in on my rotation more often!

Teed off Friday afternoon. Hardly a sole on the course. Finally caught up with a group on the 8th hole, declined to play through as I was taking pictures and absorbing the scenery. Course was in gr... Continue »

Teed off Friday afternoon. Hardly a sole on the course. Finally caught up with a group on the 8th hole, declined to play through as I was taking pictures and absorbing the scenery. Course was in great shape. Tee boxes were level and not may divots, the fairways were great as divots were filled in, bunkers were soft with a good amount of sand to play good shots whether from the the fairway or around the greens. The greens smooth speed around 9, not overly quick but smooth rolls.

If playing late afternoons make sure to bring a jacket as it got cold, typical Monterey overcast and breeze.

This course should definitely cost in $150's, it was listed well over $250 for early tee times. It is California course near Pebble Beach, what can you do.

Started off a 5-day golf trip with Carmel Valley. This course is little quirky and touristy, but a fun way to get settled into Carmel before tackling the bigger courses. Course was in great shape. P... Continue »

Started off a 5-day golf trip with Carmel Valley. This course is little quirky and touristy, but a fun way to get settled into Carmel before tackling the bigger courses. Course was in great shape. Pretty funky layout, but worth the $150 rate.

Played Carmel Valley Ranch this afternoon on a gorgeous sunny day with temps in the mid to high 80’s with about a 10 mph wind. Course was in great shape overall. Greens were a tad firm and definit... Continue »

Played Carmel Valley Ranch this afternoon on a gorgeous sunny day with temps in the mid to high 80’s with about a 10 mph wind. Course was in great shape overall. Greens were a tad firm and definitely on the fast side. Well struck approach shots would hold but only the most perfectly struck pitch shots would check up. Greens rolled nice and smooth. Greens look easy enough at first until you take a close look and realize the severity of the breaks.

Fairways were absolutely excellent. Easily in the 8-9 rating range. Fairways were lush throughout but did have a few soft/wet spots that would kill any chance of roll out.

Tee boxes were level with good coverage throughout. Rough was about 2” deep and manageable. Sand traps are top notch with nice fluffy deep sand. Fun layout for sure with the front nine being flat and about 6 holes on the back nine with some elevation changes.

Range is on grass and carts have lush seats and GPS. Effortless and friendly check-in. The only issue was the snack shop at the turn (which is actually after the 8th hole). It’s part of a gift shop and service area for the pool. Not only is it a bit hectic but the service was a bit slow. Other than that it was smooth sailing.

Played mid morning 2/24/2020 under ideal weather conditions. 52-65 sunny gentle breeze. I gave the greens a 9 rating but like the day before at another course (Darkhorse) I don't know why they couldn... Continue »

Played mid morning 2/24/2020 under ideal weather conditions. 52-65 sunny gentle breeze. I gave the greens a 9 rating but like the day before at another course (Darkhorse) I don't know why they couldn't be 10's. That good rolling true no defects.
Tee boxes excellent better than most courses fairways.
Bunkers well groomed good sand.
Rough maybe a bit variable. The way it's supposed to be in my opinion.
Customer service from check-in to leaving all outstanding.
The rating here on this day could be a perfect score. I must be too critical.
As an "in-land" course in the Monterey area I think this course plays as good as any of the bigger names. It's front nine has enough challenges and water to keep you interested and the back 9 is more hilly with elevation changes that after the 10th hole will mostly help as they play back downhill into the valley. Not the longest course at 6117 from the tips. As a Senior I look back but don't go back there much anymore.
Loved it would like to play again.
Overall recommend.

A quick update from my previous review. Course remains in top notch conditon tee to green. Tee boxes are a perfect 10 with the fairways not far behind. The fairways are cut low so they present. Or... Continue »

A quick update from my previous review. Course remains in top notch conditon tee to green. Tee boxes are a perfect 10 with the fairways not far behind. The fairways are cut low so they present. Ore of a "thin" lie surface a la Bayonet/Blackhorse. Now that we haven't seen rain for a week or two the fairways offered plenty of roll out.

Greens have also gone back to their firm and fast state. Greens roll super smooth, they just don't quite hold approach shots like softer greens.

Customer service is excellent. The Marshall even went out of his way to help me get around a couple of groups on the back nine. Pop was slow today. The warm weather had everyone out (including me) Luckily, by getting around a few groups on the back side I kept it to just over 4 hours.

Carmel Valley Ranch is a highly recommended course.

I’ll have photos posted this weekend but have a window here on the trip to post my first review. Played with Alex326 and RGM2525 for a round at Carmel Valley Ranch Tuesday. Man the Clubcorp playaway i... Continue »

I’ll have photos posted this weekend but have a window here on the trip to post my first review. Played with Alex326 and RGM2525 for a round at Carmel Valley Ranch Tuesday. Man the Clubcorp playaway is sure awesome as both those guys paid only $25 that included cart. I paid a $80 guest rate per their playaway membership and for the quality of golf experience provided that was a great rate!

Beautiful fun short challenging Pete Dye designed (only Pete Dye course on the peninsula) with a jaw dropping back nine carved into the surrounding Carmel hills. It was in excellent condition. Bent grass greens, bent/rye blend fairways, rough and tee boxes. Greens, especially the back nine that were rolled ran fast and smooth. Golf course played just over 6100 yards from the back tees but don’t let the length trick you into thinking its an easy track. The front nine is mostly level and is your opportunity to score well. Once on the back nine, get ready for a large host of dramatic golf holes featuring many elevated tees and views of the Carmel valley. The fairways were lush but with tight lies so it put a premium on crisp iron shots. The rough was lush, wet at times and with occasional thin spots. The bunkers in very good shape with quality sand. Tee boxes level, lush and in excellent shape.

The main defense are the putting greens. They are undulating and provide many very difficult pin locations which were on full display for our round. This is a resort course but make no mistake it’s a Pete Dye course ready to punish you for any poor play. Loved it.

Our Pace of Play was quick teeing off around 11:45 finishing in 4 hours. Service excellent all day. Beautiful clubhouse and surrounding. An absolutely incredible #11 golf hole. I highly recommend this golf course.

Kicked off three great days of peninsula golf with Johnny GK and RGM2525 with a fun round at Carmel Valley Ranch. Course remains in top condition. Very similar to my last review with the exception th... Continue »

Kicked off three great days of peninsula golf with Johnny GK and RGM2525 with a fun round at Carmel Valley Ranch. Course remains in top condition. Very similar to my last review with the exception that the greens were more receptive to approach shots. The recent rains have soften them up enabling them to hold approach shots. Pins were in some tough places putting a premium on being below the hole.

CVR is a super fun track with water features in four of the holes and some major elevation changes on holes 10-14. Definitely a highly recommended peninsula course and worthy of a "destination course" title. There are some great stay and play deals for Carmel Valley Ranch right now.

Played Camel Valley Ranch yesterday morning on a perfect sunny (bordering on hot) day. Played 36 holes getting around the course twice in 6.5 hours. Course is in fantastic shape. Carmel Valley Ran... Continue »

Played Camel Valley Ranch yesterday morning on a perfect sunny (bordering on hot) day. Played 36 holes getting around the course twice in 6.5 hours. Course is in fantastic shape. Carmel Valley Ranch is always a top notch course but right now it's in the best shape I've ever seen it.

Fairways are easily a 9 right now. Lush and a deep green beautiful color. Greens were rolling super fast and were a bit in the firm side. Getting shots to hold proved to be tricky at times. Tee boxes were just short of a perfect 10. Sand traps were the weak link and in speaking with the superintendent, Andy, who was very pleasant to chat with, there are plans in the work to improve the bunkers.

Course is a lot of fun to play with 12 holes being flat and 6 up in the hills. Track also has a number of water hazards to add to the challenge and aesthetics of the place. I posted a number of pictures on the GK app.

There are two transfers that would make this a challenging course to walk but other than that it would be doable.

A great layout with excellent conditions make it a highly recommended course.