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Played Meadowlark in Huntington Beach Thursday 07/16/2018, with a 12:15PM scheduled tee time on a Golf Now Hot Deal @29 per player with cart, plus fee. Used my $25 discount code earned by booking an earlier round during the July promotion. My cost with fee was $7.98.
Arrived early 10:45AM driving up from Mission Viejo early to assure time to stretch, practice pitching and chipping. The parking lot was about 20% full and the course was pretty open. I practiced pitching, chipping and putting before checking in at 11:25am and getting assigned a cart which I prepped and then went to the clubhouse restaurant for a tasty bagel. I did not try to go out early however when I went back into the pro shop to get a pencil the starter told me a twosome had just gone off at 11:40 there would be another at 11:50 which hadn’t checked in yet. I could tee off an catch up to the twosome or wait for the 11:50 to check in. I tee’d off to catch the twosome at 11:45.
Upfront I have warm feelings about Meadowlark, as it is the course I learned to play golf on in 1971. I like the layout of this course and the challenges. This classic course built in 1922. (Having moved to HB in 1969 when there was very little around, I can’t imagine how this got built in 1922) wind and doglegs are it’s primary defense.

The course has ample parking, a nice pro shop, and restaurant. The practice range is OK, with mats the only option. The practice green is very representative of conditions on course both in speed and contour. Carts were neatly lined up in front of the pro shop. They are clean efficient and simple, no GPS. Weather for my round was pleasant, blue sky, fluffy clouds, and about a 5-knot breeze wind that would grow to 10 knots with higher gusts as the round progressed. High was in the mid 80’s.
I played from the whites. Meadowlark is not an overly long course playing 5,568 yards from the blues, and 5251 from the whites.
Tee boxes were mostly level, light divot damage, with few brown spots. Ground was spongey in some spots. Overall good footing was easy to find.
Fairways were mostly lush, with patches of brown grass, roll was very good. The course had been heavily watered and there were some areas of mud, soggy rough, and standing water in dips in the cart path.
Meadowlark features concrete cart paths, which the course requires carts to stay to on some holes, and they force you onto in same areas around greens. Currently there are many signs telling golfers to exit the cart path only at a 90-degree angle to their ball. You are not to drive up the fairway. Many of these are in desperate need of maintenance. Either Kidney belts or raised ground clearance are needed until they can be patched replaced. I suspect the California national guard could use Meadowlarks cart paths to test the durability of armored vehicles.
Fairway rough is thick with bare patches, sticky and penal. These are aided by a large tree population defining the fairway. There is water on the course, but it is not the primary defense of the course.
Fairway bunkers – there are very few fairway bunkers on the course, but those that are present are like their greenside counterparts, well cared for sand was compact in the two bunkers I played from requiring a chop shot exit taught by Gary Player and Lee Trevino vs the more fashionable sand explosion shot.
There are three forced carries of water, none of which are that daunting. The primary defense for this course are the postage stamp size greens and on this day the wind. The numerous trees hide the strength and direction of the wind, when the ball gets above them shots get exciting and your recovery game will be tested. The greens are Poa Annua mowed very tight resulting in very fast greens, firm with few levels lies lots of slope in all directions, and ridges. The pin placements today were most frequently on a ridge or the break of a false front. On several occasions balls that landed within 5 feet of the pin rolled to the fringe or off the greens. I felt the greens were softer than when I last played here in May, and fair, there are a couple that are best described as upside down salad bowls, but they rolled reasonable well there a number of unrepaired ball marks.
Pace of play was excellent, I was not able to catch the twosome in front of me until the ninth hole and only because they had caught up with another twosome that was walking. They asked me to play through. Essentially although the course was busy, I had the course to myself. I completed the round in exactly three hours.
I really enjoy this course. The greens are in overall good condition. The elevation changes, judicious use of water, bunkers and trees puts a premium on finding fairways. The upside-down salad bowl greens mean you want to use a very lofted wedge if you can. There is currently a lot of ground under repair, the most extensive being the eighteenth hole where it compromises the route to the hole. If the wind hadn’t been present this might not have been an issue, but as the largest section of GIR sits adjacent to the large fairway bunker and water in a natural lay up zone it made playing the hole much harder.

At the Golf Now Hot Deal price of $29 this is a very good course, at rack rate during the week can still be a good value. Right now, in this condition I recommend playing. The coastal location makes for great playing weather, and the design of the course will challenge you. Bombing driver is often not rewarded.
Now if we can get them to fix the cart path that they want us all to stay too.

Played Costa Mesa Country Club – Los Lagos course on Monday after noon on Golf Now rate of $44 per golfer including cart. Tee time was 10am and we got our promptly our twosome paired with a threesome of walkers. One walker would leave after nine holes, the others would pick up a cart at the turn.

Check in was easy, the pro shop is well stocked for the golfer that may have forgotten a needed item. the facility includes a driving range, very nice practice greens that represent the two courses Los Lagos and Mesa Linda well. Carts are very basic, clean.
The snack bar in across from the pro shop adjacent to the locker room. Prices are on par with most courses however the hot dog well properly cooked was flavorless, and the bun a little on the stiff not quite stale side. We would see the course cart three or four times during the round, however on one occasion she drove right into the line of fire as we were teeing on a par three causing my partner to stop his swing. Very pleasant however and well stocked cart.

Marshall did a very nice job sending out the groups even though there were fivesomes like ours, and I even saw a six-some. Surprisingly all groups played ready golf, there was very little waiting, none at the par threes. The round took close to five hours well never dragging.
The tee boxes were level, mostly lush, with little divot damage. The course starts off with a pair of par 5’s and is a fair layout. The courses primary defense is shape, doglegs left and right, with water and trees coming into play for errant shots. Bunkers are mostly used around the smallish greens, which are themselves protected by slope and in some cases tier.

Fairways were mostly lush, mostly green with very little brown, they are clearly being watered, however there were some very pronounced bare spots on most holes. The fairway presents a range of angles, dips, ball above feet, below feet on most shots. Most fairways are wide the undulations mean that three of you can all hit the ball the same distance and still have very different lies wellbeing in the fairway. All fair but your ball control skills are tested.
Fairway rough was largely absent, one to two inches at most, what you do find a lot of are pine needles which present a challenge to ball sticking and balance. Again, a very fair test for the golfer who has erred off the wide fairways.
Greenside rough is very different than the fairway rough being both deeper and stickier. The first cut is thick, the second cut is penal and seems to carry down to the way the fairway is cut for those shots that land within ten to twenty yards off the green. Putting form ten yards off the ground will seldom be successful. At the same time with the mild seventy-degree temps, cool sea breeze the morning watering had not fully dried around the greens.

Greens were very good despite having been recently punched and sanded. The punches were very fine, not the normal plugs being pulled and there was little disruption to the balls roll, and the greens were consistently very fast. Very enjoyable with challenging pin placements some just two or three paces on hidden behind bunkers.
Bunkers – the sand looked in good condition, raked, and fluffy, however none of our group were in a bunker to comment.

Complaints, not many really, the big for me are the cart paths, and fairways near the cart path. I am pretty sure the concrete cart paths have been victims of IED’s they are cracked, rutted, cratered, which means you need to a cart driver with calm demeanor. At the entry or exit of a cart bath onto or off of the course you are likely to have a wide rut, occasional filled with water hiding the depth of said rut. Make sure your health insurance has chiropractic.

Complaints about the cart paths aside, in its current condition I would rate Los Lagos as my favorite full-size course under $50 in the area from Long Beach to Carlsbad. It’s in much better condition than Lakewood, or Meadowlark, as good as Skylinks, it gets far less traffic than its neighbor Mesa Linda which is shorter. Well worth checking out.

Played Costa Mesa Country Club – Los Lagos course on Monday after noon on Golf Now rate of $44 per golfer including cart. Tee time was 10am and we got our promptly our twosome paired with a threesome of walkers. One walker would leave after nine holes, the others would pick up a cart at the turn.

Check in was easy, the pro shop is well stocked for the golfer that may have forgotten a needed item. the facility includes a driving range, very nice practice greens that represent the two courses Los Lagos and Mesa Linda well. Carts are very basic, clean.
The snack bar in across from the pro shop adjacent to the locker room. Prices are on par with most courses however the hot dog well properly cooked was flavorless, and the bun a little on the stiff not quite stale side. We would see the course cart three or four times during the round, however on one occasion she drove right into the line of fire as we were teeing on a par three causing my partner to stop his swing. Very pleasant however and well stocked cart.

Marshall did a very nice job sending out the groups even though there were fivesomes like ours, and I even saw a six-some. Surprisingly all groups played ready golf, there was very little waiting, none at the par threes. The round took close to five hours well never dragging.
The tee boxes were level, mostly lush, with little divot damage. The course starts off with a pair of par 5’s and is a fair layout. The courses primary defense is shape, doglegs left and right, with water and trees coming into play for errant shots. Bunkers are mostly used around the smallish greens, which are themselves protected by slope and in some cases tier.

Fairways were mostly lush, mostly green with very little brown, they are clearly being watered, however there were some very pronounced bare spots on most holes. The fairway presents a range of angles, dips, ball above feet, below feet on most shots. Most fairways are wide the undulations mean that three of you can all hit the ball the same distance and still have very different lies wellbeing in the fairway. All fair but your ball control skills are tested.
Fairway rough was largely absent, one to two inches at most, what you do find a lot of are pine needles which present a challenge to ball sticking and balance. Again, a very fair test for the golfer who has erred off the wide fairways.
Greenside rough is very different than the fairway rough being both deeper and stickier. The first cut is thick, the second cut is penal and seems to carry down to the way the fairway is cut for those shots that land within ten to twenty yards off the green. Putting form ten yards off the ground will seldom be successful. At the same time with the mild seventy-degree temps, cool sea breeze the morning watering had not fully dried around the greens.

Greens were very good despite having been recently punched and sanded. The punches were very fine, not the normal plugs being pulled and there was little disruption to the balls roll, and the greens were consistently very fast. Very enjoyable with challenging pin placements some just two or three paces on hidden behind bunkers.
Bunkers – the sand looked in good condition, raked, and fluffy, however none of our group were in a bunker to comment.

Complaints, not many really, the big for me are the cart paths, and fairways near the cart path. I am pretty sure the concrete cart paths have been victims of IED’s they are cracked, rutted, cratered, which means you need to a cart driver with calm demeanor. At the entry or exit of a cart bath onto or off of the course you are likely to have a wide rut, occasional filled with water hiding the depth of said rut. Make sure your health insurance has chiropractic.

Complaints about the cart paths aside, in its current condition I would rate Los Lagos as my favorite full-size course under $50 in the area from Long Beach to Carlsbad. It’s in much better condition than Lakewood, or Meadowlark, as good as Skylinks, it gets far less traffic than its neighbor Mesa Linda which is shorter. Well worth checking out.

Played Meadowlark in Huntington Beach Thursday 05/10/2018, with a 12:15PM scheduled tee time on a Golf Now Hot Deal $35 per player with cart, plus fee.
Arrived early 10:30AM driving up from Mission Viejo early to assure time to stretch, practice pitching and chipping. The parking lot was about 20% full and the course was pretty open. I mention this to note that Meadowlark is one of those rare facilities (at least that I have found) that will not send a Prepaid player out on course early even if there is room available. I don’t believe I saw a single golfer tee off between 10:45 and 11:45 with a foursome went off. My partner and I were called to the tee at 12 noon along with a single.

Upfront I have warm feelings about Meadowlark, as it is the course I learned to play golf on in 1971. I like the layout of this course and the challenges. As such I will share some complaints from my best friend who has a different view of this classic course built in 1922. (Having moved to HB in 1969 when there was very little around, I can’t imagine how this got built in 1922).

The course has ample parking, a nice pro shop, and restaurant. The practice range is OK, with mats the only option. The practice green is very representative of conditions on course both in speed and contour. Carts were neatly lined up in front of the pro shop. The are clean efficient and simple, no GPS. Weather for our round was perfect, blue sky, fluffy clouds, and about a 5-knot wind that would grow to 5 to 10 knots as the round progressed. High was in the mid 70’s cooling off by 4PM to the low 70’s.
Chris our single played the course to an 8 over from the blues, my playing partner played to 10 over from the whites, I played from the whites. Meadowlark is not an overly long course playing 5,568 yards from the blues, and 5251 from the whites.
Tee boxes were mostly level, light divot damage, with some lush brown spots. Ground was neither too hard nor too soft. Good footing was easy to find.
Fairways were mostly lush, with patches of brown grass, roll was very good. The course had the sprinklers on at 11:00AM for a short period. As we reached the back nine, my partners had trouble on the right side of the fairways in areas that significant shade and as a result were more marsh than fairway on #12. There were several other small muddy spots. They did not affect me but were a problem for my partners. (unkind words were spoken about the course watering during play).
Meadowlark features concrete cart paths, which the course forces you onto in same areas around greens. Many of these are in desperate need of maintenance. Either Kidney belts or raised ground clearance are needed until they can be patched replaced.
Fairway rough is thick with bare patches, sticky and penal. These are aided by a large tree population defining the fairway. There is water on the course, but it is not the primary defense of the course.
Fairway bunkers – there are very few fairway bunkers on the course, but those that are present are like their greenside counterparts, well cared for and filled with fluffy sand.
There are three forced carries of water, none of which are that daunting. The primary defense for this course are the postage stamp size greens. The greens are Poa Annua mowed very tight resulting in very fast greens, firm with few levels lies lots of slope in all directions, and ridges. The pin placements today were most frequently on a ridge or the break of a false front. On several occasions balls that landed within 5 feet of the pin rolled to the fringe or off the greens. I felt the greens were very hard, but fair, my playing partner described them a upside down salad bowls, and again did not have kind words for them, despite them rolling reasonable well even late in the day, and with few unrepaired ball marks.
Pace of play was good, it could have been a little better but we had a foursome of twenty somethings playing in front of us, that were playing multiple shots, and tended to wait until the green in front of them was clear despite not being able to get a shot straight down a fairway or over 200 yards at any time during the round. They did mange to hit a tree and almost hit me and hit balls into some yards on shanks. This brings up the point that well we say the cart girl at least four times during the round, we did not see a single marshal. Pace of play was 4.5 hours.
I really enjoy this course. The greens are in very good condition. The elevation changes, judicious use of water, bunkers and trees puts a premium on finding fairways. The upside-down salad bowl greens mean you want to use a very lofted wedge if you can.

At the Golf Now Hot Deal price of $35 this is a very good course, at rack rate during the week can still be a good value. Right now in this condition I recommend playing. The coastal location makes for great playing weather, and the design of the course will challenge you. Bombing driver is often not rewarded.

Played David L. Baker Monday 03/12/2018, with a scheduled tee time of 11:30. We ended up getting out at 11 as a twosome behind a twosome behind a pair of foursomes.
My last experience with the course a regular on my rota had been horrible, as it was a swamp, and mud pit, despite the absence of any recent rain. Today found the course in good winter condition. Pro shop staff were friendly and helpful.
The course seems to showing signs of financial weakness. I would say that at full 3/4ths of the mats on the driving range feature rips and tears. I was fortunate enough to find one of the few intact, but with a slight divot from use. Restroom needed attention, as did the porta johns on the back nine (at my age you notice this stuff). The practice green was in very good shape, however not representative of those on course in terms of cut. The practice green was cut tight, the greens on course that will punched in two weeks were a little shaggy.
The course did provide filled sand bottles at the turn for those of us that care about fixing divots.
The starter offered to get us out early which was appreciated as we were playing on a $24 Golf Now round with cart, and the time seven minutes before us had listed at $31. The round still took about 3.5 hours to play.
The cart is basic, and clean with comfortable seats., and the sand bottles were full.
My friend and I played from the blues. Most tees with the exception of #3 played back, a couple were at the tips, something I have seen at this course before. It was a very different look.
Weather was overcast, and around 70 degrees, little breeze on the front nine, slightly stronger on the back nine. Just a really nice day to get a round in before a predicted week of rain. Squirrels and ducks are in abundance, and happy to come up to you and beg. I didn’t have anything and actually had one squirrel try to block my way a couple of times well putting a paw out. If you bring food, don’t leave it lying around the cart or in an open pocket.
Tee boxes were slightly unlevel with some signs of wear, and unrepaired divots. Still very playable. Fairways were winter grass conditions with excellent coverage. Fairway rough was largely nonexistent. About three to four inches around the greens and bunkers. Bunkers looked in good condition, I wasn’t in one so can’t speak from immediate experience.
Greens were my issue for the round. Nothing wrong with greens themselves, there were a couple with minor bare spots, and most featured molted grass, but rolled well. The main issue was that they were shaggy. The practice green had been mown, but the greens on course had not, likely due to the weekends rain, and the pending punching. As mentioned the ball rolled well, but I couldn’t bring myself to hit it firm enough leaving a number of puts short.

Where my last round left me unhappy, upset, and not wanting to come back to a course I play dozens of times per year, today’s round put the course back on my map. That alone makes me happy I played here.

Recreation Park 18
Recreation Park 18 isn’t a layout that scares the golfer, there are no water or wasteland carries, there is very little out of bounds, unless you hit it over the fence to the highways that boarder the course. Rather the course is comprised of long holes featuring wide fairways bordered by mature trees, moderate rough, fairway and greenside bunkers. Many holes feature elevation changes and doglegs, but nothing hidden. The course is fun, fair, affordable, and friendly.
Played Tuesday with my best friend on a Golf Now Hot Deal. Two players with cart for $66 1:22pm tee time. The course was virtually empty and we were able to get out more than 45 minutes early. The round took just over 3:15 minutes.
The starter was friendly and got us out early. The temperature was a very pleasant 84 degrees at 12:40 when we tee’d off light 5 knot wind providing comfort and some challenges. We were chasing a single that was playing behind a twosome. We wouldn’t have anyone behind us until after the turn.
Carts feature GPS, and provided very good yardages from most locations.
Tee boxes were lush with some divot damage, minor soft and unleveled areas. Overall footing was good, and a number of tee’s had divot mix boxes available. We played the whites. Most tee locations were honest and did not set the golfer up for a bad angle or make use of visual tricks.
The fairways have a mix of grasses, color of turf, but all areas I was in were in very good condition with lush coverage. The recent dry conditions provided for some truly remarkable rollout on downhill drives. I did not have a bad fairway lie the entire round.
Bunkers – both the fairway and greenside bunkers are in excellent condition with clean soft layer of mature sand.
Rough – Fairway rough was a mix of length almost as if it had not been mown in the last week. This presented some significant issues, as much of the rough is found under the mature trees, with a mix of pine needles to add to the complexity of the shot and stance. The fairway rough ranged from spidery weed at two inches to tall grass of five to six inches. Rough around the greens were immaculately groomed, with the second cut less than two inches to three inches.

Greens were fast to medium fast, with excellent coverage, with an unfortunate number of unrepaired pitch marks, and damage from prior pitch mark repair. On this day there was an overabundance of forward pin placements three to six paces on.
The barbeque was going at the turn for a good hot dog or burger just feet from the tee box. The course features a more than adequate number of relief stations. Each hole had working ball washers, and trash cans. During the round we say an ambassador observing play on almost every hole. We wouldn’t run into traffic until the fourteenth hole where we joined the single that had joined with another single after the twosome between them dropped out. Couldn’t have been much better.

This is my second time playing “Big Rec” and as with the first time I found it completely enjoyable, in better condition than my last round, and well worth the price.

Played Big Rec Thursday afternoon 3:04 pm tee time on a Golf Now Hot Deal at $25 with cart. My buddy and I were matched with a twosome and sent out approximate 2:40 pm. Course was full, men’s club was out. We played behind a five some, and threesome that moved along very well, and a twosome behind us that was only an issue once when one of the guys pure’d a drive into the par four thirteenth splitting the hole and my buddy who was trying to sink his birdie. (They did call four).
The staff in the pro-shop was cordial if not overworked at the moment. The snack cart made an appearance on the 7th hole. The clubhouse, snack bar/restaurant are old school, and very nice. The driving range is split into two sections and small, but the targets are nicely laid out. The practice green is a bit of a walk from the first tee, but also nice, good size.
For me this course plays very long. As I get acclimated to my new clubs, especially the 3 & 4 hybrid, I am not using my driver or my fairway woods. This was not a great disadvantage as I carry a driver 198, with 208 / 220 being normal after roll out. My 3 wood is close to the same, and my 5 wood is around 180. Even if I had used these clubs, my second shot on many holes would approach 160/200+ yards. The course features only two par threes, both over 130 yards. There are two par fives, one at 522 yards, the other 511 yards. Par fours range between 295 yards and 460 yards with plenty of elevation change on every hole.

This course reinforced the contention of the recent community conversation on the importance of the GIR statistic. In eighteen holes I have two three putts, and two one puts. Overall my putting was very good, on moderately slow, slightly shaggy greens. One of my playing partners had a colorful description but it was somewhat X rated. I managed only one par, on a par four hole.
The carts feature basic GPS. The GPS gives the distance from the cart to the front, center and back of the green, as well as an advertisement for the snack bar on the way in from the ninth hole.

The tee boxes were lush, level, and overall in very good shape, especially given the volume of players on the course, and the late hour we tee’d off. This course uses doglegs, tree lines, and blind greens to challenge the golfer.

The fairways are in excellent condition, overall lush, with careful attention, even using hoses and manually placed sprinklers to assure first class coverage. I found good lies in the fairway regardless of whether it was on the top of a mound, down in a valley or a side hill lie.

Rough wasn’t really penal. There was a first cut along most fairways and around the greens and bunkers cut an inch or so, but very well kept. The collars around the green and in the rough along the fairway near the greens seemed a little deeper but more than fair.

Trees, this course makes use of trees as a defense, and to shape shots. Tall tree’s prevent cutting corners, and low hanging branches make hitting out from underneath or from behind difficult for a tall golfer such as myself.

Bunkers looked very good, deep, steep faces on those around the green. Those in my party that visited the beach got up and down cleanly, none complained of the conditions. I was fortunate enough not to test the quality of the sand or base.
Greens were variety of sizes, most flat, uniformly cut (a little shaggy) and in excellent condition, with only the two par three’s showing damage from ball marks. The greens were receptive to shots airmailed in, but would allow a run shot to roll through. Generous collars around the greens prevented minor miscues from becoming blow up holes. This created the paradox. For someone hitting a 3 hybrid 190 yards, second shots on many of these fourteen par fours required a hybrid or long iron to reach the green, rather than a wedge. Given the my length off the tee, I was unable to reach very many of these greens in regulation, and managed on par on a par four.

I really enjoyed the layout of Recreation Park 18, this was the first time I have played it, and absolutely enjoyed myself because of the length of the course. At $25 it was a steal. This course is also a part of the American Golf Players Club circuit, and as such I should be able to get deals through my membership. Look forward to playing this course again soon.

Parking at peak hours is a little tight.

Played Goose Creek teeing off at 2pm on the 31st. The course hosted the USGA Mid Am qualifying in the morning. Had use of the Driving range and facilities prior to teeing off. Fabulous facilities in Private Member Club conditions. Staff was above average in all respects.

Course conditions were outstanding. Greens are the courses primary defense, and are in excellent condition. No signs that there is a drought going on, the fariways were lush, and the rough perfection. Out of bounds areas are bamboo forests so forget a ball headed in there.

We played from the USGA blue tees which was a challenge. the tee boxes could have been greens at some muni's.

Love this course.