Rancho San Marcos Golf Course

The vie was spectacular and panoramic. The fairway condition was excellent.

Had a great time playing, good challenge, and you cant beat the view of some of the holes. Will Definately be back to play soon.

Rancho San Marcos is a wonderful course that meanders among giant oak trees near Lake Cachuma. It is in a secluded setting with no homes or other distractions. We had early tee times on two consecutive days and hardly saw any other players. It was a wonderful experience!

Course was in great shape and was very playable, yet a difficult course at the same time, was a very wet day, yet greens maintained their integrity. Rough is thick and well maintained. Club House had been broken into the night before and staff was disheartened yet very professional and friendly. I will make this a frequent stop when I am on the west coast.

I have played course often in the past. However, the course now shows the ill-effects of the drought. Water holes are nearly dry (as was nearby Lake Cachuma). Fairways are hard, with many dry spots and brown grass. Greens were wet and held somewhat on approach, but grass was dark brown and of poor consistency. Just not in good shape right now despite a strong effort by the Club's to maintain it . Unless they get significant rain by March this course will be in real trouble come summer. Positively speaking, staff is very accommodating, helpful and friendly.

Nice place. Interesting and challenging. Slow play however. Food was good too.

Course is friendly for women as the forward tees make it possible to reach the green in regulation. Greens were not in great shape, but overall the course was in pretty good condition for the middle of winter. Very enjoyable.

Big fairways. Fast greens 6 par threes great location

Great would come back more if i got a good price like i did thru golfnow.

We were very disappointed in the course conditions and pace of play. We have played this course several times over the years and always looked forward to good conditions. It has been approximately five years since we last played the course. We will not play the course again until conditions improve.

My favorite course. Very few parallel fairways and the resulting distractions of other golfers. Hazards are mostly unforgiving so course management is important. Layup shots are often very valuable.

Beautiful and challenging course. An extreme must play course. Would have given a 5, but the "coots" are beginning to really hurt the greens and surrounding areas. However, this isn't the only course with this problem.

This was the 2nd time i have played this course. For some reason i tend to prefer this to Sandpiper. Greens are big, a typical Robert T Jones course with plenty of bunkers.
Wish the score card actually has a course layout for those of us who are not used to buying the book. distance markers are very helpful.
Also, making the reservation via golfnow turned out at least 20bucks cheaper.

What a treat to play a beautiful course with wonderful views.The course layout is fun and challenging. The greens were true and receptive, which is usually a hard combo to acheive. I enjoyed this round very much. My compliments to the Staff as well as the grounds crews.

We had the first tee time, and it happened to be quite cold till the sun came out for awhile. But then we had a beautiful day.. We played 36 holes like we usually do, and had a wonderful time. Greens were in very good shape, and the maintenance crew were very polite and friendly. I know they take pride in keeping up the course because there were many workers out there doing various gardening functions. We came all the way from the L.A. area that morning to play. Last time I played Rancho San Marcos was with my dad about 10 years ago on his birthday. We enjoyed it then, and the course did not disappoint during this visit. It is a special place to visit also because you feel like you are out in the country with great vistas, and nature, saw many deer as well. Go play !!!

This course has something for everyone. Its certainly challenging enough for the highly skilled, but it's not impossible for those of us who shoot in the 90's. The fairways are long but forgiving and the greens are fast but "fair". The course itself was very well maintained, the staff is super friendly, and the views of the surrounding landscape and wildlife are spectacular! (When's the last time you saw a Turkey on the golf course?) No GPS in the cart was a surprise though.

Beautiful golf course. Great layout. The condition of the greens were right up there with the best courses I have ever played. The roll was so pure. Really feel way out in the countryside; no houses anywhere. Lots of trees, hills, elevation changes.

fast greens, take time to read them they break funny. great course. i want to go back

It's like playing two different courses in the same day. The front side makes the course look easy then the back nine attacks you with it's undulating greens built on the mountain side.

The front 9 will test your distance but the back 9 will test your accuracy. They have used their water allotment but the fairways don't play any worse than elsewhere. Super, super fast greens in almost perfect condition. The staff was unbelievably helpful and there wasn't one person we could complain about. The practice facilities were nice but not really reflective of the course conditions. Hence the 4 stars.