Was absolutely excited to finally play Oak Creek this past Friday in Irvine. I took some work clients after a nearby appointment and was surprised right from the start that a Friday pre-twilight round... Continue »

Was absolutely excited to finally play Oak Creek this past Friday in Irvine. I took some work clients after a nearby appointment and was surprised right from the start that a Friday pre-twilight round would cost $180 per person, but I figured this was a very high-end club and it would be well worth it in the end. It was not. First though, I'll start with the positives. Carts are very nice but some weird little digital GPS thing attached to the steering column that I could never figure out. Practice area is very solid but they don't provide range balls. $180 greens fee but you have to buy range balls? Okay, whatever. The layout is really fun and challenging. You'll have all variety of par 4 variations from short to super long, from hilly to flat and a good mix of well-placed bunkers and water features that will intimidate. Not too many long carries to worry about though which is nice. And speaking of the bunkers - they're absolute quality. Fluffy to the extreme near the greens, easy to hit and more compacted from the fairway bunkers. Ideal. But alas, something's rotten in Denmark. I can honestly say the current greens at Oak Creek are simply no better than the beat up ones at my local nine-hole in Venice at Penmar. They were spongy to the extreme, so much so that when fixing ball marks, the ground would just disintegrate more or less. Speaking of ball marks - they were EVERYWHERE. Alongside that, you could see all manner of spike marks in the greens from previous players, and there were tons of miscolored and bumpy grass areas throughout the greens. What an utter disappointment for that kind of price. You literally had to pick lines around bumps to try and get putts on target. Awful. The fairways one would expect for that cost were also nowhere to be seen. Sure, they were playable in most areas in the fairways, but they're very dried out and there's an overall yellow hue to the course which is again, for the price, not what one would expect. The rough however is mostly nice and thick and not too penal when you find yourself in it. Tee boxes were also in good shape. On top of that, organization seemed to be a bit of a mess. One would expect staggered tee times and a pretty solid flow at a place like this, but we were sent out to the first tee only to find two groups there on the first hole, waited through most of the front nine until the group in front of us disappeared, then got to the 10th after some smooth sailing only to find another disgruntled foursome on the tee awaiting a group of walking girls that were sent out from the 10th tee and then eventually wrangled back by the marshall. What is going on here? Luckily the back nine moved a bit smoother, but still, overall finishing in five hours at a premium course on a weekday is pretty bad. Would I go back to Oak Creek? Sure, but not at that rate unless I have assurances that the course is in absolutely immaculate condition. And currently, it's far from it. I really enjoyed the variety of holes and I do think that I can add the par 5 18th to the list of best closing holes in SoCal. But again, it would take either a lower rate or some far better reviews than mine before heading back there again. And that's a shame.

Played Oak Creek early on 06/20/18. Great staff. This is one of my favorite OC layouts.

The greens are ALMOST the best I have ever seen here. I say almost, while the grass is excellent and rolls be... Continue »

Played Oak Creek early on 06/20/18. Great staff. This is one of my favorite OC layouts.

The greens are ALMOST the best I have ever seen here. I say almost, while the grass is excellent and rolls beautifully, there is an insane amount of unrepaired ball marks on these greens. We were the 1st group out, and we usually had to fix 10 ball marks within 10 feet of every hole. There needs to be a significant effort to (1) have the crew repair marks, and (2) inform the players that they need to repair marks. If you are lucky enough to have a clean line, the roll is great. I'd say 50% of my putts today went through ball marks that I had to repair.

Fairways are nice - no complain there. Generally, the rough is fine, but there are many bare patches along the way. The sand traps are confusing. Maybe they are right in the middle of a sand refurbishment. Half the traps were great, and half were bare mud/pebbles.

For what I consider to be the top facility in OC golf (except for Pelican), Oak Creek was really not close to being what I expect. Not recommended at half price.

Played 4/18 in the AM with a $82 green fee. Overall, course is in good shape. Forgot how open the course is now that they have removed or cut back so many trees. Greens were fantastic, but fairways... Continue »

Played 4/18 in the AM with a $82 green fee. Overall, course is in good shape. Forgot how open the course is now that they have removed or cut back so many trees. Greens were fantastic, but fairways/rough are still getting some work and some traps were essentially sand-less. One group threw everyone off, so the Marshall was scrambling to try and get groups back on pace. Still finished in 4:15. Saw the cart girl twice. Apparently they are tuning up for a US qualifier first or second week of May.

Overall, I wouldn't pay the rack rate of $135 midweek or $185 weekend here, but at a discount, no issues.

Played 1-31-18 teeing off at 7:30 as a twosome and finishing around 10:45 going through a foursome on the back side. Tee boxes were mostly level with dormant Bermuda and cut tight.Fairways were painte... Continue »

Played 1-31-18 teeing off at 7:30 as a twosome and finishing around 10:45 going through a foursome on the back side. Tee boxes were mostly level with dormant Bermuda and cut tight.Fairways were painted but they had good padding with nice lies. Rough was dormant and cut down low so pretty easy to hit from. Was in two greenside bunkers that both had a descent amount of firm sand. Greens were in real nice shape medium/fast pace and rolling true. A few of the greens had a small punch and were lightly sanded which didn't effect the roll. Nice course with wide fairways and big greens, not worth the $135 rack rate IMO, but definitely worth the $95 underpar deal with replay.

I played the course yesterday for the first time in several years. I remembered it as being one of my favorite course in the OC, along with Monarch Beach (well, that I can afford to play). Fairways ... Continue »

I played the course yesterday for the first time in several years. I remembered it as being one of my favorite course in the OC, along with Monarch Beach (well, that I can afford to play). Fairways and tee boxes were in good conditions for the time of year, but not pristine as I remember. The greens were immaculate, and the bunkers that I was in were nice and fluffy, although wet in spots.

The snack cart and marshal came around regularly. POP was fine, with our threesome not having to wait as I recall. It has a nice driving range with a short game practice area and two very nice putting greens. We played midweek at prime time on a Costco coupon for $80, which I thought was a good deal. The rack rate of $135 is not crazy compared to other similar courses, but most GKers would probably look elsewhere. The senior rate (over 55) of $95 weekdays before 9:00 is actually not too bad, if you like playing early and are willing to fight traffic.

Played Oak Creek on 12/20. This used to be my home course, although that was 15-20 years ago, and this is probably my favorite layout in OC.

Man, I was pretty disappointed this time. Greens are in ... Continue »

Played Oak Creek on 12/20. This used to be my home course, although that was 15-20 years ago, and this is probably my favorite layout in OC.

Man, I was pretty disappointed this time. Greens are in great shape, thumbs up there. Fairways are generally good, although some spots appear to be shaved down to almost bare dirt. Let the grass grow please. The rough is definitely rough. Sometimes thick, sometimes nothing.

Sand traps - the first two I was in were great. Soft sand and smooth. Then the last two I was in were unplayable. Hard as a rock, no sand at all. Try hitting a sand shot that needs to go 20 feet up and 20 feet long out of a hard pan bunker.

Tee boxes - maybe it was my new prescription sunglasses, but I felt like there were many tee boxes unlevel today. Lots of rounded tee boxes, it was hard to get comfortable on them.

Some of the pin placements bordered on stupid today. On one hole, after our foursome took 14 putts, I went right next to the hole, and dropped a ball right next to the hole from a height of maybe 3 inches. The ball ended up nearly 25 feet away.

Still a fantastic layout, but the conditions here were subpar considering the price. Maybe I am jaded as my last two reviews got 9.9 and 9.7, Oak Creek costs more and wasn't nearly as nice.

Played the course on Feb 6th. Rainy day in southern california which means fast round and cheap online tee times. Never played this course so was excited to play this one. Very nice course which is a... Continue »

Played the course on Feb 6th. Rainy day in southern california which means fast round and cheap online tee times. Never played this course so was excited to play this one. Very nice course which is also challenging. Didnt get much roll on the fairway due to the wet fairways. Saw couple of twosomes on the course so i wasnt the only crazy golfer out there. Rain wasnt to bad the whole day and went away in middle of my round. Course was in great shape and would love to play this course again on a dryer setting

I haven't played here in over a year. They went through some rehab, and some reviews on GK at the time made it seem like it wasn't in good shape. Also, its been a while since I've seen a rate less t... Continue »

I haven't played here in over a year. They went through some rehab, and some reviews on GK at the time made it seem like it wasn't in good shape. Also, its been a while since I've seen a rate less than $150. I got out for $105 during the holiday's, and had a great round. The place is as I remembered it, well maintained and I really like the layout. It had rained recently so some of the sand traps were GUR, which did help my score a little. Though hitting out of a hard packed, wet sandtrap isn't much different than hitting off of many muni fairways (or off of a range mat), so that too helped. I'm mostly stoked for this place because it does offer opportunities, to score well if you're game is a bit off, as there's opportunities to either make it up on another hole, or ways to salvage a hole you're on. I think this place offers the right amount of tight fairways to ones that are open that give you some forgiveness. This is my favorite course right now in LA (ok, Irvine, but whatever).

I played 12/28. The course is always in great shape with some minor imperfections. The fairways and greens were top notch as always. The tee boxes need some help and the bunkers are always inconsiste... Continue »

I played 12/28. The course is always in great shape with some minor imperfections. The fairways and greens were top notch as always. The tee boxes need some help and the bunkers are always inconsistent. The green side bunkers are ok but the fairway bunkers are all hard pan and a bit of a joke if you pay the rack rate. I would recommend joining the 'players club' as it pays for itself after a couple of rounds its a great value. Overall, a great experience as always.