Golf Course Review Carmel Valley Ranch Resort Carmel California
Reviewed by: Deepsea14, Granite Bay
Golf Playing Conditions 8.60 GREAT
Played mid morning 2/24/2020 under ideal weather conditions. 52-65 sunny gentle breeze. I gave the greens a 9 rating but like the day before at another course (Darkhorse) I don’t know why they couldn’t be 10’s. They were rolling true with no defects.
Tee boxes excellent better than most courses fairways.
Bunkers well groomed good sand.
Rough maybe a bit variable. The way it’s supposed to be in my opinion.
Customer service from check-in to leaving all outstanding.
The rating here on this day could be a perfect score. I must be too critical.
As an “in-land” course in the Monterey area I think this course plays as good as any of the bigger names. It’s front nine has enough challenges and water to keep you interested and the back 9 is more hilly with elevation changes that after the 10th hole will mostly help as they play back downhill into the valley. Not the longest course at 6117 from the tips. As a Senior I look back but don’t go back there much anymore.
Golf Course Review Carmel Valley Ranch Resort Carmel California
Reviewed by: michaelko, Elk Grove, CA
Played Sunday 8/11, 8:40 tee time; 4 1/2 hr round. Warm calm day.
Golf Playing Conditions 8.55 GREAT
Greens running a fast 10. I feel like it’s an interesting course. If you like elevated tee shots, and extreme elevation changes in general, then you will like this course. There are some great views of the valley on the back 9. There are 5 or 6 tee shots at least a 40 foot drop, maybe 100 on some of them. Club selection is difficult the first time playing this course due to this.
Overall, IMO, it was 18 interesting holes. Some I found gimmicky. I don’t mind big elevation drops.
This is definitely not walkable, as some drives to the tee you need to be a mountain goat to walk them. We went in thinking it was a typical resort course, and I think it’s much more than that. Though, it does run through a resort, so you have swimmers, tennis players, dog walkers all over. So if that bothers you, you wouldn’t like this course.
Golf Course Review Carmel Valley Ranch Resort Carmel California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
During last weeks round at Quail the topic of Carmel Valley Ranch (CVR) came up. I realized I hadn’t played it in several months so I headed out there today for a round in the SUN! It was still cart path only due to rain most of the week last week and this weekend.
Quail and Carmel Valley Ranch are very similar in that they are both high end resort courses with prime tee times going to private members then guests and finally a handful to the public.
Since it looks like I’ve done the last few reviews at CVR, I’ll do a head to head comparison between Quail and Carmel Valley Ranch as they are both inland on the Monterey Peninsula and only a few miles a part.
The Review
Golf Playing Conditions 8.08 GREAT
Conditions are great at both courses, but Quail gets the nod. Whereas CVR is an 8-9 overall, Quail is a 9.5-10. Greens at Quail are more tame as CVR greens all have several sublte undulations. In a way it makes them harder to read than a place like Spanish Bay or Blackhorse which have several severe undulations throughout.
Fairway conditions again goes to Quail just because the fairways there seem to drain better. I had a few drives plug in the fairway upon landing at CVR.
Tee box prize goes to CVR. Easily a 9.5 to Quail’s 9. Sand trap is hands down Quail. The only reason I didn’t rate Quail’s blunkers a 10 is because I played Spanish right after two days in a row and those bunkers definitely were a 10!
Carmel Valley Ranch also gets the nod for better layout. In addition to the 6 holes up in the mountainside which have some fun elevation changes, CVR does a fantastic job with water features on the flat holes.
Parting Thoughts
Customer service award goes to Quail without a doubt. Customer service is good at CVR but Quail has the best CS north of San Diego. Aviara is the only other course/resort that matches (and maybe even exceeds) Quail when it comes to Customer Service.
Both CVR and Quail offer full grass driving ranges with range balls includes with green fees. Both have GPS on the carts and a quality restaurant/bar.
One other thing to mention about the course. CVR is a par 70 with only two par 5’s. The Par 3 holes range from a short 110 yards to 200+ and seem to be evenly spaced in distances between the four par 3’s.
Both courses are highly recommended and definitely worth a visit while here in the Monterey Peninsula. Especially during the summer when the Pebble courses are fogged in. CVR and Quail will be 20 degrees warmer.
