Played here for first time Aug 16th (Sat) and I much appreciate the recent reviews on this site. I was dropping my son off to college and drove out here... glad I did! I booked 2-weeks early and it was $127 w/cart, 3-some I played with paid $157 booking same week. It pays to book ahead. Tee'd off 7:50 and expected a quick round even as a single with 3-some but it was 5hrs. I'm discounting this a bit because we had a 3some playing the tips in front of us who couldn't get 3/4 to green on par 3s... go figure.

Overall: I'd play here again and highly recommend. Range off grass with bathrooms right there, layout is great, no two holes the same, gettable par5s, great views, lies are pretty level considering the hills, there was 1 or 2 holes where the sand traps were not sand but also looked to be 'under repair'; thankfully i didn't find sand this day so i cannot comment on playability. Oh, it's not walkable for any walkers out there.

Customer service was amazing, well done. They have a brisket which was fantastic. I got a 'plate' in the bar post-round; ~$25 with fries, pickles & pickled cabbage. There was a brisket sandwich at the snack-shack/halfway house that was more $$$ which one of the guys got and looked great. Oh, the music in pro shop and restaurant awesome 80s!!!

Separately, I played Poppy Hills (I'm a frequent flyer) earlier in the week and I played with a couple from SoCal; Poppy gave them the "NCGA rate" of $125 w/cart ($375 without NCGA). If any of you SoCal peeps come up to Monterey, play Poppy and ask about the discount.

Played yesterday (Wed 7/30) in the afternoon. Course in good shape, greens had some light sand and they rolled a bit slower than usual. PoP was horribly slow at 5hr+ despite us being 3 with 3 groups of 3 in front of us. We waited on every hole, very disappointing. My friend & I both NCGA played with a single who just came up from playing Torrey Pines; he did not see the value at $350 commenting mostly about the greens condition... I think he said TP was about $100 less. Customer service in the pro-shop to me is spotty, sometimes friendly but most of the time it's just ok. It would be nice to be greeted with a smile; they just seem bothered a lot and i can't imagine why... you're in Pebble, hello ;) Still a great place to play, esp with NCGA, and when I played a few months ago conditions immaculate and PoP closer to 4hr.

Came to GK for some recon before playing and noticed nothing new so here's an update. I played July 25, 2025, first time. Overall, not bad and I'd play here again. PoP 4.5hrs, we 3-some and our single was a little slow, $65 w/cart was not bad. Practice facilities excellent, chipping & sand trap area generous, hitting off grass for range and lots of stalls. Course conditions good: tee boxes typical (some divots but easy to find a spot), fairways great, sand traps reasonable (thankfully only found 2), greens pretty good with undulation but played slow (prob a 6/7 on stimp)... the rough is not hard to get out of or difficult, makes it easier to score well. Pro shop and starter very friendly (you know when the starter rolls up with AC/DC going he's cool), excellent customer service.

Played June 26th and I'd say course in better shape then when Alex played in Feb. Tee boxes, fairways and greens all pretty good shape, we played blue/white combo. Teed off at 1030, no wind but it got a little breezy on B9 but not horribly windy. Keep in mind if you have not played here the wind can get howling in the afternoon. We waited on many holes but also we were a 2some behind a 2some behind a 4some and the 2 in front of us bailed after 6 holes so while we still waited a bit, I was really surprised to discover we finished in 4hr 10min. The track is links with a few repetitive layouts but still fun to play.

Value always remains a question for me when I play. Is $120 w/cart reasonable for a Thursday? I usually walk but haven't caught up with this friend in a long time so we shared a cart but still $100 for weekday feels a bit steep to me. Full disclosure, I have the Duke's membership for Monterey and NCGA which is an unfair comparison given savings at some great courses. So here I am comparing Poppy Hills, $95 walking to Baylands... it's an unfair compare since Poppy would never be in the same conversation as Baylands but then I just did that :). I would play here again but look for some discounted rate if it exists.

Greens best I've seen in a while. Played Apr 22, PoP reasonable at 4hrs with a little waiting on a few holes... we were 2 behind a four-some. Kudos to maintenance crew, it's been about a year and a half since I've played Sharp Park and it got flooded pretty bad. Fairways are still a little long but lush and looking great. Ignore bad reviews and come play this unique Dr. MacKenzie gem, walk in the same footsteps as they did in the Golden Era of golf.

Played here first time Dec 19th in afternoon. I'm from NorCal so was anxious to do a little compare. First off, staff was excellent from shop, to range, starter & cart girl who we saw 3x which was sufficient. Much has already been said about conditions which are what they are but I really like the layout where I don't think any hole is the same, it's a thinking golfer's course. Value was not there for me as a non-member. I paid $150 w/cart to play in the afternoon and on Tuesday I had played Poppy Hills in Pebble for $125 with cart (afternoon rate). Poppy is many tiers above Coyote Hills, no where close. POP was slow too, much waiting on most holes.

Played here today and despite the wind, the course is in great shape. Come play it but I would avoid this weekend due to red flag warnings in SF Bay Area for extremely high winds. Teed off at 11am, POP 4.5hrs but there were a few in our group from East Coast that never played in the wind and lost quite a few balls. B9 was crazy windy making it impossible to get GIRs on P4s unless you went driver, driver of the deck (DOD). Always beautiful views and a rather forgiving links course.

It's been while for a review on this one, I played it for first time today. Here's an update. Only Front 9 open now so if you play 18, you play the F9 twice. I was told the full 18 will open by end of year (2024). Links course, I'm not kidding, they even have deep pot bunkers and super undulating fairways & greens. If you haven't played here before, expect a few 3 putts and maybe a 4 (putting for Eagle, I had a 4 putt on a green with double-whoop-dee-doos, tough!). I found the course challenging and actually liked playing the F9 twice since this was my first time and knowing this course is the key to reducing strokes. Greens roll medium but tough to read. POP was between 4-4.5hrs (F9 was longer due to a group that chose not to play 18) Ok, short review for now but I'll go back for sure because it's not your typical flat fairway, boring green course.

Not many recent reviews for a long time on here, so here we go. RTJ2 course and I thought it was good. Much better than a super forgiving resort course so it fit my expectations. Pace of play was great, 4hrs on the button and we were a group of 3. I’d say for the price, play it. Many enjoyable and challenging holes with good views of ocean and volcano. Fair amount of elevation change. Tee time 9:26 and started very windy making it difficult. Wind stopped at 10th and back 9 scoring was easier due to this. I don’t know what’s up with the sand traps, they are some sort of fine gravel. Still pretty coarse to the point I’d look at the bottom of my wedge for damage. I played with visitors, they played a lot of golf in the islands and never seen anything like it. All my gravel shots were simply “picked out clean” since I couldn’t figure out how to play the gravel. Price is right and I’ll likely play again. Course staff was super nice and informative. Keep in mind though, this is like a nice muni or semi-private you’d play at home but in Hawaii with great views and warm weather. Hope this helps

Played this course today and only saw the one review from 2019 so felt I would provide an update. Greens are in excellent shape, tee boxes & fairways in good shape; nothing to complain about. Teed off at 10:40, 3-some and we finished in 4hr 15min which felt like not bad for a Sunday after rain earlier in the week that had the course closed (along with other courses in the area). Neat course on NASA base. We saw and heard an F15 take off close by which was very cool. I'd say challenging course; especially today when each approach was about 1-club more given the wind. A LOT of dog-leg lefts, not a faders course (I think only 1 dog-leg right). Course staff very friendly in the pro-shop and the bar/grille (hotdogs and turkey sandwiches not bad). Chipping & putting area large and provide an excellent practice area. Driving range was closed for repair but supposedly opening soon, check website. Value for the money: Eh... paid $72 to walk on a Sunday; consensus in my group is $55-60 to walk seemed fair but if we had paid to ride and it was closer to $90 that seems too steep (it was walking only today due to rain). It's a good track to check out

This is a beautiful course and when it's a clear day you'd think you were on the Monterey Peninsula. I highly recommend playing it.

Played this morning and here is the current condition: As a of today, the greens are still bumpy from being punched. My complaint is I wish when booking the tee-time it was made clear the greens were recently punched. My guest who is a +8 was a bit bummed out. Overall, I just wish courses had a better way to communicate this condition without the customer (me) having to ask.

Also, there was a pretty good rain a few days ago (1-1.5") and it seems the fairways do not drain well, very swampy with some splashy approach shots. Many of the sand-traps were essentially small ponds and I lost a few balls in these ponds because they were so big and unfindable but the splash-down made it clear it was in the trap drowning.

I'd give it more time to dry out before playing again or if there is rain wait 5 days post-rain to play.

I never played Haggin Oaks but always wanted to play this MacKenzie course. I happened to be in town so I stopped in a for a quick 18 at 2:15 on a Sat afternoon and finished in 3hr 45 playing as a 3-some. I did not get to the range, grill or 'super store' located on site so this is only a review of the MacKenzie course.

Upon arrival I was taken aback by the size of the parking lot and overall size of the "operation", I can only imagine this place must get a ton of play. There are beautiful trees throughout the course and a rather serene setting. I loved the holes that had trees in the fairway requiring creative shots and the few holes that had a MacKenzie staple, sneaky bunker. The only downers overall was there were quite a few tee boxes with many homeless living just outside the fences from tee to about halfway down the fairway.

Tee boxes: decent shape, much use, very muni-esque

Fairways: In good shape, many nice lies in the fairways but I did notice a ton of un-repaired divots. On one hole, I walked from my 160yd approach with the divot mix and practically emptied it on so many large un-repaired divots. PSA: try to leave it better than you found it :) the golf gods will reward you.

Bunkers: I was only in a few thank goodness but overall impressed at the type of sand; it was nice and easy to get a club through.

Greens: These were on the softer side, average speed and not very fast. As a first timer, I'm not sure if this is always the case. Aside from a few diabolical, big breakering greens; overall in good shape and roll true. I found myself repairing many sizable pitch marks from previous groups. I'd say 18 is the most flat, rolls true with good chance for a birdie.

I paid $50 Sat afternoon with cart which seemed like a fair price on a weekend. I was expecting more MacKenzie but I think I only saw his work a few times. Now that I've read more reviews, I realize that when the course was redone much of the Good Doctor's work was replaced... It's a bit of a shame since the course is capitalizing on his name and he'd probably be rolling over seeing all the cart paths cutting through the Oaks and only a few remnants of his work. I'd say skip it if you're trying to play MacKenzie courses but if you're in the area it's not a bad bang for the buck.