Took advantage of a wine-tasting weekend up near Paso Robles to play Hunter Ranch for the first time ever. First thing you're struck by is of course the great surrounding landscape and overall scenery... Continue »

Took advantage of a wine-tasting weekend up near Paso Robles to play Hunter Ranch for the first time ever. First thing you're struck by is of course the great surrounding landscape and overall scenery from the very cool, rustic clubhouse area. I booked a solo round online the night before with an 8:40am tee time, of course expecting to be paired up with a group, but was actually solo the whole day in between a foursome that had their moments of slow play, and a threesome that never caught up to me. As for the course itself, well its very difficult rating is quite justified. I played from the blue tees and it was a serious test. There are few holes without side lies due to all of the elevations, and there are mature trees on many holes that really test accuracy. Many of the tee shots are required to shoot the gaps between the trees and it's daunting to say the least. On top of that there are some decent carries over water and land, and very small landing areas despite a vast expanse of land all around you. It's just plain tough. Conditions were quite good all around for sure. This is a very premium public course and it's worth the greens fee without a doubt. Greens are in great shape - fast, holding shots and requiring a very healthy respect for the lines and speed. I wouldn't say the greens were overly undulating, but they do have some tough slope to them. Fairways and rough were in very good shape with the occasional burned out area, but they were few and far between. Tee boxes were great and the sand in the bunkers was very good. No complaints all around. There were definitely marshals around to help move the game around and offer some tips (which is helpful if you're playing a solo round here for the first time), but no cart service to be seen all day, which was surprising on what I thought would be a very busy long weekend Saturday. Not the case. But overall it's a really solid and fun course that I would love to take on again some other day.

Got out and played on Monday the 14th as a single teeing off at 9am. It was pretty foggy and quite chilly when I teed off, and stayed that way for most of the front nine. A little breeze pushed the fo... Continue »

Got out and played on Monday the 14th as a single teeing off at 9am. It was pretty foggy and quite chilly when I teed off, and stayed that way for most of the front nine. A little breeze pushed the fog out, and from 9 on it was a beautiful day on the course. Hunter Ranch has always been my favorite central coast course, and this outing was no exception.

The greens are the highlight of this course, and they didn't disappoint. In fact, they were quite hard, only holding very well struck shots. The speed wasn't was it usually is, but they have the Paso City Championship coming up along with their team ball event, so I imagine the speeds will pick up in the coming weeks.

The fairways were in great shape, a real pleasure to hit from. Rough, although not long, was thick and really grabbed your club. Your ball sat up, but any contact with the grass meant your club was going to get held up.

The bunkers were wet in the morning but were still nice to play from as the day went on.

The only knock on this course is the tee boxes. Most need to re leveled and possibly re sodded, but that's just me being picky. I'd play this course every day and be happy.

Played the Blues (6751/72.7/138) in 3H, 40M as a single early morning. Started off in the 50's and was in the mid 60's by the end of the round under partly cloudy skies. The tees were semi lush and ... Continue »

Played the Blues (6751/72.7/138) in 3H, 40M as a single early morning. Started off in the 50's and was in the mid 60's by the end of the round under partly cloudy skies. The tees were semi lush and some could use leveling, but most were well maintained for divots. The rough is not high, but it's challenging. Uneven lies between clumps of grass was a common theme the entire round when I missed the fairway. Miss the rough and reach the oak trees and you are on hardpan. Most fairways are generous in size. They have large patches of dormant grass sprinkled with lush green areas. They play better than they look, not great but decent. The sand was very well maintained. Soft, fluffy, nice to play from. The large, undulating greens were the best part of the course. Medium fast and firm, but they held irons very well. This would be a challenging course to walk with all the hills. Tough course to play, hilly with sloping fairways framed by oak trees. Few level lies anywhere on this course. The customer service was good, quick, efficient check-in. No dink cart, no one cleaning up your clubs after the round. Very challenging layout in decent playing condition. Recommended.

Played the Blues (6751/72.7/138) in 3H, 20M as a single early morning. Started off in fog with poor visibility, but the weather was nice by the end of the round. Tough course, hilly with fairways fr... Continue »

Played the Blues (6751/72.7/138) in 3H, 20M as a single early morning. Started off in fog with poor visibility, but the weather was nice by the end of the round. Tough course, hilly with fairways framed by oak trees. Few level lies anywhere on this course. The fairways are generous in size, the rough is mostly cut down/thin, and if you get off in the oaks its hardpan. The tees were decent. Semi lush and some could use leveling, but most were well maintained for divots. The fairways and rough do not look good from afar. Both are winter thin with large patches of dormant grass. However, they play better than they look, not great but okay. The sand was nice, well maintained. The large, undulating greens were the best part of the course. Medium fast and firm, but they held irons very well. The customer service was good, right out on #1 tee at my tee time. No dink cart, no one cleaning up your clubs after the round. Excellent, very challenging layout in decent condition. Recommended.

Used Group Golfer voucher mid-week uncrowded day. Hit off flat grass range downhill and up, nice chip area and two greens off first tee same med fast as on course. Caught 4 some at turn which let me p... Continue »

Used Group Golfer voucher mid-week uncrowded day. Hit off flat grass range downhill and up, nice chip area and two greens off first tee same med fast as on course. Caught 4 some at turn which let me play through leaving no one ahead. Smooth firm green fairways. Must hit to level areas or play from hilly lies. Rough becomes native grass with trees quickly if offline. Breeze was light and not a factor except into on par 3's 3&14. In two greenside traps both nice sand but steep and deep! Fun and challenging will play again.

Hunter Ranch is a great course overall. The track is super fun with plenty of challenges yet enough scoring holes to keep you from going insane. Each side has a driveable (in 2) par 5 and a Lengthy on... Continue »

Hunter Ranch is a great course overall. The track is super fun with plenty of challenges yet enough scoring holes to keep you from going insane. Each side has a driveable (in 2) par 5 and a Lengthy one. There are some forced carries over water and gullies that add to the enjoyment of the course that mainly comes from the numerous elevation changes throughout the track. In fact there are only a couple of flat holes.

Overall course is always in great shape with the greens stealing the show. Greens are always smooth and fast with minimal pitch marks. Fairways are lush and what you would expect from a nice course like this. Tee boxes and sand traps are the week points of HR. Sand traps are about 50/50 (decent/poor) and tee boxes are 30/70.

Customer service is average or slightly under.

If you're passing through Paso Robles on highway 101/hwy 46, there are two quality courses to choose from. Hunter Ranch and Paso Robles GC. HR is set out in grape vineyards and is void of houses and the city. PRGC is flatter and easier to walk (houses border the entire course and most holes). HR is more open and favors the bombers over shot accuracy. Both have excellent greens.

I had the pleasure of playing here 4-4. it was a picture perfect day for golf. Low70's no wind and bright blue skies.
I had a 9:00 am tee time and was sent out on time with a threesome who where re... Continue »

I had the pleasure of playing here 4-4. it was a picture perfect day for golf. Low70's no wind and bright blue skies.
I had a 9:00 am tee time and was sent out on time with a threesome who where really friendly and fun to play with. One of them had never played here before and time after time he commented how great the layout was and that conditions were next to perfect.
Tee boxes where level and some had been punched but never had a problem finding a spot to tee it up.
The fairways had great coverage and never had a bad lie all day. 1st cut of rough was about 1 1/2" tall made you work a little to get out. after that you have native grass where you might have a tough time finding you ball. Last time I was here none of the native grass was there due to the drought so an errant shot would run off forever.
The greens were smooth ,quick and consistent. Hardly a ball mark to be seen! they held well struck shots and putts held their line.
Bunkers had plenty of sand and were raked correctly.
Pace of play was 4:15 and we never had to rush or wait for the group ahead.
I try to get a round in whenever I am in the area. Really wish it was closer.

Played 2/24 with a buddy. Teed off at 10:30am. Hunter Ranch had a 40 minute frost delay to start the day, so naturally everything was backed up most of the day, and our round took all of 5 hours. Than... Continue »

Played 2/24 with a buddy. Teed off at 10:30am. Hunter Ranch had a 40 minute frost delay to start the day, so naturally everything was backed up most of the day, and our round took all of 5 hours. Thankfully we were the last twosome to go off until about 11:45, so while it was backed up in front of us it was wide open behind us.
The course was still very wet from the recent rains, so it was cart path only. As a result there was no roll out on the fairways, and the greens received any shot very well. The greens, as always were almost perfect. Rolling true at a medium fast pace. The tee boxes were surprisingly not in good shape, as many were dying or had a lot of divot damage. The rough was thick around the greens and decent elsewhere. Sand was great, plenty of fluff to get up and out of some of the larger lips around the course.
Hunter Ranch is my favorite central coast course to play, and as always their customer service and restaurant are some of the best around.

I played with three friends at this wonderful golf club on a sunny Saturday between two wicked California storms the day before the super bowl during our annual holiday weekend trip. The setting is r... Continue »

I played with three friends at this wonderful golf club on a sunny Saturday between two wicked California storms the day before the super bowl during our annual holiday weekend trip. The setting is rolling hills among vineyards, creeks and other pleasant natural habitats. The course, as expected, was a bit soggy and was cart-path-only. I walked and found it was very walkable from the blue tees. Pace of play was four hours, with no push or wait.

I've played here twice in the past and found this winter round to be just as fun and challenging as the warm weather rounds played here. There are no repetitive holes or tee shots on this course, and as a person with limited time for the game, I find this very important in the assessment of all golf courses. The fairways, tee boxes and sand traps are all in good to very good condition. Standing water in only a few traps, and lift clean and cheat was necessary on only a couple of instances. The greens were a 10. Maybe due to the reduced amount of play because of the ridiculous rain we have been getting in CA, but still, minimal ball marks, true roll, great speed. A little local knowledge will go a long way here.

The clubhouse and bar & grill experience was top notch, parking easy, practice areas large and accessible. If you are in the Central CA 101 corridor this is a must play. Only negative - the directional signage on the 17th tee box. I couldn't figure it out, hit a Drumpf-crazy tee ball well left of the proper routing of the hole and threw up on my shoes to kind of wreck my card. Aim more right....