Had a super time walking the blues this afternoon 6/21/26 with my buddy Mark joined by a couple of his work colleagues who were a pleasure to play with. Our Pop was 4 hrs 45 minutes under beautiful go... Continue »

Had a super time walking the blues this afternoon 6/21/26 with my buddy Mark joined by a couple of his work colleagues who were a pleasure to play with. Our Pop was 4 hrs 45 minutes under beautiful golf weather. Swirling 1-2 club wind on the front dying down on the back nine and around 78 degrees as a high. Met by friendly staff this afternoon in the shop. Had dinner at the course after the round..Great food. The course just finished green maintenance and the greens were in great shape with the perfect combination of being soft and receptive on approach shots and rolling medium speed on putts. Green rating 8.5/10 The fringes were soft and were just about done completely with a topsand project. Fringes were in great shape. Best I have ever seen them. Fairways had been plugged recently and I must say they looked and played fabulous[13 fairway still has mini irrigation plugs]. Very lush with not alot of rollout on drives and very well manicured. Great shape close to a 9/10. Rough lining the fairways was cut just a bit higher than the lush Fairways and was in great shape. Rustic has really improved their fairway rough and fringes in the last year or so. Rough rating 9/10 Tees were all level and in great shape. Rated 9/10 Was only in greenside bunker on 13 after a nice drive and 3 metal. It was compact and firm and contained just enough sand to splash out of. Most bunkers here are on the firmer side. Rated 6.5/10 Always great to be out at Rustic. This is lush city? What was built as a links bump and run course is now lush city which makes iron ball striking and chipping easier but adds extra length with limited roll on drives, whether you like the former or the present get out and play Rustic if you can get a tee time as it's in fabulous shape!!! Highly recommended!

Played out at Rustic Canyon again this past weekend and of course it's always a treat to walk this fantastic course on a slightly overcast day to keep temperatures in check with little to no wind unti... Continue »

Played out at Rustic Canyon again this past weekend and of course it's always a treat to walk this fantastic course on a slightly overcast day to keep temperatures in check with little to no wind until a few holes on the back nine. There's a reason this place is always in the top 100 US public courses ranking ...

Our foursome played from the blue tees with three walkers and one rider. POP was not a major issue for the entire round, but everyone seems to take their time at Rustic (and it takes a while to get from the ninth green to the tenth tee box) so it's always surprising to see how long you've been there after you step off the final hole. Cart service came around a few times which was great.

Current conditions are pretty standard I would say ... absolutely great greens (and green complexes) that absolutely require your A putting game (I was really annoyed to have my first three-putt on 18!). The tiers and breaks are just so wonderfully subtle at Rustic that your brain is forced into some beautiful geometry to get to the pin. They're really fun to play, and in great condition right now with some speed to them.

Fairways are mostly good with a few thin areas out in the great wide open. You can definitely get some lush spots, but you're also just as likely to need to pick some good shots clean, but nothing too crazy. The rough is really nice in the few areas it exists - you're mostly getting fairway or native areas here, except just off the collection areas around the greens. Bunkers were a little on the grainy side to be fair, but playable. Tee boxes were good with a little bit of wear and tear.

While prices here have gone up over the years, it's still a ridiculously good value and one of the best golf experiences you're going to find in the SoCal area. Can't wait to go back again!

Walked the blues this morning 3/2/26 under perfect scoring conditions with hardly any wind and temps around 71 degrees. Played with 3 nice singles and even though pop was just under 5 hours didn't see... Continue »

Walked the blues this morning 3/2/26 under perfect scoring conditions with hardly any wind and temps around 71 degrees. Played with 3 nice singles and even though pop was just under 5 hours didn't seem to bad.

Had not played here in about 14 months and really miss this course. It's in fabulous shape and I can understand why tee times are hard to come by especially for a twosome through foursome.

The greens were in fabulous shape running medium to quick speeds probably a 10.5 on the stimp, Holding shots nicely. Just a joy to putt on. Very undulating greens here. Good Lag putting is a must. Rated 9/10

These fairways are thick and lush with not lots of runout. Terrific lies to compress irons on. Rated 8.5/10

Tees very lush and mostly level. Rated 8.5/10

Rough lining the greens in pga tour shape 10/10. Fairway rough much improved since I have been out here in the 8/10 range.

Was only in one bunker all day that had damper sand from sprinkler/water run off.

One of the best courses in socal, mentioned in all the golf magazines. If u get a weather day like today it's even more magical.

Recommended.

Played 1-6-26 early morning as a twosome walking, finishing in around 3 hours and 45 minutes. Tee boxes were in good shape. They were level with full coverage and mowed tight. Fairways were very lush ... Continue »

Played 1-6-26 early morning as a twosome walking, finishing in around 3 hours and 45 minutes. Tee boxes were in good shape. They were level with full coverage and mowed tight. Fairways were very lush with some minor small bare spots. They had minimal roll out with very nice lies and good padding. Rough was in good condition, 1-2 inches and lush. Was in one bunker that was a little firm from the rains but still had a decent amount of sand to hit from. Aprons around the greens were in good shape and playing soft with no release. Greens were in real good condition, rolling smooth at medium/fast pace and playing semi-soft. Probably the greenest I have ever seen the course. Not playing much like a links course with the soft ground right now, but still fun to play.

Played 12/10. Course is in great shape. Greens were fast, good coverage in the fairways and rough. Traps here tend to be pretty firm. Wind was really gusting in the afternoon but overall a great day. ... Continue »

Played 12/10. Course is in great shape. Greens were fast, good coverage in the fairways and rough. Traps here tend to be pretty firm. Wind was really gusting in the afternoon but overall a great day. New carts with GPS are very nice. Will be back soon.

Played Rustic for the first time on 10/21/25. I gotta say, I wasn't that impressed. This course is suggested to me a lot, and appeared in Golf.com's Top 100 best public courses, yet I found it ver... Continue »

Played Rustic for the first time on 10/21/25. I gotta say, I wasn't that impressed. This course is suggested to me a lot, and appeared in Golf.com's Top 100 best public courses, yet I found it very meh. For the price, its alright I suppose, better than any of the Long Beach or LA public courses (which I refuse to play now they've gotten so poor and expensive). But I do have some issues: (1) the layout is rather boring. Essentially its two holes, side by side, stretched out above and below the clubhouse. More than once I aimed my shot at the wrong green. (2) the fairways were alright, yet it was brown everywhere else, and mostly flat. (3) they've got some pretty aggressive set of "rules" as to how you should behave and such (see the website, lots of threats about being kicked off the course, or having to pay extra fess etc..) (4) the layout is boring. Parallel fairways, no real flow through the course, each tee box the question is "ok, which one's the green for this hole? I see 3". (4) they wouldn't let me play in my flip flops. I put on actual shoes and walked, which was fine, yet I thought we were past holding on to these old-school rules about attire. No one (Oak Quarry, Goose Creek, Pacific Palms) has ever cared about what I wore when I played. Honestly, I'm kinda irritated by the whole experience as I expected so much more. There's no way you can tell me this course is better than Soule Park in Ojai -- a course that gets compared to Rustic Canyon often, and frankly, shouldn't belong. Compare Rustic to one of those Oxnard or Ventura courses instead. And the Golf.com folks must've skipped playing Soule Park cause there's no way this place belongs on their top 100 list without SP being ranked higher. I wanted to find a comparable place to SP, and thought this was supposed to be it.

From 8/20 Rustic is looking good... Another fine and blessed afternoon at Rustic! Again, an excellent golf course! It always is... It was a sunny and nicely hot (94ish Fahrenheit) day with wind sp... Continue »

From 8/20 Rustic is looking good... Another fine and blessed afternoon at Rustic! Again, an excellent golf course! It always is... It was a sunny and nicely hot (94ish Fahrenheit) day with wind speeds around 8 - 14 mph. Pace of play was great around 4 hours. Heat must have scared off some golfers. I note the following conditions: Tee Boxes: Level most of the time and green, no significant damage. Condition good. Fairways: Green, lush, and defined from rough. Condition very nice. Greens: Green, medium in speed, with softness. Speed about a 10.5ish in speed with challenging pin placements. Condition very nice. Sand: well maintained, and firm. Condition good. Rough: well maintained and defined, about 3 – 5 inches. Condition very nice. Native Areas: Native areas were wild with no significant maintenance that offered little to no recovery potential. Condition good. Practice Areas: great range, chipping area, and putting green. Hitting off grass at the driving Range which was great! Putting green was excellent. Loved Rustic, again! Customer service received was also great at the pro shop and food was A+ at the restaurant, as we stayed for dinner, as we always do. As previously reported, this is an excellent course that excels in consistency. An excellent public course in Ventura County! Again looking forward to the next opportunity to play here!

From 7/28

Rustic is sweet!

An excellent golf course! It always is... Rustic was so much fun to play with a lot of unique holes and different challenges.


It was a sunny fun time with wind ... Continue »

From 7/28

Rustic is sweet!

An excellent golf course! It always is... Rustic was so much fun to play with a lot of unique holes and different challenges.


It was a sunny fun time with wind speeds around 5 - 10 mph. Pace of play was not great around 5 hours. I note the following conditions:


Tee Boxes: Level most of the time and green, no significant damage. Condition average.


Fairways: Green, lush, and defined from rough. Condition above average.


Greens: Green, medium in speed, with softness. Speed about a 10.5ish in speed but tricky with tough pin placements. Condition above average.


Sand: well maintained, and firm. Condition above average.


Rough: well maintained and defined, about 3 – 5 inches. Condition above average.


Native Areas: Native areas were wild with no significant maintenance that offered little to no recovery potential. Condition average.

Practice Areas: great range, chipping area, and putting green.


Loved Rustic, again! Customer service received was also great at the pro shop and food was A+ at the restaurant, as we stayed for dinner..

This is an excellent course that excels in consistency. An excellent public course in Ventura County! Looking forward to the next opportunity to play here!

First time back out at Rustic Canyon in almost five years so needless to say I was quite excited to get back out on this Gil Hanse gem. It was supposed to be a crazy hot Friday afternoon but it turned... Continue »

First time back out at Rustic Canyon in almost five years so needless to say I was quite excited to get back out on this Gil Hanse gem. It was supposed to be a crazy hot Friday afternoon but it turned out just perfect and not even too much wind careening down the canyon. Epic.

The prices at Rustic have definitely gone up since my last visit, but it was always likely underpriced if we're being honest, so I was okay with the new cost. You do get what you pay for and here it's nothing but golf goodness, especially when the conditions are so good.

Greens were just tremendous and it's always fun to navigate those massive complexes. Am I on the green or am I not? Can I chip from here? SHOULD I chip from here? It's wonderfully tense decision making at its finest but the payoffs are fabulous. Greens rolled really nice, not as super fast as expected, but still demanding of your full attention. Just wonderful.

Fairways were in very nice shape as well with superb coverage in just about every area. Sure, it's hot out there so a few hot spots are going to find your ball, but it's 100% the exception rather than the rule. The rough is only to be found in a few spots as you're either in the fairway or in a native area sprinkled with a playable (in many cases) fescue that draws in all errant shots. Tee boxes (played the blues) were flat and in very good shape, while the bunkers all had good sand in them but it's not of the super fluffy and light variety.

Course layout everyone knows but it's just so good and fun. Get your scoring in on the front nine as the back is going to give you a bit of a harder time, but they're both equally engaging and challenging routes. It was hot so we took a cart and they were nicely appointed but do have an annoying GPS trait where they show you a color-contoured green map on every approach and you can't simply turn that part off which is vexing. Seems an easy fix!

So yes, get out to Rustic as soon as you can and you won't be disappointed.