Orange County Golf/Tustin Ranch

Hi Everyone.

I'm in OC for 2 weeks for work and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for golf this weekend. I've been looking at the twilight rate at Tustin Ranch, and from the reviews, it sounds pretty reasonable. Does anyone know if it would be easy to get on as a single that day and what the pace of play is like there?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for other courses it would be much appreciated. I don't really want to spend more than $100 for 18, but maybe that's too much to ask in OC

Well, there are websites that tend to give discounts.  It's probably a bit too late for THIS weekend (being Sunday near noon and all).

As for high end courses, Arroyo Trabuco is worth checking out, as is Talega.

There are plenty of cheap courses, too -- Costa Mesa "country club" has two courses (it's a muni, despite the name).  If you're really accurate off the tee, consider Shorecliffs.  If you can get a time at San Clemente Muni, it's definitely worth playing.

I must be a little out of it as far as figuring dates.

As for websites, I was referring to places like Click4TeeTimes.com and GolfNow.com , which offer discounts on tee times at various courses, scheduled through their site.

Oh good, I'm not going crazy.

Unless I'm missing something, Easter Sunday rates shouldn't be any different from your typical Sunday, although the mornings should be more open, as some folks who won't go to church regularly still go on Easter.

I also realized I omitted a pretty good course from the list above:  San Juan Hills.  Only downside is that they require carts on weekends (although that may change for twilight rounds, I'm not sure).

I wouldn't waste my time or money on Tustin Ranch. Its waaaaaaay over priced and completely overrated!! They actually think they're worth the price, which is half the problem, but its definitely not worth it. In fact there other some other courses in OC that are half the price and 10x better than that place. Ive played Tustin Ranch several times, and Im not impressed by any means. Its at best another decent muni course. Its about 15 mins from my house too. Let me know if you want a playing partner. Haha

You want a great course in OC for a fair price? Go play Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo. It is by far my favorite track. Unfortunately you'll never find it on sale on a website (they don't need to). Trust me you wont regret paying the green fee there (on average its $50-80 depending when you go).

Some other great tracks in OC under $100 that are worth the time drive &/or money are:

Oak Creek (Irvine I think? on GolfNow usually)

Talega (San Clemente)

Black Gold (Yorba Linda)

Tijeras Creek (Rancho Santa Margarita)

Monarch Beach (Laguna Niguel/Dana Point & can be found on GolfNow for cheap sometimes)

Strawberry Farms (Irvine, can sometimes be found for a good deal in the afternoons)

San Juan Hills is ok, but there are better tracks for the money IMO.

If you just want a muni style course for $50 or under I can give you a list for that also. I live in OC, so I know what courses to play and when. You want real great courses though? You gotta drive out to Corona (30 mins outside OC).