Played the North for the 2nd time. To be honest, I didn't remember 1 hole haha. Played with my weekday foursome on Monday 11/15/16 10:55AM Tee Time with record heat wave 85 daytime temps for Orange ... Continue »

Played the North for the 2nd time. To be honest, I didn't remember 1 hole haha. Played with my weekday foursome on Monday 11/15/16 10:55AM Tee Time with record heat wave 85 daytime temps for Orange County. We played on a Oak Creek player card voucher $150 Rate. Facilities are TOP Notch, expected from Pelican Hills. Course in great shape, Tee Boxes, Fairways, bunkers and Greens all Great shape. Course layout was awesome, with lots of elevation changes. Holes were uphill or down hill....views of the pacific were on many holes, not as close as the South. We did have great views of NEWPORT and Lido Island on middle holes 6-9... **After playing both courses twice, I have made my decision on the NORTH course being the better of the two....despite near ocean holes on the south. The North has more variety and offered a more rick and reward type round.

Played with my wife and matched up with two others last weekend. I would say some previous reviews are a bit harsh. Though it is not the most meticulously maintained course, it definitely it not a s... Continue »

Played with my wife and matched up with two others last weekend. I would say some previous reviews are a bit harsh. Though it is not the most meticulously maintained course, it definitely it not a sub 5 conditioning rating, regardless of whatever price was paid. Customer service was okay, no better than any high end course in my opinion. Someone was there to take our bags, we ended up loading up on the carts ourselves. Check in was easy. Two bottles of water in the cart cooler. Range was decent. No grass, but they had some soft mat material which was at least better than hard mats on concrete. The course, though not specifically lush, was green throughout and fairly well maintained. Teeboxes were level and generally in good condition, only the par 3's had a lot of divots. Fairways were about 20% brown grass 80% green but played fine. No bare spots, no muddy areas. Bunkers were somewhat inconsistent, i had some hard pan fairway bunkers but also some very fluffy white sand fairway bunkers. I was not in any greenside bunkers. Greens putted fairly quick and were difficult to read because everything tended to break toward the ocean instead of how it looked like it would break. Challenging course from the blues and also the yellows from where my wife played. Very nice views. POP was an issue, it took about 5 hours midmorning to mid afternoon. We breezed through the front but the back slowed down significantly, so we just took in the views. As a golf course and for it's conditioning alone, $315 or whatever the rack rate is too much, but if you consider that it is in Newport coast and the course was packed, i think their business model and pricing is on target. Part of the orange county tax we pay down here unfortunately given how expensive property is especially along the coast, they have to be able to justify being a golf course instead of more homes they could sell for multi million dollars each. Luckily i did not pay anywhere near rack rate. We enjoyed ourselves, looking forward to playing Pelican South sometime in the future.

Played in my first SCGA event here on 2/9. Figured $160 was the cheapest I'd ever get to play here. Tee boxes - fine but more chewed up than I would have expected. Fairways were the best I'd played ... Continue »

Played in my first SCGA event here on 2/9. Figured $160 was the cheapest I'd ever get to play here. Tee boxes - fine but more chewed up than I would have expected. Fairways were the best I'd played in a long time but still had a reasonable amount of poor patches. I remember the rough being a crazy mix of everything - I must have been in 7 different types of rough. From thin and dead to "tie a rope around my waist - I'm going in". The greens were so much faster than the practice green - I should had practiced on the cart path instead - rolled pretty true though. The bunkers that had brilliant white sand in them were great but the more common brown concrete ones around the greens were terrible - my whole foursome was miserable trying to hit out of them and stop the ball on the fast tilted greens.

Had to face the facts that the "best" courses are for golfers and apparently I'm not a golfer.

Played Pelican North today (11am tee time). My review is based on the cost ($610 for 2 of us).
I simply cannot get past that price, and my expectations are high at that number.
The range was on a m... Continue »

Played Pelican North today (11am tee time). My review is based on the cost ($610 for 2 of us).
I simply cannot get past that price, and my expectations are high at that number.
The range was on a mat that was very hard, with lots of shock. 1/2 the balls were lousy.
On #1, I hit a good drive and had 230 to the front. Had mud on my ball, which became a trend throughout the day. We had showers the night before, but obviously the irrigation was still on last night based on the the telltale signs around the heads.
Greens were decent, but again, for the cost, only fair. Bumpy at times and inconsistent speeds.
The (going) dormant fairways are muddy and very thatchy, grabbing clubs and producing divots that are hard to describe, more like mud volcano explosions at times.
The service and food in the resort is incredible. The quality of the golf experience, falls FAR short of the price tag.

Played here 4/3/14. Sixpez' review from 2/11 is right on from a layout and strategic perspective. I also agree on Sixpez' comment related to greens. Subtle breaks hard to see, prevailing break is towa... Continue »

Played here 4/3/14. Sixpez' review from 2/11 is right on from a layout and strategic perspective. I also agree on Sixpez' comment related to greens. Subtle breaks hard to see, prevailing break is toward Catalina / ocean .
Conditions here on 4/3 sound to be better than from February, however, as noted, maintenance coming on 4/21.
Greens fast, firm and smooth, fairways and bunkers immaculate.
I played twilight ($160) which is reasonable. Great venue / resort course. North course is wide open, most holes have huge fairways and in Fazio style, most channel towards the middle. Rollercoaster ride throughout. Either going up or downhill most of the round here. Quite a bit different than South course. Ocean views thru out the round, but nothing oceanside.
Highly recommend if you can find the right deal. If you have a little extra to spend, try a caddie and save a few strokes on the greens.

Took the day off and signed up for the SCGA members outing here today. $160 rate, which is way expensive but about as good a rate as I've seen here and I had to play it eventually. I played South quit... Continue »

Took the day off and signed up for the SCGA members outing here today. $160 rate, which is way expensive but about as good a rate as I've seen here and I had to play it eventually. I played South quite a few years ago, but wanted to check out North. I was in the 7:45 group and the fog slowed things down early. We teed off closer to 8:00 and finished in just under 5 hours. Pace not ideal, but this is the kind of place you don't mind taking your time after spending so much cash to get on the course. The course was by no means immaculate, but in very nice shape for winter. Tee boxes excellent. Fairways tight and fast bermuda with lots of roll, and always had great lies. Rough patchy in places, but primary cut generally looked good. Not super deep, but the ball sinks down and it can be tough. Then there are some deeper fescue patches around some bunkers and on outer edges that you should avoid at all costs. I was in two fairway bunkers and they were fine. Never found a greenside one, but they sure looked nice. Last but not least, the greens were exceptional! Rolling very fast and smooth, and almost impossible to read as a first-time player. These things are nasty and no side of the hole feels comfortable. With the ocean break, the various canyons and the undulation of the green surfaces themselves, it's hard to tell what is what. Our group was flustered all day, but still had fun. The fog sucked in the morning for visibility and my own picture taking, but burned off a lot by the time we made the turn. Overall it was a fun experience on a challenging and beautiful course. Only real complaint was a lack of GPS or even a pin sheet. All flags were yellow with no distinction of back/middle/front. Each cart is equipped with a range finder that measures to the pin, but doesn't work to measure to bunkers or anything else, so it's only helpful on approaches. They do have yardage books available in the pro shop and you'll probably want to purchase one unless you get a forecaddie who really knows the course. Most fairways slope severely from one side to the other (from left to right more often than not). On tee shots and approaches, you pretty much always want to aim to the high side. As fun and beautiful as the Pelican Hill courses are, the prices are just ridiculous. I'm glad I've gotten to play both courses and they were both enjoyable experiences. I'd love to play either again, but it will take a really enticing deal to lure me back.

I got to play the North course on 10/24 at a best ball tournament. I really enjoy this course. It plays like a links course but the landing areas are generous on most holes though you will most like... Continue »

I got to play the North course on 10/24 at a best ball tournament. I really enjoy this course. It plays like a links course but the landing areas are generous on most holes though you will most likely lose any errant shot. The fairways were in great shape though the greens were inconsistent during the day. Most were medium speed with a few that were very fast. Fortunately the caddie was able to warn us which holes to watch out for. I don't think it is worth the rack rate but if you can get a special deal here, it is definitely worth the trip.

My wife and I played here on Saturday, March 2, 2013. It was a birthday present from her. We had a tee time of 10:30 and we started on time. The round (with a caddie) took 5 hours and 15 minutes. T... Continue »

My wife and I played here on Saturday, March 2, 2013. It was a birthday present from her. We had a tee time of 10:30 and we started on time. The round (with a caddie) took 5 hours and 15 minutes. The fairways were not in good shape at all, especially for the money we spent ($560/ twosome). Very disappointing.

Played Pelican Hill (North) on 10/4/12. Greens were recovering from maintenance and were a little slower than normal but should be great next week. Love the lay out of this course and the views are th... Continue »

Played Pelican Hill (North) on 10/4/12. Greens were recovering from maintenance and were a little slower than normal but should be great next week. Love the lay out of this course and the views are the best in Southern California. Lots of maintenance personnel all over the course but never got in the way. First class golf experience from bag drop until you are back in your car going home. You pay for the experience but it is worth it for the most part.

Pelican Hill Golf Club Review
Southern California Golf Course Reviews