For the second weekend in a row, I waited too long to book anything so I was scouring a bunch of sites in search of cancellations Friday night. This time I lucked into a 1:12 time popping up for San C... Continue »

For the second weekend in a row, I waited too long to book anything so I was scouring a bunch of sites in search of cancellations Friday night. This time I lucked into a 1:12 time popping up for San Clemente at $39 walking rate. I arrived around 12:20 in hopes of starting early enough to guarantee finishing, and actually started around 12:55 paired with three other singles. Seems like this course is still allowing walk-ups to get on the list, unlike many other courses that require everyone to have confirmed tee times during Covid. Three of us walked and one rode. Things moved pretty consistently and we finished in four and a half hours.

Conditions are excellent in my book. The greens are smooth, a little thatchy, running medium speed and accepting full shots well. Downhillers towards the ocean can get pretty quick. I thought the fairways were excellent, with great kikuyu coverage although there are some brown spots here and there. The rough is 2-3 inches deep, not too penal but enough to make you work harder and sometimes grabby due to the kikuyu. Tee boxes were all decent, no complaints. I was in two bunkers, one of which had plentiful sand, and the other was pretty thin.

Always a great time playing this course. I love it so much. Walking it can get tiring. Felt appropriate to play it during the Genesis Invitational week with its vague similarities to Riviera: kikuyu, William Park Bell’s involvement, coastal air and winds, barrancas in play, etc. Highly recommended.