Played out here today after finally getting a TeeOff.com reservation to actually work at this course. Several times in the past few years I’ve tried, only to receive some sort of error message that co... Continue »

Played out here today after finally getting a TeeOff.com reservation to actually work at this course. Several times in the past few years I’ve tried, only to receive some sort of error message that couldn’t even be fixed by a phone operator. Today I tried one time and got a similar message, but then my reservation was accepted for the 12:20 time. With 25% off promo code, I got the lowest price I think I’ve ever seen for this course. Check-in was smooth but the starter was a little lax and sort of forgot about me, but no big deal. Eventually I ended up playing with a father-son duo visiting from Las Vegas; really nice guys. Weather was warm but bearable due to a slight breeze most of the day. POP was really good at almost exactly 4:00. Marshall came around a couple times and warned us that the back was playing slower than the front; nice touch to adjust our expectations before just hitting a slowdown. Beverage cart made probably four appearances.

Conditions are quite good, although I feel like the course looks better in my photos than it did in person. Greens were good. The unblemished areas were very nice, but little blemishes – nicks and ball marks – seemed prevalent on many greens. That said, I don’t think it ever affected any putts, and balls rolled smoothly and medium-fast speed. Greens were medium-to-soft firmness and full shots stopped quickly. Fairways are light to medium green and thatched or verticut – there’s some sort of ridge pattern on them, but it didn’t affect how they played. Some thin, dried-out spots here and there, but overall quite good fairway conditions. Rough was pretty lush, not too deep, balls typically sat up nice on top with a good cushion underneath. Black tee boxes were good. Bunkers were good, some a little crusty on top and maybe a bit on the firm side.

As I alluded to earlier, this was my first time ever playing here. I’d heard lots of great things and I came away both surprised and a little underwhelmed. I was surprised at how difficult the course is. There is tons of ESA and very tight-looking driving areas, even though when you get out to the fairway, there’s often more room than it appeared from the tee. Also surprised by the 16th hole, a beast of a par 4 at 465 yards with a completely blind tee shot. I was underwhelmed by the collection of par 3s. I guess Ted Robinson Jr. doesn’t share his father’s affinity for water hazards on one shotters, and I found all four pretty boring. Also, the par-5 13th hole is by far the worst hole I’ve encountered in recent memory. There are fairway bunkers left and right, but then if you avoid those, you might find yourself in an ugly, “fake desert” waste bunker right where the fairway should be. Why that exists is beyond me. If you want some sort of hazard there, at least make it a real native area, not some cobbled together collection of cacti and desert plants from Home Depot. Together, it gives the appearance from the tee that there’s no “correct” place to hit your drive, except to keep it short of the waste bunker. Very stupid, terrible hole. Generally, while there are some nice looks and interesting holes, I felt an overall lack of character typical of Ted Robinson designs. I’ll play it again, though. It kicked my butt with an abundance of penalty strokes and I'd like another shot with some local knowledge under my belt.

In case you’re interested, here’s a link to my Flickr photo album of 39 photos from today: https://flic.kr/s/aHskZFfjct

6/14 using teeoff deal time $38 after 20% discount--had 1100 tee time but arrived early and Brent worked his magic and had us on the tee 20 min after arrival for a 4hr POP even following a slow 3some ... Continue »

6/14 using teeoff deal time $38 after 20% discount--had 1100 tee time but arrived early and Brent worked his magic and had us on the tee 20 min after arrival for a 4hr POP even following a slow 3some and a 2some with frequent waiting mainly because we did not scatter any shots--not that they were all pure but were easy to find and hit again.
Tees lush and level. Bunkers had ample sand but a couple were wet with heavy sand.
Greens had a splotchy look but were firm smooth rolled medium fast and consistently through the round.
Fairways are firm closely cut greenish fading to brownish--some had been punched a week or so ago and some are currently being de-thatched leaving small grooves--did not affect any of my lies but looked like it could have. Rough 1-2 inches playable but challenging.
Really friendly golfer oriented staff.
Course has a decent layout with an adequate mix of holes par 3s are all about the same length but pin placements keep them from being repetitious.
Currently they are offering a "Palm Card" promotion 6 rounds for $199 good for 12 months weekdays and $249 anytime--very good value.

Finally nailed down an elusive "Hot Deal" that was there, then gone, there and then gone back and forth for a few days, apparently not the courses fault, some kinda GN glitch and I am sure glad I brou... Continue »

Finally nailed down an elusive "Hot Deal" that was there, then gone, there and then gone back and forth for a few days, apparently not the courses fault, some kinda GN glitch and I am sure glad I brought a copy of the voucher because they had no record of us and the time we got is a time a certain group gets every week. After that was worked out in a friendly and professional way by the young lady in the shop we were good to go.
I found the course to be in good condition overall and the layout varied and fun as always.
Tees: mostly level with good grass coverage
Fairways: firm with run-out and nice to play from (there were aeration holes on some)
Rough: minimal in most areas but a bit variable in others, not a huge bother but enough to effect shot choice
Bunkers: the ones I found were in good condition with mostly firm sand
Greens: the greens were a bit hard, but well struck shots would stick, they rolled at medium-fast and were mostly nice and smooth . . . very few ball marks due to the firmness
POP: we played at our own pace only seeing the group in front a few times and the group behind occasionally
Customer service: always good here
Recommended: YES!

Played Friday, 4/28 teeing off at 8 am on a beautiful day. We used a voucher Gary had from Costco and it was $40 per player with cart which is an ABSOLUTE STEAL.

Arrowwood has to be one of my favor... Continue »

Played Friday, 4/28 teeing off at 8 am on a beautiful day. We used a voucher Gary had from Costco and it was $40 per player with cart which is an ABSOLUTE STEAL.

Arrowwood has to be one of my favorite courses around and I kept mentioning I had no idea why it had been so long since I played there. The course provides and incredible variety of holes and you end up really having to hit every club in the bag. I was also reminded that the greens provide some interesting breaks as I couldn't get a read on them all day, but I do like that feature as it provides a lot of play to get comfortable out there.

As for the course conditions, Arrowwood might be in the best shape that I can remember. The fairways are absolutely perfect in my opinion. Cut short and tight to give you some roll out there but enough cushion under the turf to be able to really get after it. I had nothing but perfect lies all day long. The rough here isn't too penalizing, and I'm glad it's there to slow down some drives headed for the native areas, but I found that chipping/pitching out of it around the greens really added some difficulty as getting any kind of spin is pretty tricky.

The greens here might not be visually perfect, but they performed great. I'd say they were probably 10.5-ish on the stimp and really smooth. They did hold shots hit well but also provided a bit of run-out which I like because there are a few holes where you can play off slopes to get at pins. Really fun.

The crew at Arrowwood always provides great service. I've never had an issue with pace of play out there as we saw a Marshall several times and I think they do a pretty good job tracking POP and keeping on people. The pro shop crew is always efficient and the starter out front keeps things running really smoothly.

I would highly recommend Arrowwood right now and I will be back to play there very, very soon.

4/28 from the blues using costco voucher $40 playing GK Cup match with AndrewZ28 on a pleasant spring day with POP 0f 415. Lots of green--fairways nicely mowed--cut tight but plenty of cushion and a ... Continue »

4/28 from the blues using costco voucher $40 playing GK Cup match with AndrewZ28 on a pleasant spring day with POP 0f 415. Lots of green--fairways nicely mowed--cut tight but plenty of cushion and a little extra roll. Had good lies--wish I had been on the fairway more often. Rough long enough to slow the ball and depending on the lie moderately difficult to down right hard. Had to play a couple of shots from beyond the rough in the wild stuff-- able to see the ball but not able to get clean contact.
Bunkers have deep thick softish sand in fairway as well as greenside bunkers so rolling in kept the ball up but flying in tended to plug.
Tees generally good with a couple of the par 3s showing a little wear.
Greens about medium fast with subtle breaks but rolled smoothly even with the rather splotchy appearance--firm but receptive to well struck shots which Andrew demonstrated repeatedly especially in his closing charge.
Good friendly customer service starting with the smooth check in with Nikki to Brent the starter who let us finish out our Sudden Victory on 1 and 2--and everyone in between. Good course golfer oriented staff and best of all getting to play with a super guy and great golf companion.

Fun Oceanside course with plenty of trouble. I love the course but look out for a couple of holes. If the wind is up 15 and 16 can be pretty troublesome (16 is a bummer no matter what). You can fin... Continue »

Fun Oceanside course with plenty of trouble. I love the course but look out for a couple of holes. If the wind is up 15 and 16 can be pretty troublesome (16 is a bummer no matter what). You can find great deals that are well worth it. Always in good to great shape.

Played Arrowood this saturday using a underpar.com voucher with my Girlfriend. Smoking deal for $70 for two players and free replay! The weather was perfect, 70 degrees and about 5-8 MPH winds.

Gre... Continue »

Played Arrowood this saturday using a underpar.com voucher with my Girlfriend. Smoking deal for $70 for two players and free replay! The weather was perfect, 70 degrees and about 5-8 MPH winds.

Greens - The greens were very nice, rolled great, were very accepting to shots. There were some repair marks, some dry spots as well. Looks like they just punched the greens a couple weeks ago, but they were great.

Teebox - Some uneven boxes, but for the most part very nice to hit off of.

Sand - I wasn't in any, but my girlfriend was in a couple, she didn't have any issues getting out of them.

Fairways - Very similar to the greens, some brown spots. The rough was a little thick, but I was able to get some clean contact on most of the shots.

POP - The issue with Saturday was the POP, we tee'd off at 1:30 didn't finish till 7, very long round... not enough spacing between tee-times.

I have always enjoyed this course, and when you don't have to pay full price for it, even better. I will be back to play here again in a couple weeks, have another voucher to Arrowood.

Played today 4/9/17 - with Oceanside Muni group of 18 club golfers @ 8:30. Arrowood clubhouse is very nice and the practice facilities for chipping/bunker shots/putting are top notch. Driving range ... Continue »

Played today 4/9/17 - with Oceanside Muni group of 18 club golfers @ 8:30. Arrowood clubhouse is very nice and the practice facilities for chipping/bunker shots/putting are top notch. Driving range typically off of mats but today got to hit off of grass. Henry the starter is Stellar and welcoming as always. Went out in 2nd group...course was packed and pace of play a tidge on the slower side but quickly picked up by the back 9. Fairways were on the thin side and a few quite soaked from heavy watering, but those not soaked rolled out for some very nice distance gains. Fairway and greenside bunkers were for the most part damp/heavy sand, to muddy/residual puddles. But others were dry and if raked, receptive to well hit exit shots/easy outs. Well executed shots typically rewarded but errant shots could easily roll out/off into deep hazards/OB areas. Rough was lush and a nice manageable length. Greens were in very good shape; several still showing signs of healing from being aerated. Minimal unrepaired ball marks. Greens were receptive to shots and rolled medium speeds, and well to the hole. Some very subtle breaks and misleading reads could easily result in 3 putts. We saw the cart girl once when we reached Hole 17. Golf carts certainly had some get up and go; No GPs. Tee boxes were lush, level, minimal divot damage except for the typical Par 3s. Wind started to pick up resulting in clubbing up 1 or 2 later in the day. Handled one of my nemesis holes #16 with a par, coming up short 3 inches of a birdie; but 18th hole over water I didn't plan my set-up (very important) and wind/water claimed my shot to the green. Sigh. Overall we definitely enjoyed the round. Facilites and Staff are wonderful; cheery young man at the 18th to clean clubs (if you desired), and everyone else was truly friendly and professional. :) Go Play! :) Just this novice golfin gals thoughts for the day.

I played here on Friday, April 7. The course was as crowded as I've ever seen it, I suppose because the weather was perfect. We had a slow start, but by #4 things cleared out, and we had to wait onl... Continue »

I played here on Friday, April 7. The course was as crowded as I've ever seen it, I suppose because the weather was perfect. We had a slow start, but by #4 things cleared out, and we had to wait only a few times after that. Service is about average. Always friendly in the pro shop, the starter is friendly and efficient, it's marshaled well when needed, like it was yesterday, and the beverage cart came around regularly, although not as often when the course is less crowded.

All of the greens, except for maybe one or two, seem to have healed completely from the aeration of a few weeks ago, and rolled slow to moderate, but were consistent. Fairways and rough were in very good shape, with nary a bald spot. The more I play this course, the more I like it. I even hit it well enough to reach the new waste area on #13 but had no trouble hitting out of it on my second shot.

It's a little out of the way and is priced accordingly, so it's a great course to play regularly if you live within a half hour or so, and close enough from south Orange County and San Diego for an occasional round. And there are lots of deals out there to make it even more attractive.