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Rating Index Rating
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4.7
405 Reviews (405)
5 Stars
288
4 Stars
95
3 Stars
14
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
4
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
4.6
Amenities
4.4
97.3%
Recommend this course
387 out of 405 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.8
13 Reviews (13)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.4
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.2
100.0%
Recommend this course
13 out of 13 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.8
40 Reviews (40)
5 Stars
33
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.6
Amenities
4.3
StaffFriendliness
4.5
100.0%
Recommend this course
40 out of 40 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Carmel Valley Ranch delivers a thoughtfully designed layout with memorable back-nine holes, top-notch conditions, and a smooth pace of play. Welcoming staff and well-maintained facilities consistently make this a must-play destination worth returning to year after year.

About

Holes 18
Type Private/Resort
Par 70
Length 6117 yards
Slope 131
Rating 70.1

Back along Snively’s Ridge on the eastern boundary of the Santa Lucia Preserve is a spot that is one of the great luxury getaways in the USA. It’s called Carmel Valley Ranch, and its Pete Dye par-70 layout is a very playable golf course that was voted one of the Top 100 Women-Friendly Courses in the country by Golf for Women’s Magazine.

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Course Details

Year Built 1981
Fairways Rye Grass
Greens T1 Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Pete Dye (1981) Gene Bates (2006)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "The Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

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

Food & Beverage

Cafe, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Spa, Locker Rooms

Available Sports

Fitness, Tennis

Accolades

The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+ Annual
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12 rounds of waived fees
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Tee Time Protection

Reviews

4.7
405 Reviews (405)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 9
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 15
Bunkers 13
Water Hazards 10
This course/club is great for:
A Weekend Splurge 14
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 13
Advanced Golfers 10
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 16
Worth the Drive 13

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

Lovely course and staff

We hadn't played here for over 20 years as it previously was a members only course unless you were staying onsite. It was more challenging than I remembered but still fun. Great views on the back nine. The weather changed 3 times while we were on the course. Cool, warm, windy, cold and then moderate no wind. Dress in layers is my advise. The staff couldn't have been nicer and so very clean, everywhere! Great little café between the 8th and 9th hole. We will definitely be back!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great Round

The golf course is majestic and complete. Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Club is a great facility in a beautiful valley. All of the staff were friendly and courteous. The course is phenomenal and the elevation changes are epic. I can’t wait to get back out there.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course is in great shape. Staff was super friendly and helpful. You really get an all inclusive feel here. All of the bells and whistles. Beautiful place to play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Carmel Valley Ranch

I love this track. Very hilly and mountainous at times. Great firm greens that roll true. If you can hit driver down the middle you will enjoy it here. Beautiful design in a remote location. If you want to challenge yourself to a good game of golf go for it! Staff is extremely helpful and very pleasant. Facility is top notch.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Some players are not good.

Some players were slow and selfish. Some players do not like to play golf with strangers even though same tee time.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 156
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 100 Contributor
San Francisco Advisor
Previously Played

Super Fun Layout

Great track with some excellent water features on the flat section and 6 holes that go up

Into the mountianside for some elevation changes. Overall course conditions are great. Fairways are still a little wet and soft from all the recent rain.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice course

Really enjoyed back nine. Thought the front was a little boring

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Most Enoyble

This course is a very enjoyable, challenging layout especially from the back tees. Don’t let the yardage fool you if you are single digit. There are some holes that can sneak up on you to reek havoc with a steady round. The scenery and elevations are spectacular . The Pro Shop is always engaging and making sure you have. a good experience. This goes for cart and bar staff also. Play Carmel Valley Ranch and enjoy a most enjoyable round

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Carmel Valley Adventure

The course was in perfect condition and I liked the pace of play status tracked in the "smart" golf carts. Tee boxes were excellent and the greens were great. The cart programmed on how to play each hole helped immensely as well as the on-line gps.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Fast greens

My buddy and I played two weekdays on a golf package. Pace of play was perfect. No one behind or in front of us for two days.

The yardage on the card is short (6100+) but it plays longer and you can play driver from all par 4s and 5s (back tees).

Some say the course is easy, but it does have some protections from scoring (I'm a 5.3 index). The greens are fast and undulating. I added about 3 strokes in putting. A lot of tightly moved chipping areas with 4 to 8 foot falloffs. My up and downs percentages were about 1/2 of normal. The fairways have a very tight mow. Mishits will have a poorer outcome than cushioned fairways. Especially wedges from inside 100 yards. This added a few strokes to my score. Finally, the course is target golf with OB and hazards on almost all holes. I had one OB and two shots in the water over 3 rounds (I was driving great too).

Course conditions are fantastic, scenic and fun to play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 72
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

This course never disappoints me...always in great shape with friendly and helpful stafff..from the main office guys to the starters and cart guys ...bar crew again friendly and helpful....with post play enjoyment!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Will be back

It’s a very nice course. Fantastic view and wild life. The course is not that difficult but enjoyable. Will be back to play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Excellent Course but Horrible Pace of Play

The back nine is a gem with drastic elevation drops and some blind shots. The course is fair for all levels with the back tees being less than 6,200 yards - so the course was not too long. The back nine took 3 hours to play and everybody was a twosome. No ranger or other course management. We would finish a hole and the group in front of us was always still waiting to tee off themselves. The front nine played faster but with some similar waits. There was a fivesome playing two groups ahead which caused those delays on the front. I would love to play this course again sometime but not if it is a 5 hour round.

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

Well maintained course

Course conditions immaculate! Nice variety of interesting hole layouts and challenges. One downside is holes that are tight along roads or homes; need to hit it straight!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course but service inside after round was terrible we had to serve ourselves

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 23
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked

Nice but too easy

Instead of the extreme challenges at Pasatiempo, my wife and I opted for the scenic Carmel Valley.

This turned out to be a beautiful choice for an adventure.

Being so close to the chaos of Carmel yet in the valley and vineyards of this resort made this special.

The golf course is beautiful and well maintained almost like a private club. The afternoon we played was a little crowded and somewhat slow but the scenery is worth the wait.

For me, there were too many 350 yard par 4s and every par 3 is a mountain goat downhill demon.

This course is best for the real beginner and the older golfer who loves being able to hit par 4s in regulation.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 72
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
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