Admiral Baker Golf Course (North): Member Reviews

Friars Road & Admiral Baker Road
San Diego, CA 92120 • (619) 487-0090

LOCAL WEATHER

San Diego, CA (92120)

75°F
Fair

[Full Forecast]

Humidity: 18%
Wind: WNW at 7mph

Sunset: 7:02 pm
green Sunrise: 6:46 am

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51. 1PLUS1

Posted: 04/21/16 10:58a
Member Since: Mar 27, 2007
From: El Cajon, CA

Played AB-North on Wednesday, 4/20, and noticed a slight improvement in overall conditions compared to what I reported a few weeks back. Fairways are beginning to fill in with better coverage and more consistent lies than what's been prevalent through the winter months; tee boxes generally in decent shape as well. Putting surfaces have definitely benefited from the recent top dressing process although they are still rolling in the medium speed category, with a few uphill putts requiring a little more "oomph" to get the ball to the hole. Did not see an abundance of unattended ball marks that needed attention but I did find myself fixing an additional three or four pitch marks per hole in addition to my own. Greens held very well, to the point where I was able to spin a couple of wedges back a foot or two; haven't seen that here in a while. Putts rolled fairly smooth but I wasn't able to get anything of note to fall. Hit a number of putts, particularly from the 15'-20' range, where I thought the ball was going to find the bottom of the cup but that just wasn't the case. Typical of this course, however, as many putts have a tendency to take the break then straighten out at the last second or do something totally unexpected. There's a very fine line that separates a good putting round from a great one here; except for a couple of misreads, I was very pleased with my stroke and was never close to 3-putting, despite taking 31 putts for the round. Only found the rough on two occasions and it was playable, although it took some effort to get the club on the ball. Fringe areas around the greens are also improving but there are still many spots where clumpy, uneven lies are prevalent, which made it difficult to keep shots from off the green, whether hit with a hybrid or putter, on line. Bunkers are in need of some maintenance as the upper layer of sand appears to have thinned out considerably in recent weeks. Once one of the best features of the course, I've found recent forays into the sand has now become a guessing game; very hard-packed surface just below the ball that forces you to guard against blading the shot, thus making it very difficult to hit a high quality bunker shot. Nowhere near the Desert Willow disaster...thankfully...but still something worth noting. As always, customer service level was fantastic...from check-in to dinner after the round...with on-course beverage cart and water service available on multiple occasions. Pace-of-play was excellent: teed off as a twosome at 1:19...following a group of three elderly gentlemen who were walking...and finished at about four hours and fifteen minutes. The wind, which always seems to be omnipresent in the afternoon, was in full force for the duration of the round and probably the strongest I've encountered at AB-North. Knowing it has a tendency to swirl and change direction at a moment's notice, we were still amazed at how quickly conditions varied just from the tee shot to the approach on some holes. It really added to the challenge and fun factor and had us on our toes when it came to club selection but this is another reason why I enjoy playing here; the golf course always seems to play different from week to week to a certain degree. Not sure if the rain that's projected to arrive next week will materialize but I believe it would be very beneficial given this recent spell of warmer than usual temperatures we've experienced. With summer fast approaching and winter now fading in the rear view mirror, I would expect conditions to continue to get better moving forward.

All Reviews by 1PLUS1

12 Likes.

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52. Rat-Patrol

Posted: 04/20/16 5:27p
Member Since: Apr 20, 2013
From: San Diego

Finally checked this one off the list, although it's been open to the public for 3 1/2 years I just haven't known how to get on, then just didn't get around to getting on for one reason or another. Pl... Continue »

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13 Likes.

Rated
6.5 Conditions

53. weber2323

Posted: 04/18/16 8:02p
Member Since: Apr 2, 2006
From: San Diego, CA

Played twice last week, once on a dawn patrol and the other was mid Saturday morning. I was 3rd out by myself behind a twosome and a foursome right n front of me. The foursome must have been Mr Admiral and Mr Baker because they acted liked they owed the course. They finished in 4 1/2 but I had 3 holes between me and the guys behind me who joined up on 11. They had to slow down the pace for the rest of the day. If I could have gotten out before them I probably would have finished in 3 hours. Pace on Saturday was to be expected, a lot of waiting and closer to 5 hours.

As far as conditions I think everything is actually a little bit better. During the week I noticed the greens were punched with those long thin holes. It looks like a knife but really had no effect on the putts that I could tell. By the weekend you couldn't notice these, maybe on a couple of greens where they hadn't fully healed. Greens I think have gotten a little faster too. The early round there was no evidence of ball marks but the Saturday round there were quite a few. Saw a few putts hop as a result too. Is it also too much to ask if someone is wearing spikes to pick up their feet when they walk. I saw a handful of evidence of spike marks dragged across the greens.

Fairways are getting better. It's still patchy but I think with some of the rain we have gotten has helped fill in some of these trouble spots.

Some of the rough was quite playable and there are some thicker parts too. Overall I don't it's overly penalizing.

On another note the wind can be tricky. The was especially true of the back 9 Saturday. Hole 15 is a par 5 which played into a heavy wind. Normally I can drive over the fairway bunker but I could barely get there. Punched a 6 down to leave about 115. I figured it was playing 125-130 so I hit a pw which flew over the green. I'm guessing I hit it 140ish I high I don't think I can do downwind and downhill. It was this way the whole back 9. This place can leave you scratching your head sometimes.

Still a good value even if you don't get a discount and some really good golf holes.

All Reviews by weber2323

12 Likes.

Rated
6.0 Conditions

54. weber2323

Posted: 04/03/16 9:50a
Member Since: Apr 2, 2006
From: San Diego, CA

1plus1 review is still spot on except I didn't notice any evidence of top dressing so what was done has come and gone. I will say the greens seem to be much slower than I can ever recall here. Even ... Continue »

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10 Likes.

Rated
5.3 Conditions

55. 1PLUS1

Posted: 03/29/16 7:23p
Member Since: Mar 27, 2007
From: El Cajon, CA

Again, due to unforeseen issues, this is another late post. Played Admiral Baker-North on 3/17 and found it to be an eye-opening experience as far as how playing conditions stacked up against Marine ... Continue »

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11 Likes.

Not Rated
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56. 1PLUS1

Posted: 03/04/16 1:24p
Member Since: Mar 27, 2007
From: El Cajon, CA

Got out for an afternoon round on Thursday, March 3, and found course conditions have "deteriorated" to a certain degree vs. what I've come to expect at Admiral Baker. Fairways are still hit-or-miss but I'm noticing more patches of very thin turf and, in some cases, bare dirt, which is reaffirmed by the amount of mud I'm having to clean off my golf ball. While there may be some small fairway areas where the turf is good, those spots are few and far between, which has now put me in a "lift-clean-and-place" mindset. Not sure if it's part of the maintenance plan but I also noticed some areas of the course were oversaturated with watering as well. This was also evident in the sand traps; texture was soft and very playable on #5 yet I found the trap on #9 to have a slightly firmer base. What really threw me, however, was what I encountered on #15. While playing a 30-foot greenside bunker shot, I actually sent a divot of packed sand onto the green; it looked like a six-inch strip steak had landed just a few feet from my ball. I had no idea the base was so wet and compact prior to hitting the shot but it was right there staring me in the face when I looked at my splash mark. Must say, I've NEVER seen that in all my years of playing. The rough is a bit taller than what I saw last week and the week prior; anyone's guess if it's by design or the mowers not having made their rounds yet. In addition to the increase in depth, the combination of clumpy and bare lies make it tough to get a clean strike on the ball. For distance shots, a fairway wood appeared to be the better choice vs. a hybrid or long iron. Greens remain in decent shape although I was very disappointed in the speed...if I can use that word ...as they were as slow as I can recall. Noticed a bit of sluggishness the previous week but it was more pronounced yesterday, to the point where I left quite a few putts short and that's not usually the case. And although rolling at a medium-minus pace, the greens did not hold that well. There were a few exceptions...my knockdown 5-iron on #14 backed up a foot...but most shots had a tendency to roll out on the firm greens, including a towering 6-iron on #13 that I thought would "drop-and-stop". The fringe areas, as noted in my previous reviews, are still choppy and uneven. However, after making a concerted effort to utilize the bounce on my sand wedge as opposed to trapping the ball with the leading edge, I was able to hit a number of very good pitch shots. However, hybrid or putter are still the safer bets until these areas fill in and provide a more uniform, cushioned surface to play from. Pace of play was right at 4:30 despite the initial impression we might be in for a slow day. Playing as a foursome sandwiched between another four and a group of three, we ran about 6 minutes behind pace for most of the round yet closed the gap by the end of the day. As always seems to be the case here, we eventually had to wait on a few tee shots as we approached the turn and closing holes but those were minor, uneventful delays that had no impact on our enjoyment level. Beverage cart and water service passed by on a couple of occasions during the course of the afternoon as well. I'm not aware of any impending aerification due to take place anytime soon and hope the greens will be back up to speed when I decide to play here again. Although I was let down by conditions as a whole, I'm willing to look past the shortcomings if the greens are where I expect to find them. Unless you take a similar point of view, then I probably won't be lobbying for you to get out there and play Admiral Baker any time soon.

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13 Likes.

Not Rated
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57. weber2323

Posted: 02/21/16 8:06p
Member Since: Apr 2, 2006
From: San Diego, CA

Teed off yesterday a little before 7 and played in a tick over 4 hours but we could have been faster if the group in front of us wasn't 2 holes behind. We were a threes me and there was a 2 some behi... Continue »

All Reviews by weber2323

12 Likes.

Rated
5.5 Conditions

58. 1PLUS1

Posted: 02/11/16 3:43p
Member Since: Mar 27, 2007
From: El Cajon, CA

Took advantage of the February Special Offer...as well as ideal weather conditions...and got a couple of rounds in at AB-North this week. Teed off "early" (for me) on Monday @ 10:10 and found pace-of-play to be an issue at 4 hours and 55 minutes. Not sure if this is the norm at this time of the day but the course was obviously booked and played like it. Taking this into account, went with a 12:16 tee time on Wednesday and had better results with a 4 hour and 30 minute elapsed time yet it was about 15-20 minutes longer than it needed to be. Mixed group of four ahead of us took their sweet time over the last 10 holes...while blaring country music from their golf cart...and we suffered as a result (having to deal with their choice of music as well as the snail's pace-of-play). Overall, golf course is playable but the greens are the only redeeming feature at this point; still in good shape although I did see a few putts bounce at the point of impact. Didn't happen to me but to others in the group and I'm inclined to put the blame on their putting stroke rather than the greens themselves. However, spike marks (yeah, even in this age of plastic spikes and spikeless shoes) and other imperfections definitely had an effect on some greens. Fairways are spotty with a variety of grasses/lies to be encountered. Found myself bumping the ball on more than a few occasions in search of a decent lie as there are quite a few bare spots out there with little or no turf. Tee shots were also prone to picking up mud on the ball as a result. These fairways are usually in much better shape during the summer so keep that in mind...and I'd toss the tee boxes in the same classification. Fringe and collar areas around the greens are horrible and the uneveness of the turf resembles a washboard; it's almost as if someone went in and brushed something against the grain to create these annoying ridges. Not sure how to describe it although ragged comes pretty close. No uniformity whatsoever with regards to type of turf and coverage; there's absolutely no chance of hitting any delicate flop or chip shot. Many areas seem quite damp and soft so less-than-perfect contact results in a chunked shot. Even putting from off the fringe is a crap shoot since the random clumps of fescue will turn a simple putt into a game of pinball if the ball happens to come into contact with one or more en route to your target. Beverage and water service were very good on Monday but lacking Wednesday; didn't see the mobile water jug until the 13th hole. Luckily I had my own thermos but went longer than I would have liked between refills. Given the warm temperatures, this was not a positive situation. For $30.00, including cart, AB-North is in decent enough shape to make this an attractive proposition but the golf course, in my view, "shows" itself better in the summer months. Without overseeding, the fairways are a potluck of sorts in the winter time and the fringe areas, as mentioned, are exponentially worse and causing quite a bit of frustration for me. I'll either have to temper my expectations...and temper...or hold off until conditions improve as the summer approaches.

All Reviews by 1PLUS1

16 Likes.

Not Rated
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59. rudyclub

Posted: 02/08/16 5:43a
Member Since: Aug 6, 2011
From: San Diego

Played 2/7/16 $46 11 am POP 3:50
Course is in typical So.Cal condition. Mostly dry fairway's with a little green mixed in, but played better then they looked.
Rough thin with a few thick area and m... Continue »

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11 Likes.

Rated
5.2 Conditions

60. 1PLUS1

Posted: 02/04/16 12:20p
Member Since: Mar 27, 2007
From: El Cajon, CA

Got out for an unexpected round yesterday (2/3/2016) at my old standby, AB-North, putting a temporary end to a self-imposed exile. The decision to play was more or less made to accommodate my regular playing partner, who's been recovering from labrum surgery for the past couple of months. Apparently, he doesn't handle cabin fever very well and decided it was time to test his shoulder so I felt compelled to join him. Golf course was in surprisingly good shape, especially in light of the recent rain and wind storm that passed through here last week. Didn't encounter any drainage issues although the soil beneath the turf was damp in places, which presented a tough challenge around the greens. With the tight turf, moist soil, and slightly uneven nap of the grain, there was no room for error, making delicate lob shots a risky proposition. Tee boxes were also uneven to an extent but not to the point where it was of major concern; a little searching usually yielded a relatively flat spot to hit from. As with the fringe areas around the greens, this was probably due to a steady stream of foot traffic following the heavy rain. The fairways were in typical winter condition and the lies, for the most part, were good. One thing I've noticed about Admiral Baker is that they are proactive when it comes to marking off ground-under-repair areas, no matter how small. Observed quite a few spots that are outlined so there is relief should your ball come to rest in one of these compromised portions of the fairway. In contrast to the tee boxes, the greens were smooth, healthy, and rolling at a medium-quick speed, which was a welcome surprise. I was expecting bumpy, pock-marked surfaces but that was not the case at all; there were very few unrepaired ball marks to deal with...nothing like what I saw in October, when it was out of control. Putts rolled true and with consistent speed although the grain did exert its' influence on a couple of occasions. It was nice to see the putting surfaces hold approach shots yet roll with decent speed as I despise slow greens. Bunker sand was excellent, which is nothing new at Admiral Baker. Even with last week's weather situation, the sand I happened to find on #6 was well manicured and fluffy with plenty of depth. With conditions like that, it was easy to get aggressive and hit a great recovery shot. There's a big difference when you can make a confident splash through impact without having to be concerned about blading the ball because of a thin, hardpacked base. The rough can present problems due to the spottiness and lack of uniform height. I faced shots on a couple of holes where the ball was nestled between two taller clumps of grass, making it almost impossible to get the clubhead on the ball. The fairways are pretty forgiving and benign so being accurate off the tee will usually lead to good scoring opportunities; stray offline, however, and your scrambling skills will be tested. Tee sheet was full (teed off at 11:40 as a foursome) and with the way Holes 1 and 2 played, I expected something close to a five hour round. However, things opened up once we reached the third tee and we moved along at a nice clip from that point forward. We did run into a delay once we reached #16-17-18, however, but that seems to be a regular occurrence so it came as no surprise. Still, even with that hiccup, we finished the round in 4 hours and 30 minutes. Beverage Cart and Player Assistant made multiple passes throughout the round and customer service level from everyone was friendly and efficient. With a February Online Special now up for grabs ($30.00 w/cart between 10AM-2PM Monday-Thursday; two player minimum) I may have to think twice about my exiled status.

All Reviews by 1PLUS1

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Playing Conditions
6.93
Good