Randy G.'s Profile

Day 3 of my San Diego golf weekend.

A recommendation from one of my playing partners on Saturday was that I try Eagle Crest. He assured me I would like it after Saturday's debacle.

Now, I am far from a golf snob but I was pleasantly surprised when it was in a gated community. Driving in I actually saw green fairways! My hopes were rising.

Then I get to the clubhouse and I start to worry a bit. Felt like I was in an over-sized double wide. But no worries, the staff were really friendly and helpful. I was told to warm up and let him know when I was ready and he would pair me up. The range was adequate and the putting green was really nice. There was even a chipping area.

Ready to go, we head to the first tee. Uh oh. A foursome of beginners (well, I will say beginners to give the benefit of the doubt). We decide to start on hole 2 and catch hole 1 at the end. We get to hole 2 and a group of seniors are there. Luckily the marshall showed up then and told us there was no one in front of this group for three holes and to start on number three. From there on out we never waited for anyone and no one was ever pushing us. Very nice indeed.

The course conditions were pretty good. Some patches here and there, but what you would expect for August. The layout was a lot of fun. Great mix of hole lengths, numerous water hazards, doglegs, elevation changes. Not a long course but a good, fair challenge. I definitely cost myself a few strokes due to lack of course knowledge. I would play here again without any reservation. Even if it was the highest score of my three days!

Day 2 of my San Diego golf weekend. Sometimes the internets lie.

I have played at resorts courses in Palm Springs, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and a few other places and the one constant is always great service and great condition of the courses. Unfortunately, the Doubletree Golf Resort did not get the message.

Let's start with the facilities. The pro shop just looked old and badly in need of an update. It probably looked exactly this way 20 years ago. After checking in, I ask for a small bucket to warm up and I am told they have a short game area with some nets to hit into and it is a $5 charge. Fine, nickle and dime me, most course do the same. The short game was a joke. There were a few stalls that you could hit into to warm up and an area that was suppose to be a green for you to chip to. Except that it would have been the same as chipping in a pasture. I should have taken a photo because it was so bad I can't even explain it. But on the flip side, the putting green was immaculate. I guess that is where the budget ran out.

Strangely, as it was a Saturday morning, they tell me they did not put with any others and I was to go on my own. So of course after the first hole, there are two groups on the second tee box. Before it clears the the group behind me arrives and I join them for the rest of the round. Bad course management once again.

After the third hole, we see three groups at the fourth hole, the first par-3 of the round. I was able to wave down the cart lady and she phoned in requesting a marshall. We find out from the marshall that they had a tournament that morning and it was holding everything up. The marshall was a really nice guy but I guess he couldn't do anything about it. Things did speed up as spacing improved due to back to back par-5's.

The course itself was in poor condition, especially the fairways. Lots of areas of dead or even no grass. The layout was short and fairly repetitive, but there were a few holes that I really liked.  Not enough to play here again unless I hear that conditions are better. Too many options in the area. Show owner comment »

Decided a golf weekend in San Diego sounded fun, so got on http://golfnow.com to decide where to play. Since I was driving down from Irvine, I wanted a course on the North end for Friday afternoon. I chose the Vineyard based on location, available tee time and a great price of 29!

I found the front nine to be decent, maybe a bit pedestrian. I really liked hole #2, a short dogleg par-4 with a pond in front of the green. I also like the 9th hole, a par-5 with water on the right side. Both holes reward shot making over distance.

The back nine I enjoyed more. The holes were more unique: elevation changes, water on a few holes, well placed bunkers all to require some course management. Yeah, this course may become too routine if you played it real often, but I could see having this place in my regular rotation if I lived in the area.

Amenities were good. A nice sized driving range and putting green. The clubhouse and bar were well stocked and the staff were friendly and helpful. Carts have GPS, which is helpful to most but I prefer my skycaddie.  

A strong 3+ stars.

This is more like it!  

After my disaster a couple of weeks ago, I called Bodycentre and asked about deep tissue massages. I explained my back problems and was assured that they could help.

I was promptly greeted and was introduced to Elaine. She asked questions (yay!) to better understand my needs.  I was shown to a private room. The room was small but very relaxing.

Elaine really knew what I needed.  She worked my whole back, focusing on the problems areas, then moving to another area and then returning to the knots.  I could feel the knots releasing and my muscles relaxing.

Elaine told to drink plenty of water and warned me that I would be sore the next day, which I expected but was nice to be reminded. Both her technique and knowledge were similar to my regular therapist back in Atlanta.

Thanks Elaine! You have a new regular customer while I am in Orange County.

What a waste of time and money.  

I have back problems that need a deep tissue massage every 3 to 4 weeks. For me, a massage is physical therapy, not a pampering session. I need a trained therapist who can work the knots out. Even though I asked about it beforehand, and was assured that I would receive a deep tissue massage, that is not what I got.

I also didn't like the environment. One large room for everybody. Tables next to each other and the chairs for the foot massages. Not a relaxing environment. And the massage was with my shirt on? WTF?

This is not the place for any kind of true massage. Based on the other reviews, I guess others come here for another reason.  Make sure you know what you want or need before deciding. Unlike Arnie, I won't be back. Show owner comment »

I agree with Debo J's review that it is 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

The highlights: Played Friday for $20 including the cart! The condition of the course was much better than I expected and the greens were very good. The layout is decent, although many of the holes were too similar. The back nine is much better than the front. And Debo was not kidding about the cart lady being the happiest person. I want whatever she's having!

The low lights: The driving range is mats instead of grass and the range balls are so old it felt like I was hitting rocks. Many of the holes are just too close together. I have never heard "fore" yelled as much as I heard it yesterday. Pace of play at first was an issue. The group in front of us were so slow that they were 2 holes behind the group in front of them after 5 holes. We were able to jump ahead of them at #6 and then we cruised and still finished in a little over 4 hours. There was a marshall but I don't know what he does. I would not play here on the weekend or you may be there all day.    

The course has a river (hence the name) that runs through it but it is totally dry this time of year. The complexion and difficulty will be much different when there is water.

A great value if you are in the area and don't mind all the hackers.

First impressions can be deceiving. Was looking for a place to play Friday and looking at available time on http://golfnow.com, I saw Shorecliffs had a tee time for $21! With cart! My first impression was that this course would be a dog. But I thought it would be suitable for practicing some swing changes I am working on. My first impression was wrong.

The course has the look that it has been there a real long time and might have been a really nice course in its day. The course is not long (under 6,000 yards from the whites) and first impression was that it would not be difficult. Once again, was I wrong. This mild mannered looking course is not a pushover.

Many of the fairways are narrow and have out of bounds down one or sometimes both sides. I usually keep the ball in play and I lost 4 balls. The greens are small as well. Hitting greens in regulation was not easy, putting the short game to test. I don't think I passed the test yesterday.

The condition of the course was fair. The fairways were a mix of nice green grass and some areas of brown and some areas with no grass at all. The greens were pretty good, maybe a little bumpy. Yeah, the sometimes long track between holes was strange and the water in the tunnels was disgusting.

The clubhouse is old and could use some updating. The snack bar and the bar staff were friendly and service was good.

I will play here again, especially when I can get $21 green fees. For the money, this is a good place. First impressions can be wrong.

Disappointing.

This course is five minutes from my friends house where I am staying so thought I would give it a whirl. I played Friday afternoon so was able to get a twilight rate and they had no troubles finding a group to put me with.

I expected it to be slow on a Friday afternoon and it was. Poor design with the first two holes being a Par 5 then a Par 3. The overall design is fine ~ fairly pedestrian but acceptable. Not a difficult course but decent length (6,400 yards from the back tees) and a few lakes to add some intrigue.

Based on all that, this should be a solid 3 to 3.5 star course. Alas, this is a 1.5 star course that I have rounded up. The condition of the course was horrible. The fairways were either dead grass or hard-pan dirt. The greens they do water and let the grass grow so they were soft and slow. And extremely bumpy. Will someone teach the players here to repair ball marks properly?

I will probably give this course another try in the fall or winter to see if the fairways are better than during the summer. I know water is scarce, but give a golfer a break.

For now, I will try out some of the other area courses before returning.

These are some of the best doughnuts. Just the variety makes this place unique but the quality is also 5 stars. But great doughnuts need a great cup of Joe to go with it. Alas, the coffee here is not great. The coffee needs to improve to get that fifth star from me.

Every time I come here I say, why don't I come here more often? I really should as I live just blocks away and walk by it often.

I have never had a bad meal here. Maybe it isn't the most amazing but it is always really good and at a reasonable price. And I always drink a glass or four of some interesting Italian wine and leave happy!

The decor is nice and relaxing. The aroma of the pizzas fills the air nicely. I usually order one of the specials if it sounds intriguing. Otherwise I will order the Linguine Pescatore.

Service is good, especially when I sit at the bar. Had a great conversation with the bartender last night.   A real enjoyable evening. Good food, good wine, good service.

Yay! I'm a fan.