Rode the blacks TWICE today with the underpar deal. Kudos to underpar, I’m not sure how they do it, but $209 for Monarch and Tijeras is an absolute steal. Forget the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Valencia.... Continue »

Rode the blacks TWICE today with the underpar deal. Kudos to underpar, I’m not sure how they do it, but $209 for Monarch and Tijeras is an absolute steal. Forget the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Valencia. I only bought one green ticket and ordered the second in the Proshop and it was immediately emailed to me, thank god because the rack rate was $230 and I’m not paying that. Rode the blacks both rounds, teeing of at 7:30 then again right after at 11:40. Everything at this course is first class, all employees are extremely professional. The course is in fantastic shape, tee to green lush, no bare spots absolutely perfect day of golf. My rating won’t do it justice, I highly recommend it even if it’s a drive, it’s worth it. I’m playing Valencia Monday in the SCGA event so I will have something to compare it too.

Played in a family tourney on 12/30. Chamber of Commerce day. Service is top notch. Not much to add from the previous reviews as far as course conditions go. They set up an area behind the first tee f... Continue »

Played in a family tourney on 12/30. Chamber of Commerce day. Service is top notch. Not much to add from the previous reviews as far as course conditions go. They set up an area behind the first tee for a post round reception which was perfect for all the little ones to run around.

Got to take some work colleagues out for a nice round of golf and, since I had never played Monarch Beach, thought it would be a great option. I was not wrong.

Before we get to the price:value port... Continue »

Got to take some work colleagues out for a nice round of golf and, since I had never played Monarch Beach, thought it would be a great option. I was not wrong.

Before we get to the price:value portion of the review, let's talk about some of the great things that were on offer here. First of all, the property around the course is pretty spectacular. Yes, there's the ocean hole that everyone sees rather exclusively, but there are some really beautiful other sections of the course, including the view looking up the hill on number 11, or any of the other pretty lakes and landscapes. I found the course to be so much more than the signature hole, but that was pretty awesome too (and felt good to par it).

I found the front nine layout to be somewhat more, for lack of a better word, gimmicky, than the back nine, which I ultimately preferred (despite the ocean hole). There were still some fun holes for sure, but I just preferred the back for some reason. Lots of elevations, plenty of water and OB danger. I lost a lot of balls today. You just can't be wayward or the punishment will present itself.

Course conditions were very good overall with some slight nitpicking required. Greens were running about 11.5 according to the staff. I somehow did very well with them with only 27 putts all day so for me they seemed to hold shots great, follow their lines obediently and remain consistent in terms of speed and conditioning on all 18. That was great.

Fairways were mostly in great shape but there were a few thin or GUR areas to be found, most likely from recent rains perhaps, or could be overwatering. But a thin or dirt area was definitely on the cards if you missed fairways with any venom, so that's a bit of a knock. I also found the bunkers to be mostly all in great, fluffy shape, but one or two seemed to be just a level before the non-sand elements of the traps so you could see some cloth or something peeking out from the ground. Rough was perfect in some areas and deadly in others … varied by hole. And the tee boxes (we played the orange tees) were all perfect.

Pretty slow group in front of us made slower by the challenging layout and easy opportunity to lose balls. Still, we finished in around 4.5 hours I think so no complaining there. No cart service but we did have one of the staff drive by and give us apples and water. The same offerings were available at the 10th tee.

All this being said, this is a very cool, very high-end course. But it's well over $200 and that I feel is, despite all of the amazing things this course has to offer, slightly over the line. This is easily a $150 course with no hesitation. With some course knowledge now, I would absolutely love to come back here soon and get back some of those lost shots, but I'll certainly be looking for the teeoff.com deal to be available. However, if you have the means, go play this course and just have some fun. But don't be fooled by the advertisements that only highlight the ocean hole because the rest of this course combined is much more memorable than that one, albeit great hole.

Played Monarch 9/24 on the Underpar all you can play deal. Service was 10 from the moment we drove up for bag drop off and valet. Teed-off as the first Tee time at 7:40am. Could have gone out sooner ... Continue »

Played Monarch 9/24 on the Underpar all you can play deal. Service was 10 from the moment we drove up for bag drop off and valet. Teed-off as the first Tee time at 7:40am. Could have gone out sooner but we were a two-some and had to wait for a single to join us. Course has a rule , first group out must be a threesome or more. Course is in amazing condition. The starter told us the greens had been punched about a month prior, and were in excellent condition and rolling @ 11 on stimpmeter. More on this in a moment. Tee boxes were in terrific condition as well , all fairly level with no bare spots. Fairways were also in excellent condition with good green coverage. The rough was well maintained too. Sand Traps (and there plenty) were also fluffy and in great condition. The course is not very long but where it defends itself is with the well placed fairway bunkers and abundant greenside bunkers. The greens are also have lots of undulations were when I missed made recovery difficult. The greens were not only fast , they were extremely difficult to gauge speed and line therefore making 3 putts more common than 1 putts. One of my favorite holes was Hole #3 the short par 4 facing the ocean right off the beach. A well struck 5 iron leaves a mere 100 yard shot in. But with the pin tucked back-left it was tough to keep the ball hole high. There is a large drop off left middle than can bring your approach shot back to front of green. Plus going long leaves you in a grassy bowl area. Lots of fun. POP on first 18 was 3.5 hours and on second 18 was closer to 4.5 hours. All said, great day of fun with 2 rounds at a very amazing and well maintained golf course. Thanks Underpar.com.

I played Monarch Beach on Thursday afternoon, March 8. Service was impeccable, as usual. The starter let us tee off on #6 so we wouldn't be following a shotgun tournament, which led to a nice 4 ho... Continue »

I played Monarch Beach on Thursday afternoon, March 8. Service was impeccable, as usual. The starter let us tee off on #6 so we wouldn't be following a shotgun tournament, which led to a nice 4 hour round. Conditions were good for late winter on bermuda, with few bare spots. The bunkers had deep, nice sand, and the greens were terrific, with hardly any ball marks. The greens had been aerated with the tiny holes, which did not affect play. The club card is pretty good deal, especially if your playing partner joins, because you can play for the same rate without springing for the price of the card. A great day not only because the course was in great shape, but I tied my all time low round.

Played 10:40 1/17 finished just over 4 hours. Course is always nice to play short but able to hit every club in the bag. Course was very playable except for the greens. Greens appear to have been smal... Continue »

Played 10:40 1/17 finished just over 4 hours. Course is always nice to play short but able to hit every club in the bag. Course was very playable except for the greens. Greens appear to have been small punched recently every green had a light coat of sand and very bumpy. Sand traps have a lot of sand recommend a high bounce sand wedge when playing here. Staff is very friendly and the place to have something to eat and drink would be at the snack shack off the 5th green. Would like to play here more often but I would have to win the lotto.

I played MB on Friday and I really enjoyed the course. I have an OB Sports card because of the course I play here in NM which gave me a discount rate of ~$131 (also included a 15% discount due to rec... Continue »

I played MB on Friday and I really enjoyed the course. I have an OB Sports card because of the course I play here in NM which gave me a discount rate of ~$131 (also included a 15% discount due to recently aerated greens). The greens had been aerated about a week prior and they were a little bumpy. I would say they were not too bad considering it had been just a week and they were pretty fast. I had trouble pitching on a few holes due to pretty tight lies in the fairway. There really is only one hole that is along the ocean (#3), however, there are a few that have ocean views. I think the course is nice overall and I would recommend it.

Played 11/12/17, about 2 weeks after aerification. Greens in pretty good shape but fast. Pin placements were challenging. Course overall in very good shape. Be prepared for many bunkers, but the s... Continue »

Played 11/12/17, about 2 weeks after aerification. Greens in pretty good shape but fast. Pin placements were challenging. Course overall in very good shape. Be prepared for many bunkers, but the sand is good. We chose to use a forecaddy and we felt it was well worth it! Ask for Will - he did a great job and had great knowledge of course. Entire staff, from Pro Shop to Snack Shop, were great at customer service!! Looking forward to a return visit!

Played early Sunday morning. Since it was first time we decided to use a forecaddy. Will was great. The course had recently been punch and seeded so greens were a bit bumpy. Orverall the weather was p... Continue »

Played early Sunday morning. Since it was first time we decided to use a forecaddy. Will was great. The course had recently been punch and seeded so greens were a bit bumpy. Orverall the weather was perfect and course in very good condition. Sand traps were actual SAND traps. We will be going back