I have played here 5 times in the last 30 days, never before. The course has a links feel, and plays longer than the yardage would indicate. The wind can get pretty sporty.

I have played here 5 times in the last 30 days, never before. The course has a links feel, and plays longer than the yardage would indicate. The wind can get pretty sporty.

Windy, Windy, Windy...but if you like the view of the ocean and dont mind some links style golf then this is a great place to play.

Pace of play was decent for a weekend....5 hours to finish 18 hol... Continue »

Windy, Windy, Windy...but if you like the view of the ocean and dont mind some links style golf then this is a great place to play.

Pace of play was decent for a weekend....5 hours to finish 18 holes....due to a foursome that played slowwwww...

I saw the Marshall twice during the round, and he did speed up play a bit.

Fairways and rough were in great condition. Greens were very lush, but could have been cut alittle tighter.....due to the ocean conditions, the greens were kinda slow.

15th and 16th were great holes that look into the ocean...

The rough will swallow up balls, but fairways are wide....

Overall, I will return to play here

Excellent value and nice views of the bay, but windy conditions.

Excellent value and nice views of the bay, but windy conditions.

We headed to Monarch on a couple free passes (paid only the cart fee) and had a blast. Of course, nearly free golf pretty much guarantees a good time = ) Very nice links style course with exceptiona... Continue »

We headed to Monarch on a couple free passes (paid only the cart fee) and had a blast. Of course, nearly free golf pretty much guarantees a good time = ) Very nice links style course with exceptional quality bunkers, lush fairways and excellent greens. Ver few trees on most holes with some at tee boxes or strategically placed along fairways. Overall a very pleasant route and the view is to Die for! Right accross the bay from San Francisco. Yes, the jets can be a bit distracting, but you could always use them to think that it could be you in one of those planes flying to some stupid training meeting. Uh lets see, flying next to someone with Bird Flu or stepping in goose poop. I will take tha latter.

Course needs a new manager

Course needs a new manager

Played Metropolitan and Monarch Bay on July 27. The two courses are about 2 miles apart. Most of my friends prefer Metropolitan saying Metropolitan is usually in better shape and more challenging. I p... Continue »

Played Metropolitan and Monarch Bay on July 27. The two courses are about 2 miles apart. Most of my friends prefer Metropolitan saying Metropolitan is usually in better shape and more challenging. I preferred Monarch Bay because it is more visually pleasing. Much bettter bay views and not as much air traffic. Monarch was in good condition from tee to green, although there were a few wet spots and a couple places with lots of goose poop. It was a great bargain at $38 including cart. We played at a fair pace for a muni, a tad over 4.5 hours. Unfortunately, there was a slow threesome ahead of us that we caught up to on the back 9, otherwise we would have played much faster.

Played on Monday 7/9/07. Course was in decent condition. Greens a little bumpy, alot of soggy/overwatered areas. Bunkers/fairways were in good shape. Took me 5hrs 20min to complete my round...on a... Continue »

Played on Monday 7/9/07. Course was in decent condition. Greens a little bumpy, alot of soggy/overwatered areas. Bunkers/fairways were in good shape. Took me 5hrs 20min to complete my round...on a MONDAY. Sweet group of ladies behind us said it's not usually that slow, but I'm wary about heading back there.

Nice public course. Overall, above average and a good value for the money.

Nice public course. Overall, above average and a good value for the money.

Played Monarch today and was very very pleasantly surprised. My 1st time there in nearly 3 years. Wasnt staying away on purpose, just never had much reason to head out there. I use to play there al... Continue »

Played Monarch today and was very very pleasantly surprised. My 1st time there in nearly 3 years. Wasnt staying away on purpose, just never had much reason to head out there. I use to play there alot in the mig-to-late 90's before they rebuilt it, and played it twice after it was rebuilt. My memories of a few years back was that it wasnt in the greatest shape even after the rebuild and they had let some insane gorse grow up around the perimeter of all the bunkers, the type where your ball could be 6 inches off the fairway and lost.

BUT, was really happy with the conditions today. The fairways were in good shape and even though they are due to be punched late next week, the greens are in fantastic condition. Being essentially San Leandro Muni, I was also really really impressed with the condition of the bunkers. Nice fluffy sand, not too wet, not too dry, you could easily sink a wedge under your ball with a good swing and have it pop out nicely. They've also shaved down the perimeters of all the bunkers (and no more dreaded gorse!) so its not a major penalty nor does it get lost in the thick stuff around the sand. They have let a lot of the rough around the various tee boxes grow out, but its very nicely maintained, and I think it adds some nice personality to the course and gets some of the Scottish Links feel they are going for. However, we saw a few groups on bordering fairways looking for topped tee shots right in front of a number of tee boxes, so toppers beware.

2 of the par 3's are over 175 from the whites and pushing 200 from the Golds, so they're a good test. The 3 par 5's are reachable in 2 for medium-to-big hitters from the whites. My buddy Chris (a 5 index) eagled #5 and didn't really have to kill it off the tee on that hole. I thought #13 used to be a short par-5 back in the day but its a monster par-4 now-450 from the whites, 470 from the golds. Don't even mess with trying to clear the bunkers in the middle of the fairway on the short par-4 14th, its just not worth it, laying up in front of them still only leaves you 100 yards, and even if you manage to clear them, the dogleg turns real quick after the bunkers and if you pull it the slightest bit, its OB in a hurry. Lastly, don't hold out too much hope to come back in your match on #18 if you're playing the whites. It might be the easiest par-4 in all of the Bay Area, 275 yards with only greenside bunkers in your way.

Teed off at 7:00 am on the dot and played in 3 hrs 15 mins, would have been quicker but they sent out a foursome to play the back 9 as we were putting out on the 9th green, but we passed them on the 12th hole. No wind to speak of, but thats probably my only warning about choosing this course, being up against the marina and Bay, you would not want to be playing there in a stiff wind. Playing early, you should be fine.

Would definetely recommend playing Monarch again if you haven't been there in a few years, I know I'll be back in the next month or two myself.