I played Biltmore yesterday morning joining two locals and another single. This course is marketed as one of the highlight courses in Miami so I was curious to see if it lived up to its billing. Things didn’t start off very well regarding customer service. First off the service in the restaurant was some of the worse I’ve had in years. The food was average at best. Oh... » More

I played Biltmore yesterday morning joining two locals and another single. This course is marketed as one of the highlight courses in Miami so I was curious to see if it lived up to its billing. Things didn’t start off very well regarding customer service. First off the service in the restaurant was some of the worse I’ve had in years. The food was average at best. Oh well, on to the pro shop. Not much better there. She couldn’t find my reservation even after I showed her a screenshot of my booking confirmation. We got through that but there were a couple of other issues. One, you have to pay for parking in the parking lot. However, you can scan a code in the pro shop and they will comp you the parking. But not if you have already paid for your parking. This information would have been helpful to have on the website and in the parking lot. Two, the online price indicates that a cart is included. Negative, carts are extra. I’m all for a walking price and a cart price, just be clear about it. Next came range balls. I inquired about range balls and she said there was a ball dispenser on the back side of the shack near the range. She was correct, except you have to have a code which you get when you pay for range balls in the pro shop.

On to the actual course itself. Overall, not a bad layout. They have a few creative holes in what is a mainly a parkland setting. Fairways are generously wide on most holes with some well placed trees and plenty of fairway bunkers to keep you honest. For the most part the fairway bunkers weren’t an issue. I was in a few of them and no problem getting out and reaching the green. The fairways at Biltmore were very nice. Lush and green and easily the best I’ve played since being here in Florida. I’d rate the fairways at a strong 7 or weak 8.

Greens were a different story. One of the members said the greens were in horrible shape and needed a complete overhaul. At first I thought wow this guy has high standards as the greens weren’t bad at all. Then we ran into some that had some bad patches but the pin was kept away from those areas. As the day progressed I started realizing all of the greens had some serious disease, brown spots and general ugliness. I will say that the grounds crew did a good job staying away from the bad areas with the pin placements. The greens rolled at a medium pace.

Tee boxes were in bad shape. Obviously a different grass was used for the tee boxes and it is struggling to survive. A lot of the tee boxes had recently been filled with sand to try and get them back into shape. There was enough good coverage on the par 3’s to find a good clean hitting surface.

There was one water hazard in the form of a man made canal that runs through about 6-7 of the holes. There was about 2 forced carries over the water with the rest being lateral hazards. Not the most creative use of water hazards but not the worst either.

Overall, this was a decent course that at the walking resident rate (they will check for ID) it’s worth it. The extra fees for cart, parking and range balls make it a so so and the rack rate for visitors takes it off my “recommendation” list for sure.
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Was able to get out early this AM. Walked for $18 Sr rate. POP 3H.

Course is in really nice shape at the moment.

No tee box issues.

Fairways clean and giving good lies and roll out on all holes.

Rough was not very high nor very penal easily able to advance ones ball.

Traps were all clean, playable and heard no complaints.
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Was able to get out early this AM. Walked for $18 Sr rate. POP 3H.

Course is in really nice shape at the moment.

No tee box issues.

Fairways clean and giving good lies and roll out on all holes.

Rough was not very high nor very penal easily able to advance ones ball.

Traps were all clean, playable and heard no complaints.

Greens were clean and chipped/putted just fine all round. Not very big or undualting but had good speed and I did not see nor repair any ball marks (wow).

Good customer service from all I came in contact with.

Nice course to play that does not wear you out if you like to walk and have a good POP.
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April 2026 played after aeration two weeks ago. Greens were extremely bumpy and slow. If you enjoy (Golf) as much as I do and appreciate good putting I would stay away from here for at least a month and give them a chance to get the greens in shape.

Played ‘AB’-North Thursday afternoon on a perfect day, weather-wise, despite having to deal with a steady two-club wind that, more often than not, was not in our favor. Also took a full five hours (teed off @ 1:06PM) to complete the round due to periodic waiting on the front side and a snail’s pace back nine where we waited on every single tee box.

Condition-wise, cour... » More

Played ‘AB’-North Thursday afternoon on a perfect day, weather-wise, despite having to deal with a steady two-club wind that, more often than not, was not in our favor. Also took a full five hours (teed off @ 1:06PM) to complete the round due to periodic waiting on the front side and a snail’s pace back nine where we waited on every single tee box.

Condition-wise, course is in overall decent shape but I strongly recommend staying away until next week’s aeration process has been completed and the greens have sufficient time to heal. I’d give them at least three weeks but that may depend on what type of weather kicks off the month of May.

While I didn’t have any issue with how the greens rolled yesterday…although I felt they were a touch slower than usual…the number of unrepaired ball marks was eye-opening. There were some areas on certain greens that looked like someone hit a shag bag of balls during a practice session yet didn’t bother to repair the resulting damage.

I’m not sure if it’s due to the heavy amount of play the course gets, the Member-Member/Member-Guest that was held on Tuesday, or the ABWC that played earlier Thursday, but it was so irritating to see this level of imperfection on the putting surfaces. Knowing the greens are going to be done next week, do people think fixing their ball marks a few days ahead of the process simply doesn’t matter?

Also want to mention that quite a few front aprons have already been punched and sanded while other greens were being heavily watered in preparation for the same. Needless to say, it served as a bit of a surprise since some of these areas can’t be seen from the fairway. And then there’s the problem of having to deal with above-ground hoses and sprinklers strewn around the fronts of the greens.

Tee boxes were in good shape although a few could use a light sanding in order to level them out. I found myself having to search for a spot where either my ball and/or driver weren’t sitting in a slight depression.

Fairways were healthy with full coverage outside of a few isolated spots that were turfed yet a bit thin in density. Still, nothing a well-executed swing couldn’t handle. And with the exception of the aprons I mentioned, other fringe areas were in very good shape. As always, the rough is thick and brutal to play out of.

Traps were good although the sand played a little ‘heavier’ than I would prefer. As I recall, the texture used to be a bit firmer a year or two ago but may have lost that characteristic as time goes on. Just conjecture on my part.

So, if you decide to get a round in this weekend, you’ve been forewarned. Another thing to note is that, in the future, I will refrain from playing the week before any scheduled maintenance due to the work that takes place in advance of the green aeration. I understand it’s a necessity but now that I’m aware of the preliminary process, I’ll think better of it.
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I am spending some time up here in Pismo and decided to play Monarch Dunes which I haven’t played in a few years. I have played this course many times but on this most recent outing they charge 125 to walk and 150 to ride during the week and 175 to ride on the weekends. It’s considerably less if you live here and you’re a senior citizen. Before I get to the review, regardless ... » More

I am spending some time up here in Pismo and decided to play Monarch Dunes which I haven’t played in a few years. I have played this course many times but on this most recent outing they charge 125 to walk and 150 to ride during the week and 175 to ride on the weekends. It’s considerably less if you live here and you’re a senior citizen. Before I get to the review, regardless of where this course is located for the price they are charging there should be a GPS system detailing course and green views why they don’t have it is beyond me. On to the review, the course design is really great in my opinion but today so many areas are roped off so there is more walking involved which is fine but it just slows down play. Most of the tee boxes are fine, some are a little scruffy but for the most part level and ok. Fairways are ok but again at this price point it should be way nicer, maybe not desert nice but a lot nicer than what it is, I mean some of the fairways remind me of El Dorado or Lakewood. Lots of unkept rough or dead tree limbs and dead grass which start to creep up into the fairway. Greens are firm with little to no ball marks and roll probably 9-10 on the stimpmeter. We teed off at 10:45 and were a twosome and didn’t see anyone until hole 6 and I noticed a lot of private carts so maybe that’s a good thing because the course probably has a strong membership. Bunkers were nice and soft and very fluffy and easily to play from. All in all I enjoyed myself and I played here mostly out of nostalgia but at their rate I’ll stick with my memories and choose other very good options that are close by. Would recommend if only one has a deal of some sort of discount..
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