Played Saturday 10/23.
This is a very good course for the area. While the layout and variety of the the holes is good, the closeness to home and condition of some of the holes are the qualities from making it an excellent course. Luckily, the email newsletter from the course provided a $10 discount on the green fee, otherwise, the course is not worth the rate that it charges. It should be closer to $40 rather than $70 for the weekend.
The course is set in an area that would appear to close down with any amount of rainfall, which is why the cost is higher than the quality of the course. The water, the hazards and the views of the course makes the Eagle Crest a better than average course. The marshalls were constantly providing updates on the slow play conditions (3 times on the front nine) and were very helpful in letting us know that it would clear up by the back nine.

I would like to play the course in the future for the right price. It is hard too believe that the course remains open much during the rainy season as many holes on the front nine are in low areas that creeks and small streams run fairly close to the course. This was just a few days after rain and it was quite muddy and had to remain on the cart path for almost half of the front nine holes.

Played on Saturday 1/24/04 as part of a group outing. The staff was very accommodating as we had members of our group (16) arrive almost too late.

For all of the positive comments and reviews that I have seen about this course, I was definitely disappointed by the course after playing it that day. For the price and location, I expected a lusher course that would provide a memorable experience of a course that I would be anxious to play again and again. Unfortunately, what I came upon was a course with good to great hole designs that were spread out and put together in a manner that seemed a little haphazard through the first several holes.

While I wouldn't like to hit more irons from the tee than my driver, this did not bother me on this day as I felt it enhanced the challenges of the course (forced carries, water and narrow fairway). There weren't too many wide fairways and the greens varied in size and slope. I remember that most greens had difficult pin positions (the course list 6 areas for every green), and the greens putted very true to several tendencies. Water borders several fairways and greens, and the threat of a watery grave (for my golf balls) crept into my thoughts a little too much for comfort.

The course didn't appear to be in the best of conditions, which could have been due to the fires of fall 2003 or just the time of year. Blind tee shots are OK, however, there were too many instances that you could mistakenly pepper the group in front of you (friends or not). A bridge taking you from one hole to another is a nice rustic touch, but when it is over 75 feet high, longer than 100 yards, and has more turns than the carnival roller coaster, it is more danger aspect than a scenery enhancement (My question is what happens when planks, rails or sidings get knocked out, do they shut down the route until it is properly fixed or do they hope that no one notices?).

I was impressed with challenging hole layouts, smooth greens and attentive course marshals. I was unimpressed with the pro shop/clubhouse and the overall condition of the course (lushness). I was very disappointed with the experience (for the price) and the course layout (unable to reasonably walk this course).

It is hard to give a not recommend to any course that may be in its "down" period. However, I can say that if I don't play the course again, it wouldn't bother me. Unlike Steele Canyon and Torrey Pines, I have great desires to play either of those courses, again.

Considering all of the hype, I really wasn't "stunned" by the course.
"Ike" was closed, so that caused there to be a lot more golfers out on the course. That made for a 5+ hour round as we were sandwiched by golfers zigzaging their shots across the fairways. We had at least one group waiting on every tee through the first 11 holes (3 groups waiting on #7).
The course layout and design is a good test as you have various targets in the fairway to aim your tee shot. Varied hole lengths and small greens give the course a very distinctive feel. The greens putted fast and were undulating enough to provide real challenges. Most pin positions were in the corners of the green, which made approaches to the green something to handle with care.
The weekday rate would be acceptable for the weekend as I consider the course to be valued in the $50 range. Upgrades would be in order for the starter/marshall (spread out groups), on the course food service carts (looked like they used box tops to hold items), better protection/screening for tee boxes near greens. I would definitely like to play it again and I would hope for a better experience.

This is a good course with contrasting nines that make the experience worthwhile for the price. Played on weekend of 8/30 and the pace was slow, but this allowed for better enjoyment of the course meandering through homes and over hills. Appreciated the long and short holes and loved the changes in elevation on the back side that brought clubs and course strategy into play.
Very disappointed by the greens on the front side with numerous ball marks and scarred spots. Greens were very hard and fast that made approach shots difficult to hold. Fairways were in decent shape and bunkers had even sand consistency.
Service was great; beverage carts came around plenty of times; could use more water containers on the back nine. It is definitely worth the weekday rate; the weekend rate would be a bargain if the course was in better shape.