Played here today (Saturday 7/2) with a 2:15 tee time. I just happened to see a single available on Thursday morning. $39 walking rate. Paired with 3 ... » More

Played here today (Saturday 7/2) with a 2:15 tee time. I just happened to see a single available on Thursday morning. $39 walking rate. Paired with 3 other singles and we started right on time. Two rode, me and another guy walked. By the fourth hole, we could see the foursome two groups ahead had the entire par 5 fifth hole open in front of them. They let the twosome in front of us play through but we waited on them all day, but POP was still solid at just under four and a half hours. Beautiful day and always nice to beat the heat in San Clemente, although it was a little warm and slightly humid today.

Conditions are mixed. Greens are in great condition and far and away the highlight. They are smooth, medium-fast and medium firmness. Full shots generally took a small hop and then stopped quickly. Fairways are mostly good condition (sometimes great) but nearly all holes have occasional browning in spots. The rough is not that great with a mix of decent grass, clumpy grass, weeds/clover, and bare spots. I wasn't in any bunkers but they looked pretty good. The first few tee boxes were terrible (weeds and/or clover seemed to be the only thing growing) but they got progressively better further into the course. Glad to be able to tee it up.

I hadn't played here since February, and the back tee on 16 has reopened after a rather tall pine tree was planted on the front left of the tee box to prevent people from trying to cut the corner too much. Glad to see that box open. Never a bad day at the SC Muni! Recommended.
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This might sound stupid, because I've never been to Scotland let alone played the Old Course. But when I'm at Olivas Links, I sense that it's a simila... » More

This might sound stupid, because I've never been to Scotland let alone played the Old Course. But when I'm at Olivas Links, I sense that it's a similar feeling to playing St. Andrews. I love the long views across almost the entire course broken up by colorful natural areas, and the late afternoon sunlight brings out so much character in the contours. So it's no surprise I had a great time at the GK Plays Sunday afternoon. Great company with Johnny, Kevin, and Jeff!

Conditions are excellent. Greens are smooth, medium to medium-fast speed, and accepted full shots well. Fairways have good coverage and provided good lies all day. Fairways and rough were green and mostly great, although I did see some occasional bare spots in the rough. Blue tee boxes were good. I don't believe I was in a bunker but they looked good for the most part.

Every time I play here, I wish I lived closer so I could get out here more often. Highly recommended. Thank you Johnny and all the sponsors for the great prizes! Love my new Linksoul tee and polo.
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Played here with a 7:10 tee time Sunday morning. Three of us rode while one person in our group walked. Started a few minutes late and pace was pretty... » More

Played here with a 7:10 tee time Sunday morning. Three of us rode while one person in our group walked. Started a few minutes late and pace was pretty slow at about 4:50. No long waits, but just a busy course on a weekend morning. Perfect weather to start but by about 10:00 a.m. it was very hot.

Conditions are very good. Greens are smooth, medium speed and held full shots well. I found them tricky to read, over-reading some breaks and significantly under-reading others. Greens on Nos. 8 & 9 had many problem spots in some areas, but they seemed to place the pins strategically to avoid those areas. Fairways were fantastic, and so was the primary rough. The natural areas farther offline can provide some real challenges for finding balls. Bunkers had very nice sand. Orange tee boxes were good; no complaints.

This was only my second time here. I really enjoy the layout and the gorgeous setting. I didn't remember so many power lines visible from the course, however. Definitely recommended.
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Played here Tuesday 6/21 with a 7:39 TeeOff.com "Deal" time booked about a month in advance. They offer three or four Deal times each day, and they va... » More

Played here Tuesday 6/21 with a 7:39 TeeOff.com "Deal" time booked about a month in advance. They offer three or four Deal times each day, and they vary wildly in price. This one was only $53 or so, while I think I saw others that went all the way up to $111. So if you're interested in playing here, look carefully and book early and you may find a very good price. Arrived around 6:45, smooth check in both outside with the cart attendant and inside the pro shop. When I said I didn't need to hit balls, the pro shop guy suggested maybe they could move me up, and the starter outside obliged, slotting me in at 7:07 with another single. Pace was pretty good at about 2 hours for the front nine and a little more for the back for a total of about 4:10. Saw the beverage cart at least twice and also water jugs were out every few holes. There is a cooler full of ice on each cart, and also two cups for the water jugs.

Conditions are really nice. Greens are mostly smooth, medium to medium fast speed and accept spinning shots well. They're a bit tricky to read and it seems more greens than is typical run away from the approach angle. (Either visual trickery or actual phenomenon, I'm not positive.) Fairways are good with some less-than-good spots here and there, but mostly very green grass in great condition providing excellent lies. The rough is the highlight among conditions, beautiful lush green, uniformly cut rye that's about 2-3 inches deep. Sometimes the ball sat up on top and other times it sunk down in. Obviously it was more penal when it sunk down in. Also the rough is so lush, you need to make a fully committed swing at the ball. I tried to just smooth a 4 iron for my second shot of the day (layup on par-5 first) and the rough turned my clubface over and I pulled it OB. I was in quite a few bunkers and all of them except one were great. The other one seemed a bit neglected and much more compacted, so I just played that almost like a hardpan shot. Black tee boxes were good, not great. Some are a little beat up and/or not level.

This was my third time playing the course. One of the big knocks is the disjointed routing, and it really hit home today with all the long, awkward drives between holes and the cart path also pretty much backtracks the length of an additional par 3. I seemed to remember the layout more fondly than I enjoyed it this time. There are some great backdrops provided by the nearby Red Rock Canyon and a few Strip views in spots. There are also lots of electrical power lines that sort of negate the good views in spots. (Looking at you, signature par-3 7th.) Overall it's a fine course but no real "wow" moments except maybe the 16th tee is quite attractive. I'm glad to see they're back to starting on No. 1 instead of No. 7.

The only minor gripe I'd mention is the GPS. About four or five times during the round, it somehow reset itself and started showing yardages for the private Mountain course instead of the public Arroyo course. Each time it took nearly a hole to finally figure things out on its own and revert to the correct hole. It also displayed some incorrect pin positions, which impacted the yardages because they are to the pin, not the middle. Hopefully they can address those GPS issues and get them straightened out.
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Played here today with a 2:10 tee time booked a few weeks ahead of time. Paid $16 more at check-in for a cart (feared it'd be too hot to walk today, b... » More

Played here today with a 2:10 tee time booked a few weeks ahead of time. Paid $16 more at check-in for a cart (feared it'd be too hot to walk today, but it actually turned out not too bad). Started right on time and pace was excellent for a Rustic weekend. Two members of my foursome bailed after nine but that didn't allow us to speed up too much, just a little more waiting on the group ahead on the back nine. Overall POP was around 4:20.

Conditions are great! Greens are smooth, medium speed and medium firmness. I'd prefer them a bit faster, but otherwise they're in excellent condition. As mentioned in other reviews, fairways are lusher and greener than I remember seeing them in the last couple years, providing good lies with plenty of cushion under the ball. As usual here, rough around the greens is very lush. The rough alongside the fairway varies in depth and severity. I think I was in three bunkers and they were all quite compacted, but not terribly so. Blue tee boxes were really nice.

Beautiful day on one of my favorite courses in excellent condition. What's not to like?
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