Played here today with Nickesquire for our GK Cup semi-final. 1:54 tee time, sent off by ourselves. Quickly caught the group in front of us and invited a twosome behind to join us on the third tee. On... Continue »

Played here today with Nickesquire for our GK Cup semi-final. 1:54 tee time, sent off by ourselves. Quickly caught the group in front of us and invited a twosome behind to join us on the third tee. One of those guys bailed after 9. Total POP a little erratic 4:40-ish where sometimes it seemed like we were fast and other times seemed like we were holding everyone up. Quite windy and warm for the first 12 holes or so, and then it seemed like the wind mostly stopped and the air temperature became almost cool late in the afternoon. Felt great but wasn't the prettiest day with mostly cloudy skies.

Conditions are very similar to my last review except it's clear that another four weeks of high temps have taken a bit of a toll on the course. Fairways and rough were a little scruffier than last time, and the blue tee boxes seemed even lumpier. I wasn't in a bunker. Greens ran mostly smooth around medium speed but did have quite a few ball marks. Still loved it, though.

Rode the Blues (6865/73.1/132) with Itslikeimsayin, Ben and Shane in slightly more than 4.5H. Started as a 2some, played as a 4some for holes 3-9 then as a 3some on the back. Course busy, we waited on... Continue »

Rode the Blues (6865/73.1/132) with Itslikeimsayin, Ben and Shane in slightly more than 4.5H. Started as a 2some, played as a 4some for holes 3-9 then as a 3some on the back. Course busy, we waited on more shots than not. Breezy, not too hot and overcast. Great venue for Mark and I to play our GK Cup match. Base pass required. Course is roughly 75 years old and has stood up well to modern technology. We both really like the Billy Bell traditional parkland layout. Mostly flat with some rolling hills. Most fairways are tree lined with traps on both sides. No houses within sight on this course. Greens are well bunkered with challenging par 3's. Wind was definitely a factor as several of the longer holes seem to play into the prevailing wind. Kikuyu tees were the weak link. Some very nice, some poor. Many were lumpy, some crowned and the par 3's in particular needed divot attention. Fairways had good coverage and were decent to good. Rough had good coverage and could be penal because it's mostly Kikuyu. Sand traps were well maintained and all I was in were in good shape with a decent amount of sand. Greens were only medium speed, they looked quicker than they were. But they were soft and accepted irons and pitches with little run out. They rolled well, but being soft, many had marks that needed to be repaired before you putted. Customer service was excellent from everyone encountered. Saw the cart gal early in the round. Basic cart with no GPS. Adequate grass driving range with plenty of stalls. Well stocked pro shop. If I lived closer, this course would be in my regular rotation. Definitely recommended.

Played here Saturday 8/28 with a 2:12 twilight time. $28 plus $18 more because I chose to ride. Paired with a twosome of novice golfers with a great enthusiasm for the game. They're in a ladies golf l... Continue »

Played here Saturday 8/28 with a 2:12 twilight time. $28 plus $18 more because I chose to ride. Paired with a twosome of novice golfers with a great enthusiasm for the game. They're in a ladies golf league that allows them to tee up their second shots on par 4s and 5s to gain confidence on those shots. I thought that was interesting and have mixed feelings on it. Started right on time. Pace was pretty slow for out here. Total POP around 4:45 on a gorgeous afternoon. Nice breeze in Windmill Canyon kept the temperature comfortable.

Conditions are pretty good. Greens are smooth, medium speed and accept full shots well. Playing late in the day meant seeing more ball marks than usual, unfortunately. Kikuyu fairways are a tiny bit splotchy looking but play really nice. Rough wasn’t too penal, just a little longer than the fairways and/or thinner than the fairways. Blue tee boxes had good coverage but were a little lumpy. I had trouble with the sand (in two different bunkers, in fact) on the par-3 8th but I’m not sure if that was user error or that it was hard packed. Seems like the bunkers could all use a good raking to loosen up the sand.

Whenever I play here, I fall in love with the course all over again. I love how secluded it is and that it’s just a pure golf course with virtually nothing else in view. (Although there are some power lines that detract just a bit from some holes.) It has some great elevation changes, interesting contours on the greens, and provides a great challenge without beating you up. I got a 60-day base access pass on my way to Morgan Run on Monday, so I’ll probably play here several more times over the next couple months to take advantage of it. One of my favorite courses anywhere.

This course is fantastic, especially when figuring the value. $28 to walk on a Sunday afternoon. Course is in great shape, greens were medium speed but in great shape and rolled great. Fairways and... Continue »

This course is fantastic, especially when figuring the value. $28 to walk on a Sunday afternoon. Course is in great shape, greens were medium speed but in great shape and rolled great. Fairways and rough in great shape and no bare spots really and the rough could be punitive. Sand was in good to great shape and service was great, from check in to beers after the round. Highly recommended if you can play this course. Classic Billy Bell Design.

Played here today with a 0857 tee time. (Haha.) Check in was smooth. They’ve moved the pro shop since I was last here, now just right off the first tee. $40 civilian walking holiday/weekend rate + $5 ... Continue »

Played here today with a 0857 tee time. (Haha.) Check in was smooth. They’ve moved the pro shop since I was last here, now just right off the first tee. $40 civilian walking holiday/weekend rate + $5 to rent a Riksha push cart. Started right on time, paired with two guys in town from Tucson. Pace was excellent on the front nine, finishing in about 1:45. Not sure what happened at the turn, but we were the third group waiting on the 10th tee to start the back nine. Eventually things got spaced out again and pace was good but not as fast as the front. Total POP was excellent at 3:57. Beautiful morning without much wind, which was surprising because last night was crazy windy up at home in OC.

Conditions are mixed. Greens are absolutely the highlight, rolling smooth at fast/medium-fast speed. They are pretty soft and full shots stop quickly, making rather large ball marks. Blue tee boxes were decent, except for No. 6 that was mostly dirt. Fairways are decent at best, a patchwork of kikuyu, bermuda and thin/bare spots. Despite that, I never really felt I had a bad lie in the fairway. They’re just not very attractive right now (or maybe I got fortunate to miss the thinner areas). Rough was mostly short kikuyu maybe about an inch and a half, not very penal at all. I was in two fairway bunkers and they were both good; greenside bunkers looked good, too.

It was nice to get back out here, which is difficult for me now that you have to get a base access pass from the Visitor’s Center to get on, and the Visitor’s Center is only open weekdays. I stopped in on my way to Rams Hill on Monday and got a little unlucky because their computer systems were down, so they could only issue me a 6-day pass instead of the normal 60-day pass. I’m considering joining the men’s club, in which case the course will sponsor you for a one-year base access pass. (If you stop in to get a pass, bring two forms of ID; I stopped in the week prior on my way to Goat Hill and stood in line for about 30 minutes only to get told they couldn’t do anything for me without my passport.)

My first time playing here and i was very pleased with everything. Greens we healed and ran semi fast and smooth. Tees were all level and fairways were nice for the most part but did have some patchy ... Continue »

My first time playing here and i was very pleased with everything. Greens we healed and ran semi fast and smooth. Tees were all level and fairways were nice for the most part but did have some patchy areas. I thought the bunkers were consistent and had enough sand to play shots from. Getting into the base and finding this gem was the real battle but once we did we all thoroughly enjoyed our round and will definitely be returning. Pace was great too and normal COVID protocols were in place.

Had the pleasure of playing Marine Memorial on Friday 7/10, teeing off just after 10 AM.

It had been about a decade since I last played here and I really have no idea what took me so long. They hav... Continue »

Had the pleasure of playing Marine Memorial on Friday 7/10, teeing off just after 10 AM.

It had been about a decade since I last played here and I really have no idea what took me so long. They have made quite a few improvements, to the course and the facilities since I was last year and I was really impressed by everything.

The course itself is a traditional layout, really straight forward with everything in front of you. There are some slight elevation changes on the back nine but for the most part it's a relatively flat course, working it's way through a valley with the holes bordered by big trees. The green complexes and bunkering here are nothing too extravagent but just really solid and require good shotmaking. There are enough doglegs and angles that need to be taken (due to trees) to keep you thinking. It's really a great layout that would play well for all handicaps depending on what tees you play.

The conditions of the course were really, really good. Right now I think that all coastal courses with kikuyu are playing about as lush as I can remember. This course was no exception. The lies in the fairways were fantastic but you could end up with some pretty juicy shots from the rough, especially around the greens.

The greens were absolutely perfect. I would say the speed was probably a 9.5-10 on the stimp, picking up speed as the day went on and the breeze kicked up, drying them out a bit, but they were super healthy and rolled really true. I feel like players do a good job of fixing ball bruises out here because when you hit the greens you left some big marks but I never had any issues with them or even saw many outside of my own.

The staff was awesome as well. They had re-done the restaurant and patio and it sucked seeing it not able to be enjoyed. Its just a good space and all the ladies in the snack bar were super friendly. Definitely see it as a great place to hang out.

On top of all that I think this place might have the best practice facility around. A really pure all grass range, big chipping and putting green with practice bunkers and even a par 3 course back behind the range. Seems like you could spend a couple hours there working on the game and have a great time.

We walked as a 4 ball in just under 4 hours so the POP was awesome! The crazy thing is the course was pretty packed but people just moved. Golf at it's best!!

I would highly recommend Marine Memorial right now. It's such a good layout and in excellent shape.

Wow! Just got out to visit this great course. Got on with a Passport although I guess theyll let ya on with the new Federal Real Id California license....
Great to escape the IE heat for a $40 (w car... Continue »

Wow! Just got out to visit this great course. Got on with a Passport although I guess theyll let ya on with the new Federal Real Id California license....
Great to escape the IE heat for a $40 (w cart) $25 to walk round. They had said a big Armed Forces tourney had just been run the day before and man was the course in just fantastic shape...
Greens were flawless poa annua.....a bit slow going up, downhill a bit quick for sure.
POP was 4:15....hardly a soul there. Great proshop, great practice facility where Tricky Dick Nixon supposedly landed his chopper when he played here.
A challenging course....be aware of the tees suited to your hdcp. Eg..white is like 6300.

A but out there for some, a bit of a hassle to get on base...but 5-15min and you're cruising to course..
Get out there! Enjoy it while ya can!

Teed off as a single at 3pm and finished at 6:15. Not bad for a Saturday.

Course is in fantastic condition. Greens were pure. Fairways and sand consistent. Typical wind blew and made the course all... Continue »

Teed off as a single at 3pm and finished at 6:15. Not bad for a Saturday.

Course is in fantastic condition. Greens were pure. Fairways and sand consistent. Typical wind blew and made the course all the more fun and challenging. The place is in the best shape I have ever seen it. Such a solid course!