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Listing 1 to 9 of 69,392 Course Reviews
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Completely UNPLAYABLE conditions. As previous reviewers stated, every fairway looks like a obstacle course with roped off areas everywhere. Management seems unfazed by the fact that their course is in horrific condition. They spent money to paint the clubhouse and pro shop, and to install new carpet in the pro shop. They bought brand new carts, custom painted to match the new clubhouse/pro shop paint. They are attempting to expand their greens while there is literally no grass on more than half of the fairway surface area. Their green fees are $100 weekday/$120 weekend. They have the "starter" give a very lengthy oral dissertation on the rules and regulations for customers playing what they seem to think is an upper tier course. Very curious priorities, as I always thought grass was at the top of the priority list for a golf course.
11 Likes.
What a disappointment! This once excellent course has now officially reached sub-muni condition. We played on October 6 in the early morning. My playing partner that booked the tee time did not consult Greenskeeper and was not told by the course about the green aeration. I took one look at the practice green and went back into the pro shop to ask if the greens out on the course looked like the practice green. I was told the greens were punched that Monday but there seemed to be no embarrassment about the fact that 6 days later the greens had half the sand from South Mission Beach all over them. There also was no discount on the green fee, nor any offer to refund our green fees once we saw the horrible condition of the practice green. The green had so much sand that after every practice putt, your putter face was covered with damp sand. I have never seen that much sand on any green one day after aeration much less 6 days later. The majority of the greens, out on the course were just as bad and sadly they also had many bare spots in addition to the aeration and sanding.
Unfortunately, the greens were not the only problem with the course. There are large areas of hardpan where grass has obviously not grown for months. Most of these were in areas of the rough near the greens. The rough is made up from several types of grass. On the brighter side the fairways were pretty decent. I will avoid this course until major changes are made.

Carlton Oaks Country Club Course Review
San Diego Golf Course Reviews
0 Likes.
We played here Father’s Day/US Open weekend. Also played Mountain and while Dunes was in better shape, I can’t see it being rated at 9.29. Dunes is very similar in appearance to Mountain but without the beautiful views and of course, Mountain has a few holes with significant elevation changes. Dunes had burnt bare spots in the fairway and other areas were sopping wet from over-watering. This is the area where Mountain was far worse than Dunes. Note to Pete Dye……when you try to water lumpy, bumpy fairways, the high spots burn and the low spots puddle. The stay and play package is great and the hotel and hotel service are tremendous. The staff at the course was a little less impressive, but certainly adequate. After playing a half dozen different Pete Dye courses, I have come to the realization, that I just don’t like his design style. Aesthetically, his courses are very contrived and unnatural looking (especially the PGA Stadium course). From a playability standpoint, they are usually fairly short without unreasonable forced carries and so if played conservatively (I only hit 3-4 drivers all day) they are not too severe off the tee. The only issue is that you may have a pronounced side hill or down hill lie even with a conservative, well placed tee shot. The greens are another story. You can miss the putting surface by a foot with your approach and roll into a bunker 10+ feet below the green or have the ball careen off a hump into the native area.
The greens are firm to the point that most approach shots left at most an imperceptible dent and many did not hold the green when they deserved to. Our little group ranges in handicap from myself at 7 up to a 25. Maybe if I were a better player I would enjoy his designs more. But, I disagree with the notion that a very small miss (especially if there is no “safe” part of the green) should result in a shot that is difficult for a low handicapper and impossible for higher handicappers. How many 30 handicappers can play an explosion shot from a greenside bunker that goes up 15 feet in the air and travels at least 15 feet forward (so as not to roll back down a slope into the same bunker), but not more than 30 feet forward (so as to not roll off the other side of the green). I am anxious to try the Norman course next time around, which has been down for maintenance on our trips.
I’ve had enough of Pete Dye.
0 Likes.
Quirky is probably the best description of the layout here. While this is a traditional golf course, it is anything but straight forward with several severe doglegs and a substantial amount of water/lateral hazards to contend with.. This is not a course where you will hit driver 14 times. There are really no houses on the course so it is quite peaceful. There is a significant afternoon wind that usually blows through the river valley.

This was my first round here in several years. Being all too familiar with the poor condition of courses that are managed by American Golf, I was anxious to what the course looked like under new management. Unfortunately, the current conditions were reminiscent of American Golf.

To be fair, there were a few bright spots. The staff was outstanding, with an especially friendly marshal. The greens are better than average and faster than one would expect when you see the condition of the rest of the course. Fortunately, I was not in any bunkers, but no one else complained about them, though some looked shy on sand. We played in the late afternoon and the course was nearly empty so we were able to play at a nice pace. The price was extremely reasonable at $21 to walk.

The overall condition of the fairways (and other areas that should theoretically have grass) is pathetic. The fairways were so bad that someone would burn through several cases of white spray paint cans marking what should be considered ground under repair. Some of the areas in the fairway were hardpan that showed no evidence that grass had ever been growing there. The rough was sometimes complete hard pan and other times un-mown pockets 3-4 inches thick.

I won’t be back until I hear of improved fairway conditions, but it is a good bang-for-the-buck if you can live with the fairways and rough.
0 Likes.
Played 4/25. A nice classic course that has declined over the past year or two. The greens had been recently punched, but also did not appear to be in very good shape prior to the punching. The greens used to be very good. The fairways were in just fair shape which has always been the norm here. The rough was very inconsistent with different grasses and some patches that were unmowed and 3-4" deep right next to more standard length areas. I did not happen to find my way into any bunkers, but they appeared to be pretty good. A good bargain and a nice layout but in worse shape overall than in the past. I would rate it a 6.5.
0 Likes.
I agree with 1PLUS1's comments about Barona. I played Sunday July 29 and the course conditions were unacceptable. With a $70 twilite rate and regular rates up to $150, it seems reasonable to expect at least some grass to be under your ball in the fairway. Unfortunately, the current fairway conditions are worse than what you would expect from an American Golf managed course. Barona is one of my favorite courses in the county and it is a shame to see these conditions. I played the course in late July last year and while the conditions are always firm at Barona in the summer there were no problems with the fairways last year. The firm fast greens and extensive bunkering at Barona require a high soft approach shot for many pin positions. A high soft short iron off hardpan is a tall order. Maybe if my index were plus 6 instead of 6, I would be comfortable with that shot. As it was, I found myself forced to play away from some pins because I felt a lower trajectory shot would be safer from the hardpan. I hate to say it, because I love the course, but I will not come back until they put some water on the fairways.
0 Likes.
I play this course 2 or 3 times a year. It is fairly difficult, with a long but straightforward layout. The green fees are a bargain, even if you are a civilian playing with someone that has military privileges. Some improvements were made a couple years back and the course was in great shape. Unfortunately, the fairways are in poor condition right now. Many fairway areas are so dry/dead they are marked as ground under repair and many more should be. The greens are Bermuda and have always been slow. Since I rarely play Bermuda I find them more difficult to read, but for the most part they are pretty flat and simple. By far the best part of the course is the openness, with all houses and other buildings off in the distance. We occasionally see deer and a small buck walked along near us as we played #12. Overall, this is an enjoyable, reasonably priced traditional course. Just don’t expect country club conditions.
0 Likes.
My golf group played Eastlake last weekend. Rated at 6.78, Eastlake is the highest rated of the 7 full size American Golf managed courses in SD. The lowest is the Vineyard at 3.39, which may be a record low achievement.

Pace of play was good at about 4.5 hours. The cart GPS, which spent as much time advertising as showing yardage displayed a message that “The front nine should be finished in less than 2 hours”. That seems more than a bit optimistic for a public course on a weekend.

The course is in pretty rough shape and I think 6.78 is a charitable rating. I would put it in the mid 5s. The layout is just OK. All of the par 3s play the same yardage, some of the par 4s are too similar, but the par 5s are interesting. The fairways have a few wet spots, but are mostly hard and dry. While good for egos, I suppose, the tee shots were running out so far that I often ended up in no mans land distance wise. A ½ lob wedge from a bare downhill lie is not my favorite shot. There were many bare spots in the fairways and some hard pan in a few areas. The rough had several different types of grass and lengths and so playing out of it was a guessing game. Most bunkers were fine but those that got watered were badly compacted. The fringe was the worst conditioned part of the course. There was a narrow ring of dead areas in the middle of the fringe on nearly all greens. The greens were a little slow and somewhat bumpy in the afternoon. Some greens held approach shots as expected, while some were so hard that I had several short irons release to the back of the green.

There was no beverage cart and the snack bar/restaurant was closed at 6PM with many players still out on the course. There was a nice guy, that I guess was supposed to be a marshal, driving around giving out water all day, but they lost a lot of money closing the snack bar so early.

I am sorry to pick on American Golf, but if you can’t get 1 of your 7 courses to a least a 7.0 condition, maybe you should consider another industry.
0 Likes.
Chalk another ruined course up for American Golf. I had not played the Vineyard in many years and am not sure when American Golf took over the management. I do know that the condition of the course now rates right up there with Chula Vista, Mission Trails, Oceanside, and the rest the courses that American Golf continues to run into the ground. The setting for the Vineyeard has matured nicely and is now quite pretty. The gnats that everyone mentioned seem to have subsided a bit and were only a problem on the front nine. Pace of play was pretty good for a Sunday at about 4:20. The layout is a bit goofy but not to the point of not being enjoyable. The condition of the course is the reason that I WILL NOT RETURN until American Golf is gone. The greens were like putting on a cheese grater. There were tons of ball marks(players must take some responsibilty for this), dead spots and areas where it lookked like birds had pecked holes in the green. The bunkers were soaking wet and the fairway bunkers on the back nine par 5 had hundreds of tracks from dogs or coyotes. Several diffent types of grasses growing randomly and the rough was very inconsistent in length. With so many excellent and reasonably priced courses in the San Diego area, there is no reason to play here.
0 Likes.
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