Played marine memorial this morning at 830. Course was very green driving in, looked fantastic. We knew the greens were punched about 5 days ago but the rate was 12 to walk and 27 to ride so we drove ... Continue »

Played marine memorial this morning at 830. Course was very green driving in, looked fantastic. We knew the greens were punched about 5 days ago but the rate was 12 to walk and 27 to ride so we drove on down. Tee boxes were nice, fairways were good in general, a few too many wet spots from the rain, probably should’ve been cartpaths only today. Rough can be very thick and long. All areas around the greens are very nice. Bunkers are about as good as you’ll see anywhere, they really frame the course well here and add a lot to the visual design. Greens were about what we expected, soft, a little slow and bumpy. If you’re looking for nice greens id give it another 2 weeks. Great deal for the rate on a weekend even for bumpy greens. Really excited to come back down during the summer and see how the course looks.

Played 12/2. Made the drive down from OC to play at 8am Sunday morning. Course was a little browner and patchier looking driving in versus when I was here in late summer. Tee boxes were fine. Fairways... Continue »

Played 12/2. Made the drive down from OC to play at 8am Sunday morning. Course was a little browner and patchier looking driving in versus when I was here in late summer. Tee boxes were fine. Fairways were in pretty solid shape, good lies for the most part. Rough was a little hit and miss but not bad. Greens were great, good fast speeds, rolling very true, a good amount of undulation in them overall. Bunkers are still in great shape. Had a rough day but still really enjoyed the course.

Played Friday 11/10/17. Course was in very good shape and bunkers were fairly recently redone. Greens were challenging to read, but in good shape! Staff friendly and great grill! Definitely will pl... Continue »

Played Friday 11/10/17. Course was in very good shape and bunkers were fairly recently redone. Greens were challenging to read, but in good shape! Staff friendly and great grill! Definitely will play again when in the area!!!

The course was in good shape for this time of year. We played on Friday (Veterans day) and it was not over crowded. Sand traps were good and greens were in good shape. For women it played a little lon... Continue »

The course was in good shape for this time of year. We played on Friday (Veterans day) and it was not over crowded. Sand traps were good and greens were in good shape. For women it played a little long. But if you have a good short game you can make up for distance. Remember puts will break down the canyon even if it looks uphill. Good course for the price.

Played here today with a 1:48 tee time through GolfNow. A traffic jam on the southbound 5 caused me to be a little late, and I started about 10-15 minutes past my time. They sent me off by myself and ... Continue »

Played here today with a 1:48 tee time through GolfNow. A traffic jam on the southbound 5 caused me to be a little late, and I started about 10-15 minutes past my time. They sent me off by myself and I ended up sandwiched between a bunch of foursomes. It was very busy out there today and POP seemed slow, but overall was right around 4.5 hrs. I played through one group at the turn, but still had nowhere to go. Very friendly staff all around, but I was disappointed that every water jug past the 4th hole was completely empty on a hot afternoon. Quite windy at times, as usual for this course.

I've definitely seen this course in better condition. The first few fairways were somewhat scruffy, but they seemed to improve later in the course. Still not as nice as I've found in previous visits here. Same for the rough and the greens also seemed a step down from normal conditions out here. Today the greens had nice, healthy turf, but showed a lot of footprints and ball marks in the late afternoon. They ran medium-fast and were a little bumpy. They were very receptive, with full shots stopping very quickly. The new bunkers look great but still felt maybe a bit thin on sand to me; I expected them to have lots of fluffy sand. Tee boxes decent.

I love the setting and layout of this course so much, I still had a great time. But hopefully as temperatures cool a little and they complete the upcoming aeration, conditions will improve somewhat.

Marine Corp Memorial Golf Course

Played Marine Memorial Thursday 09/28/2017 teeing off at 9:20 am, playing as a twosome.
Started our day off with breakfast at Mulligan’s. Prices are very reasonab... Continue »

Marine Corp Memorial Golf Course

Played Marine Memorial Thursday 09/28/2017 teeing off at 9:20 am, playing as a twosome.
Started our day off with breakfast at Mulligan’s. Prices are very reasonable, and quality and quantity were very good. Atmosphere is on the patio, the inside is simple. Unfortunately the marine layer had left the patio to damp to use and enjoy the view.
The pro shop staff was very helpful. We were sent to the 10th tee to open on the back nine, giving me a different perspective of the course than starting on the first hole. Since I booked by phone, was not really aware of the price. The round ended up costing us $50 per player with a cart which is extra.
Breakfast took us a little longer than I expected, as such did not get a warm up on the range. Tee’ing off on number 10 a slight dogleg right up hill, I took the drive down the right side into the second cut of rough and trees. These boarders the driving range which also uses yellow balls. I found my ball easily enough, but will need to add a mental note.
We did not see any foursomes on course, most of the other players were twosomes, with a couple of threesomes. Pace of play overall was quick at 3.5 hours.
Tee’s. Last week when I played the GM told us that they will be releveling the tee boxes shortly. I didn’t find the tee’s an issue, however this round playing from the whites which we located very differently than last week, I seemed to find a depression or poor footing on about half the tee boxes. The coverage was still lush, very little divot damage, but the lack of level and the softness of the ground where a problem.

Whereas last week I didn’t find any wet lies, and mud that I saw was limited to the end of the cart path on a few holes, today’s round had more mud, and every fairway was wet. Clearly the course had been heavily watered. This made the thick rough extremely difficult. The fairways consistently showed a much more pronounced brown cart trail down the middle of the fairways than I recall as well. Grass coverage was still excellent, just brown, and damp.
Rough was thick, penal, with no thin spots. The fairways are generous on this course so if you are in the rough it’s on you. The second cut is often surrounded by mature tree’s making the pain all the greater.
Bunkers both fairway and greenside are in excellent shape consistent bright white sand providing fluffy lies. Only a couple of bunkers early in the round show signs of being damp, there rest were very dry in contrast to the fairways.
Greens were in excellent shape, and played extremely fast. Pins were on ridges, false fronts, and edge of terraces making for an extremely challenging day on the greens. Unlike the fairways the greens were green, tightly mown, hard, dry and fast. Even lightly struck 15-20 uphill puts could run six feet by the hole. The comebacker was a white knuckle experience. Very few ball marks, excellent shape.
Teeing off at 9:20 am with a heavy marine layer along the coast, I was not expecting much wind. The Marine layer was not visible on the course, however by 11 am as we finished the back nine the wind was rising. The front nine are a completely different experience playing into a strengthening wind then what I had previously experienced. The downhill par three guarded by bunkers presented a special test. Eighteen required a long drive into the teeth of the wind.

I really like the layout of this course, and look forward to playing it again after the greens are punched and the tee boxes leveled. Until then however I am likely to pick Big Rec over Marine Memorial, based on both drive and cost, as I live in Mission Viejo, and my regular playing partner lives in Long Beach. If I were playing San Diego courses Marine Memorial would be higher on my list of regular plays.

Given how much I enjoyed my first visit to Marine Memorial Golf Course in August, and how easy it is to get on the base to play it, I made it a point to return the following month. This time with 6 o... Continue »

Given how much I enjoyed my first visit to Marine Memorial Golf Course in August, and how easy it is to get on the base to play it, I made it a point to return the following month. This time with 6 other GK Gurus and what a super time it was. Last time out, I was suffering from significant elbow pain and could only use a 2 iron off the tee, this time I was bombing my driver. Even at bombing my driver which carries about 250 to 270, Marine Memorial Golf Course still plays long and certainly longer than its yardage due to very little roll in the kikuyu fairways. Next time I will treat myself to the white tees and see if I fair better.

It’s a challenging, mature, original Billy Bell design with a recent renovation to the bunkers to fully restore them to the original Bell designs. Having now played it twice, I enjoyed it even more. Conditions were great again with excellent smooth moderately fast greens that held shots. Fairways/Rough mostly lush kikuyu grass. Bunkers immaculate white marble sand and meticulously kept (reminded me of high end country clubs). Tee boxes, lush but need to be leveled (which is the very next improvement renovation the golf course is going to make).

As mentioned in the previous reviews, the setting is secluded with no homes or buildings and the pace of play fantastic. The peak green fees for Civilians for walking is only $28 weekday and $35 weekend. The service is professional and respectful. At no time did I ever feel uncomfortable, in both visits to the course, as a civilian rather than military golfer.

My single disappointment was that I did not realize Mulligans Grill is only open for Breakfast and Lunch. The food was excellent and very affordable last time so next time I’ll make sure to eat before my round there. If you are an early morning golfer give yourself time after your round to eat there.

Highly Recommended.

Usually when I play a course I look forward to sharing the conditions, service, and experience with the GK community. I played the Marine Memorial Golf Course on Thursday afternoon teeing off at 1:30p... Continue »

Usually when I play a course I look forward to sharing the conditions, service, and experience with the GK community. I played the Marine Memorial Golf Course on Thursday afternoon teeing off at 1:30pm with Johnny GK and a fellow Guru Evan, and I really, really do not want to post this review. It may have been the early morning rain that was dissipating as I arrived an hour before my round, or this might be normal for this course, but we virtually had the course to ourselves. This gem is virtually unknown to the public, and the greedy side of me would like it to stay that way.

Marine Memorial is located on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base, behind the armed entry. The drive to course is down a nice winding road, which is lightly traveled. It is worth remembering that the base is federal property and any traffic offense will be contended in federal court. (Something I learned when I worked at Edwards Air Force Base). The course is ensconced in the base away from distractions common on other courses open to public play, the exception being the occasional sound of machine gun fire, and Cobra attack helicopters off at the distance.


The club house is very nice, the pro shop is well stocked, and items purchased at the store are tax free. The restaurant and patio area are very nice, simple, pleasant with new awnings being added. The bar is basic, but again this is an active duty military base. They are about halfway through with the new awnings. Everything is very clean, neat and in working order. I found the pro shop staff very helpful, and friendly, I even found a new head cover for my dirver. Check in was simple and straight forward, golf carts are assigned by number. Rack rate for civilians is $40, with a $20 twilight rate starting at 1:30pm.

I will save the suspense, I love this course, and in fact I have a tee time booked for next Thursday with my best friend who has never played the course. By the third hole, my threesome was playing virtually alone. I know there was a twosome, single and the other Guru foursome ahead of us and through eighteen holes no one behind us.

The tee boxes are lush, level, with very little divot damage. The course GM told us the tee boxes will be releveled soon, making very good tees outstanding. Well my playing partners played from the blues, I played from the whites. In a number of cases these tees are on different levels and in some cases not even adjacent providing different looks and requiring different shot shapes. The course opens with a 508 (from the whites) yard downhill slight dogleg right off the first tee. The view of the fairway is really beautiful, green, and lush, with inviting fairways, bounded by strategically places fairway bunkers. On our way to the first hole we were greeted by a very handsome well feed coyote.

I usually cover the fairways after the tee box, however since I found the rough on my first and second shots; I feel it’s appropriate to mention this component of the course first. Rough is deep, don’t go there. If you do, other than a few wet areas, whether from watering or the rain the course had gotten over night and in the morning, it was dry, lush, and made it hard to get the club face on the ball. I was in the rough more than I would like to admit, and in almost every case my ball sank into the rough making contact that much harder. (What rough is supposed to be/do).
I did manage to find the fairway quite a bit, and each time had a perfect lie. There were unbelievably few divots on the fairways. At the divide between the paved cart paths and dirt cart paths there were some mud bogs, but nothing that should come into play. Well there are some patches of different types of grasses, and colors, I would rate the fairways perfect and the best I have played on this year. My typical drive is a 198 yard carry, as such I am sensitive to rollout for the extra distance. I was fortunate to get excellent roll on most fairways. There are four holes on this course that play over 500 yards from the whites, two more over 400 yards, leaving me long irons, hybrids and then a wedge into a number of holes. The shortest hole on the course is 148 yards, and I used an iron off the tee a total of three times. Fairways are for the most part wide, tree lined, with scrub bush out of bounds.

The main defense of the course is its fairway and greenside bunkers, combined with wind, elevation change, subtle ridges in the greens, and a couple of tiered greens. The bunkers have recently been replaced, and feature the same sand used at Augusta National, home of the masters. They can best be described as blindingly white. As part of the bunker and greens team at the Farmers Insurance Open I have had what good bunkers should be like explained, and as such I tend to be hard on bunker condition, and maintenance. The bunkers at MMGC are every bit as good as those on the north course as Torrey. Essentially they are as good as they get, perhaps a little fluffy. Sounds sick I know, but I enjoyed playing out of them, and on a couple of holes where I was concerned with going long, I used the bunker as a target knowing I would have a chance to get up and down.
Greens are the sparkling jewel of this course. They are nothing short of beautiful. Pretty sure that you would need to put down Astroturf to have greener, smoother cover. There were some bumpy spots, that were hard to see, but the ball could find, overall rolls were true, smooth and quick. There was a moderate amount of variation between the greens on roll speed from medium to medium fast. The greens that appear flat tend to have spines, and hidden ridges. There is also a hill effect in play when reading the breaks. There are at least two, maybe three greens that feature distinct tiers, and right to left slope.

It’s worth mentioning here that the course features a large number of eucalyptus trees especially around the greens. It’s notable that despite being the beginning of fall, there was very little detritus on the greens, virtually no leaves. Combined the near perfect cover with the very low number of ball marks, and you have country club greens on what is now a public course playing under $50.
The driving range has better cover than most muni’s in Orange County. The distance marked are pretty close to accurate from a range of stations, and the simulated pins have an elevated green so you can clearly see how close you get. There are two practice bunkers, and they are every bit as good as the ones on the course. The putting green is spacious, and well represents what you will find on course. Range balls are $2 per 20 balls.
There is a restroom about every four holes, all very well maintained. There are frequent water stations along the way, those I tested were full. There are clean, well maintained ball washers at each tee with a clean towel. The carts had full divot mix bottles, and some tee’s had divot mix boxes as well. There are also plaques at each tee commemorating a Marine Corp mission, from the liberation of Soul South Korea, to the liberation of Kuwait. This is a Memorial Golf Course.

From my house in Mission Viejo it took right around an hour to get to the course. You basically are coming in the back entrance of the base, not the entrance visible form the freeway, so it takes a little effort to get there.
As I mentioned at the opening of the review, I really want to keep this course for myself, it’s a wonderful, affordable layout, and has for now replaced the Golf Club of California as my favorite. It avoids the forced carries of California, and the Crossings, doesn’t ask the high fees of Riverwalk, and I could rattle off more than a dozen courses in Orange County that cost more and can’t touch the condition. Isolated in a canyon, it seems a world apart; there are no houses, with music or dog noise, you don’t have to worry about a slice hitting the house. There are no roads, other than the road to course which is very lightly traveled. Being a stone’s throw from the ocean the temperatures are moderated.
The one negative if there is one, would be the old style reservation system. To book a tee time you have to call the pro shop, and that means getting a busy signal, or being put on hold, the way it used to be before the internet. I can live with that, and I look forward to teeing up Thursday at 9;24 am.

Conditions couldn’t be better, yet based on the conversation we had with the general manager the course is going to get better, with planned tee box and green work. I want the course to be successful in reaching enough of the public so that it can continue to offer our military an excellent venue to relax when home, but not so successful that it gets chewed up like the Destroyer and Cruiser course have gotten in Los Alamitos.

I played with Guru's Lee, Gary, and Vince yesterday. This is the second time I've played here, the first being more than 10 years ago. The reason I did not return was that the course was a little ro... Continue »

I played with Guru's Lee, Gary, and Vince yesterday. This is the second time I've played here, the first being more than 10 years ago. The reason I did not return was that the course was a little rough around the edges. Since I live about 10 minutes away and the reviews from a Guru visit in August were favorable, I thought I'd find out for myself.

The differences between now and my last visit are notable. The service was about average. The pro shop was professional, but there was no starter or marshal, although as Gary says POP was not a problem, and the snack cart came around regularly. They could use a few signs directing you to the range and to holes #1 and #10. Afterward, Mulligan's (the restaurant) was closed, but the bar was open. Not much atmosphere in the bar, with acoustics equivalent to an echo chamber, but the patio was quiet and peaceful and the beer was cold and reasonably priced.

Now to the course. The practice area was above average, with a grass range, a sizable putting green, and a short game area with a bunker. For those of us who don't want to wear ourselves out prior to playing, or are just plain cheap, they sell range balls at 20 for $2.00, which is just about the right number for me to get warmed up.

The two things most important to me in a golf course are the setting, and the conditions. The setting is well above average, in my book, with no other buildings for at least a mile or two, and appeared to be on a road with only golf course traffic. Mature palms and eucalyptus are plentiful, but are not placed inconveniently, like between my ball and the green (well, most of the time). That made for a very peaceful setting.

The greens and bunkers were in particularly good shape, both among the best I've played this year. The fairways had generally good coverage, but did have a few bare spots. Since it's normally dry this time of year, the fact that the fairways were damp suggests that management is working to improve the fairways. The fairways did seem to have multiple types of grass in spots, and getting it down to one variety of grass would be a plus.

The layout was pretty traditional, with only one kinda quirky hole that I can think of. The course seemed fair, and played long. Not much roll in the fairway, but you didn't want to hit it too high because there was a fair amount of wind. That put a premium on club selection and the ability to hit various types of shots, an ability I do not possess. The several elevated tee boxes were enjoyable. Interestingly, our group managed to play the course without any of us losing a ball. I attribute that to the fact that the other three golfers in my group hit it straight, and I didn't generally hit it far enough to get into much trouble. Or it might be the generous amount of space between the fairways and the big trouble spots on most holes.

The place is a bargain, particularly if you like to walk, because carts are priced separately. There are a few hills, but for the most part is very walkable, with no long stretches between holes.

All in all, an enjoyable day and course. I expect this will become a part of my regular rotation.