Date Played: June 23, 2007
Time: 12:52 tee time in the afternoon
Number of players: 4
Driving range: Yes, one grass and two mat hitting areas
Putting green: Yes, two next to club house and one near the locker room area which may be for instructions only
Cost: $30
Course: Mesa Linda course, Par 72 Time to play course: 5.5 hours

Notes: The restrooms are located away from the pro shop/driving range and across at the dining area. The restrooms are to the back of the locker rooms. Also, though it says Country Club in the name, this i a public course, right in Costa Mesa near Adams & Harbor Blvd. off the 405 fwy.

Comments: We waited twenty minutes once our tee time came up for the group in front of us teed off, the course was slow on the Saturday morning. There were a group of women to play after us, and after waiting so long they gave up and went back to the pro shop to ask for a refund. This is the only course we have played so far with the wait so long at the tee. After 4 holes we thought we finally got space between us and other players, but at a long par 5 we got backed up again behind two groups. Ended up watching one of our guys feed trail mix to squirrels.

There was no check-in person at the first tee which should have helped with pace of play and the one time we did see a marshal, he was just driving around talking on his cell phone. We found out the delay was due to a tournament ahead of us, so the course did not time manage well since that group was also hosting a “Hole in one” challenge that caused them to bring out measuring tape on one of the holes. Out of the group I was playing in two said they would never play this course again, which is a shame since the cos was cheap ($30, cash only) and the layout was fine with trees situated along the course.

The rough sections were notoriously wicked since they were not cut well and many a balls were hit to them but lost since the overgrown grass would swallow them up easily. Fairways were green with no noticeable yellowed grass and some flowers planted along the cart paths. Sand bunkers were a plenty, but sand was compact with my 3 times in the sand I was able to get out in just one shot with a sand and iron used. Some of the bunkers were deeper than on the courses I played so it looked like when you see PGA pros sunk deep in them when we were playing.

Many of the courses were dog legged with few super-straight gains, so you either blasted through or over trees or brought out your 3 wood to work the ball around a turn. Greens were fast and with various bumps, I was the only person to manage a birdie on the entire 18. Once hole played to the right of the Harbor Avenue, and one of our big hitters hit one onto the street, hopefully no car was hit at this process.

Overall: A price for the course as reasonable for an mid-OC location, good fairways and tree locations. Course play and ranking were hampered by the overgrown grass and horrible waiting time. We play par 72s usually in 4.5 hours, this course broke all records and took us 5.5 hours and wasted the great weather with waiting and waiting.

Score: 3 out of 5 stars