Carlton Oaks GC
A view of a hole at Carlton Oaks Golf Club.
GolfPass Icon
Rating Index Rating
Tooltip Information Icon
3.2
1919 Reviews (1919)
5 Stars
249
4 Stars
683
3 Stars
465
2 Stars
284
1 Stars
238
Conditions
2.7
Value
3.4
Layout
4.0
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.5
63.7%
Recommend this course
1234 out of 1919 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.2
82 Reviews (82)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
25
3 Stars
29
2 Stars
11
1 Stars
7
Conditions
2.9
Value
3.7
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.4
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.4
67.1%
Recommend this course
55 out of 82 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.2
144 Reviews (144)
5 Stars
18
4 Stars
48
3 Stars
43
2 Stars
17
1 Stars
18
Conditions
2.8
Value
3.6
Layout
4.0
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.6
StaffFriendliness
4.4
68.8%
Recommend this course
99 out of 144 reviews
Read Reviews
frame.svg
AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
circle-star.svg
Course Highlights
Carlton Oaks features a challenging Pete Dye layout that consistently earns praise for its interesting design and playable greens. Exceptionally friendly staff and affordable pricing make this a rewarding value for San Diego golfers.

About

Holes 18
Type Resort/Public
Par 72
Length 7304 yards
Slope 142
Rating 75.1

Carlton Oaks Country Club is the only public Dye Design golf course in San Diego. The course is covered with hundreds of mature trees interspersed with sparkling blue lakes and meandering creeks. The layout offers a diverse mix of holes that all possess a unique character. They all offer different challenges in the form of either water hazards of strategically placed sand traps along the fairways. Tricky pot bunkers and interesting elevation changes were also incorporated into the design as well as Dye's signature railroad ties. There are five very different sets of tees that offer a challenging round from the back tees but also enough playability to appeal to a range of skill levels. In addition to the enjoyable layout, Carlton Oaks is one San Diego's most centrally located courses, sitting just minutes from downtown and many of the city's major attractions.

Book a Tee Time at
Carlton Oaks Golf Club
Powered by GolfNow.com

Course Details

Year Built 1958
Golf Season Year round
Architect William W. Mast (1958) Perry Dye (1989)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $15.00 - $25.00
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill

Lodging

Lodging Available

Available Facilities

Banquet Facilities

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards
The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+ Annual
golf ball.svg
$120 in monthly tee time promo codes
waivedfees
12 rounds of waived fees
redeemtrophy
GolfPass Member Pricing
teetime protection.svg
Tee Time Protection

Reviews

3.2
1919 Reviews (1919)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 37
Patio Dining 20
Watching the Game 20
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 54
Water Hazards 53
Undulating Greens 41
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 44
Locals 35
Walkers 24
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 38
In the 'Burbs 35
Worth the Drive 26

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 73
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

This course has a great layout

Yes the fairways are dry could use some water however the layouts very good they punched the greens the grass is coming back the boxes are all new grass growing just need some Fairway grass however for the price and the location I thought it was pretty good I would go play it

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Worst course we ever played. Very poor conditions. Little to no grass, even on the fairways. The course should close until improvements are made.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Half Dirt

They are trying to get it the course green, i see a lot of seeds around, and some new grass growing, but most of the course is really bad and not green at all, a lot of the times you are hitting of dirt.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Carlton Oaks

This course would be so good if it was kept in good condition, but the conditions were terrible. We decided that we could improve our lie on every shot because they conditions were so bad. It is hard to complain when we only paid $35 including cart, but I guess I still am.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

They really charge for this?

Carlton Oaks has been a legendary course for a long time. Their staff is great starting with Connor Chase in the pro shop. The course however looks like they’re afraid to water and seed it. There was more dirt in most of the fairways than grass. Most of the greens were ok but getting there was tough. Bunkers were full of dirt, not sand, and unfortunately for me I found plenty of rocks mixed in there too. Got a nice ding in the face of my wedge due to one of them. Tee boxes were recently seeded but the grass was long and patchy on many of them. The owners and course manager have some work to do to bring this poor course back to life.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Previously Played

N. I

Range balls are 3 yrs old. Fairways, tee boxes and bunkers are terrible. Greens are ok. Cart service is ELITE.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 97
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Had a great time!

Read a lot of negative reviews when I was booking my tee time, but took the chance anyways because I enjoy playing here from time to time.

It was just fine for the price. Not nearly as bad as I was expecting after reading the terrible reviews…. Fairways, tee boxes and greens were all in well playable shape. Greens were punched a few weeks ago and seem to be healing well.

Sure the rough wasn’t pretty but move your ball to a piece of grass and move on.

Booked the 12:54 hot deal and finished at 4:10.

Great pace, friendly staff and great bar.

If you can find a deal it’s well worth a play.

Always a challenging course.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
1.0
First Time Playing

Absolute Scam Here at Carlton Oaks “Country Club”

Played this course with a few of my buddies and was in complete awe of how awful this course is. We decided to try it because the pictures show an actually well maintained course maybe 4 years. Looks like the owners packed up ship and left this place to die. Fairways look like WW1 trench warfare and tee boxes had sprinklers going off when we were about to tee off. I wouldn’t be as frustrated as I am, but this place charged us a WHOPPING $60. I wouldn’t even let them pay me $60 to play this atrocious excuse of a “golf club”. Better yet, maybe they should fund the chiropractor I am going to need after driving their carts with zero shocks. Do better. This is a joke.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 31
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
1.0
Previously Played

Under Major Maintenance

The greens are sandy and bumpy, really slow and hard to read. Harder than reading fast greens. Pretty frustrating. The tee boxes are all dead grass, looked like they’re putting some maintenance to them, fairways were sand in most areas, hard to even find preferred lies within 10 ft of where your ball lands on the fairway. If you pay for a deal, $25-$30 it’s worth the practice round I guess, but wouldn’t pay more than that currently. Just watched a video of the course from 4 years ago and man I miss the way it use to be maintained. Wish to see it come back to life soon

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 4
2.0
Previously Played

This is easily the worst course I’ve played on. Hitting a fairway means you are hitting off dirt. Tee boxes are absolutely horrible as well. Nothing good about this course except the staff

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 93
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 65
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor

Wasteland

This course has been in decline for years, but it has reached a new low. The current ownership has checked out and obviously doesn’t care at all about maintaining the course. The fairways are just uneven patches of burned grass, dirt, some actual grass and weeds. The greens are more sand than grass and the tee boxes are almost unrecognizable. The whole course is basically a wasteland and gives off a real post-apocalyptic vibe. I’m really not sure how this place is getting enough business to stay open. The parking lot was almost empty. Anybody who pays full price to play here is simply flushing their money down the toilet. Even playing on a heavily discounted tee time feels like a rip off. The staff was nice, but that isn’t reason enough to play here. The sad part is this course could be nice if somebody was willing to maintain it.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Fair Price; Tough Course; Needs Work

Dry and lots of dirt with lots of some kind of animal holes

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Previously Played

Don’t waste your time

7am tee time still took 5 hours. Course is in horrible condition all around. Go anywhere else

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 53
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Late booking on Labor Day

Had to play my annual, “Does it still suck at Carlton Oaks” round.

The answer is yes. Patchy slow greens with different grass types on the same green. Poor sand consistency. Doesn’t seem like they water the grass in the fairways much. Litter all over the course- probably due to lack of trash cans. No ball washers. Sad tee boxes. Divots went un-repaired all over. Probably due to the frustration of the course conditions. It is pretty much just dirt. This course used to be really nice. Owner should sell it, he is only interested in developing the land around it to make money.

The cart girl was nice and kept us accommodated. Maybe I’ll try again next year.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Nearby Courses
San Diego, California
Public
3.5859896543
975
Lakeside, California
Public
2.6666666667
3
San Diego, California
Military
1.9652585867
300
San Diego, California
Military
3.9527272727
275
San Diego, California
Public
4.6419241089
495
San Diego, California
Military
3.7833333333
120
San Diego, California
Resort
1.0
2
El Cajon, California
Public
3.7014011217
1238
Jamul, California
Semi-Private
4.3638946127
1041
Golf Packages

The OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
CARLSBAD, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Aviara Golf Course, OMNI La Costa – South Course, and OMNI La Costa – North Course.

The Lodge At Torrey Pines Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
LA JOLLA, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The Lodge at Torrey Pines and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Torrey Pines – South Course and Torrey Pines – North Course.

The Palm Mountain Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at Palm Mountain Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, Indian Canyons – North Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

The Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

Luxor Resort & Casino Stay & Play Package

FROM $137 (USD)
LAS VEGAS, NV | Enjoy up to 3 nights’ accommodations at the Luxor Resort & Casino and up to 3 rounds of golf at your choice of Legacy Golf Course, Las Vegas National Golf Course, and Desert Pines Golf Course.
Now Reading
  • Home

  • Memberships

  • Library

  • Account