Played Monarch on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 Pm for a late afternoon time. First off - for paying almost $200 for a late afternoon twilight time, its a HUGE disappointment to start 20 minutes late (s... Continue »

Played Monarch on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 Pm for a late afternoon time. First off - for paying almost $200 for a late afternoon twilight time, its a HUGE disappointment to start 20 minutes late (started at 4:20, 4:00 Tee time).
Not only that, the first hole was completely closed due to a kids camp. Im all for the kids but there was no mention of this online when booking and no discount offered. We ended up playing the front 8 holes (skipped 1) in 2 hours and 40 minutes. Not good pace of play. The course itself was pretty good but the fairways are lacking for how much you guys charg. The greens are the best part of the course, very quick and roll very true. The fairways need some work but overall are okay. Bunkers/tee boxes are average. Really this course only has one ocean hole and its a short dogleg par 4.

I will probably not be back anytime soon as it just does not seem worth the money when i can go to other courses like Pelican for the same price

Excellent customer service. Bottle water and fruit provided at staging area. Warm up area are four nets and putting green. Back nine was recently aerated but was not informed when making reservation o... Continue »

Excellent customer service. Bottle water and fruit provided at staging area. Warm up area are four nets and putting green. Back nine was recently aerated but was not informed when making reservation or at check in. Greens fees are $185-369 - nice for a one time play. Very crowded and played in over five hours. Players don’t fix divots in the fairway or greens. Bunkers have nice sand but no one seems to rake them. Nice wide open layout with some challenge. Greens are very large, soft and bumpy.

Played recently in a scramble tournament. Overall I was impressed with the course but not sure it’s worth the $200+ fee to play there. I will tell you that it appears three or four of the fairways are... Continue »

Played recently in a scramble tournament. Overall I was impressed with the course but not sure it’s worth the $200+ fee to play there. I will tell you that it appears three or four of the fairways are under construction at this time so be warned.

Tee boxes were in great shape all of them were level with an easy place to hit from and had very little divot damage. Fairways were mostly good those that we’re not under construction we’re pretty lush with almost no brown spots and had good roll. Didn’t really hit out of the sand due to the tournament but it look like it was in great shape. The rough was about 1 to 3 inches and pretty playable. The greens are definitely the highlight of the course, they were in great shape and provided great role. Almost no ball marks and we’re fairly fast.

There’s really only views of the ocean on one or two of the holes the rest of the course is pretty much inland and you’ll see slivers of the ocean. If I would have to compare this to San Clemente I would easily play San Clemente more often. And the views at San Clemente are far better than the one or two holes . If you can find a good rate I would definitely play this course but not sure it’s worth the regular rate.

First time here, Customer Service outstanding from Valet to the End. But the course was underwhelming. One true ocean hole, fairways thin to bare. Greens great, sand great. But for the price there are... Continue »

First time here, Customer Service outstanding from Valet to the End. But the course was underwhelming. One true ocean hole, fairways thin to bare. Greens great, sand great. But for the price there are far better courses in better condition. Layout and challenge was great, just playing conditions subpar for $200 plus green fees.

Played Sunday the 29th in a tournament. They started us on hole 10, the starter mentioned they do this on the weekends to speed up play. I've always played here during the week so it was a surprise to... Continue »

Played Sunday the 29th in a tournament. They started us on hole 10, the starter mentioned they do this on the weekends to speed up play. I've always played here during the week so it was a surprise to me. Anyways, the course was in great shape throughout from tee to green. Nice tee boxes, they were level and trimmed perfectly. The fairways were groomed perfectly with no issues whatsoever. Bunkers had ample plush sand in them as I was in a few throughout the day. The greens were rolling true and were fast, just wish people would repair their ball marks...the rough was the most difficult part of the course. It didn't look very penalizing but it would really grab ahold of your club and wreck havoc on your shot. All and all the course was in great shape with a well manicured landscape.

Started off the Southern California golf trip with a round at Monarch Beach. This was the first time playing for both of us and I quite enjoyed the course. From the moment you enter the property wit... Continue »

Started off the Southern California golf trip with a round at Monarch Beach. This was the first time playing for both of us and I quite enjoyed the course. From the moment you enter the property with the large water feature at the entrance to the ocean vista’s, you know you’re in for a treat. Valet parking and club service then off to the locker room to change. Pro-shop is modest for a resort course of this caliber but what they have enough items to cover the basics. Plus they have a great view of the course and ocean.

We tee’d off late morning and for some reason they have been having people tee off on the 10th. Up the hill around the back of the resort we went with some fun holes that have distant views of the ocean and a couple of water hazards thrown in to increase the beauty of the track. Front nine has some minor elevation changes as it makes it’s way down to the ocean on the third and fourth holes. More water hazards litter the front nine, before finishing on a par 5.

Conditions were somewhere between nice and very good. Greens were in very good shape rolling at a medium-fast pace. Some greens were modest while others had some severe undulations.

Fairways had good coverage and offered decent roll out. Tee boxes and sand traps were on par with what you would expect for this price range. Staff was friendly. Overall I enjoyed the course a lot and definitely recommend it. If I had one complaint, it’s that it did have that “stuffy” feeling to it at times.

I got the chance to play here yesterday morning. I had a 7:16 a.m. tee time. Let me preface this review with this statement: This kind of green fee is not something in my usual wheelhouse. As a hote... Continue »

I got the chance to play here yesterday morning. I had a 7:16 a.m. tee time. Let me preface this review with this statement: This kind of green fee is not something in my usual wheelhouse. As a hotel guest, they did not offer any kind of discount, so I paid $233. So, for the money, I expected a great experience, from course conditions to scenery, neither disappointed. I got placed with three locals and we were given a chance to go early. It was nice to have their perspective on each hole. The front few holes are right next to a popular public park and jogging trail. Despite it being 7:00 in the morning and about 42 degrees, there were many of Orange County's finest and most beautiful people out and about. You have to love the resort nature of this part of the course. Heading into the back nine, it's more of a peaceful, golf-like setting. Beautiful golf holes and great conditions throughout. Sure, the front nine has some unusual holes. Holes 3 and 4 are the only oceanside holes and they are short. Hole 3 plays as a sharp, short dogleg par 4 with lots of undulation and bunkering. Going long into the ocean is a definite possibility here off the tee (I opted for a 7-iron and wedge to the green). Hole 4, a par 3, plays uphill back to the tunnel, so you might as well turn around a get a closeup of the ocean because it's going to be a few holes before you can see it in the distance. Greens: They were fast, smooth, and had very few ball marks (however, I found a few poor repairs that I fixed). I was able to judge the speed on most greens rather well and it was consistent throughout the course. If I had to emulate Gary, then they were 9/10. Fairways: Mostly good to great lies; however, there were a few isolated areas that were rather tight lies. I also saw some weeds on Hole 2 at the bottom of the hill; that should not be acceptable in a resort costing this much; however, that was the only spot on the whole course that was not perfect. Some of the slopes approaching the front of the greens were very tight lies. I found myself using putter from the fringe or approaches of many greens. It was nice to look at the pretty cut on the fairways, I just wish they were wider, 8/10. Rough: It was a good day in the rough for me. My ball sat up for the most part and the rough was very consistent, cut to about 2". Some areas were deep Bermuda and if your ball sat down then there could be issues. It's a great challenge, but I'm glad I didn't see a lot of that. On the bright side, the rough stopped my ball from going out of play more often than not, 7/10. Bunkers: My playing partners were in plenty and it looked like they were struggling. I only found two bunkers, both on Hole 15 (OUCH). That sand was nice and soft, but only a thin layer on hard pan. Overall, the bunkers looked great with fine, white sand but they did not play as well as they looked. Either that, or we all sucked at our sand game, 7/10. Tee boxes: We played up at the Gold Tees (5612 yds.). Well, the two younger guys did and their older friend played the Platinum Tees (5050 yds.). All the tees were level, fairly lush, and easy enough to place a tee in. No issues there, 9/10. Overall opinion of the course is that it's expensive. I guess it keeps it exclusive and more of a bucket list course for most working people. I was able to put this on our room and utilize some hotel credit to offset the cost. I'm not sure I'd pay $233 straight up for this.

Played on Friday and the course is in nice shape. Pace was good, no waiting. Greens great, soft and smooth and fairly speedy. Lots of unrepaired ball marks, fix your pitch marks folks. Tees nice, ... Continue »

Played on Friday and the course is in nice shape. Pace was good, no waiting. Greens great, soft and smooth and fairly speedy. Lots of unrepaired ball marks, fix your pitch marks folks. Tees nice, fairways in great shape and rough uniform. Fantastic customer service and overall really fun day. Expensive for what it is but fun track overall and in good shape.

Played Sunday morning with a shotgun start. Customer service here is top notch and it was a beautiful day at Monarch. The course did not handle the rains very well. Entire course was CPO. Tee boxes we... Continue »

Played Sunday morning with a shotgun start. Customer service here is top notch and it was a beautiful day at Monarch. The course did not handle the rains very well. Entire course was CPO. Tee boxes were level with good coverage. Fairways were very thin and muddy. Lots of unfilled divots in landing areas. Rough had good coverage. This course has many sand traps and many were in need of maintenance from the recent rains. The greens were in good shape. Smooth and running at medium speed. Lots of mounding in the green complexes.
Two holes near the ocean are the signature holes and make you appreciate golf in Cali in the winter months.