Review submitted by David aka GK'er Broomy:

Played 9/5: The course had its usual excellent customer service. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and was mostly the opposite of the usual wind directio... Continue »

Review submitted by David aka GK'er Broomy:

Played 9/5: The course had its usual excellent customer service. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and was mostly the opposite of the usual wind direction, which made #8 and #9 play a little shorter than usual. Tee boxes and fairways are showing wear from the heat and dry conditions, which is typical this time of year, but the course was still very playable. Bunkers were in pretty good shape, although damp in spots. The greens were a little lumpy, which was unusual because they are usually very smooth. It may be that it was late in the afternoon when we played, so it had grown a little during the day, and the long shadows showed any little imperfection, including footprints from earlier groups.

POP was fine: the marshals do a generally good job of keeping things moving, even though it’s a high dollar resort course, and that we appeared to tee off shortly after a tournament. My buddy has joined their club that gives a pretty decent twilight price, so we play it pretty regularly. I’d say that Monarch Beach is my favorite course in the OC, with the possible exception of perhaps Oak Creek (which I don’t play much because it’s too expensive), and this outing was no exception.

I played here last Tuesday afternoon. Temps in the mid-80s, which is warm for being right on the coast. The course was in very good condition, with very few bare spots, bunkers were well maintained, ... Continue »

I played here last Tuesday afternoon. Temps in the mid-80s, which is warm for being right on the coast. The course was in very good condition, with very few bare spots, bunkers were well maintained, and the fairways were superb, although a little browning has settled in, which is typical for this time of year. Greens rolled true with very few unrepaired ball marks. Although the cart fee is included, I chose to walk for exercise. It's a little hilly, but certainly walkable, as the distance between holes is short on all but a few holes.

Play was a little slow through #7, but a few errant shots on #8 and #9 put us half a hole behind, which we would have easily made up on #10 had the starter not inserted a group ahead of us when we made the turn, which caused things to slow through #14. Inserting the group ahead with such a small window was annoying and uncalled for, especially for course known for such good customer service. Otherwise, it was another great day on the course.

Having said that I won't be back. The players’ assistant was very helpful. However I signed up for their Club Card with an expectation discounts and other benefits that included when the twilight time... Continue »

Having said that I won't be back. The players’ assistant was very helpful. However I signed up for their Club Card with an expectation discounts and other benefits that included when the twilight time starts and associated price. Each time (4 times) I played there I was told had to pay a different fee that was $20 to $25 higher. Their explanation was some sort scattered pricing that was vague and confusing even to the pro-shop staff. It was clearly not the staff rather the management screw-up in design and implementation. The course was in good shape.

Played today in the SCGA One Day event which was an 11:30am shotgun. This course is so overrated I don't know where to start. The greens were aerated three weeks ago and are still quite bumpy, despi... Continue »

Played today in the SCGA One Day event which was an 11:30am shotgun. This course is so overrated I don't know where to start. The greens were aerated three weeks ago and are still quite bumpy, despite being rolled multiple times (according to the pro-shop). The famous #3 green had a bare spot in the front left corner and that was our pin position today. Multiple putts immediately went offline from the bumpy greens. Fairways were okay, except many have newly laid sod in sections. Many tee boxes were oversaturated (before it started raining) with water. The bunkers were in very good shape with soft sand on top and slightly more dense sand below. They were probably the highlight of the round. There is nothing special about this course at all. Straight holes and a handful of dogleg lefts. For a "resort" course, it has zero polish conditions are not what I expected for a supposedly high-end course.

Finally got around to using an unlimited golf coupon I had given my father a few months back at a course neither of us had played. We had heard mixed reviews but the price we paid was less than half ... Continue »

Finally got around to using an unlimited golf coupon I had given my father a few months back at a course neither of us had played. We had heard mixed reviews but the price we paid was less than half of peak fees and we were able to get in 27 holes before we were rained out so we got our money's worth. Simply put, the conditions did not justify anything close to peak greens fees. Fairways were pretty beat up and bare in many places . Bunkers were well manicured and great sand but right beneath a top layer was a tarp that made some shots problematic. This course is littered with bunkers so hopefully they fix the tarp issue. Tee boxes were level and in great condition. Greens were fast and had some goofy slopes that proved difficult but were in great condition overall. Hitting into cages before the round is kinda ridiculous but I will give them a pass because land is too valuable there. One hole is nearly on the beach and is a spectacular view and the par 3's are generally very beautiful but otherwise this course is a resort track that won't live up to its price. You get the sense that your money is going into the clubhouse rather than the course. Checked it off the bucket list.

Monarch Beach yesterday 1:30pm. So is this the new Champions Club at the Retreat? Not so much the course itself, but more so the recent reviews/ratings along with the wide array of opinions. Here's my... Continue »

Monarch Beach yesterday 1:30pm. So is this the new Champions Club at the Retreat? Not so much the course itself, but more so the recent reviews/ratings along with the wide array of opinions. Here's my long detailed version of it:

Pre-Round: Complimentary valet took our bags (after standing around for 5 minutes with no help even though they weren't that busy at our time of arrival) and loaded them up onto our carts/golf boards (more on that later). We had a discounted pre-paid tee time and went to check in with the very friendly pro shop staff. Had to watch the golf board safety video and sign the waiver & pay the advanced reservation fee of $50 which seems high considering other courses are charging around $20-30 to try the golf board. The odd thing is, if you don't reserve the golf board ahead of time, MB only charges $30 if they're available. After some back and forth, the pro shop ended up giving us the $30 rate. Thank you for that!

Since we arrived well ahead of our tee time, we had lunch at the grill overlooking the course and Pacific Ocean. Food was delicious and the views were spectacular! After that we rolled some putts on the tiny putting green and hit some balls in the 3 bay stall. I know space is limited but for a high end course, it's honestly pretty pathetic. For those that haven't been, the hitting bays at your local golf shop are the equivalent.

After that, was some practice time on the golf boards to get used to them. Of note, if you rent one, there is no space for GPS so bring your own.

Round:

Tees- Pretty lush with the expected divots on some of the Par 3's and shorter layup holes.

Fairways- Definitely good in spots and TERRIBLE in others (#12 comes to mind immediately as it was LCP rules for us). As dconnally mentioned, the upper course holes are having their issues right now. Most of the time if you hit the fairway, you can see a puff of sand come up when your ball contacts the surface.

Bunkers- By far the highlight of the course and lord knows I was in enough of them to get an accurate gauge. I was in no less than 10 bunkers today and all were consistently great and awesome to play from! Some unraked ones but that's not any fault of the course.

Rough- Anything from patchy/bare/dry to muddy/calf high kiss your ball goodbye.

Greens- Started out quick and true but by late afternoon they were a bumpy, heavy trafficked, Poa mess! Quick and true is great. Bumpy and fast? Not so much.

Layout is really solid with a good variety of holes. You get just about everything here. Long, short, wide, narrow, doglegs in both directions, ocean breezes, blind tee shots, uphill, downhill, etc. A lot of fun to play!

POP was weekend slow at 5 hours with a lot of "resort" duffers today.

Overall I had a good time. I'll say it's not as bad as some may think nor is the conditioning anywhere near great at the moment. Somewhere in between is probably the most realistic. Maybe 5.5-6.0/10? Take it for what it is but for the OC premium price you're paying, I'd say it's disappointing. Temper your expectations and I think it's ok. Will I come back? Perhaps for special occasions with a deal but at full rack, no thanks.

greens were in perfect condition, sand traps were consistant...pace of play great. fairways and rough were fine. very interesting course with some crazy holes and some straight forward ones. the co... Continue »

greens were in perfect condition, sand traps were consistant...pace of play great. fairways and rough were fine. very interesting course with some crazy holes and some straight forward ones. the course will make you think and use most of the clubs in your arsenal. The price is very high and wish that they would make it more reasonable...if you have big wads o dough go play....

What a difference a few weeks makes?? Very different experience than previous poster. Played 18 with a buddy on an UnderPar deal. Beautiful layout, excellent customer service...folks were not over the... Continue »

What a difference a few weeks makes?? Very different experience than previous poster. Played 18 with a buddy on an UnderPar deal. Beautiful layout, excellent customer service...folks were not over the top but ON it...everyone very helpful.
Greens rolled nicely and held shot of varying trajectories. I found a few bunkers and found them to have even, nice soft sand but with a bit of a "bottom" --which I always prefer to totally soft sand where your incoming angle has to be really on or you hit it fat.
Fairways were in great shape with a few resodded, patchy lies here and there. A private CC it isn't but is better than 80% of the goat tracks still running out there.
Great carts and GPS, lots of water and facilities.
Fantastic Chicken sandwich at the 19th with really really nice views from the Veranda. Worth $229---nah, $109 or a deal--yeah.

Played Monday/Tuesday, 8/29-30/16, in the SCGA Affiliate Team Championship. Teed off Monday at 1PM in pretty windy, hot sunny conditions. Tuesday at 8AM was cool and less windy until about 11AM, and t... Continue »

Played Monday/Tuesday, 8/29-30/16, in the SCGA Affiliate Team Championship. Teed off Monday at 1PM in pretty windy, hot sunny conditions. Tuesday at 8AM was cool and less windy until about 11AM, and then it got windy and hot again. Frankly, I was shocked at the poor conditions of the fairways and rough throughout the course. Every fairway had extensive thin/bare dirt areas – on the upper part of the course (holes 11-16) I’m sure more than 50% of the fairway area was sandy dirt. Tee shots would hit the fairway with a visible puff of sand. Even when you had “grass” you got thin patchy areas where the ball sat tight or down. Rough along the margins of green slopes was patchy/clumpy or just bare – just barely missing the green meant long rollouts away from the putting surface, usually onto more bare ground. Many fairways and rough areas had extensive sod patches – some were marked GUR, some not. Greens generally had good coverage and rolled well at medium-fast speed. Most held shots well, but greens were inconsistent in terms of firmness, especially Monday in the afternoon – this might be due to differences in wind exposure. Tees were generally OK - some had grass patches and/or aeration holes, but all were level and playable. Traps were generally in good condition with ample soft sand around the margins, but many traps had thin playing layers over wet packed base at the bottom. The course has removed several sand traps, apparently within the past 6 months, probably to reduce maintenance costs and improve pace. Traps have been removed in the driving area right of #1, left of #2, and right on #7. There may be others. The good quality GPS on the carts (DSG tag) is interactive and easy to use – but it laughingly kept showing ads that MB was “the best conditioned course in Orange County”!!! A funny sign on the first tee asked players to take a pledge to maintain a 5-hour pace of play!! – must be that “resort” mindset. The course-provided tee prize was a cheesy orange drink koozie and a poster of a photo of the resort. If you are paying the rack rate here I’m sure you are looking for a lawyer afterwards. Definitely not recommended at this time.