Rancho San Marcos Golf Course

While I understand that Bermuda grass does go dormant in the winter there is a difference between dormant and dead. The fairways are now dead grass with large patches of packed dirt and no grass. Even the staff admits they no longer play since hitting off packed dirt in the middle of the fairway, is really not playing golf.

Beautiful course, hardly a soul in sight. Like being on your own private golf course

Course has water supply issues....but makes you're a better off the deck pincher and the ball goes. Greens a excellent though!

Great value for the money. Greens are really fast. Great views of Santa Ynez mountains.

It felt like Black Friday as the 82% discount was a price we couldn't refuse even if the drive to the course was over an hour. Because it was Thanksgiving, there wasn't much else open but the freindly staff behind the counter directed us to a great little BBQ place just five minutes away so we could have some lunch before our round. The dormant grass fairways and the wind behind us on most of the longer holes resulted in the longest drives of our lives. The greens were in good shape and good speed. If it wasn't for four troublesome holes it may have been the round of my life. We will be back.

The service at check-in and post round was very attentive and friendly. The staff was smiling and personable. The course definitely needs water on the fairways but we still found it very fair and playable. Tight lies. The greens and fringes were in excellent shape. Consistent true roll.
We stayed for lunch and were allowed to order from breakfast menu, which we did. Good food. The staff is doing their best to provide great service,
Rancho is currently probably not a value at retail prices, but at any discounted or twilight rate, it's still very much a great round of golf. You can't beat the views, wildlife and peaceful setting. And with some rain and watering, it will again be one of the best courses in the county.

The discount made the 1:45 min drive worth it. I payed less than a round at city course in Los Angeles and played my round in just over 3 hours. I'll look for discounts on this course once or twice a month.

Enjoyed playing here even though no water for fairways and tees.I like courses that do not have real estate developments surrounding and interwoven throughout the course. The greens were in great shape but I certainly wish that golfers would be considerate and repair their ball marks . It seems that today's golfers have very little golf etiquette. This course would have gotten 5 stars had they had water.

The greens here are excellent. With the dormant grass, the fairways are not green, but this makes for some LONG rolls sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad if you are not familiar with the distances. When the course gets totally green, it will be a visionary as well as a very wonderful course to play. Use "Search Hot Deals" for best value for your money.

Through no fault of their own, RSM has gone from a great course to being essentially unplayable. So Cal's drought has affected the course which gets all its water from on site wells. The tee boxes and fairways are all dead and hard pan in many places. Greens are being hand watered to save them, but the rest of the course is in very poor shape. I hope rain comes soon so that they can save the course. The staff was apologetic but, obviously, the climate is beyond their control. It would have been nice to have a heads up when we booked so that we could have made an informed decision.

We were warned in the proshop that, due to extreme drought conditions, the fairways were very dry, very thin, and very brown....and they were! On the plus side, because of the same conditions, our balls rolled a long way. Also, the greens were in excellent condition.
Because of the poor playing conditions, and the relatively high fee, we wouldn't play this course again until it "greened-up".

BEWARE!! There is just enough water for the greens, which are fast and hard. There are NO fairways. You are playing off dirt all the way. We walked off the course after nine holes.

No water makes for dry fairways and that equals nice long shots!!
Love it.

great course, but was being overseeded so no grass whatsoever under your ball, surprised it was even open but greens were good. Better wait until the grass comes in and that will be at least a month or you will be dissapointed.

They lost water due to dry well. But for the price it is still great deal and how often you can hit drive 350 plus. I had fun. The green is in good shape and stemp 10.5 to 11 and pure. Just no grass on the fairway or tee and looks bad. still playable and needs to trap easy on the shot.

Not to notify people, when making reservation to play at this course, of utterly unplayable condition of fairways is unconscionable. I understand the fact that there is no way for management to irrigate fairways which are now nothing more than compacted dirt. Allowing people to come to this remote location without any warning is irresponsible.

We love the course, the staff is always top notch. looking forward to playing again when the fairways come back!

if the course were watered perhaps they may be able to bring it back to life.

Course is in dire need for some help from Mother Nature. Lack of well water has the fairways dying and brown. Most landing areas are still playable, the greens are very well maintained and roll nicely. Tee boxes are becoming ragged, but overall an enjoyable course. The back nine layout is a bit hokey, but fortunately we played on a less busy day so didn't have to wait too long on the back to back par 3's. Might consider playing this course again, especially after some rain, but only at the discounted Hot Deal rates.

Greens and surrounding area are great. Loved the way the greens roled. The fairways and tee boxes haven't sen water since spring time when Mother Nature provides the water. Seems like tee prices are based on the conditions of times long gone when the course was a true gem. Not so much anymore.