I am spending some time up here in Pismo and decided to play Monarch Dunes which I haven’t played in a few years. I have... » More

I am spending some time up here in Pismo and decided to play Monarch Dunes which I haven’t played in a few years. I have played this course many times but on this most recent outing they charge 125 to walk and 150 to ride during the week and 175 to ride on the weekends. It’s considerably less if you live here and you’re a senior citizen. Before I get to the review, regardless of where this course is located for the price they are charging there should be a GPS system detailing course and green views why they don’t have it is beyond me. On to the review, the course design is really great in my opinion but today so many areas are roped off so there is more walking involved which is fine but it just slows down play. Most of the tee boxes are fine, some are a little scruffy but for the most part level and ok. Fairways are ok but again at this price point it should be way nicer, maybe not desert nice but a lot nicer than what it is, I mean some of the fairways remind me of El Dorado or Lakewood. Lots of unkept rough or dead tree limbs and dead grass which start to creep up into the fairway. Greens are firm with little to no ball marks and roll probably 9-10 on the stimpmeter. We teed off at 10:45 and were a twosome and didn’t see anyone until hole 6 and I noticed a lot of private carts so maybe that’s a good thing because the course probably has a strong membership. Bunkers were nice and soft and very fluffy and easily to play from. All in all I enjoyed myself and I played here mostly out of nostalgia but at their rate I’ll stick with my memories and choose other very good options that are close by. Would recommend if only one has a deal of some sort of discount..
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Played last week early morning walking for $27(sr rate), finishing in a little under 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in good... » More

Played last week early morning walking for $27(sr rate), finishing in a little under 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in good condition, mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were in nice shape, mostly lush with a few bare spots, decent roll out and nice lies. Rough was playing 1-3 inches longer than fairways with some thin and bare spots here and there. Was in one greenside bunker that had a good layer of nice white sand. Greens were in pretty good shape, playing on the soft side, rolling at medium pace with some being a little bumpy on the back side were they haven't completely healed from being punched. As stated two holes are playing with temporary greens making two short par fours even shorter. The 10th hole tee box has been moved up about two hundred yards because of some work being done on the road that runs along the course, turning it into a short par four. Overall decent conditions and still fun to play with even with some of the minor temporary changes.
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This was my 2nd round playing here. Really enjoy the mountain atmosphere, huge trees parallel to most fairways ,slight b... » More

This was my 2nd round playing here. Really enjoy the mountain atmosphere, huge trees parallel to most fairways ,slight breeze drifting up from the valley below ,slope on every hole to force position golf. Good drives are rewarded here, but the greens will frustrate. Greens fast so be below hole or a birdie becomes a bogie. Can't believe I fixed only 1 ball mark as surfaces are firm! Rough 2-4". Traps ok, wet but gettable. Teeboxes in excellent condition. No GPS, good fairway markers. Driving range available, putting and chipping area convenient to proshop and restaurant. POP on Tuesday morning 4:25. $45! I'm getting out here more often. Great staff and special thanx to maintenance for course grooming care.
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With only one course open, it was really crowded this morning. Course is in nice overall condition. Greens have pretty m... » More

With only one course open, it was really crowded this morning. Course is in nice overall condition. Greens have pretty much recovered from the recent aeriation. Fairways have good coverage, and the areas that were of concern have been recently resodded to address the issue. Fairways are as nice as they have been for a while and presents very well. Tee boxes and bunkers well maintained.
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Was able to get some dry skies yesterday and got out for 18. Lots of rain here lately.

Course actually played ... » More

Was able to get some dry skies yesterday and got out for 18. Lots of rain here lately.

Course actually played very well for the amount of rain we have had. As the course is located in lush farm land no doubt the reason the course drains so well.

Tees in good shape and all playable.

Fairways good coverage and good lies all round. Even got some good roll out on some of them.

The rough up here in N CA on most courses is kept pretty high vs S CA. And many of the courses fairways are wide with large areas of rough. Provides one with plenty of thinking and ways to play out of it to save strokes.

In addition to the rough this course has several large water hazards and lots of OB lining some of the holes.

Traps here could use some more sand IMO. The sand seems hard and coarse and you really have to power the ball out.

Greens were all clean and chipped/putted just fine all round.

Had to change out some of my irons to hybrids to play into the greens as they are all elevated most surrounded by bunkers and if you don't hit it high enough you will not hit them in regulation.

Fun course to play and reasonably priced. $37 with cart for Sr and Vets. $21 to walk.
And the prices in the grill are like they were in the 70's and not tax.

If you are in the area give it a play. It is not inside Travis AFB but outside so no issues with entry to it.
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Played Monday, April 20, around 8:00 am, walking from the blue tees with two male college seniors. Beautiful day, I got ... » More

Played Monday, April 20, around 8:00 am, walking from the blue tees with two male college seniors. Beautiful day, I got to enjoy a lot of it as the round took 4:40, of which 2.5 hours was spent on the back nine. No beverage cart.

The course is still more lush than normal although definitely not as much as in January/February. Conditions were good throughout, fairway, sand and tees. The rough was cut down somewhat. It looks like they are marking at least part of the left side of #16 as a hazard (red line painted along the top of the slope down to the fence - no stakes), something I took advantage of unfortunately. The greens on the front nine look fully healed from the aeration one week ago. They were on the fast side and pretty firm, rolling nicely to the dismay of the twosome I was with. There were some partially healed aeration holes on the back nine greens although they also were extraordinarily healed considering it had been a week or less since the aeration. They also were running at a good speed. The pin on #13 was in the back middle and there were some bare spots on the green in that area. The ball still rolled well, but the green just did not look as nice as the others.

Can't wait to get out there again.
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Rode the I tees this morning in group 1b with buddies John and Ron on the Canyon/Vista combo in around 4 hrs 50 minutes ... » More

Rode the I tees this morning in group 1b with buddies John and Ron on the Canyon/Vista combo in around 4 hrs 50 minutes under 72 degree weather and about 1.5 clubs of wind. Just a beautiful day.

My first time here. Heard many great things about this course[old Braemar] which was redesigned by Lanny Watkins and is now Mulholland Hills CC. My buddy John described it best after we putted out on hole 18....not one boring hole out here? Starting with the layout tons of elevation changes with many downhill holes and a few uphill holes. Somewhere in between target golf and a traditional layout. Hit it straight and be rewarded with scoring opportunities. Hit it crooked and there is no room. I thought Lanny did a great job in placing the fairway bunkers and greenside bunkers in positions that were fair but for sure needed to be negotiated. Other than Canyon 8 you can hit driver from the back tees although the pond can be reached on Vista 9 even from the back tees so beware if you are a long hitter. You need to work both fades and draws off the tee although maybe I recall a few more dogleg rights than lefts. Usually don't like only two par 5s but the course flowed really well from a design standpoint. There are 3 par 3s here that are amazing where you are hitting from an elevated mountain down to the green. The Vista 9 provided views of El Cab CC where the LPGA just played their final round yesterday.

The fairways were in really nice shape with basically perfect lies cut to the correct length. They provided nice roll out even with cushion for your irons. Rated 9/10

The rough was Bermuda and in playable length. It did not appear long but it could nestle down some. Rated 8/10.

The tees were mostly all level and were very firm. Had a hard time getting the tee peg in some of them. Rated 8/10

Was in 1 greenside bunker and one fairway bunker. This is great sand. Looked like white Augusta National fluffy material. Rated 9.5/10

The greens on Canyon had been recently punched and were slow and furry. The greens on Vista were a little quicker but still slow for CC standards. I'm not going to rate the greens coming out of maintenance but I would assume in a couple weeks Canyons greens will be back to normal.

All staff encountered were super friendly. Putting green and range a hike from the proshop. Not a walking course with Canyon 9 and Vista 9 a good hike from each other. I was told we played the great rotation but would like to try out the trails 9 as well.

Recommended!
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Took advantage to play Lakewood, which I have not played for quite some time. Have to agree with the most recent review.... » More

Took advantage to play Lakewood, which I have not played for quite some time. Have to agree with the most recent review. Greens were the highlight of the course. Rolled well and had decent pace. Fairways had good coverage. Rough was at times just brutal. Which was also true of the bunkers for the opposite reason. Rough was thick and lush, while the sand (what there was of it) was thin/hard.
Enjoyed the round, but I must admit that the blue tees are now more than this 79-year-old can handle. Too many holes I can no longer reach in regulation, so it put a lot of stress on the short game. Funny, how different golf courses play when you lose so much distance. Since everyone else was playing the blue tees, it was easier just to suck it up and deal with it. Plus, those are the tees I always used to play. Who says that you become wiser with age
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Sunday round at Harding this weekend with an exquisite 8:10am tee time that a friend nailed down somehow last week. Pict... » More

Sunday round at Harding this weekend with an exquisite 8:10am tee time that a friend nailed down somehow last week. Picture perfect spring day with temps in the low 70s, beautiful sunshine, minimal wind and a sweet spot between groups that saw us finish in exactly four hours while never waiting on a single hole the entire day - how is that even possible? It doesn't get any better than that.

I'm not sure when they last punched the greens here but I can't recall Harding's greens ever being this fast or unreceptive to chip shots and pitches. Everyone in my group was rolling chips and putts well past the pins for most of the day and constantly remarking on green speeds. Overall though they're in quite good shape, rolling fast and true and very consistent.

(Ironically just checked GK and they are punching the greens tomorrow and Wednesday - nooooooooo! They're quite good right now!)

The fairways are another story. They're not bad per se, but they are thin in so many areas to the point of hoping your drive down the middle has a favorable lie with some grass beneath it. I've seen the fairways here in much better shape to be honest, but you will still be able to play them mostly fine. The rough is in good, healthy shape as well.

Bunkers seemed to have a working bit of sand in them (I only landed in one - greenside on 16) but they are far from fluffy. Still, it gets the job done. Tee boxes were mostly in good to serviceable shape so no issues there. POP once again was tremendous.

Enjoyable layout and one of my playing partners was out from New York and really enjoyed Harding as much for the scenery and sights of wild coyotes and deer as he did for the quality golf experience. He liked it so much that he played it both days out here on his trip - take that information as you like. Good times out at Griffith Park though overall.
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Played 4/17&18. POP for both afternoon tee times was a little over 4 hrs. Greens have healed from aeration and were in g... » More

Played 4/17&18. POP for both afternoon tee times was a little over 4 hrs. Greens have healed from aeration and were in great shape. They have firmed up a bit. Well struck shots would stop and others a little run out. Speed was at a medium pace and roll was typical for the Poana in the afternoon. Fairways had great coverage and green. Firming up and cut tight. I was in many traps and they were all difficult. Very firm with little to no sand and seemingly no one raking their mess's. Tees are the trouble spot here and locations were difficult and in poor shape. Overall the course is in very good to great shape except for the tees & traps. Saw the cart girl once on Sat. The course was pretty busy, but pace was good. A short but fun & challenging course. Easy recommend.
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Played today walking for $18. Great course to keep your game in shape.

Short course but fun to play and enjoy ... » More

Played today walking for $18. Great course to keep your game in shape.

Short course but fun to play and enjoy the walk. The course is a short, 18-hole par 67 with many trees, bunkers, and water hazards.

Todays conditions were just fine. No issues with tee boxes. Fairways were all playable. Traps could use more raking but were fine to play out of. Greens were clean and chipped/putted fine all round.

Always enjoy coming here and playing a nice relaxing round of golf at a great price.

Check it out if you are in the Davis area. You won't be disappointed.
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Went out as a twosome joining a couple of college guys, all playing the whites and teeing off @2:00. My buddy made the r... » More

Went out as a twosome joining a couple of college guys, all playing the whites and teeing off @2:00. My buddy made the rez before inviting me and I didn't check until a day or two later to see the aeration warning on GK. So we were teeing off about 10 days after the punch. I knew before I went but didn't know exactly what to expect. Greens had been punched with regular holes and sanded (vs. smaller tines or verticutting) and while the only sand left was in the holes, the holes were still conspicuous. Performance-wise, they actually played decently, certainly better than they looked and I thought they were well recovered given the short time. They were a reasonable speed, quicker than you would expect. Bumps were minimal and the thing we did notice as group was the ball seemed to run much straighter than the breaks we were reading. Given another week, they will still have visual traces but should perform quite well. Otherwise, the course was in nice shape and green. Bunkers were inconsistent and one I was in was on the hard side. Green surrounds tended to be tighter lies and I struggled a bit in my short game with that. Pace was sluggish at something over 4.5 hrs. Know before you go, but it is playable and trending towards good greens in a week or two.
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