Rustic Canyon Golf Course

One of my top 5 places to play in Los Angeles. Just a wonderful layout, challenging but it won’t kill you. The link style gives you options on each hole.
Is it dry? Sure, so is every other course in LA. With upcoming El Nino that could really change things.
It’s worth the ride out there.

Respect is dead here. The two flunkies in the pro shop could care less about the customer experience. Today that was unsatisfactory. The grill room girl must be related to them because she is only looking for her hourly wage doesn’t deserve any tipping (I did, I want it back).
Course needs water. Greens are running at around 14 too fast. I like fast but they are unplayable. Hit all greens on front and couldn’t get the ball to stop rolling. 3 putt was the day. Greenskeeper should take care of that but I doubt it.
Won’t spend my golf dollars on people that treat the customer that way.

Course = 5 stars, service = 1 star, 3 star average:
I took three friends from out of town here to play last Saturday, September 12^th. Round started out well, although the threesome behind us were obviously a bunch of regulars who muttered about us being slow when I attempted to say good morning to them. Since my foursome of first-​timers finished in 4:01, 14 minutes under the expected time, and because the group behind us waited at most about 2 minutes on some of the tee boxes and a few approaches, I have very little sympathy. Added to that, the course is difficult to navigate if you haven’t played it before. It’s hard to figure out where some of the greens are on some of the holes, and many of the actual tee boxes aren’t numbered. There was no visual map of the course in the cart or printed on the scorecard. My group had to make more than a few u-​turns after realizing we had passed a tee box. I am not a picky person and none of what I’ve stated so far is the cause for three stars. The course isn’t responsible for impatient regulars and I’m not going to knock a course because their holes aren’t well marked.
On the 8^th tee, there is a sign with a phone number for calling in to order food so that it’s ready for pickup at the turn. We called. And called. And called. Nobody answered. This wasn’t good as my guests wanted breakfast (5:00 am departure from our location to make tee time). When we finished 9 and went inside the clubhouse, my group asked about their breakfast burritos. We were told 10 – 15 minutes to make them, which obviously wasn’t going to work given the group behind us. We asked why nobody answered the phone. The woman working the counter replied, «oh, that was you that kept calling? I was busy.» Terrible answer, but whatever. We then said we’d pay for the burritos now and she could have the beer cart person bring them out to us when they were done. She said she couldn’t do that. Why not? She wouldn’t elaborate, and appeared annoyed with us: «Sorry, food takes time.»
Rustic Canyon is a course that obviously tries to keep the pace of play moving, which I can really appreciate. But they could do more to make the process smoother, and this kitchen service was unacceptable. My friends from out of town were rightly furious. All we asked was for the person who should have answered the phone to take our money, make the food at her own pace, and then send it out whenever it was done. I don’t think that’s asking too much given the circumstances. It’s not like this was a random Tuesday morning, where food service might not be expected. It was Saturday morning around 9:00 am.
The course itself was great. The greens can be difficult and some are a touch cruel but the links-​style fairways were really refreshing for somebody who can be a little wild off the tee. None of the holes felt repetitive and they are definitely being smart about how they water the course, as I felt the condition was fantastic given the drought. I would play here again but I would not bring out of town guests here again, as I don’t enjoy telling them that they can’t eat breakfast or we’ll lose our place on the course.

I’m a little conflicted about writing this. The complaints I have may not be within their power to correct as the course is in a conservation area and they are probably restricted from making changes to the landscape. The course has been in nice shape the last few times I played and the staff is friendly and efficient.
Pros:
Excellent chipping and sand trap practice areas.
Great atmosphere up in the hills above Moorpark and away from development
Cons:
The driving range balls are simply terrible. The only replace balls when they split. About half the balls in their bins are so worn and old that the sun has actually faded them to a new color.
The greens on some of the holes are ridiculous. They either very large or just poorly shaped/​contoured
The distance between holes (especially on the back 9) can be daunting if you’re walking.
Overall, I’d recommend the course for accomplished golfers but many high-​handicappers would probably get discouraged by this course.

Great course nestled in the hills of Moorpark. It’s open, edging on the links style. The greens are insane though and I can’t remember ever seeing water. For a Saturday morning, the course was open and played quickly even with so much 3 putting.
You can book teetimes on their website 8 days in advance. Times go quickly though so don’t wait around. The course isn’t on
. If you are traveling through the area though, I personally enjoy Moorpark Club more.
The range facilities are average but there if you want to hit a few before teeing off. My husband did while I chowed down on a pretty satisfying breakfast burrito. $ 81 per person on a weekend morning with a cart.

I always, always love trying new golf courses, and Rustic Canyon was no different.
Coming here with four of my golf buddies, it was awesome how they let us play in a fivesome. The rate was $ 38 because we technically played at a twilight time, which is about the price I would say is fair for the course.
When you read that this course is a bit of a links layout, you can mostly expect that the intermediary cut around the greens is very, very close to the actual green surface. Therefore, you can find yourself putting from super far just because you can have a better judge of the roll; an alternative shot you might find yourself playing a lot here would certainly be the bump and run.
The rough is fair, and the OB is usually not in obscenely ridiculous places, but do know that finding balls in the OB areas is certainly challenging. You can expect these desert-​like plants there, and if your ball isn’t visible, it’s likely it’s in one of those and essentially not worth it to even attempt to hack it out.
Additionally, a lot of forced carries at Rustic Canyon are because of the little canyon-​like areas filled with coarse sand. If you are lucky enough to find your ball, you’ll be hitting out of what feels like rough bunkers, and keep in mind that these run through almost every hole. Some of my playing partners – and me on some occasions – lost some strokes just by having to have tough shots just to get out.
Some holes from the tips were certainly very tough; I forget exactly what hole it was, but on the back 9 there was a hole where you basically had to drive it 240+ just to clear the OB area. It was definitely a pretty low handicap hole, but it was very representative of the much hillier and much more challenging back 9. The front 9 is a lot easier due to its wide fairways and relatively flatter holes, and it showed in most of our scores.
The greens were smooth but also very tough in the way they broke; no one really putted lights-​out. My friend, who is a putting guru of sorts, noted that they always tend to break towards the valley, and after a round, I’m actually very inclined to agree.
Walking the course was not impossible, but the back 9 was definitely a lot more strenuous due to the plentiful hills.
Oh, while you’re here, I might as well tell a hilarious story that happened during my round. As my friend was lining up his putt, we all suddenly heard a huge noise. GUUUUUUUUSHHHHHHHH. We looked around, and A SPRINKLER HAD BLASTED HIS BAG, AND IT WASN’T MOVING OFF OF IT! I quickly abandoned studying my line and ran over to grab his bag – carefully, since I didn’t want to get residue splash all over me – and then moved it to safety. No one laughed at the time since it was kind of horrifying, and I think we were worried about the contents of his bag, but he waved it off and said that it was waterproof. Anyways, while I felt like James Bond, I was kind of rattled and missed my putt and made bogey. Great.
It was a really fun round and a really tiring one, but ultimately I wasn’t extremely fond of the course. Holes were pretty interesting, but some were unnecessarily difficult. That said, I really, really love golf, and I wouldn’t turn down another chance to take another crack at it.

Booking: booked tee time easily about 5 days in advance on website
Arrival: checked in and paid in 3 minutes. Paid for range balls and was hitting within 5 minutes. Teed off on time.
Cart: cooler attached, gps device worked great for yardage estimates
Course layout: desert like setting nestled in the mountains. All fairways were pretty wide and forgiving. Almost every hole was pretty straight. Not a drop of water on the course. As prior reviews state lots of sand both in fairways and around greens. Some holes have OB in «environmentally sensitive» areas.
Conditions: a course I was told that normally in the summer has very fast greens and dried out fairways, but was just as surprised as we were with the recent rains, now feels fresh and renewed. The greens were slow for summer southern cal greens and the fairways felt pretty fresh.
Pace: we were a 3 behind a 3 and in front of a 4 and were reaching the tee box just as the group in front was hitting their 2^nd balls. It was wall to wall on a Thursday afternoon but the pace was consistent.
Pros: forgiving for beginners, minimal hazards and OB, good if you hate water. The scenery is amazing. The value at $ 30 per round can’t be beat. The greens are in great shape for Southern California mid summer. Staff was accommodating.
Cons: kind of crowded for a Thursday afternoon. Not enough signage as to where to find tee boxes, no hole/​yardage signs at tee boxes.
Overall a great value and great course. It deserves its 4 star Unilocal rating, if not 4.5.

Great course, challenging layout… Like all cali courses, affected by the drought.
Different kind of challenge than other courses in the area, in my top five for public LA tracks.

Early mornings on this course usually involve some wildlife sightings, the road runners are my favorite and quite abundant at rustic canyon.
This was the first «real golf course» I played when I learned how to play, it wasn’t too busy and I never felt pushed or rushed even when the number of shots I took was borderline embarrassing. Other patrons behind us were very friendly as was the staff here.
A great rookie friendly course, that seasoned golfers will also enjoy and appreciate.

One of the most fun courses I have played in So Cal, and have played over 100. The greens are gigantic. Very links style with cool bunkering especially the front nine. Twilight price was $ 25. Love this course and will play again even though over 2 hours away. Oh by the way the staff was very friendly to me.

What a great and fun course. It meanders through the canyons and most of the course, especially the front 9, is quite flat with large wide fairways. This sounds boring but the placement of waste areas and bunkers in combination with wide fairways allow you to get creative with your shots. I can imagine playing some of these holes 5 times and being able to play it differently every time. This continues to the undulating greens with HUGE aprons that are mowed so tight it’s hard to tell where the greens even begin. This allows for long putts, bump and runs, or flops depending on what you feel like.
If the wind is calm the course isn’t overly difficult, in fact on the front 9 there are many birdies to be had. Landing your approach in the correct tier is essential. Don’t be surprised to see your perfect lob wedge from 90 yards land 4 ft from the pin and trickle down 30 ft from the hole.
I’d be out here a few times a month if the prices were lower. $ 81 is a little steep.
Tip: download a free golf app on your phone so you can see the hole layouts. There are no pictures on the scorecard.

The golf course is exquisite and well maintained, worth the $ 81 Sunday green fee all by itself. Maybe that’s the problem. The reason I am not likely to return anytime soon is because the customer service is non-​existent, the employees are hostile and act like you are interrupting their day. They refuse to greet you when you walk in, they wait for you to speak to them, as if they don’t know why you’re there. After you have to greet them, the only words spoken by the spoiled children at the front desk are to demand money. I don’t expect much, maybe a «good morning welcome to rustic canyon» or «have a nice round», «greens a little fast today»…But I get absolutely NOTHING The golf cart was banged up and dirty. They’re too cheap to put a couple tees in the little holes on the dashboard. The cart attendant is just as rude as the rest if the staff, kept his hands in his pockets for 10 minutes after we pulled up, didn’t ask how the round was. God forbid he would wipe down the clubs (for which I would gladly tip). Usually this kind of behavior is led by example from the top, the GM here must be very unprofessional and unfamiliar with how to train staff to deal with paying customers! There are plenty of other courses where the employees are cordial, I will make sure that my regular Sunday group of 8 – 10 golfers take our hard earned money somewhere else!

Easily one of the best values in Southern California. This links style course is always a great time. The course is well maintained and I have never had any problems with the staff.

Beautiful links course.
$ 81 for wkd round + cart.
Due to frost, there was a 30 min delay and they started everyone off the 10^th tee. It was fine.
Tee boxes– above avg.
Fairways– above avg. yellow grass but nice.
Greens– super nice. Very fast. Some are very difficult. Multiple undulations. Nuts.
Bunkers– some are small rocks. Some are deep graves.
GPS in carts just give yardage. No map.
It was a 5 hr round teeing off at 10:30. The group ahead of us were terribly slow. Didnt play ready golf, 3 practice swings & meditating while addressing the ball. A bit douchey.
No marshall to be seen ever. Beer cart girl seen once at 10:30.
Nice but could be a great course. Checked off list.

Always a tough track.
Absolutely love the first few holes. Looks wide open but watch out. Plenty of deep bunkers and special areas where you cannot retrieve your ball from. All marked off.
Front nine much easier then the challenging back nine.
The greens can be treacherous. Fast and true. Good luck.

Great golf course and great cinditions. They have truly done a great job designing and maintaining a beautiful facility. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the Starter accused me of stealing a yardage book that I purchased 6 months prior when I played. I told him that and his answer was that they only had them for a a month or two. Well that OBVIOUSLY wasn’t the case since I was holding that I purchased over 6 months ago. Other than that the rest of the staff is great, the course is walkable and it is a true test to your game!

Judging by the other reviews, I guess I must be spoiled by good courses because this is by far one of the worst and poorly managed course in So. Cal.
The only thing missing is the swinging candy cane and the windmills.
The fairways are nasty brown and contaminated. Greens are OK.
Driving range charges $ 5.00 for a SMALL (extra small) bucket of balls.
Water coolers on the course are always empty then they make you pay for the over priced beverage cart that you are lucky to see twice in a round. I guess texting away under the trees pays better.
This is by far now wheres close to an $ 86.00 round for golf.
It might be worth $ 40.
Do yourself a favor. Take your money elsewhere.
Oh yea! Fire the Marshal, if there was one. They do not regulate the idiots that have no golf etiquette, which means they encourage the hackers to ruin it for the others.
Fire everybody and start over!!!

Really like the golf course here. It’s rare you find a true Scottish links type golf course anywhere in the country, but especially here in Cali. Greens are trickly, lots of birdies on the front, not so many on the closing holes (especially 14, 16, 17, and 18.
Price point is right, GPS is very outdated and needs upgrading. Range adequate but not good. My real issue here is management. THEY SUCK! They couldn’t care less about the golfer, don’t wanna hear any suggestions or input, and I guess what comes with a county run course, a bunch of civil serpents who can be a complete failure at the job and still have one.
Would love to see a real operator here. Pro shop is barren and awful, and the food needs some serious attention!

Rustic canyon is a unique golf course. It is a links style layout with lots of wide open fairways and large greens. I played it in August so the course was nice and brown in lots of areas but some of it was very soft due to rain and drainage that holds the water and keeps it green.
The course wasn’t on my GPS so we pretty much had to go by the yardage given which was a problem on some holes as it was obviously way off. The other issue with it not being on the GPS I use was that unless you had played the course before you wouldn’t know about fairways ending and waste areas coming into play. I don’t remember if they had a yardage book or not but I would recommend it.
The big issue that we dealt with was pace of play. This is not an exaggeration but our round took nearly six hours. We only saw the beverage cart twice and she didn’t have any food so by the time we were done we were pretty hungry and tired. The lesson here and from other reviews I have read is that you can’t play quickly no matter when you play. We played on a Tuesday and simply weren’t planning on spending that much time out there.

I just finished my first round at Rustic, and it won’t be my last. This is one of the best courses in the greater Los Angeles area, and definitely one of the best values.
This course is really all about short game. The fairways are just so wide and forgiving that it’s really hard to loose balls on most tee shots. It’s when you start attacking the greens that you’re game will really be tested. The landing areas are all quite large, and the short cut is just as putt-​able as the actual green. What makes the greens challenging is that they’re all heavily undulated and fast. If you’re unlucky enough to hit a green-​side bunker you’ll definitely have your work cut out for you getting out. The lips can be quite high, and the sand rather compacted.
The thing I loved the most about Rustic Canyon is just how many options you have around the course. Almost all of the holes give you multiple landing areas depending on how aggressive you’d like to be. This is a course that can be played a number of different ways which is very refreshing when compared to many of the other courses in L.A.
And don’t forget… This is a WALKING FRIENDLY course, which I highly recommend. It’s very flat and beautiful. Take your time to take it in and get some exercise in the process. :)