Played our GK Cup matches at Rancho San Marcos on Sunday and, after having waited a year to finally come back to this super fun course, it did not disappoint at all. The staff was fantastic all day long and did us a solid by allowing us to play our replay match free after the initial $65 greens fee – what a steal. The drive up is beautiful and when you get the course, it just feels like you get even more of that.
We pretty much had the course to ourselves the entire day and all 36 holes, which was a bit crazy. However, it was over the 100 mark so that may have kept the crowds away. We were not complaining one bit. Kudos again to the staff for taking care of us and having water every four holes or so. It was necessary.
Layout at RsM is one of the most fun you’ll likely ever play, and the setting is terrific. As for the conditions, really good all around for the most part, but there were a few spots that needed some attention, but totally understandable with the heat wave currently. The fairways definitely had plenty of lush, but you could certainly find a dry or thin spot here or there, especially around the greens. The rough is playable but anything just off the fairways is serious trouble. Tee boxes were in good shape for the most part, but the bunkers I found to be a little lacking overall. A lot of thin bunker shots that were played more like chips than sand shots.
Greens were very nice. The held shots well, had plenty of tricks to them (tough to read!), and rolled medium-fast (with a tiny bit of edge on the fast side) and stuck to their lines for the most part. There were a few areas that didn’t have the best coverage though, but for the most part they were solid and fun to play.
Carts are nice but no GPS or USB ports. There are also some 4×4 areas on the course where the cart path just ends and you have to get squirrely, but nothing to worry about for the most part.
In summary, a great deal of thanks to Rancho san Marcos for styling us out and showing how much they appreciate the GK community. I’ll play here any time I can. You should, too.
Rancho San Marcos Golf Course Santa Barbara California – Hole 18Golf Playing Conditions 7.17 GREAT
Played Rancho San Marcos on Sunday as part of our GK Cup matches. Had a blast of a time on a course that’s quickly becoming a personal favorite (6 birdies in 3 rounds helps). The layout is super fun and dare I say the perfect mix between challenging yet very scorable. There are some wide open fairways with elevated tees that allow you to grip it and rip it. Yet there are some narrow doglegs with tree trouble that make accuracy with less than driver the ideal choice. Add in a couple of lakes and forced carries over dry (for now ) ravines and you can’t help but come away with a smile after playing this track.
Condition wise we were forwarded that the summer heat has taken a bit of toll on the course. Still it was in nice shape around a 7.5 out of 10 overall. Greens were rolling fast. Again they offer a decent amount of challenge but are very manageable. There were a few unrepaired pitch marks on a few of the greens which must have been brought to their attention because they had a kid out repairing divots. Very cool to see that. There were also a couple of greens that had some small GUR areas. The damage may have been caused my wildlife. Regardless the pins were placed far away from these areas so they were pretty much a non factor.
I seemed to find great lies every time in the fairway (regardless of which fairway I was in).
Some of the bunkers were showing signs of the summer heat with crusty and/or hard packed dirt. Others were fine.
Staff was excellent and POP was whatever we wanted. We practically had the course to ourselves.
I used to always look forward to going to thie Santa Ynez region for cycling and racing. Now I think I’ll start making regular plans to hang out in the area for golf.
Good times today with Ron, Jerry, and the rest of the group. Big thanks to JohnnyGK and RSM for this GK Guru round. The course is currently in great condition overall.
The practice facilities are great here. There is a big putting green and a pitching green with a bunker as well as an all grass driving range.
Greens were putting medium fast. Not many ball marks; maybe a couple that were poorly repaired and a couple small ones that were missed. The greens did hold any well struck shot and it was no problem getting running pitches to stop consistently.
Fairways were nice to look at with the single mow stripe down the middle. Good hitting surfaces overall with only a couple of firm areas.
Rough, well, it’s good to stay out of the rough. It was a mix of deep, thick grass to thin lies. If you go outside that, it’s as good as lost in some knee-high foxtails.
Bunkers seemed mostly consistent. Good white, sparkly sand but a little on the thin side with only about an inch and a half over hard pan in many bunkers. Not terribly shabby and fairly easy to hit from.
Tees were lush but a couple had a lot of divot damage (par threes, so that was predictable) and a few were not too level at the tee markers. It was not bad by any means, though.
POP was about 4 hours with a little waiting on the groups ahead of us. Unfortunately, for the group behind us, the snack shop stopped food service at 2:30 on a Sunday. I was able to get some tri tip and it was good. Maybe not $13 good, but I needed it and it was tasty.
Just posted some beautiful photos of our GK Review Guru round at Rancho San Marcos Sunday, April 15th. Was super fun day and I thank everyone that could make it!
Last year was the comeback year for Rancho San Marcos after almost a decade of drought in the region. This year, great conditions remain.
Greens were smooth, holding shots and medium/fast. Fairways lush, firm and providing good lies. Rough, lush with the first cut only a couple inches and not much of a penalty to be in. However hit a shot into the native areas bordering the rough and good luck finding it. Bunkers contains clean white sand, were thin at times yet fairly maintained. Tee boxes were lush with a mix of grasses and in good shape.
What brings me back to Rancho San Marcos is the layout and location above all else. It’s secluded and gorgeous. You’re up in Santa Ynez mountains nestled into a valley next to Lake Cachuma. As you drive up Highway 154 through a small section of the Los Padres National Forest, the views and surrounding beauty really set the stage for your round. The layout features, 7 Par 4’s, 6 Par 3’s and 5 Par 5’s – which I love. Lots of risk/reward strategy.
Before and after the round, the western themed plantation style facilities combined with a super friendly staff complete the day. I just missed the last call for diner on Sunday, which was 2:30pm that day, a bit bummed about that as I love their tri-tip sandwich. Next time!
Give yourself time before your round as the practice facilities are excellent and relaxing.
Played this course on a perfect 75-80 degree Saturday before the Super Bowl as part of a two day golf/grub/SBowl roadie vacation (Day 1 was Hunter Ranch). Today with a de facto fivesome (which they rightly don’t allow. We had two riders, three walkers in the next tee time) started at ten and finished a little after 2:30. Busy morning at this muni which had a great buzz and vibe going. Didn’t hit balls, but one of us said range was adequate and sort of half grass half not. Nice putting area, food service, pro shop.
Walked and carried (thewalkinggolfer.com has this as very walkable, I would say it is a bit tougher than that) and felt every year of my 57 by the uphill 18th green this day. Starts out flat and kind of easy, leading you to think, “we’re going to tear this place up”, but gets hilly and more difficult as the canyons swoop up and down. There are a few houses near the course but nothing intrusive. The views are basically SoCal trees and mountains to the east. Really nice.
Shortish on the card, but you have to place tee shots on the proper side to score well as big and old trees are the best defense the course has. Greens were real nice, fairly speedy and rolled true. Bunkers good or better and the fairway grass was consistent and hardy enough to perch your approach up giving confidence for the second shot. Wish we could grow this grass in NorCal. Some really short and long par 3’s (that basically ruined a great scorecard for me this day) that are fun and perfect for degenerate gambling.
Pace was decent, we let one twosome through us all on the backside. Frankly the walk/carry was a bit more than expected and the sunny day made a slower pace acceptable and even appreciated. I’d play this great muni again any day. Bring your best wedge game and you’ll have a blast.
Congratulations to La Purisima Golf Course for 2016 Winner Best Playing Conditions for Santa Barbara County.
Congratulations to all the great golf courses out there that won Best Playing Conditions for their Region. Haven’t thought of playing there? Consider this a wake up call and give their golf course a try.
La Purisima Golf Course 2016 Winner Best Playing Conditions for Santa Barbara County
Greenskeeper.Org “Know Before You Go®”
This year we have expanded our awards to 11 regions! @GreenskeeperOrg Winner #2016 @LaPurisimaGolf #Golf #BestPlayingConditions #SantaBarbara #Breaking
We’ve waited all year for the results , and the results are in. Greenskeeper.org proudly presents it’s Best Playing Conditions Awards for 2016.
Not to be confused with our other award “Worth the Green Fee,” “Best Playing Conditions” is awarded to golf courses open to the public listed on Greenskeeper.org that stand out above the rest with our site users. These golf courses distinguish themselves by providing consistent, exceptional playing conditions.
The job of the superintendent is the life blood of the golf course industry and most important contributing factor to enjoying a golf experience. A golf course is a living, breathing organism whose health is constantly in flux. It takes enormous dedication, resources and expertise by a superintendent and their staff to provide excellent turf conditions.
Greenskeeper.org’s registered trademark and creed, “Know Before You Go”®, centers on communicating these current playing conditions. The rating system used on Greenskeeper.org is in part created by superintendents. Greenskeeper.org views it’s Best Playing Conditions Awards as it’s highest honors.
Want to treat yourself to some choice conditions? Want and experience you can remember? Consider playing at one of these great golf courses in your area.
rgm2525 Posted: 01/16/17 6:28p Member Since: Jan 24, 2005 From: chatsworth
Played 1-14-17 first out as a single walking in a little under three hours.
Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly lush and level with a few being a little thin and uneven mostly on par Threes. Fairways were in nice shape very lush with a few small bare areas. Rough was not as long as normal but still thick and tough to hit from. Didn’t go into any bunkers but most of them looked to be okay with some still holding some water from the rains. Greens were in great shape, the best that I have seen them in a while rolling smooth with medium/fast speed.
The course held up very well from all the rain. Definitely worth going out and playing.
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La Purisima Golf Course Lompoc California
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La Purisima Golf Course Lompoc California
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GDR23 Posted: 10/03/16 7:38p Member Since: Mar 21, 2006 From: Thousand Oaks
2016 Best Playing Conditions for Santa Barbara County – La Purisima Golf Course
Rode the Black tees today 10/3/2016 playing 36 holes with RGM2525 finishing both rounds in about 6 hours. Used the all you can play GK coupon which includes cart and range balls for $47.00–a spectacular deal for one of the toughest courses and beautiful layouts in California.
Morning round was in the low 60’s with a light breeze– we were greeted with a 20-25 mph swirling wind during our afternoon round. The staff here are very friendly. They have a cool elevated range, big chipping green and nice huge putting green that mirror’s the speed of the greens on the course. The greens were super pure putting wise and in very good shape. Little to no ballmarks, holding irons very nicely. I have seen them faster but overall I am rating the greens an 8/10. The fairways were mostly lush, green with a couple dried out brownish spots here and there that do not effect play. If you are in the fairway you have a nice lie. The tees were mostly lush and mostly level–only a couple of boxes were crowned. Seemed like they have redone the black tee box on #3. Overall rating for the tees were a 7.5/10. Was in 3 green-side bunkers over 36 holes and I loved the bunkers–very rarely am I 3/3 out of sand saves. Sand is thicker, raked and in good shape. Rated 8/10 Rough was thick 2-3 inches and lush in most places lining the fairways and greens.
I will say beware of being under trees in the rough or just in the rough at all. There are places were your ball might sink down in a hole in the rough–tough to hit a 295 yd drive down the middle of the fairway–hit a slope in the fairway–roll in the rough and then ride up to find your ball in a hole barely being able to advance it–lol–that’s what makes this course very tough. Rough rating 8/10.
Today we maybe saw 2-4 total groups on the golf course–it was like playing our own private golf course. I would HIGHLY recommend this golf course.
Why Did We Expand the Regions?
It’s simple. Greenskeeper.org has been growing. We expanded the number of regions because golfers like you have reported about golf course conditions of the golf courses you play. In short golfers come to us if they want informative, relevant golf course reviews and it’s all due to your, our GK Community’s, diligence. You let us know your experiences and well if we hear about it everyone else does too.
Why so Many Regions?
Golf is an experience and every experience is unique. Different golf courses offer different experiences. What we look for in golf course reviews offers a little insight into every golf course we play. Not just one point of view but many, and by providing many different points of view you get a clearer picture of what each golf course has to offer. To that end we felt it necessary to provide regions with their own highlighted golf course. Local players can enjoy the fact there is a great facility they can play just around their corner. Golfers looking to experience new golf courses can play these and experience first-hand these unique golf experiences. Put simply, we allow not just your high-end. daily fee courses to shine but the local municipal as well. They all deserve a fair shot and they all deserve to shine.
Look for additional Golf Course highlights from our Best Playing Conditions for 2016.
Congratulations to La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc, California 2016 Winner Worth the Green Fee for Santa Barbara County.
Congratulations to all the great golf courses out there that won Worth the Green Fee for their Region. Haven’t thought of playing there? Consider this a wake up call and give their golf course a try.
La Purisima Golf Course 2016 Winner Worth the Green Fee for Santa Barbara County
Greenskeeper.Org “Know Before You Go®”
This year we expanded our awards to 11 regions! @GreenskeeperOrg Winner #2016 @LaPurisimaGolf #Golf #WorththeGreenFee #SantaBarbara #Breaking
We’ve waited all year for the results, and the results are finally in. Greenskeeper.org proudly presents it’s 2016 Worth the Green Fee Awards for Santa Barbara County.
“Worth the Green Fee” is awarded to golf courses open to the public listed on Greenskeeper.org that stand out above the rest with our site users at providing a consistent, quality golf experience at an outstanding price.
Let’s face it, golf can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. All you have to know is where to play to get your best value and that’s something Greenskeeper.org excels. In addition to helping golfers decide where to play their next round of golf based on reviews, ratings, and maintenance alerts, we’ve recently introduced our GK Coupons service to extend their deals directly to our avid golfers. Our GK Coupons program has been received very well by both Golf Course Operator and Golfer.
rgm2525 Posted: 01/16/17 6:28p Member Since: Jan 24, 2005 From: chatsworth
Played 1-14-17 first out as a single walking in a little under three hours.
Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly lush and level with a few being a little thin and unlevel mostly on three pars. Fairways were in nice shape very lush with a few small bare areas. Rough was not as long as normal but still thick and tough to hit from. Didn’t go into any bunkers but most of them looked to be okay with some still holding some water from the rains.
Greens were in great shape, the best that I have seen them in a while rolling smooth with medium/fast speed. The course held up very well from all the rain. Definitely worth going out and playing.
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Worth the Green Fee 2016 for Santa Barbara County – La Purisima Golf Course
GDR23 Posted: 10/03/16 7:38p Member Since: Mar 21, 2006 From: Thousand Oaks
Rode the Black tees today 10/3/2016 playing 36 holes with RGM2525 finishing both rounds in about 6 hours. Used the all you can play GK coupon which includes cart and range balls for $47.00–a spectacular deal for one of the toughest courses and beautiful layouts in California.
Morning round was in the low 60’s with a light breeze– we were greeted with a 20-25 mph swirling wind during our afternoon round. The staff here are very friendly. They have a cool elevated range, big chipping green and nice huge putting green that mirror’s the speed of the greens on the course. The greens were super pure putting wise and in very good shape. Little to no ballmarks, holding irons very nicely. I have seen them faster but overall I am rating the greens an 8/10.
The fairways were mostly lush, green with a couple dried out brownish spots here and there that do not effect play. If you are in the fairway you have a nice lie. The tees were mostly lush and mostly level–only a couple of boxes were crowned. Seemed like they have redone the black tee box on #3.
Overall rating for the tees were a 7.5/10. Was in 3 green-side bunkers over 36 holes and I loved the bunkers–very rarely am I 3/3 out of sand saves. Sand is thicker, raked and in good shape. Rated 8/10 Rough was thick 2-3 inches and lush in most places lining the fairways and greens. I will say beware of being under trees in the rough or just in the rough at all. There are places were your ball might sink down in a hole in the rough–tough to hit a 295 yd drive down the middle of the fairway–hit a slope in the fairway–roll in the rough and then ride up to find your ball in a hole barely being able to advance it–lol–that’s what makes this course very tough. Rough rating 8/10.
Today we maybe saw 2-4 total groups on the golf course–it was like playing our own private golf course. I would HIGHLY recommend this golf course.
La Purisima Golf Course GK Coupon Tee Time Special
Why Did We Expand the Regions?
It’s simple. Greenskeeper.org has been growing. We expanded the number of regions because golfers like you have reported about golf course conditions in more places you play. In short golfers come to us if they want informative, relevant golf course reviews and it’s all due to your, our GK Community’s, diligence. You let us know your experiences and well if we hear about it everyone else does too.
Why so Many Regions?
Golf is an experience and every experience is unique. Different golf courses offer different experiences. What we look for in golf course reviews offers a little insight into every golf course we play. Not just one point of view but many, and by providing many different points of view you get a clearer picture of what each golf course has to offer. To that end we felt it necessary to provide regions with their own highlighted golf course. Local players can enjoy the fact there is a great facility they can play just around their corner. Golfers looking to experience new golf courses can play these and experience first-hand these unique golf experiences. Put simply, we allow not just your high-end. daily fee courses to shine but the local municipal as well. They all deserve a fair shot and they all deserve to shine.
Look for additional Golf Course highlights from our Worth the Green Fee for 2016.
