Out with GK Gurus on Wednesday 7/9 1:45pm to play Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake for the first time. Very enjoyable. Thank you everyone that came and my group Gary (gary00) and Steve (sparky14).

Sin... Continue »

Out with GK Gurus on Wednesday 7/9 1:45pm to play Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake for the first time. Very enjoyable. Thank you everyone that came and my group Gary (gary00) and Steve (sparky14).

Since launching Greenskeeper.org back in 2002 I’ve followed Eastlake (former name) with curiosity in the beginning reading mix reviews and eventually with sympathy as reviews about the overall playing experience greatly deteriorated over time. A sad story to be honest with you. The place has great bones.

Then about 18 months ago I heard of a new owner, this now being Enagic USA (drinking water company) with lots of money being put back into it. Could they seriously turn this place around I thought? After over 15 years of significant neglect? Answer a resounding yes already with still much more to do to. This October the Enagic Golf Club at Eastlake will host PGA caliber players as the revival of the San Diego County Open.

We played the golf course under summer turf conditions Wednesday and enjoyed it. It’s important to know this course is going to overseed with rye grass in September which impressed me. You know an owner is serious about maintaining good conditions year around when they dropping that kind of money on rye grass seed. I’m already looking into booking a GK Plays outing there for November. Anyway for summer turf conditions and knowing they still have work to do to I was very pleased with the conditions.

Greens were in good shape, rolling 10.5 according to a sign posted, held shots and were mostly smooth. We seemed to catch the most popular pin placements that day as the surface around the holes certainly had many more ball marks, new and old, than most other areas of the greens. Also on many greens you can see the completed enlargement of the surfaces that had me scratching my on how they could have been so small to begin with. Good work there. Great improvement.

Fairways were all bermunda/kikuyu with remnants of some thin spots as result of recently transitioned rye grass. Look for the fairways to fill in more as the summer goes on. Bet next month they are going to be in excellent shape. Still I had good mostly lush lies all day.

Rough is a mix of bermunda/kikuyu that can get thick at times greenside. Overall not very penal through the green and adjacent to the fairways. Mostly lush.

Bunkers, already 9 new bunkers (as in were not there before), looked to have good quality sand. I found one fairway bunker and no greenside bunkers so don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with them. COVID-19 no rakes as expected but you can tell they make sure to rake them all before each day of play.

Tee boxes, we played the blue tees, by far the most popular with some thin areas and divot damage I only noticed on the blue tees. The black tees looked to be in much better condition and those new gold tees coming will look even better once installed. Got a sneak peak at the new scorecard for the gold tees ... 6961 yards. And get this, for the San Diego County Open, hole 9 (525 par 5) and hole 18 (510 par 5) will be playing as par 4s! – next time teeing up here I want to try the black tees. No thanks to the gold tees – LOL

As for the layout I really liked it especially as a first time player there. Never do any holes parallel each other, lots of elevation changes, doglegs in both directions, beautiful water features, risk/reward holes, well protected greens, some nice views on the back nine and great variety of short and long par 4’s. Rather than go on about the layout I snapped a bunch of photos so please check them out.

Service all day was very friendly and professional. I really like that they have someone out there in addition to the on course food/beverage service offering free Enagic water and refills on divot mix.

I live in Ventura County so this golf course is special travel treat for me but if I lived in San Diego County I’m for sure getting over to play this track it multiple times a year. How cool it is for San Diego golfers to have a comeback golf course story unfolding like this. Go check it out. Highly Recommend.

7/8 guru outing playing with Johnny and Steve good company and fun to watch them boom it out there. Always amazed to see how far Steve hits it considering how easy he appears to swing and you know Jo... Continue »

7/8 guru outing playing with Johnny and Steve good company and fun to watch them boom it out there. Always amazed to see how far Steve hits it considering how easy he appears to swing and you know Johnny is just Johnny. Fairways were mostly in good shape with some areas of thin or sparse cover and many areas with really lush thick growth for perfect lies. Rough was penal both for stopping forward progress and providing for difficult extraction. POP right a 4 following a 3 some that included the 2 GK cup semi finalists engaged in a hotly contested battle for supremacy and a spot in the finals Tees ok with some extra wear on the par 3s. Bunkers are filled with good quality sand fine grained but nicely compacted and looked to have been groomed early in the day. Got to test many during the round and was a perfect 4/4 on the par 3s as far as getting in but no sandys on the way out. Greens were mixed some had really full lush healthy and some looked to be very thin to the point that you could see individual blades of grass and the under lying ground. Quite a fer unrepaired or poorly healed pitch marks. Speed medium fast mostly smooth with some greens a little bumpy. For me a hard time reading the breaks--so close so often. Got a great welcome from Neil the GM who is full of enthusiasm for the on going renovations and can definitely see the progress. Interesting layout and good variety.

Played 7/9 with Gurus JohnnyGK and Gary00. First time back to Enagic / Eastlake in 20 years. Some really nice views out here. Nice breeze made it very comfy out there, an easy course to walk.

Somet... Continue »

Played 7/9 with Gurus JohnnyGK and Gary00. First time back to Enagic / Eastlake in 20 years. Some really nice views out here. Nice breeze made it very comfy out there, an easy course to walk.

Something you don't see much of these days, a course actually making a serious effort to improve. They are adding bunkers, adding some length with new tees, increasing the size of some greens. Grass range is decent. Two large putting greens and a chipping green.

The course layout is a nice mix. Although it runs through a housing tract, there is a ton of space and the fairways are much lower than the houses and both sides slope towards the fairways. The result is the houses rarely come into mind at all, you'd have to be 50 yards offline in the air to risk a house.

Generally, the course is in good condition. Greens were nice, generally soft but you would get a firm bounce once in a while. Fairways are good, very nice grass coverage. The rough can be penal in spots with very thick grass. Bunkers were nice. There are many areas being worked on, so you will get a bad lie once in a while.

In all, I really enjoyed the layout, and this definitely looks like a course on the way up. The SD county rates seem reasonable to me and if I was in county I'd add Enagic to my rotation. A bit to long of a drive to get there from San Clemente to pay the much higher out of county rates for me though. But I do hope it is not another 20 years until I return. Recommended!

This was my first time playing here. Check-in was outside because I had prepaid, but the pro shop was open for other transactions. There is a large driving range with mats and grass, which was in use ... Continue »

This was my first time playing here. Check-in was outside because I had prepaid, but the pro shop was open for other transactions. There is a large driving range with mats and grass, which was in use today. There are also large chipping and putting greens. I didn’t have time to warm up, though. My tee time was 11:00 a.m. I arrived early and they sent me out early at 10:30 with a pleasant twosome. The carts are nice with good GPS and Shark Experience music.

We started on hole 10. My first impression was that the fairways and the rough were in very good shape- green and lush. When we got to the green, though, we found that it was lightly sanded. Putts still ran smoothly but slowly- 9.6 according to the sign at the clubhouse. The entire nine was about the same condition-wise. The second nine was better with no sanding of the greens.

The tee boxes were level. They were a bit shaggy but there were a lot of mowers in action all over the course. The bunkers were deep with clean, soft sand. Normally this is a real good thing. Without rakes, though, it was tough hitting out of the many footprints. There are a lot of water holes and I did lose 2 balls to them.

I enjoyed the layout and visually it’s very pretty. There weren’t any real standout holes but there were many that did take some planning which I like a lot. The only big negative was playing with a couple of new clubs for the first time and it didn’t go so well. I would like to play here again once I’ve gotten used to them.

The beverage cart came by four times and the marshall made the rounds handing out water and frozen Snickers bars (never seen that before lol) POP was good at 4 hours. Overall, it was a very pleasant day. Recommended.

Played yesterday after a long week of work. Not much to add to my previous review. Course is still in really good shape. The only difference is the price. Price for locals is $65 which is a little ... Continue »

Played yesterday after a long week of work. Not much to add to my previous review. Course is still in really good shape. The only difference is the price. Price for locals is $65 which is a little high but they now have new carts with GPS and the "Shark Experience". It is a nice touch. Course was green everywhere and we played in under 4 hours with some waiting. I posted a pic on the app. If you get a chance I would suggest giving the course a try.

Played yesterday in the AM. Course has gotten even better since my last review. IT IS GREEN. I don't think I saw one brown spot on the course. Tees were level and good to hit from. They are adding... Continue »

Played yesterday in the AM. Course has gotten even better since my last review. IT IS GREEN. I don't think I saw one brown spot on the course. Tees were level and good to hit from. They are adding 5-6 new tee boxes throughout the course. Should make the course a little longer.

Fairways were lush green. They probably need a trim but with the recent rain they may be waiting. No brown spots and easy to hit from. The rough is getting tough. Not unfair tough but enough where you have to think about what you are doing. This is a nice change from most SD courses where you would be lucky to see grass taller than 1-inch.

Sand was great. Nice white sand has finally settled in. Not to fluffy but enough sand to take a good swing and not worry about breaking your wrist.

Greens had fully recovered and were nice and smooth. They are on the fast side and you need to pay attention.

The biggest issue I hear is the course is surrounded by houses, which is true but the conditions make up for it. I have been hearing the new owners are not worried about money and are trying hard to make it one of the nicest courses in SD. If you are in SD it is worth giving it a try.

I’m happy to say Eastlake is back in playable condition. The greens are looking vastly better and they were freshly cut when I played yesterday. I know this is a love / hate course for a lot of peopl... Continue »

I’m happy to say Eastlake is back in playable condition. The greens are looking vastly better and they were freshly cut when I played yesterday. I know this is a love / hate course for a lot of people but at least it’s back to a decent playable condition. Played Saturday morning on a busy day. They were running about 10 minutes late but still played in about 4:30, which isn’t bad for a Saturday.

Tee boxes were nice and lush with good coverage and level. Fairways are good with a little roll and not to many brown spots. Traps were nice with fresh new sand. Greens were good. They would hold shots and rolled fairly smooth and medium fast.

They have a new crew of Marshall’s rolling around. Didn’t see they talk to anyone but seemed to be moving things along. Saw the cart girl twice.

All in all I you can find a good deal you should give it a try.

8/1(1st time here) from the "back" tees 6226 69.6/129 using teeoff deal time $28.50 arriving as a single and going through an easy welcoming check in was told I would be paired with a 2some but when w... Continue »

8/1(1st time here) from the "back" tees 6226 69.6/129 using teeoff deal time $28.50 arriving as a single and going through an easy welcoming check in was told I would be paired with a 2some but when we were quickly called to the tee the afore mentioned group seemed to be hanging back--so I started off alone. Caught a 4 some on 3 who quickly invited me to play through and never saw another group until 17--POP 320 with some dawdling. a few extra shots and putts here and there and the adventure of ball hunting(mine) in some areas of the jungle/rough. Was told by the roving player assistant/gunga din water bearer that there is extra watering due to recent reseeding resulting in some areas being off limits for mowing.
Fairways were mostly ok except for the excess water in the low areas--really good lies down the center with less so toward the edges. Lot of unfilled divots--sad since quality mix is provided. Rough more often than not was deep juicy and difficult even a foot off the greenside fringe was often 3-5 deep. Tees lush and level.
Bunkers were well filled with sand that looked like it would be very playable but its heavy nature would take some getting used to.
Greens rolled medium/medium fast generally smooth with more break around the hole than I judged. Was told that 8 greens had been replanted with bent and are in the process of being transformed into bent/poa. I did not notice any real difference. Greens are generally of medium size not a lot of contour or tiers but there is ample opportinity to have some challenging pin placements.
Course layout is interesting and even with being in a housing development there is a park like feeling as the fairways are bordered by shrubs and trees. Water comes into play on several holes and #12 par 3 153 yds some what uphill with water and wood pilings in front set at a fade angle pin in back(playing to 166) tucked behind a bunker was one of the more visually intimidating scenes I have encountered(managed to get it pin high in the fringe and scrambled for my par).
Overall a good 1st experience and worth a return when I am staying in the San Diego area.

played as a single at noon on Tuesday July 2nd 2019 joined by 2 single players...it has been over 2 years since I last wrote a review of this course...Eastlake is 90% back to being very very good...gr... Continue »

played as a single at noon on Tuesday July 2nd 2019 joined by 2 single players...it has been over 2 years since I last wrote a review of this course...Eastlake is 90% back to being very very good...greens a 9+(4 and 14 were back and healthy)very consist through,rolled well and held shots..bunkers a 9 nice sand in the bunkers(healthy amount)..fairways a 7 lots of coverage but still that type of grass that will probley burn out as it gets hotter...rough a 6 not much to judge but it might be an inch higher than the fairways..still a nice driving range,2 putting greens, 1 chipping green which they have added a sand bunker to the chipping green, a nice resturant and patio and the lakes all had water in them.no cart girl but saw a marshall with water and ice several times through out the round.at about a cost of $2.00 a hole its not a bad investment and they have a $20.00 replay available.hit em well!!