One of those days when the stars aligned perfectly and every little detail just worked out. I'm speaking of a quick online glance only to find a perfect twosome (played with a buddy of mine) at a perf... Continue »

One of those days when the stars aligned perfectly and every little detail just worked out. I'm speaking of a quick online glance only to find a perfect twosome (played with a buddy of mine) at a perfect time on a great course like Rancho Park and get it for $25. Seriously. $25.

We played from the blue tees and both wanted to walk anyway so it worked out great. We had a noon tee time and found the most unbelievable sweet spot where we never really waited on a single hole, nor did we ever have the group behind us push in any fashion. And at the end of the round we had finished in exactly four hours. At Rancho Park. On a busy day. Heck, even the snack shop on the 12th tee box was open.

Greens are just fantastic right now. I'm talking everything from their fast speeds, to their true rolls and their acceptance of well-struck approach shots or chips/pitches. I had a pretty great putting day with only 28 putts for the round and a lot of that was due to feeling very confident whichever line and pace I decided upon, the ball was going to do exactly what I hoped for. Just tremendous.

The rest of the course is also in very good shape with the fairways being mostly good to very good with the occasional thinner lie here or there, while the rough is nice and playable in most spots. If there was any gripe it may be some of the bunkers felt a good bit on the thin side meaning some bunker splashes went a bit longer than hoped for. The tee boxes were mostly in good shape with a few either a bit thin or a bit hardpan, but nothing terrible at all.

There was no cart service around (rarely is at Rancho) but there's a very nice little bar/snack shop by the driving range right now as they continue construction work on the clubhouse. And of course, the POP again was excellent so definitely happy about that.

Just an all-around super day at Rancho and happy to have been gifted such a fine experience. I only wish that I would have played the 18th hole better and beaten my personal best there.

Rancho Park has always been one of my favorite golf courses. It was the first course I played when I moved to California in 1970. I always felt that Rancho was a perfect barometer of what kind of golf... Continue »

Rancho Park has always been one of my favorite golf courses. It was the first course I played when I moved to California in 1970. I always felt that Rancho was a perfect barometer of what kind of golfer you were. I used to complain about the pace of play here, but now my complaint is the brutal drive to and from south Orange County.
Course was in nice overall condition, particularly the greens. Maybe because I actually made a bunch of putts, but they seemed to roll very true. Good coverage in the fairways, and the rough was very fair. Don't need to address pace of play, because anyone who plays here knows what that would be. But to be out on a beautiful December day on a great old traditional course, well, it doesn't get much better. Now if I could just figure out a way to get home in under two hours.

Played a Thanksgiving morning round with a buddy of mine after getting a late online time for Rancho Park at 9:20am through teeoff.com. Thrilled to get such a good time on this course and paid $68 for... Continue »

Played a Thanksgiving morning round with a buddy of mine after getting a late online time for Rancho Park at 9:20am through teeoff.com. Thrilled to get such a good time on this course and paid $68 for greens fee and cart.

The course is in good shape right now from tee to green with the greens being the most definite highlight. They are really running nicely right now, holding shots pretty well and most lines stay true, running pretty quick to be honest. Did not even see any glut of pitch marks which was pretty wonderful.

The fairways are in good, not necessarily great shape. Rough is absolutely playable and sometimes provides just a little better surface than many popular landing areas in the fairways where the coverage is good, but just sometimes a little too thin for my liking. We played from the blue tees and the tee boxes were level and had mostly good coverage, but there were some with some bare spots. Bunkers were in decent to good shape depending on where you landed.

They must have recently opened a bar area right near the very popular driving range, so that was interesting to see. Looks like they're taking a cue from Penmar with that addition. Unfortunately we did not see any cart service all afternoon and the nice little snack shop at the 12th hole tee box was closed, so that was a bummer. What was not a bummer was a very good POP of around 4:15 which, at Rancho on a holiday, is crazy good. When we tee'd off, the group ahead of us was already a hole and a half ahead so we never waited all day, which is amazing to experience.

All in all it was a super fun round on a perfect late autumn afternoon and everything worked out to be giving thanks, indeed!

Somehow managed to snag a tee time for saturday at 11:50 2 days prior. maybe concern over the storm? in either case, when i arrived to check in starter said i could go out early. I warm up at the rang... Continue »

Somehow managed to snag a tee time for saturday at 11:50 2 days prior. maybe concern over the storm? in either case, when i arrived to check in starter said i could go out early. I warm up at the range and go to the tee box and another single is there having literally just walked on. it was my first time playing rancho but he mentioned how rare it was that the course wasn't jammed up. Wound up going out with 3 other singles, me and another walking. Was a really good foursome, lots of laughs were had. Had really been looking forward to playing this track and it was a lot of fun. playing with guys who had some course knowledge helped for sure, as there were a few instances of blind shots both off the tee and even on approach. most holes are fairly straight, but everything is tree-lined and there's a lot of undulation and elevation changes. Found the course itself to be in a pretty good muni shape; some bare spots but i found good lies most of the day, and the couple of bunkers i was in had really nice sand. greens were in good shape and rolled true, medium speed. pace of play was about 4.5 which seemed good to me. some waits on par 3s but nothing terrible. definitely a decent challenge, helps to know the angles and where to hit. there's a snack bar near the turn, facility doesn't have a pro shop so bring extra balls and a glove if you need 'em. would love to get back out here soon! hope i can get lucky again with a time!

Played this morning, Saturday, about 6:30 am. We were able to play in about 4:15, which was merely okay at that time of day. Still beat the heat of the day though and there was a nice breeze from the ... Continue »

Played this morning, Saturday, about 6:30 am. We were able to play in about 4:15, which was merely okay at that time of day. Still beat the heat of the day though and there was a nice breeze from the direction of the ocean. All in all, a nice morning in WLA.

The course was in good shape. Not great, but good. I was a little worried on the first tee which was very firm dirt but the fairway was decent. That was pretty much the trend, the tees were so so but the fairways were firm with decent coverage. The greens were in real nice shape. They were wet and medium at the start but dried out and speeded up. They were also firm. Definitely the highlight of the round.

Definitely enjoyed the round and I will be back.

Joined a buddy for a late twilight round at Rancho Park this week and found the course to be in really good shape. I would say that just about every aspect of the course is in slightly above average c... Continue »

Joined a buddy for a late twilight round at Rancho Park this week and found the course to be in really good shape. I would say that just about every aspect of the course is in slightly above average condition across the board, which is a pretty nice combination. Even POP was tremendous as we finished right at four hours to come in just before darkness fell across the Cheviot Hills. We had been paired with an older couple for the first nine, and once they took off at the turn, we cruised through the back nine with only minimal waits on the group in front of us. Greens were rolling very true but not exactly lightning fast, but coverage is nice and they hold shots well. Fairways have good coverage and the rough is thick but playable. Bunkers had varying layers of sand depending on the hole, while the tee boxes were mostly flat and had good grass coverage. So, as previously mentioned, everything is in really good shape, but nothing absolutely perfect. It's definitely nice and very playable right now though.

Played Rancho yesterday (Thurs May 18). 6:10 tee time. Arrived at the first hole as a single and found another single waiting for our group. The group in front went out as a 3-some, and we were about... Continue »

Played Rancho yesterday (Thurs May 18). 6:10 tee time. Arrived at the first hole as a single and found another single waiting for our group. The group in front went out as a 3-some, and we were about to go out as two since no one else seemed to be joining us, but another single from the 6:30 tee time decided to jump ahead and join us. Unusual for such a busy course to have so many open slots but it was great for pace of play. Had a great time with a really nice group of strangers. The course is playing great. Greens are pretty much back to great condition, some were quite speedy. Fairways were really good with green grass and nice run out. The rough was penal in places. Bunkers had good sand. Overall it's great right now and would highly recommend.

Played here back on 3-13-23. For those that play Rancho, you now trying to get on as walk on can be very difficult, especially later in the morning. I showed up to the course at 10:30am knowing tha... Continue »

Played here back on 3-13-23. For those that play Rancho, you now trying to get on as walk on can be very difficult, especially later in the morning. I showed up to the course at 10:30am knowing that i might not get out until maybe the early afternoon and was told by the starter that I could get out in 20 min as a single. The course had restricted play to walking only due to the amount of water the area had received in the previous week. Thankfully I had my push cart in my car. The course was in good shape, the greens were slow, which I expected because they had not mowed them or rolled them due to the rain, but they were still solid pace. The fairways were also in good shape, but there were a large amount of fallen trees on the course, with one laying across the entire 9th fairway. With no one in a golf cart, the pace of play was 4hrs 15 min on what turned out to be a beautiful day at the course. I can't wait to go back and play here again.

What a pleasure it was to return to Rancho Park. This was the first golf course I played when I moved to California in 1970. When I lived in Westchester, I played here fairly often, but since moving t... Continue »

What a pleasure it was to return to Rancho Park. This was the first golf course I played when I moved to California in 1970. When I lived in Westchester, I played here fairly often, but since moving to Orange County, I rarely get back to Rancho. Many fond memories.

Course was in pretty good shape. Greens better than expected. Rolled well and were very receptive, with decent pace. Good coverage in the fairways. Did not find any bunkers, but they appeared OK.

The only thing that was different was the all the work being done around the clubhouse. Didn't affect anything about the course, but I kind of missed not being able to go into the pro shop. Not a big deal, but just trying to re-live old times. Still, always great to play Rancho Park, which I have always felt was a perfect barometer of what kind of golfer you are. An honest, fair challenge.