This was my Vegas golf buddy’s favorite of the four courses we played over the weekend, for the combination of conditioning, variety of holes, and visual appeal. Played at 9AM Sunday morning, 5/20/12,... Continue »

This was my Vegas golf buddy’s favorite of the four courses we played over the weekend, for the combination of conditioning, variety of holes, and visual appeal. Played at 9AM Sunday morning, 5/20/12, on a warm sunny day with only light breezes. Course was surprisingly not crowded and we had no problem getting out a little early as a twosome.

Greens were firm, medium fast, and looked and rolled great, with not too many ballmarks. I had early difficulties with speed as the greens were much faster than the putting green before we started. WE had good lies in the fairways, and rough was mostly 1-2 inches and very playable. We got some clumpy lies in the rough where the ball sat down between grass tufts and was a challenge to get the clubface on. The drop zones on the water par 3s on the front side (#5 and 7) were a giant mass of divots!! The par-3 tees were consistently chewed up.

Many of the bunkers need significant maintenance, especially along the upper margins. The bunkers on the par-3 #8 were almost all marked GUR and impossible to play from!! Cart guys told us after the round that the course is replacing drainage in many of the bunkers and improving sand, but it looks like it will be some time before the bunkers are all up to condition.

Very good GPS system. Pro shop guy was nice and we got a reduction in the price from that quoted in the course’s website when I booked. Saw the cart girl a couple times. Nice bathrooms conveniently located. But with the course not crowded on a weekend morning, the bunkers, the Pro Shop with relatively little merchandise (much less than my last time there) –is this a sign of a course in financial trouble? Overall recommended.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

Played here in 1/7. Interesting & fun layout that probably cost a fortune to build. Lots of space between holes, giant cart tunnels, elevation change on a few holes (not my favorite things but doesn... Continue »

Played here in 1/7. Interesting & fun layout that probably cost a fortune to build. Lots of space between holes, giant cart tunnels, elevation change on a few holes (not my favorite things but doesn't make it a bad course either). Unfortunately it looks like the condition of the course has slipped to what it used to be. The fairways were in really poor shape and had far too many bare spots, crab grass. The tees resembled rough and hadn't been mowed in quite some time. The bunkers were lacking manicure and extremely thin. (2 dreaded clicks on my 2 bunker shots). I have a feeling it wasn't pilot error b/c my playing partner- also a single digit h'capper bladed 2 or 3. The good news is the greens were in good shape and were rolling quick. I'd like to play it again, but not under the same conditions. Hopefully they can turn it around.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

Interesting layout @ Talega. When course is in good shape this would be a different review. Tee-Boxes were in good shape other than the need to be mowed. Rough was nice and lush. Fairways were in ... Continue »

Interesting layout @ Talega. When course is in good shape this would be a different review. Tee-Boxes were in good shape other than the need to be mowed. Rough was nice and lush. Fairways were in really bad shape. Tons of bare spots & lots of crab grass stuff. Greens were in decent shape, what's up with people not fixing their ball marks on the course? Bunkers had a serious lack of sand. Oh and there was Coot shat everywhere!

But that isn't the worse part. When we finished 9 the GPS said we were 30 min behind pace (we were also waiting on every hole), mind you we were playing with a couple of guys that wouldn't know what a golf course is if they were using both hands and had scope. I don't care if people aren't good, but keep up that's all, and know when to pick up your ball and move on. Long story short the marshall was waiting for us after 9 (the only time we saw a marshall) and he said you guys are 30 min behind. We told the gentlemen, ok- kindly talk to the other 2 in our group. And while your at it, what gives telling us we are behind when we are waiting on every tee & second shot.... Lazy and overzealous course rangers, my favorite!

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

Enjoyed the elevation changes of this challenging course, some holes can be unforgiving with deep foliage lining one or both sides of the fairways. The sandtraps were above average, though a handful ... Continue »

Enjoyed the elevation changes of this challenging course, some holes can be unforgiving with deep foliage lining one or both sides of the fairways. The sandtraps were above average, though a handful were muddy w/ standing water. The greens rolled truer than most courses, the rough was lush. Enjoyable course to play, though if your game isn't on this course will own many of your balls at the end of the day.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

So while I'd like to comment on how nice the club house and pro shop is, or how courteous everyone was, or how much I thoroughly enjoyed my first seven holes, all I want to really comment about is the... Continue »

So while I'd like to comment on how nice the club house and pro shop is, or how courteous everyone was, or how much I thoroughly enjoyed my first seven holes, all I want to really comment about is the Marshall. Funny how I was just commenting to the twosome I was with about how I have NEVER had problem with a Marshall or starter or even pro shop, for that matter when... I get scolded from a distance mind you, by the Marshall that we need to pick it up. Here's the kicker... They had a 100% booked day and while
We teed off on time, we waited for the twosome ahead of us, who was waiting for the foursome ahead of them at every hole starting with 2! while I didn't mind, I did mind being shouted at that WE needed to step it up. I hit one errant shot that he saw so he assumed I was holding everyone up. When I told him we have been waiting on every hole he responded well the whole next one is open. Yeah, duh, that's cuz we have two consecutive par 3s of course it's gonna open after that! Needless to say, that was 8 and we were again stuck behind the crowd by 10. I was so pissed that I took pictures of us waiting on every hole after that, which I will be emailing to the general manager. Not
Only that, we never saw the foursome behind us after that and finished the round 3 minutes behind schedule. Shot 3 over before the scolding and 12 over after. Thank you to the Marshall for being an ads hole, pissing me off, ruining my round and not having the courtesy of coming up to me and yelling at me from his cart before he sped away. Never saw him after that, of course. Sure wish I did. Sadly, I am the fastest golfer I've seen. No warm up swings, nothin. Pull the club, hit the ball. Move the cart. Talega has lost my future business, pro shop merchandise i was going to buy shirts and hats, lunch at the restaurant and any recommendation to go there thanks to your Marshall. Too bad, cuz everyone else was cool.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

played 11/22:

Conditions were nice on the course, the tee boxes were actually in amazing condition, fairways good and green decent. The greens were nice but not as smooth or cleaned up as they cou... Continue »

played 11/22:

Conditions were nice on the course, the tee boxes were actually in amazing condition, fairways good and green decent. The greens were nice but not as smooth or cleaned up as they could have been but nothing serious. Pace of play was terrible, but it was also the day before Thanksgiving. We started at 12:40 and got thru 15 holes by 4:50, but there was a lot of waiting then it would open up and then wait some more. Really hard to get a good groove, plus we were paired with a female couple that one partner was about a 50 handicap and the other was looking for conflict so what should have been much more enjoyable was not as much as it could have been. I will definitely be back again for a good deal but probably wouldn't pay the full green fees. Challenging course (played from Championship tees) but not over the top and was a fun layout with a lot of bunkers.

Talega Golf Club Course Review
San Clemente California Golf Course Reviews

Played today. Course was in pretty good shape. Greens were a bit shaggy, bumpy and medium to slow on the front 9. On the front 9 I was not in a trap but my playing partner was and complained they were... Continue »

Played today. Course was in pretty good shape. Greens were a bit shaggy, bumpy and medium to slow on the front 9. On the front 9 I was not in a trap but my playing partner was and complained they were not very good. I was in a trap on the back 9 and I would rate it good. On the back 9, the greens were a little faster than medium but would not rate as fast and they were smooth.
Pace of play was real good at 4hrs. Saw the beer cart once on the front 9 and that was it.
Customer service was good. The only complaint I had is the difficulty getting to the range. We arrived 45 mins prior to our tee time but the shuttle to the range didn't show up for another half hour. I didn't get to warm up. Overall had a really good golf experience today at Talega.

Talega Golf Club Review
San Clemente Golf Course Reviews

Tee'd off first thing in the morning and the course was soaked! Played very long! The rough was like U S Open rough in places. Greenside bunkers had very little sand in them. The greens were much s... Continue »

Tee'd off first thing in the morning and the course was soaked! Played very long! The rough was like U S Open rough in places. Greenside bunkers had very little sand in them. The greens were much slower than they looked. I had cut greens on the front and no cut greens on the back, but it did not make much difference, they were just too slow for my taste.

Staff was wonderful - very friendly and outgoing.

Talega Golf Club Review
San Clemente Golf Course Reviews

Played late afternoon on Sunday, 10/30/11, on a warm sunny day with only light breezes. I like this course but conditions were less than optimal, so I didn't post a rating. Was surprised to find the c... Continue »

Played late afternoon on Sunday, 10/30/11, on a warm sunny day with only light breezes. I like this course but conditions were less than optimal, so I didn't post a rating. Was surprised to find the course almost deserted on a nice Sunday afternoon. Course aerated green a couple weeks ago and they were now in very good condition - receptive but rolled well at medium speed. Fairwys and rough were aerated only about a week ago, however, and the rest of the course is very soft and wet. Rough and tees had not been cut and were shaggy. All the tees were up at the front of the boxes and those areas were wet, soft, and badly torn up. Sand was packed and wet. However, all holes were accessible to carts and once on the fairways the lies were good, although you had to move some scattered debris occasionally. Cart girl came by twice on the front nine, before about 3PM. Course should be great in another couple of weeks.

Talega Golf Club Reviews
San Clemente Golf Course Reviews