ALERT: (Projected Aeration and Overseeding Alert)
Will start overseeding the fairways the week of 10/13 as well as aerate the greens 10/13 & 10/14.
* Please note that although we put a great amount of effort into forecasting course maintenance, we still recommend you contact the golf course to confirm this information.
Opened in the Summer of 2005, Arrowood Golf Club is the centerpiece of a new master-planned community several miles East of the 5 freeway in Oceanside. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind for so many golfers in Southern California when they hear "Residential Golf Community" is houses lining fairways, public roads and tunnels that split a course apart. Fortunately for the patrons of Arrowood, this Ted Robinson, Jr. layout is, at present, mostly devoid of those shortcomings. Are there homes on the course? Sure. But, they do not encroach upon play in most cases, and more often than not you don't even notice them. Furthermore, the design leaves many environmentally sensitive areas to maintain a natural appearance off the fairways.
Though not overly strategic or unique, Arrowood is a basic and fun collection of holes that should not disappoint. I would have preferred a bit more variety amongst the holes, especially the par 5s and 3s (all of the three-pars are of medium length) and the 9th and 13th are very similar par 5s. However, none of these are poor holes and if given a choice between similar good holes or varying bad holes, I happily choose the first option.
Two holes that every golfer will enjoy playing are the 6th and 16th (though for very different reasons). The 6th is one of the finest examples of a strategic short par 4 I have played in some time. At under 300 yards, even a moderate length player will contemplate driving the green here. However, the hidden greenside bunker will punish even the slightest of pulls or hooks from the tee, and even once this shot played at the green is safe, the second flip-wedge is played to a green situated so that the shallowest approach is on the direct line from the tee. A smarter play is to coax an iron or fairway wood into the short grass well right of the green at which point you will be looking lengthwise down a green which must be 40 yards deep from this angle, sloped steeply to assist the golfer as a backstop - a more inviting prospect to be sure. The gambling player can give this hole a go, but a 5 looms prominently when taking this approach, and a birdie is not foregone simply by playing more safely from the tee. This is a great golf hole.
The 16th is a beautiful panoramic par 4 that cascades down the hill toward a large island green. Many golfers will remember this hole as A: one of the longest waits on the golf course, B: one of the most exhilirating sets of two (or three) shots on the course, and C: a really tough hole. To the earlier point about a lack of variety, this single hole if lengthened maybe 20 yards, would be a prime risk-reward par 5 and a real asset to the golf course's flow. Nonetheless, if you concede that par is a heroic score here, it's a fun hole to play.
Arrowood is in great shape. The greens on this day were a bit bumpy, but mostly good. Fairways and rough were both exceptionally lush, and the rough, in fact, was so thick that hitting into it truly felt like a penalty. Especially around the greens where I spent more time hacking the ball onto the green instead of simply chipping, the rough provides a stiff challenge. My biggest complaint about the otherwise excellent conditions were the children's sandbox-like bunkers. They were raked and consistent, but the sand was of such poor quality that I found myself wondering if this wasn't a substitute or a change made for some reason unbeknownst to me. The sand was loose, dusty, and bore no resemblance to any sand I've seen anywhere other than a local municipal course. For Arrowood's sake, I hope they look into different options in this area. It truly is the one weak link in their conditioning.
Overall, Arrowood is a very nice facility. The driving range is grass for the weekend crowds, and there are two good-sized putting greens just outside the proshop, one of which allows chipping. The staff is friendly and helpful, and they did their best to keep a watchful eye over the golfers (though perhaps there are steps that could be taken to speed up the pace of play, which was agonizingly slow for a course of this caliber - granted, there were two tournaments on this day). I liked what I saw at Arrowood as it avoided some pitfalls that other residential courses are snagged by, and every course should have at least one truly fun hole like the 6th here.
