San Juan Hills Golf Club

San Juan Hills is the best value for the dollar course in the OC. The course is more challenging than meets the eye. Elevated, well protected greens are the norm. The greens are always in great condition, fast and breaking away from the hills/mountains to the ocean. Views from many holes are incredible.

Ray and Christian are my favorites in the pro shop, but all the pro shop staff are excellent. The 19 Hole restaurant and sports bar is mucho fun. The staff is friendly and on the ball. This is a restaurant where you will find non-golfing locals always present. The food is great. Live music on Fridays draws a happy crowd. The vibe is always fun and upbeat.

Always amazed at how quiet the course can be even on a Saturday!!...best kept secret!...ask for Ray or Geoff!

Arrived at course and was told we would be playing the front nine twice due to arriatting. I was not told that when booking the tee time. To make things worse a women's group of seven foursomes was placed right before making the turn to play the second nine. That was approximately a 45 minute or more wait between nines. REALLY? My golf partners left and I skipped the first hole and partnered up with a threesome on the second hole. Never did get get to play the first hole a second time. Do you really think this a way to treat a golfers who have a choice of many different courses? Not sure I'll ever go back!

The staff always are warm and friendly here.
The pace of play was very slow as it took us 3 hours to get through 10 holes on Friday afternoon. They have done a nice job maintaining the greens and overall the course was in good shape. Their facilities are very nice as well...great place to come with friends for a beer in a Friday afternoon.

Our company just had a tournament here this past weekend, and it was a perfect day! Everyone loved the course, had nothing but great things to say about the day. We ended the tournament with a luncheon and awards ceremony in a very roomy, comfortable air conditioned room, which made everyone's day! Have to give a big thank you to Michael, Christian and Stacey for helping make this day of play for our employees and vendors a great experience. Already booking next years!

Got a good rate on Golf Now and course was in great shape. Slow pace, there was a lot of high school students playing in front of us (5.5 hours)

Pleasantly surprised at the condition of the greens for all the play they get. Slow but really smooth... fairways were good... bunkers were ok. The only problem was the pace of play which was very slow.

Overall this course is very nice with the exception of the par 5 on the back. It's not very well designed. The tee boxes, fairways, and greens were excellent and the cost to play it was AWESOME!

This is one of those courses that looks easy on paper but, plays harder in-person.
From the Blue Tees it’s a barely over 6,300 (a real yawner…right?). And from the White Tees a smidge under 6,000. Beware--the yardage is a sleight-of-hand, a fun-house mirror, an optical illusion, etc.
Unless you’re booming the ball off the tee (regularly), play from the White Tees—at least the first time. You’ll find them plenty challenging. The Blue/White Tee Box difference only seems to be significant on a handful of holes. But, on those holes it makes a huge difference.
Many uphill approach shots are what make this course play deceptively long. And, the placement of bunkers & water can balloon your score quickly (if you’re not a good bunker player like me, avoid at all costs—the uneven lies & soft sand will get you).
The combination of straightforward hole layouts mixed with challenging holes make getting a par a real challenge (one downhill, blind-dogleg is a good example). On some holes a bogey will feel like par. Btw--The Par 3’s are no gimmes (except possibly the 18th . . . but by then, you need a break). Wayward shots will either be in the adjacent fairway (had a few people hitting from mine throughout the day), in someone’s backyard or ‘the wilderness’.
Once you do get to the green, you’ll be presented with very few straight & level putts. Lots of undulations & breaks make for tough reads. The day I played, it was easy to roll your ball by the hole a few feet even AFTER you saw how fast they were. Tip: Stay BELOW the hole when possible.
Unless you’re half billy-goat, walking is not really an option. The carts have GPS, but, there are 2 or 3 holes where it’s cart-path only. So, a handheld GPS is a bonus. We had a foursome that played veeeeery slow. We eventually skipped a hole and played through. Later we commented that we should have done
This course is a good test to see what you really got . . . for 18 holes.

Started out at 12:32 and took 2 hours and 45 minutes to play the front 9. Had to wait at the tee on every hole. Some had 4 carts backed up. Gave up after 15 holes and 4 hours and 45 minutes. Course in in very nice shape but be ready for a 5 hour round.

Having lived in SJC since 1996, I have seen this course change a lot over the years. I have to tip my cap to the newest ownership. It starts with a nice welcome from Matt and Christian in the pro shop. Whoever the superintendent is deserves a strong pat on the back. They have gotten this track in probably the best shape I can remember. The (3) putting greens are rolling well and the driving range has been upgraded with some cool targets. And considering the heat we have had over the summer; the greens on the course were excellent while the fairways and tee boxes were better than they have been in a long time. Pace of play was solid for an 8:16 tee off on Friday. (4:20 min) The 19th hole is still a great draw, whether it's after golf or just socializing for lunch or dinner,. It has good food, drinks, and even music on certain nights. With the GolfNow price we obtained (38$), it's definitely one of the best values around!

Did not know what to expect since it was my first time playing here. Tee'd off at 1:45pm and barely finished by sundown. Too many novice players on this course slowed the pace. Almost got hit twice from errant balls from other holes. Probably won't play here again.

Played Tuesday morning in the unrelenting rain. Probably shouldn't have been let out. Complete waste
of money.

it was very nice of everything, club house, starter, restaurant and course management. I will definitely be back to play again. Thanks.

Very enjoyable golf experience, played the course three days in a row! Greens are tricky, the ball does'nt seem to break as one would expect. Greens roll quickly without much break. Greens are large but have many ball marks and probably need to be rolled.

The course looked very nice. The first tee is elevated over a cart path and a lake. Was pretty cool. Even though I played probably one of my worst rounds the course was fun and I would like to play it again when I can actually hit the ball. Front nine has lots of elevation changes which makes it challenging and fun. Back nine is pretty narrow and lots of dog legs. I didn't like how it is only mats driving range. I was also a little bothered that my tee time was at 11:20 and they were rushing me to go with a 2 some at 11. My partner was in restroom and the marshal was pushing me to hurry and tee off and he'll bring my partner out to us. That was annoying. I don't like to be rushed on the first tee when I'm on time. Another incident was we were playing with a super nice elderly couple, which they were pretty slow but we offered to to let the group behind us play through several times and they would say no but the marshal would come and tell us we need to speed things up and then would just follow us for a hole or two. Other than the marshal being pushy overal a fun course I would like to play again. Remember to club up on the elevation changes.

Nice facilities, good staff, good food and bar. Plays too slow is the only complaint. All in all a good value.

Golf course was in good shape considering the drought. Greens rolled smooth and true. Would definitely play it again.

Great course, amazing value, great staff! Will definitely be back very soon! If you play on the weekend I would recommend getting in a four ball to avoid waiting too much.

Great coasre and value. Great staff. wonderful food.