Played in the SCGA outing on Saturday - 8am shotgun start. Exited to play a course I'd seen many times on TV and much like any celebrity you meet in person - perhaps not quite as glamorous as the "ma... Continue »

Played in the SCGA outing on Saturday - 8am shotgun start. Exited to play a course I'd seen many times on TV and much like any celebrity you meet in person - perhaps not quite as glamorous as the "made up" version you saw on TV but really cool nonetheless.

From tee to fringe it felt like a course that, while challenging, wanted you to succeed. Bunkering was as much an aim point and catchers mitt keeping you out of something worse as it was a hazard. Fairway grass sat the ball up nicely and all the grass I had to chip out of felt like the club would glide through rather than grab the club. The greens are not as friendly - while medium fast and rolling pure - there are some humps and bumps that made getting to the hole a Rube Golberg adventure.

Great mix of holes - hard and easy - short and long and unlike some courses on the coast where you have to swivel your head west like an excited meerkat to remember why you are paying so much to play here - at Aviara, most of the beauty is right there on the golf course.

Complaints - SCGA did not give us any of the 2 bottles of water that were promised in writing so had to drink $5 Gatorades. The course could be typical SoCal - which means patchy and inconsistent in areas. Finally - it is beyond me (and mentioned on TV when they LPGA plays here) why the 18th fairway is so bumpy in the smallish landing area if you stripe a great drive past the corner of the water. Is that called Risk/RiskyReward design?

Played here on Tuesday with my son for his birthday round. The customer service here is probably the best of any course in the area, Jerry is the best. The course was in good shape, they aerate three... Continue »

Played here on Tuesday with my son for his birthday round. The customer service here is probably the best of any course in the area, Jerry is the best. The course was in good shape, they aerate three greens per week, but, the greens that were done, were in great shape, not to fast, not to slow. Fairways in nice shape, some of the rough was very thick, again, due to the overseeding, and watering. In one bunker, and it was okay, a little bit of a hard base. I always enjoy playing this course, friendly off of the tees, huge greens, and just challenging enough to keep your interest for the whole round, just wish they had better practice facilities, hitting of mats for a course of this caliber is ... stay healthy, CGG..

Played Sat 10/1 in morning in about 4:35. While that doesn't sound real slow, it felt more aggravating because the back nine was much slower than the front.

Greens are pretty good, a bit slow an... Continue »

Played Sat 10/1 in morning in about 4:35. While that doesn't sound real slow, it felt more aggravating because the back nine was much slower than the front.

Greens are pretty good, a bit slow and mostly smooth and true, but the ones they punched were a bit bumpy and slower. Fairways are mostly good, with only a few bare lies. Tee boxes were very good. Sand was mostly good, although there were some bunkers that seemed to be just a whiff of sand over dirt.

The rough is pretty bad, however. It looks OK and somewhat lush from a distance, but when you get close you see it is larger tufts of grass with bare spots in between. A ball almost never would landin the grass part, but instead would be laying on bare dirt (often muddy since they're overwatering the rough) and up against a blob of grass, making it very difficult to judge what the ball might do. The rough was especially poor around the greens. Very disappointing for such a premier (and very expensive) course.

Played yesterday and teed off a little before 10. Pace was right at 4 1/2 hours with waiting on some holes and others seemed to play a little faster. A Troon run facility and I have always experienc... Continue »

Played yesterday and teed off a little before 10. Pace was right at 4 1/2 hours with waiting on some holes and others seemed to play a little faster. A Troon run facility and I have always experienced great customer service here from the pro shop, guys at th bag drop, cart girl, and marshals. Greens were generally good with the exception of 1, 10 and 18 which were sanded. They also seemed to put the pins in the worse spots on those greens. There appeared to be other areas they could have put the flag and not have the effect of the sand. Putts rolled decently with a few bumps here and there. Palmer certainly put little subtle breaks on the greens that you just have to play a few times to get a feel for. Fairways were great. Some divot damage and some bare spots but generally very nice to hit off from. Rough in some parts were down right brutal. I almost lost a ball on the up hill par 3 (#6?) and it was little 2 inches from the fringe. There are some areas where it is not so thick. Primarily thicker around the greens. Fairways sand was firm which is fine with me and greenside sand was softer but not too soft. For a course of this quality I do not like the range when it's on the mats, they just seem too spongy to me. Overall still a great course and a great design. The rack rate which i think is 250 for a weekend is asking a little much but everyone has their own price point.

Played 6/20 on a late twilight tee time on summer solstice. Teed off at 4:00pm and started on 16 because of a tournament that was finishing up on the front nine. Played extremely fast for the first ... Continue »

Played 6/20 on a late twilight tee time on summer solstice. Teed off at 4:00pm and started on 16 because of a tournament that was finishing up on the front nine. Played extremely fast for the first 7 holes with no one ahead then hit a mom and son group playing slow. Marshall came and moved them and the group ahead of them to front nine and we continued burning through the course. Played 22 holes in 4 hours! The course itself is immaculate and lush. Most beautiful par 3's i've ever played. Very difficult to score well if you get in the rough and the false fronts are deceptive if you haven't played here before. The surrounding vegetation is gorgeous and the terrain is varied which makes for a great day. If you haven't played a troon course, the service and quality of the facilities are top notch. Country club-like. I paid twilight tee time discount, otherwise it would have been too pricey for my blood. Greens were medium fast but I believe they aerated not too long ago so i think they were still a bit sandy, though unnoticeable and still difficult. All in all, a pristine course that will challenge you and provide breathtaking views. Just make sure to be considerate and keep up the pace for your fellow golfers.

Played here on 4/27 with Robertkpan as part of the GK Cup. First of all, this was my first time playing Aviara and boy was I impressed with every aspect of the round. I can't stress enough how the lit... Continue »

Played here on 4/27 with Robertkpan as part of the GK Cup. First of all, this was my first time playing Aviara and boy was I impressed with every aspect of the round. I can't stress enough how the little things really make you feel better about spending extra money to play at a course of this caliber. On to the review:

Tee-boxes: Probably the weakest point of the course and that's saying a lot because even the tee boxes were great. There were a few where it was harder to drive the tee into the ground but overall not a huge problem.

Fairways: Excellent. Even though they weren't to the level they are when the LPGA rolls through, they were green, evenly cut and always offered a great lie.

Rough: Penal! When you find the rough here, you have to play it like Torrey and just take your medicine. Even though it looks harmless in length, it really grips your club head and makes you play smart.

Bunkers: Was only in two (somehow) and they were great with sand that was closer to the fluffy stuff you'd expect to see at a high-caliber course instead of the brown dirt style sand at most courses. Rakes were plentiful.

Greens: Quick and in excellent condition save a few that still had the top-dressing but even those holes had pin placements away from the sanded areas. The undulation and speed of these greens are a bit terrifying but once you knew how quick they played, it was far more enjoyable.

ETC: Service is everything you would expect from a resort; staff was friendly, there wasn't one person who didn't say hi and smile. Even the groundskeepers made sure to wave and smile. Ample parking lot. Pro shop had plenty of everything. Range and practice greens were good. Carts had wonderful color GPS. I wish they had more water throughout the course but they offered you free water to start. Starter was friendly and the marshal at 8 who handed out Tootsie-Pops was such a great touch. Highly recommended.

Played on Wednesday, 4/27 in my GK Cup Match with @salbarajasjr under bright sunny skies and a slight breeze. Before I get into the conditions, I will say the customer service here at Aviara is absol... Continue »

Played on Wednesday, 4/27 in my GK Cup Match with @salbarajasjr under bright sunny skies and a slight breeze. Before I get into the conditions, I will say the customer service here at Aviara is absolutely world class. Not only did they work to get us teed off 20 minutes early, John in the Pro Shop tracked us down on the 2nd tee box and informed me that he overcharged my credit card. Not sure many courses would do that. Not only did they figure it out a full hour after I checked in, but then come out to the course and be 100% honest, that was refreshing.

Ok, onto the course. Aviara is a world class golf course. Conditions here are nearly immaculate and they work hard to make you a "member for the day." It does look like they punched the greens about 3 weeks ago and had a light topdressing, but on all but 2 greens it's fully healed and in very good conditions. Greens are lightning quick and ball placement on approach shots are very important. Fairways are near perfect, and the rough is cut at about 1.5 inches but super, super thick and is tough to gauge out from.

The course layout is best described as beautiful. Gardens are everywhere (and in play) and there are at least 8 different "signature holes." The course isn't terribly difficult, it's built to be forgiving off the tee, large, receptive greens, but tough greens to putt protect the course. This is an Arnold Palmer design and as such he places a premium on strategy over brute force (which is ironic considering how AP liked to play). Most tee shots offer a big benefit to a perfectly placed drive but also punish you if you misfire.

Yes Aviara is a premium price but it's an elite course, and one of my favorite courses in Southern California. Can't wait to come back.

Played yesterday morning about 7:30ish. The range was mats and the mat was really soft. It felt like hitting off a sponge.

We played the Palmer tees and I think every tee box on the front had ... Continue »

Played yesterday morning about 7:30ish. The range was mats and the mat was really soft. It felt like hitting off a sponge.

We played the Palmer tees and I think every tee box on the front had been punched but you could always tee it up so it wasn't a problem. They were pretty level with only #1 coming to mind as being unlevel.

Fairways were very good. Cut nice and I don't remember a lot of bad spots. After being in the rough on the first couple of holes you realize what's premium it is to get it in fairway.

Rough was down right brutal. The thing is I played in rough the was twice a tall but for whatever reason this grass was just brutal to get clean contact on the ball. A couple of times we didn't find our ball initially.

Greens were generally good but holes 3, 8 and 14 were heavily sanded. That was a big disappointment because holes 3 and 8 might be my favorite holes here. I'd say they were medium speed. They weren't as fast as I remember.

I was only in one bunker which is a minor miracle because there are some all over the place including places you wouldn't expect to find one. On hole 3 it is funny because I didn't notice this before until we got to the tee on 4 but 3 is pretty much an island green and there is a bunker behind the water on the back of the green. I was thinking there is no way anyone can hit it in there but the other funny thing is there is a rake so I guess it's still an active one.

Pace was great. We fell behind early but by the time we finished 17 the group behind us hadn't even gotten to the tee yet. I think the total was a little over 4 hours.

I think this is a great layout and a very challenging track and will definitely be back but don't think it's worth the rack rate and with a couple of my favorite holes being sanded I'd wait and call to make sure they haven't done any other greens.

Played 12/6/15 11:am POP 4:15 UP deal Fairway's green and mostly lush with a few brown/dry areas mixed in but still soft even in the dry areas. Not it's normal pristine but in very good shape. Greens ... Continue »

Played 12/6/15 11:am POP 4:15 UP deal Fairway's green and mostly lush with a few brown/dry areas mixed in but still soft even in the dry areas. Not it's normal pristine but in very good shape. Greens were running well. They said they were running at 12, but I'd say no faster then 10 at medium fast pace. A few still had punch marks left, but still ran smooth and well. Rough fine and most traps were firm to very firm. Overall in good to great shape. I would be very disappointed to pay full price for the current conditions and even at half price it would be tough to say it was a fair price for the conditions. I really love the layout of this course and it's still one of my favorite SD courses, but not at it's current conditions at the price they are charging. Our UP deal gave us bounce back certs, so hopefully it will be in better shape next time ?