Back playing Rancho again after a knee injury. Booked my tee time at the course's web site and got a great deal. Course was mostly in good shape. The greens were smooth but not terribly fast. Fairways are looking much better than before, it looks as if they have done some work on a few of the holes like #10 and #9. No more bare spots in the fairway, which is great. Irvine must have the best weather, late afternoon is a great time to play here. The sunset view is beautiful from the bar but they need bigger TV's. Employees were friendly, helped me change my cleats.

Rancho's course conditions have gotten better in the last week or two. Fairways are much greener than they were last time I played.

The greens were aerified sometime earlier this week but I played on Saturday and you can barely tell. They aerify very differently than other courses. They aerified all 18 greens but they only did the back half of each one. They put the pin in the front of the green so that when you are within 2 to 20 feet of the hole, you still have a pure green to putt on. In a few weeks once the green has healed, they do the other half. It really is a very smart way to do it because you never have to worry about those sandy 5 footers wobbling into the hole. It barely affects your game and as a regular, I really like it.

I always like the fact that this golf course is all by itself out in the canyon. No streets or houses are nearby which makes for a very pleasant atmosphere. There are a lot of scenic holes with elevated tees and nice views. The course was in its usual condition, which I would rate as fairly average for the price of the green fee. You get a lot of hard pan lies and very thin fairways in some places and in others it seems as if they have been drenched in water and are muddy and soft. I think the greens are very average here, sometimes I have seen them quite bumpy and slow. Overall a good golf experience and a great place to have lunch or a drink after the round.

Ok so i splurged a bit and decided to treat myself to a round at Tustin Ranch. It was my first time playing here as I usually stick to the more affordable options in the area. I was very happy with the money that I spent to play a high end course. It seemed like the whole course was in great shape. Greens were firm and rolled very fast and true. Fairways were lush but firm and the tees were perfect. The only thing I did not like was that the rough was a bit long for a player like me, but I guess that is why you are supposed to hit it in the fairway. Anyone know a good place to find specials for this course? The price is the only thing that keeps me from coming back.

Played the course on 8/19 and had a really good time. The previous post mentions the poor conditions of the fairways, which I found to be the case as well. I play this course about once a month and I heve never seen them this dry. I have a friend who knows one of the guys who works at their driving range and he had heard that the power company had shut down part of the courses power to do some repairs for two or three days before we played. They were unable to fully water the course, which could have explained the problem? I will check back when I play in a few weeks to give an update. The rest of the course, the greens were smooth and very playable. Tees seemed good to me.

I have always found most of the staff to be very helpful. A lot of them know me by name which is nice. One of their managers helped me get a club repaired by the factory and was a big deal to me.

I played here on Saturday, August 22nd for the first time in several years. I was expecting top notch conditions but was very disappointed by the greens. I felt that the fairways and tees were in great shape, but the greens were absolutely unacceptable. There were at least 5 or 6 greens with large amounts of turf loss where they had to be re-sodded. We're not talking about small patches, but rather huge sections of the green. All of the greens were quite bumpy and I felt like they were very slow as well. It bothers me that people knock on muni courses like San Clemente or Rancho San Jaoquin for having poor greens but their greens are way better than these and at half the price!

However, Talega is a beautiful track with a fun and unique layout and my group really enjoyed the amenities and the day out. Service from the cart staff and the beverage cart was excellent. Fix the greens and Talega is right up there with the top courses in Southern California.

The way Rancho San Joaquin aerifys the greens is very smart. They aerify only half of every green and then they put the pin in the good half of the green. When you get within 15 to 20 feet of the hole, you always have a pure putting surface to putt on.

When you are 30 or 40 feet from the hole, its no fun to putt through the sand, but I never expect to make those putts anyways.

Right now, the back of every green has been aerified. I think in 2 or 3 weeks, they will do the front once the back has healed.

Played here on Sunday, December 27th. Had a frost delay of over an hour which was ok since we didn't have anything else to do that day and we really enjoyed the breakfast buffet upstairs before we played. Cart paths only made for a VERY long day.

However, the course was in very good shape from tee to green and the greens were fast and devilish as always. I really enjoyed playing this beast of a course even though I played horrible and had to wait for frost.

I have to disagree with the last poster about the greens this weekend. I could tell that they have recently been verticut and they were rolling about as pure as I have ever seen them at Rancho. I teed off around 12, played in 4 1/2 hours or so, overall a really good day.

I have been playing a lot of golf here lately and I have really enjoyed being around the course. It looks like they overseeded tees and around the greens because these areas are greener and more lush than i have seen them in awhile. I really like stopping in to the snack shop at the turn because they seem to have something new and interesting to eat at the turn every day like bratwurst, carnitas burritos, or trip tip sandwiches. I don't know why people call the course expensive, i play for $35-$45 dollars almost every time because I book my times online. For this area, that's a great price for what you get.

Played a few weeks ago on a Saturday and had a very bad day. I got to the course early to get in some practice and the guy in the pro shop had a big attitude problem. I asked if I could pay for my green fee, cart, and range balls all at one time and he snapped at me that they don't do it that way and that I should be patient and come back just before my tee time. That was fine but all I did was ask. These guys seem to have free reign behind the counter and I wonder who they answer to.

The golf course was in decent shape. Greens were above average for the price but fairways seemed a little rough. It was a very busy day and took almost 6 hours to finish my round.

Played last week and the course seemes better than a few months ago. Greens are a little slow but a guy I played with said they are much smoother than they have been. Lots of tee times are on the american golf website and you can get a good deal if you are willing to make your time online. I will try playing here before work because they have a special for the back nine early in the morning that is only $25 with a cart and a burrito. i also heard that there is some new management at the course.