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North/East at Oaks North Golf Course
Played On 10/15/2017Play here 2-3 times a month
I started playing Oaks North weekly about a year ago, mainly to help with my short game. There's no question that my short game has benefited. However, I have come to enjoy this course as much as any I play. The reasons are: 27 holes allows you to mix it up and not get bored on a week to week basis. The greens are as good as any I play on. They have an employee regularly go around the course with a special tool to repair ball marks. There are a few holes where I can pull out my driver, but for the most part I am driving with my 3 or 5 wood or an iron. Not the course to work on your long ball skills. But, if you want to improve your short game, this is the place!
Eighteen Hole at Balboa Park Municipal Golf Club
Played On 07/30/2017Good value for this gem!
This being my first time playing Balboa, and knowing it's a muni course, my expectations were low upon arrival at the course. The parking lot is funky, the range is funky, but the practice green is well taken care of, and gave a pretty good indicator of the greens on the course. The Clubhouse staff were business like, but not overly friendly. I gave the off-course ammenities a low score because I went into the "restaurant" prior to teeing off to ask if I could buy a cup of ice. I was told no, that the ice was for the restaurant patrons. So, don't expect the restaurant to cater to the golfers. However, the restaurant patio looked like a nice place to get a burger and enjoy the view of downtown San Diego. The course was in good shape, escpecially for a muni course. The greens were well taken care of for the most part and rolled fairly true. For whatever reason, all in my foursome had issues reading them. But, that was probably more about us not knowing the greens than the greens themselves. We played from the tips (Blues), to get all of our money's worth. That puts the course at a little over 6300 yards. Short, but challenging enough. The layout is very up and down, with fairly narrow fairways througout. If you missed a fairway, there was a 50/50 chance of getting yourself into some trouble. Canyons and roads line the course, with canyons being the primary hazard. Many greens also had a steep drop off behind and to the sides. I missed a couple of greens long, where my ball SHOULD have been maybe 5-10 yards off, only to find that my ball had rolled into oblivion. The next time I play here, I will play to miss my approach shots short if anything. I played just about right to my handicap. Overall, a very enjoyable, if not beautiful day of golf! Take time to enjoy the views on the back 9!
Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club
Played On 07/09/2017Post renovation condition
I have played this course since the late 90's, and am not a huge fan of some of the renovations made. However, the course is currently in the best condition I have seen it since renovations were "completed" late last year. It was hot yesterday, and yet the course did not play hard and dry. If you miss fairways on a regular basis, you may have some issues hitting off of hard pan decomposed granite on some holes. The greens were in good shape, and if anything, were over watered. I hit my approach shot on #18 with a 9 iron and the ball plugged on the green (instead of rolling back towards the hole on a down slope). For me, the biggest disappointment is the bunkers. JC Golf has resources and should spend a little on some decent bunker sand. I got into two bunkers over 18 holes, so not a huge deal. And I got of each okay, but its like hitting out of the hard pan decomposed granite I mentioned earlier. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall condition of the course. It is target golf for the most part and need to hit a club off the tee that you are confident will keep you in the fairway. As with most all of the JC facilities around town, the greens were in good to very good shape. Have fun!