Played 10-22-20 with Alex326, teeing off around 10am and finishing in about four hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, semi-lush and mostly level with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways we... Continue »

Played 10-22-20 with Alex326, teeing off around 10am and finishing in about four hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, semi-lush and mostly level with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways were nice and green with good roll out and nice lies with good cushioning. Rough was cut a little longer than fairways and in good condition. Was in one greenside bunkers that had a good layer of nice brown sand. Greens were in good shape holding shots and rolling medium/slow. Overall course was in good shape and well worth a trip to play.

Played Monarch Dunes this morning for only the second time ever. In fact the only other time I’ve played here was 5 ½ years ago a month after I first started playing golf. We tee’d off just before ... Continue »

Played Monarch Dunes this morning for only the second time ever. In fact the only other time I’ve played here was 5 ½ years ago a month after I first started playing golf. We tee’d off just before 10AM in cool damp overcast weather. We finished in the same conditions. Never saw the sun all day but there also wasn’t any wind.

The course is a great design. Lot’s off elevation changes throughout plus several water hazards to negotiate along the way. A couple of the par three’s have forced carries over the water and other holes have water left and right to make shot placement key. The course does have some quirky fairway bunkering both in the middle of the fairways and on the edges. I managed to avoid all bunkers (fairway and greenside) during the round, but they could easily put a hurt on your score.

Conditions were nice all around. The course is built within a housing development which is off the beaten path so the entire place has it’s own little private community type feeling.

Greens are spacious with numerous tiers and undulations. Greens rolled smooth for the most part and rolled at a medium-slow speed. We were a bit shocked at the speed and thought they would be rolling at a much fast pace. The greens had a few pitch marks here and there but nothing major.

Fairways were green and damp but offered decent roll out. Fairways are very similar to those at Bayonet/Blackhorse so you have to be comfortable hitting off of thin lies. Tee boxes were green and lush but a couple did have some lumps and humps in them.

Nice staff in the pro shop and all around. There is a nice outside deck area for eating as SLO county still does not allow indoor dining.

COVID: Shared cart which has plastic barrier between the two riders. Masks required inside the pro shop. Putting green open with no flags in. Range was on mats today. Pins had plastic rings about halfway down in the cup. Cart did have bottles of sand.

Definitely an enjoyable course worth the admission price (especially with the golf moose voucher for two players). I can say that I’m very confident that I will play it again and a lot sooner than five years from now.

Played 11-24-19 in the morning, joining a threesome and finishing in a little under four hours with minimal waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, cut tight and mostly level with some minor divot dama... Continue »

Played 11-24-19 in the morning, joining a threesome and finishing in a little under four hours with minimal waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, cut tight and mostly level with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in good shape, semi-lush with nice roll out and good lies. Rough was not to long and in good condition with some thicker spots around some of the greens. Was not in any bunkers but they looked to be in good shape. Greens were in really good shape, semi-firm, smooth and fast, just a pleasure to putt on. Have always liked the layout of the course, wish it was a little closer. Highly recommend playing this course.

Walked the Golds (6337/70.9/130) with Mike, Doris and Joe in slightly more than 4 1/2 H mid morning. Overcast, fairly calm and around 65. The tees were average. Good coverage, but some could use le... Continue »

Walked the Golds (6337/70.9/130) with Mike, Doris and Joe in slightly more than 4 1/2 H mid morning. Overcast, fairly calm and around 65. The tees were average. Good coverage, but some could use leveling and many needed some divot attention. The fairways were semi lush with a good cushion, but far too many unfixed divots. The rough was hit and miss. Close to the fairway was not very high, but there is plenty of thick/deep native rough to avoid here. The sand traps look like brown dirt/mud but play better than average. The large poa greens putted medium speed & were firm. Large greens, you need to be able to lag putt well here. Hilly course, excellent layout, good variety of holes. Lots of tall trees with enough water and sand to keep you on your toes. Good customer service from all encountered. No drink cart today. Recommended.

Played 7-4-19 on there 4th of July special for $45 including cart, teeing off at 7am and finishing in about 3 hours.Tee boxes in good shape, nice coverage and mostly level. fairways were very nice, lu... Continue »

Played 7-4-19 on there 4th of July special for $45 including cart, teeing off at 7am and finishing in about 3 hours.Tee boxes in good shape, nice coverage and mostly level. fairways were very nice, lush with great lies. Rough was mostly cut to a uniform length about an inch longer than fairways but there were some spots that were a little longer and thicker. Was not in any bunkers but they looked in good shape. Greens were in real nice shape, rolling a little on the slow side but smooth and semi-soft. Fun challenging course with a good variety of holes. Definitely worth playing.

Monarch was cool at 8:00, and I kept my jacket on until the 18th hole. The five hour pace of play was due to the foursome in front of us, no one in front of them as far as the eye could see and no mar... Continue »

Monarch was cool at 8:00, and I kept my jacket on until the 18th hole. The five hour pace of play was due to the foursome in front of us, no one in front of them as far as the eye could see and no marshalls around. Overall the course was in good condition, but it's usually better. The greens were unusually slow and there were move divots in the fairways than I experience at this course.

Played 6-12-19 with Nick, first out walking on a very foggy morning with limited visibility on the front nine and clearing up for a very nice day on the back. Tee boxes were in good shape, having good... Continue »

Played 6-12-19 with Nick, first out walking on a very foggy morning with limited visibility on the front nine and clearing up for a very nice day on the back. Tee boxes were in good shape, having good coverage but I did have to search for a level stance on quite a few of them, maybe due to where the tee markers were. Fairways were very nice, lush with great lies and decent roll out. Rough along fairways was in good shape, not to long and fairly easy to hit from, outside of that you could get some bad lies in the native dunes areas from long to bare. Was not in any bunkers but they looked in good shape and playing partner said they played nice. Greens were in really good shape, medium soft and nice to putt on rolling medium/fast and true. Fun course on the central coast with a great layout and really good customer service.

Walked the Golds (6337/70.9/130) with RGM2525 in 4H early morning. The front 9 was "hit it and hope" because of thick fog. Visibility was maybe 50 yards when we started and was up to a hazy 175 yards ... Continue »

Walked the Golds (6337/70.9/130) with RGM2525 in 4H early morning. The front 9 was "hit it and hope" because of thick fog. Visibility was maybe 50 yards when we started and was up to a hazy 175 yards by the end of the front 9. It ended up being a nice day, fairly calm, around 75 and partly cloudy. However, $69 to walk on a Wednesday morning was sticker shock! The tees were okay, mostly level with many needing some divot love. The fairways were good to play from. Semi lush with a good cushion. The rough was hit and miss. Close to the fairway was not very high, but there is plenty of thick/deep native rough to avoid here. The sand traps were wet but played okay. I sampled more than my share during the period we were hitting in the "general direction" of the green due to the lack of visibility. The large poa greens putted medium fast & were firm. Very nice! Very undulating greens even when they appeared to be fairly flat, difficult to read subtle breaks. It had been almost 8 years since I last played here. They have reversed the 9's. Overall, excellent course and layout. Good customer service from all encountered. Recommended.

Played today walking up as a single around 10:30. Had called yesterday to get an idea of how crowded the tee sheet was going to be (busy this morning, open after 10).
Weather was partly cloudy with a... Continue »

Played today walking up as a single around 10:30. Had called yesterday to get an idea of how crowded the tee sheet was going to be (busy this morning, open after 10).
Weather was partly cloudy with a 10-15mph wind on the front 9 turning into a 30mph wind on the back 9. Course was in good shape. Fairways lush with good coverage. Rough consistent and not too penal. Tee boxes flat with limited divot damage outside the shorter par 3s. Bunkers pretty good with soft, heavy sand. Greens had lots of Poa buds but were somehow consistent, just on the slow side. After years of playing here I find the fairways, rough, bunkers, and tee boxes don't change much through the year so you pretty much know what you're going to get. Greens have a bit more variance from round to round and were surprisingly receptive this time around. POP was right around 4.5 hrs, slowing down once I hit a few groups on the back 9 and the wind started to really get up.