Played here yesterday afternoon. I found this course to a very pleasant surprise, which I was kind of expecting due to the GK reviews. For a municipal course, the layout is quite fun, you have a good ... Continue »

Played here yesterday afternoon. I found this course to a very pleasant surprise, which I was kind of expecting due to the GK reviews. For a municipal course, the layout is quite fun, you have a good mix of holes ranging from tight to open, elevation changes, and some pretty great views. My playing partner mentioned that they built the course so that there is some sort of ocean view either from the green or the tee box on every hole. I don't quite remember the views for the first couple holes, but I did find this to be true for every hole once I started paying attention. The course is set in the hills, not super close to the ocean, but the views are nice and just seeing the water makes the round that much better. The course conditions were pretty good for August, I'm not sure if they have water restrictions here, but I would not be surprised if they did as the course was definitely not lush. There was adequate coverage on the fairways with some pretty decent length to the rough in many areas. The tee box conditions were probably the weakest part to the course, most likely from the amount of play they get. The par 3's especially, were very thin with lots of refilled divots. The bunkers had decent sand coverage and played a little heavy. The greens were in good shape, everything breaks to the ocean and also runs a little quicker when putting that direction as well. Pace of play was decent, right at 4 hours while walking. All in all, it was very enjoyable time at this course, if it was little closer to me, I'd play it more regularly. I could see my self driving down to play 2-3x a year though, I recommend it.

Back to San Clemente for my GK Cup match with 140ver and conditions were pretty darn good, as was the POP for a Sunday. Played the blue tees at 9:07 for $44 walking. Very nice and helpful staff to sta... Continue »

Back to San Clemente for my GK Cup match with 140ver and conditions were pretty darn good, as was the POP for a Sunday. Played the blue tees at 9:07 for $44 walking. Very nice and helpful staff to start the day.

Fairways have pretty good coverage throughout with the majority of dry areas well off the beaten track or just in front of the tee boxes where few balls will end up. There are some thin lies for sure but not a regularity. Rough is penal in a few areas where lush, and others due to being thin. Keep it in the fairway and worry not.

Greens were not necessarily looking too pretty but actually had some good speed to them and rolled relatively true. Had a horrible day chasing GIRs so the few shots I landed on the green seemed well receptive. All in all no major complaints.

Tee boxes are what you'd expect - not pristine but functional with minimal fuss. Was only in one sand trap and it was okay. I don't recall looking into any and thinking 'gravel pit.'

As earlier stated, POP was really good for a Sunday, taking just the standard 4 hours. Excellent. The cart girl was around twice and that was nice on a hot day. All in all it was a very good day helped in part by a course in good shape for the price and an interesting enough track (especially the back 9) to make it worthwhile to return another day.

Played my GK Cup match today with 140ver (Mike) over at San Clemente Golf Club on a very windy Saturday with a 1:37pm tee time, unfortunately behind a local or member tournament which meant that what ... Continue »

Played my GK Cup match today with 140ver (Mike) over at San Clemente Golf Club on a very windy Saturday with a 1:37pm tee time, unfortunately behind a local or member tournament which meant that what should have been an easy finish before dark turned into a six-hour-plus marathon that finished after the sun went down.

As for the course itself, we played the blues for the regular weekend $48 rate. The wind made conditions far more tricky than normal I'm sure, but overall, on a calm, sunny day, I can imagine this place to be very fun to play. And of course not over six hours would help.

The fairways were in nice shape all around - not too many thin lies at all, and the rough was set up at a good length to be tough, but not impossible. There were a few dicey areas around or near the greens, but some were marked as GUR and for the most part it was all in good condition in that regard.

The tee boxes were very firm on many of the holes and took a few probing digs to find purchase for one's tee, but they weren't too badly chewed up and for the most part they were level. Only found one bunker all day (greenside on #12) and sand seemed okay.

Greens were very firm and rolled pretty well and semi-fast, maybe a 9 on the stimp. Not a lot of ball marks either because they were so firm, or because people were good at fixing them, but we saw plenty of evidence that many people on the course were not masters of etiquette, so I'll judge the former to be more likely. Still, they seemed from the others to hold shots pretty well, but there were some tricky breaks that took a while to grasp.

The layout is very different from 13-18 as it is from 1-12 - like two different courses. The first six holes are very flat and park-like, while there's some hills and elevations to deal with from 7-9. Three more flat holes from 10-12, and then the party begins into the canyons - really fun back there and until the finish.

All in all, if you could be sure to get in a round at a normal time less than six darn hours, and if the wind is slightly calmer, I find this track would definitely be worth someone's time to visit, however living in Playa del Rey and imagining the hour and a half drive down, I'm not sure it'll be a part of the rotation anytime soon. But if passing by en route to SD or something, wouldn't hesitate to try it out again.

Played this afternoon (3/20). Course was basically in the same shape I remember it always being in. Fairways are actually pretty solid and green, ball sits up well for the most part. Rough is hit or m... Continue »

Played this afternoon (3/20). Course was basically in the same shape I remember it always being in. Fairways are actually pretty solid and green, ball sits up well for the most part. Rough is hit or miss, some good thick stuff out there but a couple thin areas. Greens are about 2 weeks out from punching it seems and they are definitely not in good shape. Looked like the mower missed a couple spots, holes are nowhere near grown in yet and everything was bumpy. You can get a good rate for walking at 3 which makes it worth it, not bad for a cheap muni but theres definitely better courses out there.

What a perfect day to play golf! 6:37am tee time, went off as a twosome, (Second group off) behind a fivesome. The fivesome waved us through on #2 (Thanks guys!) so we enjoyed a nice easy pace wit... Continue »

What a perfect day to play golf! 6:37am tee time, went off as a twosome, (Second group off) behind a fivesome. The fivesome waved us through on #2 (Thanks guys!) so we enjoyed a nice easy pace with zero waiting. Just a tick over three hours, so a nice relaxing walk to enjoy the beautiful morning.

The fairways were better than expected, green with quite a bit of grass. Bunkers had lots of sand, but were not raked. The greens were bumpy and quick if above the hole. They were rock hard as well. No chance to stop anything. As a result, getting close or up and down was not going to happen today. I can't imagine how firm they'll be later on today! Course was great, but disappointed with the greens

Staff was fine, but it would have been nice if they offered to allow us to get off in front of the fivesome. But it works anyway.

I had a 6:52 tee time, but the guy I was to play with called me at 5:00am and said he didn't want to play due to the weather, so I decided to go out early and see how things were. Got there at 6:30 a... Continue »

I had a 6:52 tee time, but the guy I was to play with called me at 5:00am and said he didn't want to play due to the weather, so I decided to go out early and see how things were. Got there at 6:30 and only one other person waiting to go, so I paid my $$ and walked to #1 and off I went. Only intermittent rain, but the wind was blowing constantly 10-14mph, which made the little rain very annoying.

Glad I went off early and first, because the weather was scheduled to worsen during the morning. Tee'd off just after 6:30 and closed the trunk just about 8:42. It was a brisk walk at a quick pace to finish ahead of the weather and the single in a cart a couple holes behind me. Good thing, because it started raining much harder right after I got in the car.

The greens looked terrible! I mean just horrible, but in all fairness, they didn't putt as bad as they looked. Fairways were typical winter dormant condition. I was not in any bunkers, but they appeared OK. Not the best shape I've seen San Clemente but, hey it's now winter.

Staff was friendly and accommodating..

Made the trek out to San Clemente on Veterans day. This was my first time playing the course. The course looked busy, but the pro shop got me second up when I checked in on the waiting list. Played wi... Continue »

Made the trek out to San Clemente on Veterans day. This was my first time playing the course. The course looked busy, but the pro shop got me second up when I checked in on the waiting list. Played with 2 locals and another who was a first timer like me. The advice they gave me helped out a lot in that putts broke to the ocean. The course was very windy and got gusty toward the end of the round. The course had good coverage, it was not immaculate but the fairways had grass, the rough had thicker grass, and the greens were somewhat green.
Tee boxes were good except 1 was moved up due to damage or alot of play in the regular teeing area, some of the other tee boxes had some divot damage but it was nothing a tee couldn't fix.
Fairways had grass so it was good. Some areas were marked off as GUR and there were some areas that were damaged.
Greens were bumpy and medium fast which I could not believe because the look of them made me feel like they were going to be slow. There were some divot damage and all of us fixed a couple on each hole.
Pace of Play was about 5 hours but was expected since it was a holiday round. Next time I will try this course early in the morning.

Played on Saturday, 9.19 at 11:15 in a tournament. First time at San Clemente and for a muni the course is in decent condition, however there are a few major issues. First the good. Fairways are consi... Continue »

Played on Saturday, 9.19 at 11:15 in a tournament. First time at San Clemente and for a muni the course is in decent condition, however there are a few major issues. First the good. Fairways are consistent, customer service was good, and the traps are great and multiple holes have great ocean views.

Now the bad news. Greens are slow, especially putting uphill into the hills. They also have serious issues on the edges of the greens with multiple holes showing burned out, dry areas that are dreadful to putt through. The layout is pretty boring, you rarely need to hit a driver with just about every par 4 between 320-390 yards. I hit hybrid on every par 4 on the back 9 and never had more than an 8 iron into the greens. The tee boxes looked like bigfoot stomped on them. Hardly any of them are level and most of them are missing grass.

The best part of the course are the par 3's. All 4 of them are really quality holes and have a good mixture of long/short/ uphill and downhill shots. They alone almost make the course worth it. Carts don't have GPS, so be sure to bring your own and the driving range was mats only today.

All in all, it's a good course that is right in front of you. It's worth the green fee and I wouldn't hesitate playing it again for the right price.

Played a mid-morning tournament on Saturday 9/13. The course was very busy, with three tournaments running and a couple of weddings going. It was very warm and muggy, and the ocean breeze didn't kic... Continue »

Played a mid-morning tournament on Saturday 9/13. The course was very busy, with three tournaments running and a couple of weddings going. It was very warm and muggy, and the ocean breeze didn't kick in and give respite until 1 or 2pm. Tee-to-green conditions were pretty good. There were a few un-level tee boxes, but fairway and rough were ok. The bunkers were actually pretty good, with a nice amount of sand in them. My biggest problem was the speed of the greens. They were SLOW, especially the front nine. I had one forty-foot putt, and my playing partners were laughing at me because I literally took my putter back almost to my hip, and smashed my putt, and still ended up two feet short. I honestly can't remember playing on greens this slow that weren't on a par-3 or executive course. The layout of this course is interesting. The front nine is very straightforward, what you see is what you get. The back nine is narrower with more blind uphill shots, and the greens speed up a bit in the afternoon. I've always liked the chipping area on the other side of the parking lot. It's a nice quiet space to work on your game, and every now and then you'll catch a wedding ceremony going on. They really need to fix the practice putting green, it's been a mess for a while now. I wish the beverage cart had gotten to us more...we only saw her on the 3rd hole, and on such a hot and humid day we would have emptied out our wallets for a cool drink. On such a busy day, we had a very slow round, ending up getting around in 5 hours and 20 minutes.