I played Twin Oaks on 3/11/2018. The course was soggy from the rain the previous day but overall in decent shape with very good greens.

We teed off at 10:30 as a twosome. I do not think the sta... Continue »

I played Twin Oaks on 3/11/2018. The course was soggy from the rain the previous day but overall in decent shape with very good greens.

We teed off at 10:30 as a twosome. I do not think the starter does a good job of pairing groups up here because there was a lot of twosomes on the course. We passed a slow playing foursome in route to finishing in around four hours and 45 minutes. The whole course was cart path only which contributed to the overall slow day.

The tee boxes are a little shaggy for my tastes you had to tee up the ball on a few par threes (number 3 I specifically recall). But they were level and minimal divots.

The fairways I think could benefit from this rain. They were a little soggy and looked a little thin. I think in a week or two they will be in very good shape.

I was in a few bunkers. There was some standing water in a few (as previously mentioned it rained the day before). Overlooking that the sand was of a pretty good quality. The rough around the green is about half a ball deep but still able to get up and down a few times.

The greens are rolling very nicely and are the best part of the course. There are a few ball marks on some of the holes. There are a few holes that are on top of a small mound and those have the most ball marks.

The course overall is very narrow for four holes then opens up. There is not alot of risk reward holes as I would like. There are a few holes where you dont want to hit driver or risk end up in water (hole 9) or a blind shot in the bottom of a ravine (hole 14). There are a couple of longer par 3's that I dont really care for and seem to slow down play. I dont know why they put a 175-190 par three (from the whites) on hole 10 and god help you if you have to go off the back to start the round.

Overall I like the course and it is in decent shape that should only improve after the grass has time to grow after the rains.

Despite the rain the day before I saw the cart person out quite a few times and the homemade/made on site potato chips in the bar after the round were amazing.

Played 2-27-18. Played as the rain stopped and had the course to myself for the most part. Visually a very beautiful course. Fun layout. Tee boxes in good shape, fairways brown in spots but no more th... Continue »

Played 2-27-18. Played as the rain stopped and had the course to myself for the most part. Visually a very beautiful course. Fun layout. Tee boxes in good shape, fairways brown in spots but no more than all our So Cal courses these days. Greens were in great shape. Moderate speed but held well and rolled true. Design is somewhat forgiving in that tee shots off the fairway will often roll into the short grass for you. Look forward to coming back. A strong 6.5 to 7.

Played here on Friday, 11/3 in a San Diego Seniors match. Got out at 9 AM. POP: just over 4 hours. Greens: smooth and firm. Fairways: very playable but there are some muddy areas. The locals we pla... Continue »

Played here on Friday, 11/3 in a San Diego Seniors match. Got out at 9 AM. POP: just over 4 hours. Greens: smooth and firm. Fairways: very playable but there are some muddy areas. The locals we play with said the fairways have been fertilized and they were watering quite heavily. Rough: some muddy spots here also, other than that playable. Traps: poor, hard dirt, very little sand. Good customer service in the Pro Shop. Food was below average in the bar. I definitely would play again especially if I got a deal.

Played in a tournament this morning which we played from the white tees. I was very surprised how wet the course was.

I knew half of the greens were punched and they do need more time to heal. ... Continue »

Played in a tournament this morning which we played from the white tees. I was very surprised how wet the course was.

I knew half of the greens were punched and they do need more time to heal. Since this was a tournament all our putts were on the flag side and never had to put thru this. Greens are a decent speed but too many ball marks.

There were quite a few tee boxes that were muddy and the white makers were in this area. Some boxes needed to be mowed too.

Fairways are just ok. You'll find decent lies but that's about it.

The ball could sit down in the rough with the grass here. But since it was a tournament we were able to give ourselves better lies so it wasn't bad. Like most other courses there are thicker areas and some pretty bare areas.

Traps looked pretty rough. There was actually water in 2 or 3 and the sand is really dark. I have never seen sand that was this dark.

The range is actually pretty bad. This is another one that has the artificial turf where you stick your own tee in but you can because there is concrete under neath so you have to break a tee in half. That is if you can get the ball to balance on it. Also the balls should be replaced. Balls were muddy and dirt caked on it. Some were also cut like the mower went over them.

Customer service was great and the food was pretty decent after the round. I wouldn't go out of my way to play here right now.

Played in a San Diego Seniors match on Friday AM. Haven't played here since last years match so I was looking forward to the match as this is one of my favorite courses. I was not disappointed in the ... Continue »

Played in a San Diego Seniors match on Friday AM. Haven't played here since last years match so I was looking forward to the match as this is one of my favorite courses. I was not disappointed in the conditions. Greens: holding shots well as the greens were quite soft but a few too many unrepaired ball marks. Speed was medium. Fairways: decent lies all day, couple of fairways had quite a few bare spots on the back nine, nothing that terrible. Rough: 1-3" high, not that punishing. Traps: firm, typical SoCal conditions. Nice driving range and large putting green. Cart service, twice on both nines. Good GPS system on the carts. Recommend!

4/19 guru outing with Mark Lee and David enjoyable golf partners being friendly and entertaining which really helped to get through a nearly 5 hour round--couldn't tell if it was just being stuck behi... Continue »

4/19 guru outing with Mark Lee and David enjoyable golf partners being friendly and entertaining which really helped to get through a nearly 5 hour round--couldn't tell if it was just being stuck behind a slow group or just that busy as the tee times were full ahead of us. Course has a 420 goal but no marshals today to check pace.
As you know by now the range is closed for construction--didn't get a time table for completion but got the impression it was going to be about a month or so. There is a large practice green where chipping is allowed but no other warm up area. Green condition was almost same as on course just a little slower with more bumps.
Fairways generally had nice green hue from a distance but up close there were some areas that were rather thin and quite dry while some areas were excessively wet but overall had acceptable lies with ok cushion. Rough was a mix of grasses which gave varied lies and required thought, proper club selection and execution--2 out of 3 didn't cut it. Rough was more of a factor around the greens generally longer and thicker.
Bunkers were somewhat varied--fairway trap on 5 was firm with a lower lip--should have been quite playable but I got greedy and made a poor swing with the wrong club. Green side bunkers tend to be deep like 6 feet deep with big lips--
#10 had soft sand on the surface but was rather wet and packed underneath--#16 had very heavy thick sand which was hard to swing through and get the ball to elevate.
Tees had good cover mostly level with the par 3s having some divot damage.
Greens were fairly smooth-for me played a little slower than they looked--so most of the putts that I left short did not go in. Had to carry speed through the hole to minimize the subtle breaks at the cup. Noticed more and more un-repaied ball marks on the back 9.
Staff was friendly enough and the starter Mike was a wealth of information and did his best to keep groups in line and on schedule.
The course is more scenic than I had remembered and with the amount of wild vegetation surrounding many fairways there is a rural country feel even being in a very urban setting.
For the rest of April JC golf has Twin Oaks featured and has $45 weekday and $55 weekend rates(after 10)--any special in the $40-$45 range makes this a good value play.

Had a great time with the GK Gurus here at 11am on Wednesday, 4/19/17, on a mostly sunny, breezy warm day. Thanks to GKers gary00, leef2020, and Itslikeimsayin for an enjoyable day – Orange County hea... Continue »

Had a great time with the GK Gurus here at 11am on Wednesday, 4/19/17, on a mostly sunny, breezy warm day. Thanks to GKers gary00, leef2020, and Itslikeimsayin for an enjoyable day – Orange County heading down to San Marcos for the round. I played this course only once, around 20 years ago, and it seems like it’s really filled in in terms of the lushness of the vegetation in the creeks and hazards – of course, some of this may be related to the rain the past couple months. When you are on the holes bordered by the creek or heavier vegetation, the wind is almost completely blocked out – away from the creek or on the higher elevation holes the wind is much more of a factor.

We arrived in time to warm up but found the range closed for some type of grading. No practice bunker or chipping green unless it’s up by the range. The putting green was crowded as the course was pretty stacked up with foursomes going out in the hour ahead of our time, but the starter was friendly and worked to get us out ASAP after our foursome was complete. As they were crowded, the pace on the front nine was 2.5 hr, and not a lot better on the back. Pro shop was apologetic about the range availability and threw in a yardage book (ordinarily $15 ??!! – must be gold-laminated). Newer carts are basic but comfortable; no ball washer or cooler, but a very nice VISAGE GPS system that is interactive. Good graphics on the GPS, but it doesn’t tell you where other carts are, which would have been useful on a couple holes with blind shots or hidden areas beyond downslopes. Also, the pin position is shown as front/middle/back (the course uses that rotation), but often doesn’t indicate when pins are pushed well to the side of a middle line.

The putting green didn’t have much slope to it, and was a little fuzzy and bumpy – I think the on-course greens were a little quicker. The course overall was pretty wet and soft when we started, and dried out some as the round progressed. Early on the fairways were fairly wet and soft, getting firmer/drier as the day progressed. Even so, we encountered quite a few areas during the round with apparent sprinkler/drainage issues – these areas were very soft and wet, in some cases being muddy/mushy and a challenge to play from. Alternately, we encountered many thin/dry area in fairways and rough, with almost no cover vegetation. The course doesn’t play very long, but most holes have hazards along one side or are crossed by drainage structures, and the course is in hilly terrain with a lot of mounding and sloped fairways. I recall from my only previous round here that green approaches were heavily watered and soft at that time, as well.

Greens were generally in good condition – no bare spots, generally good turf conditions (some thinner areas), and rolled at medium to medium-fast speeds. They varied in firmness throughout the round, with some accepting shots well and others being firmer and less accepting. Most greens are pitched from back to front, some more steeply than others, and most are reasonably flat, with only scattered tiering and occasional low bowls. Many greens are fronted by steep rises above the fairway leading up to them, and with the wet/soft conditions that makes run-on approaches more difficult.

Fairways generally gave good lies, although we saw scattered wet or bare areas. Many fairways are significantly narrowed by traps or mounding/rough-cutting at the outer limits of good tee shots – hitting past these areas frequently encountered deeper rough, steeper slopes, and significant downslopes into runoff drainage areas. Several fairways, especially on the front nine, could slope significantly toward the vegetated hazards, so you need to be wary as you choose your hitting line. Rough was cut fairly short and very playable, although drainage margins could be much more lush and problematic. We saw lots of old unfilled divots in fairways and rough – there’s a refill rack for sand bottles on the #10 tee, and we used them liberally all day.

Tees were generally level and gave ample playing room. There are several boxes on each hole – some boxes have monuments/plates corresponding to card yardages, and even a picture of the hole features. But I only saw this on 2 or 3 holes – maybe I missed them, or maybe they were a relic of the course opening, and have slowly vanished. Traps were marginal – the fairway bunker on #18 was pretty firm with a thin crusty top layer (OK playability), but the greenside bunkers I was in had thin coverage over a wet heavy base, and you didn’t have much to work with. My playing partner said a couple of greenside traps he was in had deep soft sand – the opposite of my experience. With the rising approaches to semi-plateau greens, some of the fronting bunkers are very deep, with steep faces between you and the greens.

First tee is pretty noisy with driveway, parking lot, putting green, and clubhouse in the immediate proimity. No cart girl - there's a snack bar at the turn. Bathroom on the back nine is a port-o-pottie. Adequate water available. No ranger. Overall a fun day with other GKers, with pretty good course conditions. Recommended with a good price.

Played here in the GK Guru group with Itslikeimsayin, dconnally and Gary00 on a lovely sunny and windy day, with temps in the low - mid 70's. Mike, the starter, was very friendly and answered a few qu... Continue »

Played here in the GK Guru group with Itslikeimsayin, dconnally and Gary00 on a lovely sunny and windy day, with temps in the low - mid 70's. Mike, the starter, was very friendly and answered a few questions I had, and gave some helpful tips on the course. Mark got him to take some pics of our group.

Overall, I really liked this course. While not manicured as tightly as some of the top-end public courses, it was in solid condition in every aspect, and provided decent scoring opportunities (that means pars for me) for a fun round. With a few exceptions, holes are generally straight, but the course has enough fairway bunkers, trees, undulations on the narrow-ish fairways, elevation changes and water on 3 holes to keep it very interesting. The 'hidden' bunkers surrounding #6 green are devious, and you need a pretty long drive on #9 to go for the green in two over the water. The 15th is the one true dog-leg, with a sharp left-turn over water for your second shot.

Played the white tees (6146 yds), and as a short-hitter, was presented with decent opportunities to hit my shorter irons on a handful+ of par fours, instead of always having to hit fairway woods or hybrids, which was nice for a change. Par 3s are generally long - in the 170 yard-range, with the one exception being a 140-yarder, straight into a 2-club wind, and all carry over water! Things did not go well here.

I rated all facets of the course a '6', but gave the tees a 7, as had nothing really to complain about other than a few with excessive divots, and mostly found level lies. Ball sat up nicely in most fairways, but they were sometimes wet from overwatering, creating casual water situations in the the middle of the afternoon!? The grass was a green/brown combo. The one sand trap I was in had a nice soft layer with a firm base.

The mostly medium-sized greens were very green and lush, and you could see from the fairways how much darker green they were than the fairway colouration due to watering. Putting speed was medium for me, sometimes slower. Definitely SLOWER than the practice green. They putted pretty true, but a few greens offered complete mis-read opportunities on the break, for which I took complete advantage of doing so. Some hidden breaks and slope trickeration at hand. ;-) The green on 18 has 3-tiers, and was the largest green front-back, offering me a 100+ foot putt attempt from the bottom tier to the top. Good fun. They still had some remnant tufts/dots of grasses from their aerification last month. I prefer faster greens, so these greens could have been cut a little shorter, imho.

As Mark said, POP was very slow, as we had to wait on nearly every hole. Their scorecard indicates expected cumulative elapsed time for each hole, with a total of 4:20 for the round. We finished the front 9 in about 2hrs 20mins, v. 2:10 and a little worse for the back nine. Still, I didn't mind it, as it was a gorgeous day!

No cart lady on the course, which was a disappointment. They did have some drinking water on the course, but think they could use some more water jugs, particularly on the back nine. I only recall us finding one, just before #16 tee. In the lounge afterwards, was well taken care of by a charming young lady who convinced me to try her home-made potato chips. Be sure to add your choice of seasonings...worth the price of admission right there. Not advised to eat while golfing, lest a club goes flying.

An employee in the pro shop told me that the changes they are making to the driving range started a week ago, and will likely take another two weeks. They are evidently doing some re-grading to accommodate a new practice putting green and other features for a new golf swing measurement and training vendor coming to the facility.

Played a GK Review Guru round with dconnally, gary00 and leef2020 here Wednesday at 11:04. Fun times! We arrived early to use the range, but they were doing some maintenance on it so it was closed all... Continue »

Played a GK Review Guru round with dconnally, gary00 and leef2020 here Wednesday at 11:04. Fun times! We arrived early to use the range, but they were doing some maintenance on it so it was closed all day. We then asked if we could get out early, but they were very busy. They did start us about 10 minutes early, and the pace was pretty slow all day. Total POP was 4:55. Partly cloudy skies when we arrived gave way to clear blue skies by the time we started. It got pretty windy a few times, but overall a very pleasant weather day. The course is in good/decent condition overall. Greens are mostly smooth, although they seemed to get a little bumpy later in the day. They were more firm than soft, as I had a hard time getting shots to stop quickly. They ran about medium speed. A few greens (No. 4 comes to mind) had some pretty major bare spots near the edge. Fairways have mostly good coverage. Some are a mix of grasses and others are more pure looking. Overall good fairway lies all day. Rough had good coverage (for the most part; some bare spots here and there) and was fairly short and not very penal. Blue tee boxes were good, maybe the best conditioned part of the course right now. I was in four bunkers: One behind the 12th green was damp and hard packed, and my footprints barely made any tracks. The two fairway bunkers I was in were both good. The greenside bunker short-right of No. 17 was really nice.