Played a Friday round starting around 1pm. I got there a couple of hours early, and spent some time at a nicely secluded chipping / bunker practice area (where I later saw a wedding rehearsal group w... Continue »

Played a Friday round starting around 1pm. I got there a couple of hours early, and spent some time at a nicely secluded chipping / bunker practice area (where I later saw a wedding rehearsal group when I was coming off the 8th green). The range was adequate, 4 dollars for a warm-up bucket, but the practice green was in pretty rough shape. The pro shop was nice enough to let us get going half an hour early, and even gave us a senior rate discount. I think it might have been because there was a big tournament on the course (I heard 14 groups?), and many of them appeared to be beginners. I was taken aback by the very sandy shape of the first tee box, but it ended up being the worst tee box of the day by far. Pace was pretty much "wait on every shot" for the first six holes or so. Then I think a couple of the tournament groups quit early to get a jump on happy hour, and things moved a little quicker. This was my first time playing San Clemente since 2005, and my first time ever walking the course. Maybe riding a cart had contributed to my inability to remember some holes (has the par 3-13th always been like that? A long, narrow, almost blind uphill shot, it seemed out of character with the rest of the golf course). The fairways were a little dry, but not terribly so. Greens rolled pretty wonderfully, at a medium-slow speed. It was fun charging medium-length putts without having to worry about a long comebacker. The rough seemed lower and more sparse than I remembered, but it's still that unpredictable thick-bladed Kikuyu stuff. It really hurts being in the rough around the greens, because you don't know if the grass will grab the club, or you'll chunk underneath it, or you'll clip it perfectly. The bunkers had a nice amount of sand, maybe a couple of inches deep. Some of those bunker faces were REALLY high. The afternoon ocean breeze started to kick up on the narrower, hilly-er back nine. My playing partner dared me to take a shortcut to the fairway on the left side of the 387-yd par 4 #16, but I didn't think I could hit it far enough, or straight enough, with that ocean wind blowing. Had bad timing with the beverage cart. She rolled around us really early on the 2nd hole, then I didn't glimpse her until the 12th green, where she sped off while we were putting...I think she was already trucking home. I had an enjoyable time, and would come back. We got around in almost exactly five hours. Kudos to the city of San Clemente for keeping some affordable golf around in the South Orange County area. Isn't it just this course and San Juan Hills?

Course is in the worst shape I have ever seen it. Fairways were spotty and tee boxes were terrible. I normally love playing here, but it was awful to see it in this kind of condition. The greens were ... Continue »

Course is in the worst shape I have ever seen it. Fairways were spotty and tee boxes were terrible. I normally love playing here, but it was awful to see it in this kind of condition. The greens were at least decent, but I would beware of coming here.

Played 7/5/14 on a beautiful day. Holiday weekend but they got our foursome off on the standby list in less than 30 minutes, which was nice. Rack rate 59$ ouch, not even worth it, but had a nice oce... Continue »

Played 7/5/14 on a beautiful day. Holiday weekend but they got our foursome off on the standby list in less than 30 minutes, which was nice. Rack rate 59$ ouch, not even worth it, but had a nice ocean breeze and everything cheaper inland was probably pretty hot, so can't complain about the greenfee being holiday and all.

Greens were ok. They held really nice, but were a little shaggy and bumpy. Ocean has a big impact on putting so it's nice when greens are mown correctly so you can predict the break accurately. When they are longer and bumpy, one bad bump can ruin a good putt.

Fairways were in pretty good shape, bermuda was soft, so not much roll, but good lies.

Traps seemed nice, I found one and it was nice and soft, easy to manage up and down.

Rough was inconsistent, tall some spots and brutal, while bare and mown other spots. Some crab grass with very poor spotty lies as well.

Teeboxes were an absolute joke! The whites looked ok, but we played from the blues and wow what a dissapointment. Every hole had horrible teeboxes.

Hadn't played San Clem for over 5 years and don't really miss it too much. Fun layout and nice weather and ocean breeze, but not worth the price and usually in pretty crappy condition.

We play here all the time and its always fun the views and weather are great and the course is challenging. For a course that gets this much play its in good to great shape the staff is nice and very ... Continue »

We play here all the time and its always fun the views and weather are great and the course is challenging. For a course that gets this much play its in good to great shape the staff is nice and very helpful but they cant work miracles so call ahead. If you dont like the greens then you need to play here more often .

I played SC Muni over the weekend and although the greens were recently punched and the overall conditions were spotty, the course still offers good value and fun. Most of the front 9 was straight for... Continue »

I played SC Muni over the weekend and although the greens were recently punched and the overall conditions were spotty, the course still offers good value and fun. Most of the front 9 was straight forward and flat but there are some holes on the back 9 which are fun with elevation changes. There are also some decent ocean views once you get up in the hills. Most of the tee boxes were fairly level but were thin in coverage. Many also were significantly hacked up. As I mentioned previously, the greens were recently punched and had a lot of dressing on them. The fairways were average and playable but there were some bare spots. I didn't hit into any bunkers but the few I noticed looked ok. The rough was somewhat inconsistent ranging from lush to thin. I didn't see a cart girl all day. I do enjoy playing this course. It's fairly short and offers opportunities to score well. I would recommend playing here, especially to someone on a budget. It is a muni so come with tempered expectations.

Played San Clemente today and was surprised how long the rough is(3-4 inches). Fairways nice, ball sat up well. Traps fine, getting better. Greens played really slow. They didn't look as if they had b... Continue »

Played San Clemente today and was surprised how long the rough is(3-4 inches). Fairways nice, ball sat up well. Traps fine, getting better. Greens played really slow. They didn't look as if they had been mowed or rolled them. They were really bumpy, ball couldn't stay on the ground. Tee'd off @ 7:10, our round took 4 hours we walked. Weather was great, they will be aerating the greens 3/10 & 3/11. So I will avoid this course for a couple weeks.

Played San Clemente today and was surprised how lush it was. Fairways really nice, ball sat up well. Rough was pretty long, at least a couple inches. Traps fine, you could really thump it. Greens play... Continue »

Played San Clemente today and was surprised how lush it was. Fairways really nice, ball sat up well. Rough was pretty long, at least a couple inches. Traps fine, you could really thump it. Greens playing pretty slow. They didn't look as if they had been mowed. Got off right away but this course gets a lot of play and it can be pretty long in spots and a lot of people walk (cheap for residents). Our round took about 4 hours but we had a walking foursome in front of us. Weather was great and it was a fun round.

Course in good shape, green speed med/fast, Fairways Thin/lush, rough lush. They few sand traps I was in were in good shape. Tee'd off at 7:05 played in 4 hrs.

Course in good shape, green speed med/fast, Fairways Thin/lush, rough lush. They few sand traps I was in were in good shape. Tee'd off at 7:05 played in 4 hrs.

Played 1/12/14 at 10:00 a.m. One of my favorite So. Cal. courses - great views and fair prices. Good pace this day (as usual). Always a great track, especially for the traffic it gets. Bunkers wer... Continue »

Played 1/12/14 at 10:00 a.m. One of my favorite So. Cal. courses - great views and fair prices. Good pace this day (as usual). Always a great track, especially for the traffic it gets. Bunkers were a bit moist. The greens were faster than normal and seemed thinner with some discoloration in spots which did not seem to impact the roll. Saw the beverage cart a few times and enjoyed a Stone IPA and great Buffalo Wings at the 19th hole. Highly recommend any of their lunch items. Life is good!