One word, Rockhardgreens. Very fast with lots of slope. course is doing great, pace of play was good on a fairly crowded afternoon. Try to avoid the natural mounds off the fairway and greenside, most ... Continue »

One word, Rockhardgreens. Very fast with lots of slope. course is doing great, pace of play was good on a fairly crowded afternoon. Try to avoid the natural mounds off the fairway and greenside, most are heavy rough with verticle lips.. big trouble. Had a good front nine with almost two hole in ones on #8 and one on the back on #11. Both hit the pin on the bounce, birdied 8 and three putted for bogey on #11.

If you like smooth hard fast greens, play Monarch Dunes. I live in the area that has quality golf courses and this is my favorite. What's fun about this course is the options you have hitting into t... Continue »

If you like smooth hard fast greens, play Monarch Dunes. I live in the area that has quality golf courses and this is my favorite. What's fun about this course is the options you have hitting into the greens. You can run your shot up or aim for slopes on the green and let your ball filter towards the hole. Pay special attention to pin placements. Check out their Royal Rewards program for discounted green fees or EZlinks.com for tee times and specials .

Went out mid-day Saturday. Would have been a threesome, but the other two didn't show, so I was on my own. The starter warned me the greens wouldn't hold, and he was right. I don't know what PGA-level... Continue »

Went out mid-day Saturday. Would have been a threesome, but the other two didn't show, so I was on my own. The starter warned me the greens wouldn't hold, and he was right. I don't know what PGA-level greens are like, but I'm guessing they pretty darn similar. I really enjoyed the pace of play on my round until I caught the twosome in front of me. My front nine took under 1:30. The marshall suggested that since no one was behind me, I should play around, try some extra shots, work on my putting on the greens, etc. Really nice staff. The course seemed to be in really fantastic shape. Some of the blind shots were a challenge, as the photocopied layout wasn't as accurate as I'd have liked (one hole shows a split fairway with rough where there is actually fairway), but it was okay. On a couple of holes you just have to pay attention to the 150 marker pole looking pretty close and realizing it's a short par 4 before your mistakenly crank away with your driver--like the ninth hole. It could definitely benefit from GPS or a good yardage book, but now I'm being picky.

This is the newest course (January 2006) in the Central Coast. It's "across the road" from BlackLake in Nipomo. The back nine is loaded with dunes (hence the name)...and requires some know-how when ... Continue »

This is the newest course (January 2006) in the Central Coast. It's "across the road" from BlackLake in Nipomo. The back nine is loaded with dunes (hence the name)...and requires some know-how when it comes to target golf.
The front nine lets you stretch your drives.
All the greens are fast and true. Very, very short grass on the greens, which leads to some not-so-pretty divots.
The surroundings are beautiful. You feel like you're playing somewhere special on all 18 holes.
At 10 a.m. I went out as a single (ahead of a group of 12). Caught up with a twosome at the 4th hole, and we hooked up the rest of the way. Nobody in front of us for about 10 holes!
I drive up to San Luis Obispo every two months to visit my grandkids, and play various courses in the Central Coast. Now, Monarch Dunes is on my must-play list every trip.

Played twice: once a week after opening and once in mid-May. Now that carts are allowed to cross fairways, pace of play will pick up. Staff is remarkable, prices are a little high for the area but ... Continue »

Played twice: once a week after opening and once in mid-May. Now that carts are allowed to cross fairways, pace of play will pick up. Staff is remarkable, prices are a little high for the area but a real bargain when compared to Southern or Northern California. It's all about the greens - firm (hard) but fair; very speedy; roll true but breaks are incredibly subtle many times. Keep the ball below the hole or pay dearly on the score card. Some blind shots make the course almost unfair until you've played it a couple of times and can remember where to aim.

Teed off late afternoon on Jul 2. Well, I was really looking forward to playing this course b/c of some of the positive comments on this board, and my review will consist of The Good, The Bad, and Th... Continue »

Teed off late afternoon on Jul 2. Well, I was really looking forward to playing this course b/c of some of the positive comments on this board, and my review will consist of The Good, The Bad, and The Neutral. First, The Good: This is a top notch facility - from the parking lot, to the clubhouse and the range. It's big, clean and best of all, it has the benefit of a superior climate. Cool ocean breezes prevail among gently rolling hills. Plus, it's fairly remote - another plus. The conditioning is fantastic - from the tee boxes to the greens, it's all top notch. The greens were terrific; when we were getting ready to tee off, a couple of regulars warned us that the greens weren't receptive, i.e., be prepared to see some nice iron shots bounce off. Well, they obviously haven't played rock-hard greens (see Angeles National in LA County) because we found these greens to be very fair and very, very smooth. The rough was fair and manageable, and the bunkers actually had plenty of sand in them. The superintendent should be proud of his efforts here. Now for The Bad: It's a young facility, but they've either got to put GPS in the carts or at least sell a yardage book that shows the course layout. This is a tough course with a lot of blind shots, and it was incredibly frustrating to have no idea as to where to hit the ball. It was basically hit and hope for much of the round. I was reduced to taking the opposite approach: if I felt it was way left, it was actually close to the hole, and if I felt I hit it stiff, it was way left. You get the picture. No GPS, no hole diagram on the cheap paper scorecard, and no hole diagram on the tee boxes. The starter did try to help - he gave us what appeared to be a very hard to read 20th generation xerox copy of the real estate developer's map of home lots...with the hole diagrams sketched in there. Nice. As for yardages, some, but not all, sprinkler heads had yardages on them. This is a course that has a lot of elevation changes and blind shots, so yardage and direction are critical. Hopefully, there will be a little more help the next time we play here. Continuing with the BAD...the houses. They ring the course and in many instances, are right on top of you. I mean, there were a few holes where if the residents all decided to sit on their patio at the same time, you'd have a PGA gallery. Jesus. On a couple of tee boxes, we were watching TV with the residents and could see what was in the fridge. Worst - the homes weren't even that attractive. The developers really crammed the homes together - there's a sliver of sunlight between these lot lines. On the backside, we finished playing a par 3, and then watched a couple guys leave the patio in their flip flops, grab a couple of clubs, and then tee off behind us. The time to play this place is NOW because once everyone moves in, it's gonna be like an LA muni. Lastly, the NEUTRAL: The course layout is slightly above average. A lot of blind shots. The climate and what remains of the trees gives this place a good feel, but they cleared so many trees that what remains feels almost artificial. The strategy and hole designs are, in my view, fairly pedestrian. What makes the course more interesting though are the green complexes. Terrific undulations and chipping areas. Very challenging and fair too. Conclusion: We paid $57 to ride - it's a good value for that price, but I can't help but feel our Calif coastline deserved better because when you drive up here, you feel this region could be really special, and then when you see what the developer has done to a great piece of land...well, it is pretty sad. I'd play here again though based on the course conditioning.

Overall it was a great time, when the course matures it will be a definate must play. The wind will come up and make it a tough test as it did when I was there, but hey thats golf.

Overall it was a great time, when the course matures it will be a definate must play. The wind will come up and make it a tough test as it did when I was there, but hey thats golf.

PLayed in a tourney on 6-15, wonderful staff, very accomidating and first class. The course was fast and dry in good condition and a heck of a lot of wind today. Greens are fast but true, make sure yo... Continue »

PLayed in a tourney on 6-15, wonderful staff, very accomidating and first class. The course was fast and dry in good condition and a heck of a lot of wind today. Greens are fast but true, make sure you get on the right side of these greens or your in for a long day of putting. They are allowing carts in the fairways now, not sure I like it due to it taking a lot of lushness away from the fairways. This course is not difficult to walk, and I would recommend you walk just to get a good feel of this great links style course.

the course is beautiful. Makes you think and place the ball. Distance isn't everything here. If you plan and use your course management skills, you will score low. If it's windy, its even more imp... Continue »

the course is beautiful. Makes you think and place the ball. Distance isn't everything here. If you plan and use your course management skills, you will score low. If it's windy, its even more important. Take the drive, it is well worth it