Carmel Mountain Ranch CC

San Diego, CA

Reviewed by: Itslikeimsayin, Aliso Viejo

Joined sixpez here today to use an UnderPar voucher he bought a while ago. It was good for 10:30 or later and included a free replay. We booked a 10:30 tee time and started pretty much on time, although with a warning from the starter that the course was playing slow. He wasn’t kidding. Our first round took 5 hours 17 minutes and felt like we’d played 36 already. Fortunately, after that round we checked with the pro shop and they were able to send us right back out. In round 2 we played through a few groups and finished in around 3 hours, with only a little sunlight remaining. Mostly cloudy skies, a little wind, warm temps until the sun started to go down, at which point it got sorta chilly.

Course conditions are mixed. The greens are very good: Smooth, fast and accept full shots well. I debated between rating them a 7 or 8 but settled on 7. Fairways have good coverage but are a little thin, providing tight lies. What rough there is is quite good, a little fluffier than the fairways and sometimes easier to hit from. Not very penal at all. Then there’s also the absence of rough since the turf reduction a few years ago, which isn’t very attractive and oftentimes leads to balls rolling forever on hardpan or dirt. Tee boxes (we played blue both rounds) were the low point of conditions, with most/many pretty beat up and a few good ones. Bunkers were the high point of conditions, with very well maintained sand in sufficient quantity. Nice to see!

This is a fun layout with a number of great holes, but overall the course currently feels a bit neglected. It’s decent enough, but at one point many years ago it was really nice. I’d love to see it return to those standards. Still recommended.