The recent rains have apparently made a big difference! Historically dinged for thin turf and tight lies in the fairways, I’ve never seen AT as lush as I found it yesterday! I played at 2pm on 2/15/17... Continue »

The recent rains have apparently made a big difference! Historically dinged for thin turf and tight lies in the fairways, I’ve never seen AT as lush as I found it yesterday! I played at 2pm on 2/15/17 to get the super-twilight rate of $50 on a warm sunny day with little wind – the first tee was steady busy up until that time, and we had a couple groups after us. I joined an amicable local single Justin, who was familiar with GK (but not a member), and a couple here on business from Maryland. We played rather slowly to begin as many balls were sent to their doom in the (now heavily foliaged) ESAs. The couple allowed me and Justin to sprint forward after #10 and we finished as the last pair to play #18, just as it got too dark to see, finishing in just under 4 hours. Staff was great and we saw the cart girl several times, and a ranger gave us some refills for the sand bottles, which we were having to use liberally.

Greens were firm, had good coverage, and rolled at medium speed. Some greens had some thin or bare areas along some margins. We didn’t see too many ballmarks. As stated above, fairways were lush and the ball sat up nicely. We had some fairway areas roped off to avoid cart traffic over the wet/soft areas, including large areas in the driving area for hole #12 (dang! - really needed that roll-out on that long one!). Rough along edges of playing areas was fairly short and very playable, although frequently clumpy – further out balls were just gone in lush ESA areas. Tee boxes were good. Fairway bunkers were firm, while greenside bunkers had a fairly thin playing layer over a damp base.

The course has new carts, each with a new Visage GPS system that is interactive and very readable. You can even adjust the brightness and tone volume (or mute). And no advertising!!!! However, the system only gives distance to the COG, not the pin location. A zone sheet on the back of the cart gives you the pin zone for that day. And the ‘approach’ view shows the shape of the green, but no green features.

Plenty of water available, and restrooms clean and good condition. Range on grass today but the teeing areas didn’t have much turf available – the range either got a lot of early morning use or hitting areas were a holdover from previous day(s). There’s now an attendant at the range shack, so getting balls is a little easier (and cheaper). Fairly large putting green that accurately reflected the speed of the on-course greens.

Very good conditions at this time.

Early morning round at Arroyo. Cart path only for the first six holes due to frost. (Fairways only- no frost on the greens) The course is probably in the best shape I've seen it in. Plenty of gra... Continue »

Early morning round at Arroyo. Cart path only for the first six holes due to frost. (Fairways only- no frost on the greens) The course is probably in the best shape I've seen it in. Plenty of grass on the fairways, although they are always "tight". Greens rolled exceptionally well. In one bunker and it was great. Tees/rough were good, not great.

The staff at this course is hands down the best anywhere. I NEVER have a problem here and everyone is friendly and makes me feel welcome and appreciated. They always try to accommodate me. I wish other courses would handle their customers like Arroyo.

Always enjoy playing this course in part because the staff is so very accommodating. Never have an issue getting out early, the only downside is dealing with maintenance, but worth the inconvenience ... Continue »

Always enjoy playing this course in part because the staff is so very accommodating. Never have an issue getting out early, the only downside is dealing with maintenance, but worth the inconvenience considering you can get around so quickly.

The course is in probably the best condition I have seen it in for some time. Nice green fairways despite the heat, greens rolled well and were still receptive to good shots. Only in one bunker and there was plenty of sand, but the others looked fine.

There is something very tranquil about playing here in the early morning. It's quite, no homes, no traffic noise, just a nice feeling about being outside with nobody around. The golf course also has a nice flow to it, and allows you to play without adjacent fairways, so is very peaceful and relaxing.

I played today with a client and a single visiting from Texas. We had a tee time of 9am and got out right away. The carts have a basic GPS, there were a few water stations along the way, and the bev... Continue »

I played today with a client and a single visiting from Texas. We had a tee time of 9am and got out right away. The carts have a basic GPS, there were a few water stations along the way, and the beverage cart came by 3 times. The course is in very nice shape. The fairways are mostly green, lush and very well cushioned. Other than landing in one very small patch of GUR I found no bad lies. The rough was thin and patchy in places but still not bad. The 4 bunkers I was in all had very nice clean sand, although it varied in depth and from dry to damp and one was muddy. The greens were good. Other than the usual old and new ball marks and a couple of bad patches around the edges, they were smooth and rolled about medium speed. The back nine has a lot more variety in the holes with more elevation changes, dog legs and a few blind shots. It’s really quite beautiful, especially the holes with water. By about the 14th hole, though, I was starting to feel the heat (104) and was really glad we were moving along at a good pace. We finished in exactly 4 hours. I will look forward to playing here again.

Played twilight (2pm) on a clear hot Saturday without too much wind, 8/13/16. No senior rates available on Saturday, so paid $75 – the starter was able to place me with a twosome of members going off ... Continue »

Played twilight (2pm) on a clear hot Saturday without too much wind, 8/13/16. No senior rates available on Saturday, so paid $75 – the starter was able to place me with a twosome of members going off at 1:30. I like this layout, but reviews have been up and down over the past few years, so I’m never sure what I’m going to get. Too hot to hit balls so I rolled some putts before going off the blues. Putting green is large with some good slopes and distances for getting the feel of the pace, and the putting green reflected the on-course pace very well. Went on to the first tee and promptly topped my first shot about 20 yards. Even though it was afternoon I then hit a breakfast ball down the middle. The guys I was playing with were young and very amicable, and long hitters, but they sprayed the ball like crazy – I’m sure they averaged one lost ball per hole between them. After they both hit second balls off the first tee I didn’t feel bad hitting mine – then I hit a half-wedge that went in the hole! Since I took that second ball I didn’t feel right about adding it to my list of eagles made, so I marked a 4 and we moved on. Conditions overall were pretty good. Greens had mostly good coverage and rolled well, although at only medium speed. The early greens were soft and receptive, but later some of the greens were very firm, so we were never sure what we would run into. The staff was watering the course and greens in scattered areas as we were playing, and frequently we would be surprised by soft conditions when we were expecting runout, or firm conditions when pitching to holes. Early greens had few marks on them, but the number of marks seemed to increase as we got deeper into the round. Fairways generally were in good shape, giving tight lies. Rough along the edges of fairways and greens was drier and thinner – beyond that you were in the ESA. Tees were wide, flat, and gave good stances. I was only in one greenside bunker, and sand quality and depth were good – partners looked like they had good sand for their fairway and greenside plays. We finished in under 4 hours – course was not that crowded this afternoon and we never really waited to hit except on #12 tee. Plenty of water available. Saw the cart girl and ranger a couple times each. Still Recommended.

played here for first time 7/31/16 on a virtually windless day. showed up as a single right around 7 am, and was paired up and went off as a 2 some sometime b/t 7 and 715, no warm up, so took a breakf... Continue »

played here for first time 7/31/16 on a virtually windless day. showed up as a single right around 7 am, and was paired up and went off as a 2 some sometime b/t 7 and 715, no warm up, so took a breakfast ball off 1 tee. i'm a 5 handicap so played back tees, was paired up with an awesome gentleman around 60 who sucked it up and tipped it out with me. only paid 100, not 105 for the round. we flew around, i was back in the parking lot by 10:45, a 4 some was kind enough to let us through on the 4th or 5th hole, whatever the 1st par 3 was. as for the course, i was staying in newport beach for the weekend & did a ton of research about all the courses w/ in 40 mins of there, and sort of concluded that this was my best bang for my buck given that i wanted to play super early, be challenged, and not feel ripped off. and while the greens were a bit slow and my 3 putt of the 6th hole was solely attirbuted to having to putt through an area that shouldve been GIR, i felt like the greens fee of 100 was super fair here, especially given what tustin ranch, tijeras, pelican, strawberry farms & oak creek all charge, or what they charge given how conditions of changed. the course was very fun & playable, and given that lehman had a hand in designing, no wonder my power draw played well there all day. there was very little wind so it didn't exactly feel like a 73.8/133 on a p72 as i shot a 78 w/out even playing all that great. i did birdie the 1st par 5 on each 9, and shouldve had another on the 2nd one on the front. my only gripes are that the greens were a bit slow and that there couldve been a bit more variety in par 3 length. i hit hybrid on the 1st one and then 5i or 6i on the other 3. wouldve been nice to play a par 3 that was sub 150 in length. net net, from what i gather, this course provides really good value for the OC & not only would i play it again, but it's enjoyable and interesting enough that i could make it my home track if i had to, w/ solid value.

Played here Thursday 6/16. First time here. Overall, very enjoyable course, and good-excellent condition.

Most holes offer generous and wide fairways. Strategic bunkering but didn't seem to come i... Continue »

Played here Thursday 6/16. First time here. Overall, very enjoyable course, and good-excellent condition.

Most holes offer generous and wide fairways. Strategic bunkering but didn't seem to come in play too much. Fairway conditions were the highlight of the course. A little firm in spots but soft in others. Nice cushion under ball. Some sloping fairways make it important to hit to the correct side to ensure good angles to green. (No rough to speak off on this day, so even missing fairways allowed for opportunity to recover from good lie.

Greens were disappointing. As mentioned in some other recent reviews, greens were slow(ish) and quite bumpy. Difficult to keep putts rolling on a true line. That said, they were otherwise, overall, healthy and receptive.

All bunkers were consistent and filled with good amount of soft sand greenside, and fairway traps were conditioned well. Not as much sand to allow better contact for longer approaches.

Great service inside and out: From bag drop, Pro Shop, Starter and course cart service. Plan for time either before or after round for some excellent food in a very nice bar (O'Neill's) which also offers nice outdoor seating.

It took me a long time to get here and play, and will not wait long to visit again. Can only hope greens will be smoother and faster.

Highly recommend. Enjoy

Played Arroyo Trabuco Friday afternoon, on 6/10. We had virtually no wind, which I think is abnormal for this course and it made the course play much easier than normal.

Conditions here were a li... Continue »

Played Arroyo Trabuco Friday afternoon, on 6/10. We had virtually no wind, which I think is abnormal for this course and it made the course play much easier than normal.

Conditions here were a little disappointing, had I read the last few reviews I probably would have had better expectations. In any case, the biggest issue I had here were the greens. The greens were in really poor condition. I don't think they had been cut so they were really long, slow, and bumpy. There was damage around the edges of the greens and I must have fixed 50 ball marks. It was just a little disappointing because the rest of the course was in decent condition.

As far as the course routing and playability goes. Arroyo is really fun. Yes, there's ALOT of natural areas where you can take penalty strokes, but the landing areas are large and allow for golfers of all levels to have some fun. It's not the most difficult course (remember there was no wind today), but does allow you to be aggressive.

Final verdict, It was a bummer the greens were the way they were. I'd come back but i'd wait until I see some better reviews.

Based on the prior review, I did not have high expectations, but I must admit, conditions were better than expected. The greens were fertilized recently, and were very green. You could still see sign... Continue »

Based on the prior review, I did not have high expectations, but I must admit, conditions were better than expected. The greens were fertilized recently, and were very green. You could still see signs of the recent verticutting, but it did not really affect the roll. A few of the greens were still bumpy, but overall, not bad. Fairways were for the most part very good with the typical "tight" lies I've come to expect here. Was not in any bunkers, but they looked good.

Lots of maintenance to deal with this morning, but that's the price of early morning golf. Larry, in the pro shop is always great. Enjoy the course, staff is terrific, and not too badly priced. (For So Orange County)