Here are comments from the So Cal golfing public at large - I make no endorsements or renouncements of anything contained from within - all sourced from
www.greenskeeper.org"I have never seen Arroyo Trabuco as described by swbkrntom - Or CO. This is the best layout of any golf course I've ever played that is built into foothills. Only the 6th hole has an approach to a green that is well above you. This course is not for the weak hearted player although they do have very generous tees for all skill levels. I am a 6 handicap who loves this course. It has long and short holes, holes that bend right, holes that bend left, water holes and my favorite a 495 yard par 4 with lots of trouble on the right. If you like the challenge of moving the ball both ways and fast greens this is your track. I play this as often as I can. The driving range is one of the best conditioned in SoCal with an onsite (on the driving range) club repair service that changed the lie of my irons in just 15 minutes. The only negative is there is no chipping area-a common problem in SoCal. I hit less than 60% of my greens making the sand wedge chip one of my most frequently used clubs. We need more places to practice chips to greens."
Posted: Monday, July 10, 2006
"Played 07/03/2006. Twlight time at 3:20pm for $58. First off PLEASE FIX YOUR BALL MARKS!!! That is our responsibilty as players. Nothing is worse then to have a wonderful course ruined by their clients b/c some of us refuse/forget about fixing our ball marks. Maybe it's new to you that you finally hit the green in regulation but please act like you've done it before and fix your ball marks. Ok, I kinda went off on a tangent, back to the course. Absolutely worth the cost at any time. For O.C. the conditions and surrondings are a bargain. Fairways have little to no rough so make sure you account for roll. Otherwise your ball will roll into the environmentally sensitive areas or OB. Nice cool breeze coming from the south helped with the drives on most holes. Finished in about 5 hours but it was a holiday/weekend, sort of. Fairways are a little hard but definitely not dried out. Greens would have been great except for all the aforementioned ball marks. Great course and layout, will be back often."
Posted: Wednesday, July 5, 2006
"Absolutely beautiful course and surrounding area...Gps was great as were the golf carts...and cart girls.Cant say anything bad about course must play again...Club house is great to...coming back soon...suprised its feedback score is not higher."
Posted: Monday, June 19, 2006
"Played yesterday, started out good, all the staff were very nice and professional. After that the trouble started. Got to the range and found it to be terrible, all dirt no grass, minor inconvenience. To the starter, no carts available, finally get cart and go to the first tee, first 2 holes went easy and that was all. 5 1/2 hours later we finish. Overall a nice layout, but fairways were like hardpan, bunkers were poor to fair (didn't help that no one appeared to have raked them). Greens were all torn up, ball marks, holes etc. Paid $ 80. 00 for this, I don't mind paying for good golf courses, this isn't one of them. One last note, 5 some in front were playing from the back tees and constantly on cell phones, beside the fact they couldn't hit the ball out of their own shadow, they were just plain slow. Ranger tried to get them to move a little faster.....NO DEAL. Nice layout, close to home, won't go back."
Posted: Sunday, June 18, 2006
"Nicely routed and designed course with "firm and fast" conditions. Most all greens have a "safe side" which allows a runup type of shot if the player wants to exercise that option.
Only a couple of layup holes so players get to hit driver on most all of the par 4s (influence of Tom Lehman on the design?)
Lots of "environmental hazard" areas but generally they only come into play if the player misses the shot badly. Great value for the green fee (under $100 on the weekends) - nice staff that is very friendly and helpful."
Posted: Sunday, May 21, 2006
"All in all, the course is a good links style course and not bad for $88 on a weekend. There are no fairway roughs. The fairways are wide. There are no tree lines-- there's nothing to stop your ball from going to places you shouldn't be. The fairway grass, I think, are bermuda, cut nice and low. So for those of you who likes the ball sitting up nice on a tight lie, you'll like this.
Also, than often, I find many players don't rake after getting out of bunkers. In Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, most people do not or don't know that they have to rake after getting out of it.
Pin Position: That day, it indicated #3. It was OK for about 6-7 holes, then it's a guessing game if it's middle or back. Front was obvious, of course.
Service: What is with those guys at the pro shops? You walk in and check your self in, you give greetings, they don't even look at you. Their extent of courteousness for their customers starts & stops at a smug "Yes?". Almost the same as the guy in a little booth at Wilson/Harding in the 90's. I thought those days are gone... He's back! 'Hope that's not a trend...!!!
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Then they have a starter outside. He thinks he's contributing to the course by being a smart-A** and being funny. (great job! what a waste of time and money!!!)
I guess there goes the saying everyone is different. Yyyuupppp... They're different! "
Posted: Monday, April 17, 2006
"Went off at 6:12 on March 15 and finished in 3.5 hours as a three-some. Not sure what people are whining about re: this course. Tee boxes are immaculate. Sure, the fairways lay dormant right now but in no way are they dead and brown and like linoleum. They're simply tight, forcing you to trap your iron shots which you should be doing in the first place. Greens are recovering nicely from recent aeration - one of the few courses I've played in SoCal with minimal ball mark damage. Only gripe was the greens were a bit slow, but they putt really true. Be prepared to hit 'em straight - every fairway is bordered by environmental hazards on both sides, meaning you can't fetch a wayward tee shot. Iron off the tee (even from the blues) is a good call on many of the shorter par 4's, especially if you haven't played here before to know how tee shots will roll out. Can't wait to play here again now that I have some "local knowledge" - what a great track for the price on a weekday!"
Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006
"We played on Sunday, 2/26. The only green things on the golf course were the tee boxes and the greens. The fairways are all brown - they didn't overseed once again. Dead fairways let the ball roll a long way - some of our drivers were pushing the 300 yd mark after the ball rolled about 75 yds. This is OK if you are hitting it straight but you are just as likely to roll through of off the fairway into some of the numerous lateral hazards. Another major problem was coot poop on several greens located near water hazards. The coot problem made these greens almost as brown as the fairways. I won't be going back here until I they fix the course."
Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2006
"This is one of the best layouts in southern california. What a shame that such a great layout has such poor conditions."
Posted: Saturday, February 25, 2006
"Played on 2/18... Very good course at reasonable price except its fairway condition... Grass is dead and feels like your hitting off a rock.... Would love to play another round when the fairway gets better.."
Posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2006
"When this course opened it was super, now the conditions are just awful. The fairways are like playing on linoleum - all the grass is dead and the fairways are very hard. Difficult to play near the green as any miss causes the shot to be skulled. Brown grass all over - this would be an embarassment for a muni course, not acceptable for an 'upscale' semi-private layout."
Posted: Thursday, February 9, 2006
"Played on Friday, Feb. 3. The overall condition of the course is good. The the fairways tend to roll balls into collection areas which creates areas with plenty of divots. The fairway grass is dormant and cut tight allowing plenty of roll. The rough is non existant. The greens are in great shape and firm so you must land short of the hole. The course is fairly wide off the tees and friendly to players of all levels. On holes 6 and 10 put away the driver or you mighy hit it through the fairway. On hole 18 drive it down the right side of the fairway because drives down the left may catch the slope and run into the water. The $78 dollar green fees Friday-Sunday are not the best but $58 is worth it Monday-Thursday."
Posted: Monday, February 6, 2006