I played Friday afternoon alone and called them a few weeks ago to ask if I could book a tee time as a single. They said no and that it shouldn’t be a problem to show up. They told me that they had a tournament between 10 - 11 AM that day and to come before or after.

I showed up and the guys at the shop joked around that I was bold to show up without booking. Not sure what the official policy is, but they said that one could call a few days before and get added as a single? I guess it doesn’t hurt to try. It worked out though as I was able to join another pair of singles within a few minutes.

The front 9 isn’t anything really special and reminds me of the typical munis in So Cal that I frequent. The fairways weren’t that bad and were in pretty decent condition for a course that I assume gets a lot of traffic. The greens were in decent condition. People seem to take care of the course and fill their strips and fix their marks on the green. The tee boxes were in decent condition. The views of the back 9 make it seem like a different course. The winds on the back 9 are a little stronger. The views from hole 12 until the end were nice. One of our group dropped off after 9, so we were playing at a good pace as a double. We caught the group in front of us and waited from 12, so the views made it enjoyable. Even with the wait, we still finished ~4 hours. I think we could have finished in ~3:40 without the wait, but I cannot complain at all coming from So. Cal and being used to 5-6 hours.

The price was reasonable for the quality of the course. I can see why it’s the Poor Man’s Pebble Beach, although I can imagine Pebble being a little better as far as conditions and the experience. Unfortunately I cannot afford Pebble or any of the other high end courses in the area for this vacation, so I was definitely not disappointed with Pacific Grove Golf Links. I would definitely recommend this to my friends who want to play in the area but cannot afford the $$$$ courses.

Played early 12/27/14 morning. First time playing here and had fun here. I read some of the reviews and decided on this course because it didn't run through many houses. By the time we teed off at the Resort course, I saw about 2 groups tee off at Legends. The starter was really nice and courteous. Booked through Golfnow for a good price but didn't realize that it didn't include the breakfast and 2 drinks special. It wasn't a big deal and I should've realized that, but I didn't know that going in that morning. It was nice though because the cart girl came by a few times through the round. It was pretty cold (apparently it was cold all over So. Cal) and it made things a little uncomfortable to start the round. I heard from the Pro Shop that there was a frost delay the day before but I didn't really ask. I think it was around 40 degrees in the morning and we were able to start on time.

The course was in pretty good condition. The tee boxes were pretty good. I noticed some that were a little uneven, but not horribly bad. Fairways were in good condition. I don't know if it was my swing (whenever there is doubt, it usually is) but I wasn't getting much roll out on my drives.
The rough wasn't very punishing. I hate when you end up a few inches/ft. into the rough and end up losing your ball. There were some holes with some mounds which added to the difficulty. There were also some elevated and multi tiered greens.
The layout had a good mix of straight and dogleg holes that made it challenging at times. Not too many forced carries but there were some water holes that could make it tough for some. There was a longer par 3 that had forced carry over a lot of water on the right side. Otherwise, it wasn't too punishing for hackers or short hitters.
There were some trees and paths along the side for the community to walk/run/bike along the course. It wasn't much of an issue but you will see some people moving around at times. Off to the side of the paths could get a little rocky mixed in with dirt.
Greens were a little bumpy at times. Some holes were worse than others. People needed a lesson to fix their marks here. Compared to other courses in the area, it was lacking in this area. The speed was around medium on most holes. Some rolled a little faster and some were slower. We did go out early and it wasn't very warm even when the sun came out. Had some tricky breaks on some holes which made it a challenge.
Luckily I didn't end up in the sand that day, so I couldn't comment on it. I didn't notice rocks/pebbles but again I wasn't actually in the bunker to notice closely.

The clubhouse was nice and the staff were nice. The carts could use some GPS. I had my watch on me but my partners in the other cart had to rely on me to pull up next to them constantly to give them readings since they didn't see many markers out there. This caused us to play a little slower. It wasn't a big problem since the group behind us was pretty far behind, but I could see how it could slow some people down if they don't have a GPS or Rangefinder on them.

The views were nice and the course was overall pretty good. I'm sure there are more beautiful courses in the area, but I think it was worth the money. I would probably try out other courses next time I'm in the area but I would definitely recommend it to people who are looking for a fun course that's not a dump and not looking to spend too much money. I might have enjoyed it more if it was a little warmer, but that wasn't the fault of the course. I'm not sure how the pace of play was for a later start but we finished in around 3 hours. By the time we hit hole 17/18 we didn't see much of a back up on the holes but it looked to be pretty packed.

Went out early 12/26/14 and had a blast. It was surprisingly chilly the last couple of days and took a while to warm up. Haven't played in a long while and this was a good course to get back into it.

The layout was pretty easy. I don't really remember any doglegs or anything that made it difficult or unfair. The fairways are pretty flat too. Not many water holes on this course. Not many trees on the course. It was fun for my friend and I since we got to ease back into it after Christmas with the family. The course was pretty wide open and forgiving for a hacker like me that sprays the ball all over or likes to play army golf.
The few times I actually hit the fairway on my drives, they were in pretty nice condition. The rough was maintained pretty well. Of course the few times I lost my balls, I landed in the areas that where it grew a little longer.
The greens were maintained well. Maybe it was because we were there so early before people started messing it up. It seemed like people actually repaired their marks here, which is a really good thing. I'm not used to that playing in LA. The ball rolled pretty well.

When we left it looked pretty backed up (I swear it wasn't because of us), but it looked pretty crowded too. I didn't ask what the pace was supposed to be but we finished in under 3 hours. According to the card, it should be a little over 4. I saw a school of kids show up in the later morning and it looked to be pretty busy. I know we came early, but we did see the cart girl around hole 17. I should've picked up something from the shop because I didn't realize they didn't come out until earlier. I was reminded that at another course we went to this weekend. It would've been nice to be reminded of that here, but it's not a big deal. Just more of an FYI to anyone going out early. Carts had GPS but not the high end GPS with maps, just text. It worked though and no complaints here.

It's not a hard course and if I were looking for a challenge, I'd probably play somewhere else or warm up here first. But it was forgiving for us non-pros and I'd bring my friends who need that forgiveness. The staff was very friendly and the facility was clean. The bar didn't have a great selection of hard drinks/beer, but definitely not a reason I would choose a golf course. I'd definitely come back and play it again.

Played Saturday 3/8/14. Teed off around 1. It looked pretty crowded, but that was the only time I could do that day. The employees at the shop were polite. I didn't require much assistance from them other than paying for the round, but they weren't rude or anything. The starter was nice. We got some conflicting information when we first called in which caused some confusion. We were told we were joining a twosome but when we checked in about 10-15 minutes before, it became one person. But then that one person didn't show up yet. We packed the cart and talked to the starter for a little bit to wait. Didn't see the one or two that were supposed to play with us and it was time, so we headed off to the first tee.

We played behind a foursome and they weren't the fastest, but it didn't really matter. I could see within the next two holes that there were at least 2 groups in front of them that were waiting for each shot to be played. I tried to just enjoy the course and not worry about the pace. But that didn't last very long.

The course itself was nice. It was challenging for me. The fairways were fine. The rough wasn't that bad. I didn't think the greens were too bumpy. Surprisingly the greens were in good condition considering how much traffic was going through that day. I was surprised that most marks were repaired too.

After the 4th hole, the group (foursome) behind us approached us to talk to the slower group in front of us. They said that they don't hit far enough to wait for the group ahead of them. They weren't doing it all the time, but I did see them wait on a few shots that I knew they weren't going to reach. I agreed but they weren't that far off and even the times they waited, they quickly caught the group in front of them and had to wait. It would save them a few minutes on their approach shots, but they would end up waiting for the group in front to finish the hole at the green any way. The group behind us eventually left after the turn because they knew there was nothing they could do.

We get to the 11th and it plays right. The group in front is right at the dogleg and cannot be seen but they're not very far away. A new group behind us approaches us and asks why we're waiting. They were pretty rude and accused us of being the reason the course is slow. Once he sees our tee shots and the group in front of us, they realize it wasn't us. We get to the 12th, a par 3 and they finally see the 3 groups in front that are log jammed and don't say anything else to us about pace.

We get to hole 17 and it's dark at 6 PM. As we drove through we saw even more groups that we didn't see before. This course gets packed. I'm surprised the pace went as fast as it did. During the 5 hours we played, the marshal came by a few times to check the pace of play. He asked us if there were any problems we saw. He spoke to the groups in front too. I'm not sure if he told them to keep up with the groups in front. It didn't really help since it was so congested. I didn't see many hacks out there that were really the cause. Or if there were, they had plenty of time to recover.

The funny thing is that I never saw that one or twosome that we were supposed to pair up with. I felt bad that we started to play as a pair but every group behind us was 3-4. I'm glad we didn't wait for that group to ever show up.

Likes:
- The workers were nice. From the staff in the shop to the starter to the marshal. Nice people.
- Price. Pretty reasonable. $35 for twilight isn't bad. I would come back again, but a lot earlier.
- The course. I'd come back and play it again. It was fun and challenging.

Dislikes:
- The people on the course. Not a fault of Los Serranos, but you do have to take into consideration who you will be playing with. Of course everyone has somewhere to go and nobody wants to take a shot and wait 10 minutes to take your next. But when you're showing up on Saturday afternoon, you should probably set your expectations correctly. You're not going to fly through like you're the first one to tee off at 6 AM.
- Organization. Not a huge deal, but I'm wondering about the groups ahead of us that teed off and if they were sent out on time with the right number of people. Having a lot of small groups could definitely slow down the pace.
- Marshal. He was a nice person. But I did notice that there were some shorter hitters teeing off from the wrong tees. Obviously it didn't matter that day, but it is also something that can slow down pace. If you can't hit it past 200 yards, you shouldn't be playing from the blacks or blues. I'm not saying he could've turned a 5+ hour round into a 4, but it could've helped a little.

Went out 11/17/13 at around 10 AM. Well we were in line at the 1st hole for about 20 minutes before that, and finally got to tee off by 10. I should've known that it wasn't going to be a good day. We didn't finish until 4 PM. The employees here were great though. They were very nice and helpful. The cart girl came around a few times to make sure we were okay.

The course itself was pretty decent. Lots of deer around. Greens were a little bumpy at times and were hard to read as mentioned in other reviews. Some fairways were a little thin but not horrible. Did I mention the 6 hours it took to finish?

I'm not sure what the problem was, but I spoke to some people who teed off at 7:30 AM and they finished around 5. So it looks like it was just really backed up and trickled down from there. I understand that it's a weekend, but 6 hours was ridiculous. I had no rhythm and felt cold on every swing. I would probably come back on a weekday if it was really early, but I probably won't ever come back on a weekend. The course itself was enjoyable. But that pace of play was ridiculous.

Played Sunday 9/29/13 around 10:30 AM. The starter was nice and told us that it was surprisingly quiet that day for a Sunday morning.

Front 9 went by pretty fast. We played as a foursome and a pair came up fast behind us and we let them play through. Otherwise we didn't see anyone behind us for at least 2 holes back and the group in front of us was moving at a good pace.

Took a quick bathroom break at the turn and caught up to a group for the back 9. It wasn't a long wait and mostly on the Par 3's. Ended up finishing around 3:45. I was pleasantly surprised by the pace of play for a weekend. The staff was friendly and didn't have many complaints about conditions. I'd come back and play again if I were in the area.