Carlton Oaks GC
A view of a hole at Carlton Oaks Golf Club.
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3.1
1830 Reviews (1830)
5 Stars
238
4 Stars
657
3 Stars
434
2 Stars
272
1 Stars
229
Conditions
2.5
Value
3.2
Layout
4.0
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.4
Amenities
3.4
58.6%
Recommend this course
1175 out of 1830 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.3
85 Reviews (85)
5 Stars
15
4 Stars
31
3 Stars
16
2 Stars
11
1 Stars
12
Conditions
2.7
Value
3.6
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.4
68.2%
Recommend this course
58 out of 85 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.1
181 Reviews (181)
5 Stars
24
4 Stars
54
3 Stars
46
2 Stars
28
1 Stars
29
Conditions
2.5
Value
3.3
Layout
4.0
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.4
59.7%
Recommend this course
108 out of 181 reviews
Read Reviews

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.

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Carlton Oaks Golf Club
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Course Details

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

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
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 Activities

Swimming, Billiards
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Reviews

3.1
1830 Reviews (1830)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

Alright for the money

Played off season so course was in poor shape

Would like to play it in summer with better conditions

Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 2
2.0
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Previously Played

Thief

Absolute cow patch. I’m ashamed for having booked this round and angry to have wasted a Sunday morning on this track. Golf Now is stealing money offering tee times at this near death facility, headed for renovation. There should be alerts notifying the customer of the poor conditions. The pro shop, starter, and cart girl were friendly and only saving grace for this day. I cannot comprehend how anyone would play Carlton Oaks a second time. Maybe you got swindled like I did today as a first timer but why would you return? It was over 2.5 hours to play the front nine and I walked directly from a three putt par on nine to trunk slam and leave the parking lot in an attempt to salvage the Sunday afternoon.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Will avoid until further notice

I've played this course a few times and generally have liked it, but the condition of the course now is nowhere near conducive of the price they're charging.

Teeboxes were generally lush, but not at all flat and often riddled with holes and other imperfections.

Fairways were generally acceptable but again littered with animal holes and other things that caused them to be INCREDIBLY bumpy. It was almost impossible to drive the cart anywhere near full speed because you'd just bounce all over the place.

Anywhere off the fairway....forget about it. It was either bare dirt, again littered with animal holes and other craters, or some kind of "rough" that wasn't really grass but wasn't quite dirt. Particularly on the front nine. Back nine seemed to be a bit better, but not much.

Greens were ok. Long for my liking, but this was easily the best part of the course.

Pretty much the only saving grace of the course was the cart girl was a certified 10/10. But that had nothing to do with the actual course, obviously.

Until I hear it's improved, I'll be avoiding this course. Definitely not up to standard.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

So so place to play

Staff are friendly pace of play was slow should have finished all 18 holes with the time frame we had however we only got in 13 due to the pace of play. Greens need a good amount of work very bumpy and don’t roll well.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Course is great, pretty rough shape

I have played here a few times. The course was in poor condition like they went bankrupt and restarted. Still some great holes.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 31
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Worth a “deal” price

Still needing some love. Greens were okay, tee boxes were also okay but the fairways were still rough. Not much grass to them. There’s never really a starter so that can cause some craziness on the course with lots of singles and 2s going out catching up to each other having to pass or pair up mid round. The practice greens are nice, not the same as the course greens but they’re nice

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 18
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Wish they would spend more on the course maintenance

This used to be one of my favorite courses in SD. A Pete Dye masterpiece that has been let go it appears. The fairways were terrible with very little grass and while the greens were a bit fuzzy on the front the back nine greens were fine.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Previously Played

Rough day on the course.. I’m sure the course plays well in the spring but the soil is cooked. Lots and lots of dirt (make sure you hit it straight!) and riding in a golf cart is a very bunpy ride just a heads up. Teed off around 10:45 and didn’t get to hole 14 until 3:30pm. Ended up calling it quits on 14 as we were on pace for a 7-hour round of golf. Course was the most backed up I’ve ever seen. On a positive note huge shoutout to Angeline the cart girl she makes an absolute gem of a transfusion. Will be back for the drinks.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good times

We had an awesome day at the golf course today. Beautiful weather and greens.

Will definitely be back.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 21
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Disappointed

Course was in awful shape. Don’t recommend. Def won’t be back

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Played On
Reviews 13
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Needs help

The tee boxes were the only place there was grass. The course is in rough shape. Fairways have little grass and when driving the cart feels like you are driving a 4x4 because it so bumpy

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Terrible fairways

The course is in bad condition. Fairways are a mixture of dirt, sand, mud, many different grasses and weeds. Ground under repair areas haven’t been touched in ages. Looks like most of the course should be ground under repair. Greens were on and tee boxes were ok. The only other course worse I’ve played is Eagle Crest up in Escondido which is under new management now. Maybe this course needs the same

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

This course needs work

Played this course 30 yrs ago when it was a prestine track . It has really degraded as far as general course condition . Fairways and sand traps appear to receive little mntce while the greens are ok . I did notice a lot of dump trucks coming and going so maybe the time has come the owners are putting some money back into the course which really does have a nice layout from original design .

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 73
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played

This course has a great layout

I like the layout of the course they need sand in the bunkers and grass will grow in the fairways eventually tee boxes and greens are very nice I would definitely come back and play this again very challenging course the 18th hole looks gorgeous

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 27
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Diamond in the rough

I probably couldn't afford to play this course if it was returned to its 60's glory. It's a thinking-player's course. You have to plot your way around. The greens were OK, but a little mushy.

Cart is included and it's a fun layout. Great patio for a post round beer.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
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