Rustic Canyon Golf Course

I played Rustic a good bit this summer – I always enjoy this course. Forcing me to properly align; which I struggle. The pace of play was pretty good; the fairways, I must say are rather crusty; where your ball lands and ends up sitting in these little craters. Forcing you to hit down more than usual. My criticism is with the condition of the Tee Boxes; pretty shabby, really. Your “Tee Boxes” need some attention Rustic, keep them clean, and somewhat even…not like standing on a large round dome. But still, a pretty nice place to play and get better.

American links at it’s finest with driveable par 4 #3.

Rustic is a fun links course with great greens. They was some scoring next to the greens which made the putting from off the green more difficult than normal, but still the course was in fine shape

Course in great shape

Awesome links

Puts don’t hold their lines

Excellent tee box and greens. Fairways in good shape and a really nice place to play. Great course

Nice course but greens are tricky,. Grain slopes south.

Fun course out in Moorpark that is worth the drive. The front side is more wide open giving you the experience of a links course. The back nine is a more traditional California high desert course that have some elevation change. A great value and always a fun day.

Still good value for the money. Links style course but fun. Will return.

When I asked several golf friends where I should golf on the L.A. area the nearly universal reply was Rustic Canyon. it was a bit of a drive from my downtown lodging, but the advice was spot on and it was well worth the trip.

At first glance (and second, really) the course is fairly flat overall (especially the front nine); however, it makes excellent use of the canyon runoffs/washes to create a variety of hazards and obstacles... often showing up in the fairways or featured in landing areas. In this way the track is a nice combination of open and challenging.

I chose to make my way around with irons (from the blue tees, 6634/72.0/130) and with the exception of a couple mishit balls (highlighted by an overzealous assault on hole number one) I was able to easily navigate the course without much trouble. I played with a (much) bigger hitter (who was also rather familiar with the course) and he had no trouble making his way around either. In short, there are ways to get in trouble; however, if you execute your shots there's no reason you can't cobble together a nice round for yourself regardless of how much you elect to bite off from the tee box.

This is a course you will probably play better the second time through as the sight-lines can be deceiving because of the rises an falls of the canyon floor. For example, on hole #7 I was completely convinced that my 5i would run through the fairway into the hazard and took a 7i instead. Once I got over the ridge running through the fairway I discovered there was actually plenty of room to work with.

The skirting around the greens takes some getting used to as well. It is cut very close and from a distance is very difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate from the putting surface. On most holes it is also huge (easily 20 or 30 feet in some cases) and typically seems to run away from the green rapidly. One of my playing partners took three putts trying to finesse a ball to a short-sided pin location on #5 as the ball almost reached green but then rolled back to his feet. Twice I thought I had put a ball on the green only to see it roll away.

This should not be confused as unfair or a complaint. I actually quite liked it; however, again, it does take some getting used to and I'm certain I would post a better score next time out.

The greens are worth a separate mention as well. This will probably be the most challenging part of the course for the average muni/public course player. There are very few straight flat putts and even 4-6 footers that I normally think of as automatic were challenges. I carry a 5.7 and never sniffed a birdie, largely because of the greens. Again, not unfair, but, the challenge is far from over when you get the flat stick in your hands.

The bunkers and waist areas live up to the moniker of Rustic Canyon, typically a touch wild and unkempt with taller rangy grass growing around them. They will lead to some interesting lies and creative recovery shots, but I'd call this part of the flavor of the course and it was something I really enjoyed.

As an aside, while I never had a real shot at birdie on the day, I think several of the holes are quite gettable once you have played the course once and if you are firing your approach shots decently. Multiple par 5's are reachable with a good drive and strong approach. This is certainly a course where a number can be got, but it will be earned.

I can't say enough about the staff at Rustic Canyon. Everyone I met was enthusiastic, friendly, and several went out of their way to make sure my experience was terrific.

I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Greens punched fairly recent, so they ran slower than normal. In a few weeks they will be running pure. Tees, range and fairways were great. A few eagle putts on the day. First time I got on in two on #1, #9, and #13. I always love the driveable #3 par 4. New hours and kitchen open later on Mondays is great. They have a pool table and corn hole in the clubhouse. We had the chicken wrap, sweet potato fries, chicken strips and bbq chicken quesadilla were perfect after a good round. We washed it down with a pitcher of the Pilsner they had on tap. We’ll be back soon.

This is a tremendously enjoyable golf course and a change of pace in style and setting from many of the courses you play when travelling. It has a wonderfully naturalistic feel as you play in a pretty canyon and around and through all sorts of brush, vegetation, gulleys, sand, etc. The fairways are mostly very WIDE so you can hit driver on most holes. But there is often a hazard or carry or a preferred angle to consider and think about on the tee and the approaches. The variety is excellent, with holes that move uphill, downhill, and at different fairway angles. The par-3s are superb. Long, short, drop-shot (but not too severe), uphill, and so well-thought out on the green shaping. All the greens are tremendous. Most have enormous close-cut grass areas around the greens that blend right in that you may not be sure where the green begins. The green contours are excellent, with slopes, diagonal valleys, mounds, backstops, fall-offs, etc. The bunkering is challenging with its high lips and rough edges. This course gets so many details right, is wonderfully varied, has a unique and pretty setting, plays strategically, and is so memorable that it deserve to be in the 5-star category.

This course is fairly good for money,

and easy going for weekend golf near town.

BUT I was so mad about marshal? guy.

We were putting on the green,

and we saw a guy digging into our cart and touching stuffs. We yelled at the guy to go away. We thought he was a thief.

And we charged to him and he said "Hey, you can not bring beers here"" and I ask who you are.

then he said oh I'm doing marshal run.

And I said, you should identify your self first, and touching our stuff. and he said, no I don't have to because cart is belong to golf course and it's not your personal property!

Wow I couldn't believe what he said.....

NO IT"S NOT! AS LONG AS WE"VE PAID TO RENT IT,

WHILE WE ARE RENTING IT, IT'S MY PROPERTY.

AND TOUCHING OUT PERSONAL STUFF IS A THIEF WOULD DO !!!

NO MANNERS WHAT SO EVER !!!

We are wrong bringing beers to the course,

but he was so wrong to handling the case.

Think about it so called marshal guy !

Never coming back here.

Great course, also kept up great. A must Need to play if in the area.

Good layout. Nice to have almost no parallel fairways. Greens are really tricky and challenging! Pace of play is very slow (5.5 hour round).

Great day at Rustic. Always get paired up with good people. Course is in good shape and the greens are always confusing just tough to read which adds to the brilliance. They were however much slower than usual but this place is awesome. GolfNow $40 bucks oh yeah!

I love link style courses and this one is a gem. Although I don't play there often, I look forward to it each time. That's the good stuff. Here's the not-so-good stuff. With the exception of the beverage cart person and the restaurant employees, the attitude of management pretty much sucks. And they don't appear to care either (go figure!). Without a marshal on the course, they have "players" playing the black tees, scattering others with many errant shots, not even attempting to keep up with the group in front of them, and causing an unacceptable five hour round. And since no one is watching, I personally fixed soft cleat drag marks (lots of them) on every green. It's a shame. Doesn't need to be that way. It could be a 4.5 rated course, but it won't under the current conditions.

Great course! Really enjoyed myself. Only thing to note is that pace of play slows down on the last few holes for some reason. Would totally come back here.

Got to hole #10 at 2pm and got done with hole #11 at 2:56pm and then I proceeded to head to the parking lot