Monthly golf group back out at Meadowlark this past weekend and the course is in pretty good shape overall tee to green.

You're going to find good coverage in the fairways, some nice greens that h... Continue »

Monthly golf group back out at Meadowlark this past weekend and the course is in pretty good shape overall tee to green.

You're going to find good coverage in the fairways, some nice greens that hold shots well and roll pretty true (albeit not too fast and some wild pin positions on these tiny greens), very playable rough and some slightly beat-up tee boxes and bunkers. I wouldn't say any one particular aspect of the course stood out above any other, so that's pretty consistent I guess.

I would say there are two major gripes - POP and the driving range. Quite frankly, it's very frustrating that a pretty 'short' course like Meadowlark can take just under six hours to play a full round. I just don't get it. Our first of four groups out had nothing but delays in front of them all afternoon and it just got jammed up on about every single hole.

Also, the driving range is just in dire need of some TLC all across the board. The balls are in rough shape, the mats are beat up and there's just nothing inviting about the dirt landing area and the range balls everywhere flying through massive holes in the nets. I can't imagine there aren't any practical things they could do to improve this area.

But hey, at least there was cart service on a busy Saturday and there is a nice little snack shop that you can easily access on the front nine (between holes 6 and 7) and also when you're done with the front nine on the 9th hole. That's a bonus.

Still a fun, challenging little shorter course because of the small, turtleback greens and some of its unexpected elevation changes, mostly on the back nine. Always a fun visit.

Had not played Meadowlark since 2016, so was looking forward to returning. While not the greatest of courses, there are several interesting holes on this executive course, which are fun to play. Let m... Continue »

Had not played Meadowlark since 2016, so was looking forward to returning. While not the greatest of courses, there are several interesting holes on this executive course, which are fun to play. Let me say that when you're old, and 7 years pass, even these short little courses become more of a challenge. I sure don't hit the same clubs into the greens that I remember hitting.

We were second off on a very uncrowded morning behind a twosome in a cart. We were a walking threesome and had several holes we had to wait on? The greens rolled well and had decent speed. Fairways had good coverage as well. The greenside bunkers were not good, wet compacted sand at best. Most of the tee boxes were just fine. All and all it was a fun round and except for the fact the course played much harder than I recall it playing, a nice way to begin the week. I'm sure if I return again in seven more years, it will feel even longer

Played Meadowlark this weekend with my monthly golf group. Although it's a very short course, it's still quite difficult to score well here due to the many turtle-back greens which make holding shots ... Continue »

Played Meadowlark this weekend with my monthly golf group. Although it's a very short course, it's still quite difficult to score well here due to the many turtle-back greens which make holding shots quite challenging. There are other factors as well contributing to those difficulties, but just don't expect a picnic on the greens.

Our group always plays from the white tees, and this Saturday was no different. We had four groups altogether and went out at 9am. We then proceeded to pretty much wait on every single hole and had numerous tee boxes at least 2-3 groups deep. We always have fun so it was hardly noticed but by the time we finished up on 18, it was 2:30pm. That's dreadful.

Fortunately there was a nice cart service coming around many times during the day, and the weather was quite nice despite a colder forecast. Course conditions were a bit on the underwhelming side unfortunately with many of the greens still showing signs of aeration, and many tee boxes absolutely chewed up from overuse. They rolled okay though but very inconsistent speeds. It's also, as mentioned before, hard to hold many of these greens without a perfect, high-trajectory approach due to their severe sloping sides.

Fairways were in pretty good shape overall with many areas a bit water-logged though. You'll still find some thin spots, too - just depends which area of the course you're playing. Rough was pretty manageable all over the property. I avoided every bunker but they seemed 'fine.'

This will never be a 'destination' course for most but I always enjoy it (conditions notwithstanding) due to the internal challenge of scoring well on a shorter course. Luckily I more or less pulled that off on Saturday, but the POP issue remains a thorn in my side.

Played with an OC Golfers Meetup group at 10am on Saturday, 7/2/22. Sunny, warm day with less wind than is usual for Meadowlark, and I found myself overdressed and warm. Conditions are unchanged from ... Continue »

Played with an OC Golfers Meetup group at 10am on Saturday, 7/2/22. Sunny, warm day with less wind than is usual for Meadowlark, and I found myself overdressed and warm. Conditions are unchanged from my review in April – very acceptable conditions for a casual weekend round. There are a few scattered wet areas (sprinkler issues) and scattered dry/bare areas. Tees on the par-3 (over water) 7th hole were moved well forward, perhaps to improve pace on a hole where 3- or 4- group backups are not uncommon. The one greenside trap I was in was hard-packed with a miniscule sand layer, resulting in a blade rocket.

Played Easter Sunday, $64 with cart was about as good as you can do in OC on a holiday.
Previous review from Dconnally is spot on, not much to add. Greens were bumpy, fairways were acceptable, tee... Continue »

Played Easter Sunday, $64 with cart was about as good as you can do in OC on a holiday.
Previous review from Dconnally is spot on, not much to add. Greens were bumpy, fairways were acceptable, teeboxes were ok, found one bunker and it was playable. Everything about the course screams mediocrity. No beverage cart, so good thing we BYOB today. POP was the best part of the round, 4hrs. Only reason why we played is it's close to my parent's house and I met my brother for Easter. Fun for a casual round, but that's about it.

Got out to Meadowlark GC on a windy Thursday afternoon, 4/14/22 at 1pm, after not touching a club in 3 weeks. Pretty ugly, both in terms of conditions and results. Course didn’t look busy when I drove... Continue »

Got out to Meadowlark GC on a windy Thursday afternoon, 4/14/22 at 1pm, after not touching a club in 3 weeks. Pretty ugly, both in terms of conditions and results. Course didn’t look busy when I drove up but the lot was packed and a steady stream of golfers were going off the numerous tees near the clubhouse – the routing brings a lot of traffic back into the immediate area of the starting area. The course aerated about a month ago – you could still see the punch holes in the practice putting green, while on-course greens were somewhat better. Pace was generally pretty good and we finished in ~4.5 hr.

Conditions were typical – all-around kikuyu and small-course conditioning. Fairways were generally OK but could be thin/bare. Rough was the same but more likely to be very dry and thin. Too far offline and you were hitting off bare dirt. Traps were raked but the playing layer was thin/none, except the front bunker on #18 which had pretty good sand. Tees were horrible (we played Blue) – sloping, humped, torn up. Greens are generally small, firm, and bumpy. Many are domed and seem to repel approaches and chips. We saw very few ballmarks due to the firmness of the greens.

Saw the cart girl a few times and there’s a snack shack after #2, #6, and #9. Rakes in the bunkers. Basic carts. We didn’t use the driving range (mats) or chipping area. Course uses a red/white/blue pin rotation – holes 4, 7, 13, and 16 are the 4 par-3s, so all 4 were blue flags today – total lack of imagination by the course. OK for a casual round.

Played Friday, January 14th mid-day. The course was in good shape and the pace was better than normal for a Friday. Fairways were pretty solid and the rough was normal. The greens were really fast c... Continue »

Played Friday, January 14th mid-day. The course was in good shape and the pace was better than normal for a Friday. Fairways were pretty solid and the rough was normal. The greens were really fast considering the rain earlier in the week.

Played at Meadowlark on Sunday with my monthly golf group and we got a 'deal' with carts, range balls and the greens fee at $69. With the current conditions here that's pushing the boundary of 'fair' ... Continue »

Played at Meadowlark on Sunday with my monthly golf group and we got a 'deal' with carts, range balls and the greens fee at $69. With the current conditions here that's pushing the boundary of 'fair' pricing, but it comes pretty close with those little extras. It's not bad there right now, it's just certainly not great.

Fairways have many areas of disrepair and thin lies, but you'll also find a decent amount of lush and green. I would say it's about a 50-50 split. The tee boxes are definitely chewed up on a lot of the holes and the bunkers seemed okay but saw some that were still quite wet and heavy. The rough was fine and the greens were actually in pretty darn good, fast shape. There are a lot of tiny, yet crowned greens here so don't let the short yardage on the card fool you.

The layout is still pretty fun and has a few more elevations than you would expect for a course in Huntington Beach. It's still a course you can get easily frustrated on though with some funky pin placements and a few very tricky greens (like the two-tiered 9th with the pin right on the edge). Still, it's pretty fun if you can get past the little things.

The driving range is in dire need of an upgrade, as are the carts, but who knows how long that will take to happen. I don't mind coming down to this track once or twice a year to see how it develops, or stagnates. But we had a good time and if you can get on for around $50 or less (with none of the frills we got), then it's worth it.

Played with my monthly golf group this Saturday at Meadowlark down in Huntington Beach. It was just my third time ever playing here, and while it's quite a short course in terms of yards, it makes up ... Continue »

Played with my monthly golf group this Saturday at Meadowlark down in Huntington Beach. It was just my third time ever playing here, and while it's quite a short course in terms of yards, it makes up for it in terms of numerous water hazards, tricky in-between shots, and very fast, small greens, including some daunting pin placements on slopes.

The driving range is open but rather worn out and in need of an upgrade, but it'll get the job done. Convenient little snack shop is open as well, and we paid $54 for the greens fee and the cart. Speaking of carts, no frills is the order of the day. Very basic, but functional. No GPS.

As previously mentioned, the greens are super slick and fast - maybe they'll come down a bit after aeration later this week. Not too many ball marks to worry about though since they're so hard, but they roll pretty true and are quite fun. The fairways are in good not great shape, but had plenty of fine lies in the fairways, but also some thin. Rough is a mixed bag but nothing too penal. Bunkers had decent enough sand in them and the tee boxes were a little beat up but so wide were the tee markers on near every hole that you could always find a level spot.

I enjoy Meadowlark more than most short(er) courses because it still does provide a stiff challenge despite the 'easy' course mentality. It's also got some interesting elevations on many of the holes which add to the importance of proper club selection. Plenty of risk-reward par 4s as well. You won't necessarily be wearing out the driver here, but you'll need to put in a good shift to score well.