On my quest to play every Bay Area public golf course, we were able to snag a last minute tee time for Monarch Bay. We were blessed with good weather and it was a nice hot day. The course itself was in pretty good condition. They are renovating a bunch of their tee boxes, so the course is currently playing shorter than it normally would. It made the course a lot easier, as I was hitting driver and wedge into most of the par 4s. Ended up shooting (-1) from the white tees, which was a solid score. The course is pretty wide open, so if you aren't driving the ball straight it doesn't hurt you as much. It's great for all skill levels, and can be challenging at times but a great course to learn on if you are just starting. The greens were aerated earlier in the week so they weren't rolling true but we were able to make it work. The bunkers had a good amount of sand, and the fairways were well kept. Pace of play was on the slower side, so plan for 5+ hours to be on the safe side. I'd prefer a morning tee time as the wind picks up in the afternoon and makes the course a bit harder. My only gripe is that there was no mention of aeration of the greens on their website or when I booked my tee time. Honestly we probably wouldn't have come if we knew the greens were just aerated, especially since we had to drive across the bridge to get here. Overall, definitely a solid course that I would play again and again. read more

Roberto is an excellent bar tender and the carnitas tacos are to die for!! 10/10 I okay golf here every weekend and this is what I look forward to more than my round! read more

Monarch Bay Golf Club - The carnitas tacos are to die for! Roberto pours a great transfusion also! - Golf Near Me - San Leandro, California

Happy Holidays. Since I am now back in SL, I wanted to check out their public golf course. Quality/Quantity - Full service buckets of balls. I am/was so used to the vending machines. I also like the fact that their balls are yellow rather than white with the black stripe. Currently 30% off, see pictures or go visit. Pretty nice course, well at least much nicer than the last time I was here 15-20 years ago... Atmosphere - Open 7 days a week from 6am to 8pm. Events, tournaments, or weddings available. See website. Gift shop, pro shop, etc. Service - Good, very welcoming. Programs and instructions available - See website. Membership available for $49.98 a month. Cut and pasted from their website: "Enjoy a large basket of range balls daily, discounted green fees, a beverage included with purchase of a green fee and select discounts on merchandise." Price - See my picture or website. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 2001. read more

See all

I usually come to the range! Good prices for balls The staff are super helpful! They store inside has most of what you need at a typical golf course! read more

My husband and I absolutely love Monarch Bay! The staff is always so friendly, welcoming, and full of energy. Anytime we have questions, they're happy to help, which has made such a difference as a new golfer learning the game. They've made me feel so comfortable and excited to continue improving my golf skills. The food is amazing too; the carnitas tacos are a must! And I have to say, the 9-hole course completely has my heart. read more

Apparently, pace of play is optional here. I've played my fair share of slow rounds, but this... this was next‑level frustrating. Tee time was 3:30PM and with normal pace, 18 holes would've been a lock before or right at sunset. Instead, our entire round was held hostage by the foursome ahead: two women and a couple who seemed blissfully unaware of "ready golf." Half the time I couldn't figure out what they were waiting for: UFOs to land? The grass to grow taller? The wind to die down before they shot (impossible here)? My group of three walkers was on their heels at every single hole. No marshal ever came by (does this course even employ them?). Without anyone managing pace, there was zero chance of politely nudging things along. By 8PM we were still stuck behind them as they took their sweet time, including on the par 3 17th where they somehow turned three shots into a glacial crawl. We tapped out at hole 16, defeated not by the course but by the sheer absence of play management. read more

Prep areas warranted a 4-star, but the experience on the Marina (9 hole side) negated that. Saturday afternoon so not at all surprised that the putting green, practice bunker, and chipping area were pretty full, but people rotated well enough so everyone got an opportunity. Not always lucky enough to have that and a range all available, so that was a plus. Can't speak to the 18-hole Lema course, which is understandably the emphasis, but the 9-hole side left plenty of room for improvement. I think it's great that they have youth tournaments, but would have figured this to be reason enough for the course to be in better shape. Also, pace of play was ridiculous. Not necessarily suggesting a need for a marshall or anything on this side since that seems unreasonable, but the groups ahead had absolutely no consideration. Group of 3 at a slow pace wouldn't even let a youth participant playing as a single behind them play through. Frustratingly watched this from 2 back on the waiting bench from holes 3-9, and also watched some behind me give up and head home. As a plus, there was another putting green along the way between holes so that helped kill some time. read more

We played the Lema course on 6/11/26. Great condition and staff were awesome, especially the starter. HOWEVER, we went to the bar afterwards for drinks. I ordered a G&T, (SINGLE), and cost me $17.80 ... WTF !!!! The barman said the single shot of Gin was $12, so a double would have been $27 (TWENTY-SEVEN DOLLARS) .... $12 per shot and $5 for the tonic ... for a G&T ????. That is totally ridiculous. Nowhere in the Bay Area, even in down town San Franscisco, will you pay $17 for a single G&T. I am sorry, but if that is your prices, I suggest to all golfers to go drink somewhere local in the area, and there are great places nearby, where you will get a much better deal, and a great atmosphere. read more

First time playing west of the Caldecott and decided on Monarch Bay. Booked a foursome on a late Friday morning via their website. Paid once we checked in at the pro shop from the friendly cashier. Was amazed at how packed the parking lot was but saw the double decker range and understood why. The place was bustling. Drove up to the starter at the first tee and he filled us in on course details. He was a outgoing gentleman. Four choices of tees, wide fairways, and well manicured greens. Lots of bunkers tho! Front 9 was good, but the back 9 was pretty difficult. Friendly cart girl came by with drinks; fyi- the $9 hot dog was cold. Nice views of the water, slight breeze. We'll be back! read more

I recently decided to take golf lessons because my family & friends want to golf more with me. My brother-in-law recommended instructor Woody Woodard, who he referred to as a "legend." Before my first lesson, I could already hit my irons & fairway woods consistently straight though not as far as I thought I should/could. And hitting my driver was always an adventure. After one lesson, I'm hitting my irons & fairway woods firmly, farther & at a lower / proper trajectory! I haven't hit my driver yet - bring your own rubber tee to the range. Woody is very good, and also super nice! He recommended that I practice at least 3 times between out weekly lessons, snd suggested I join the Players Club, which includes discounted green fees & pro shop merchandise AND a daily large bucket of range balls (normally $18). The Players Club is, especially while I'm taking lessons & practicing 3+ times s week, a great deal at $50/month! read more

We went in for a 6:30am 18 and the carts weren't even out. We had to wait for a cart and started the T-time already behind due to waiting for the carts. As we proceeded to play, we were on the heels of the folks playing ahead of us (around the 12 hole) when the manager shows up to tell us "hurry up because the people behind us are complaining" in a very rude and unprofessional manner threatening us to boot us off of the course. The staff in the AM were quite unwilling to be friendly in the AM and we waited by the garage roll up doors for our cart with others waiting to get started. I would've been okay with all of this until the rude manager addressed us about being behind. How about next time have everything in order to maintain the time. We're not the best golfers but we staid within the 10-13 min average per hole. I will NOT be returning to this unpleasant, unprofessional and rude establishment. Be advised folks! read more

I went on the butterfly monarch walk, then afterwards I went and ate. The place is clean love the water with the ice .. the food was good.. I didn't even know that this place existed. They have a full bar in there where you can watch the game .. I just thought it was a golf course i would go back to eat and maybe have a drink read more

See all

Absolutely unacceptable experience at Monarch Bay Golf Club. We had a 12:39 PM tee time on a Sunday and were only able to play nine holes in nearly four hours. That kind of pace is inexcusable and shows a complete lack of course management. When we approached Tony, the golf course manager, to request a fair and reasonable accommodation -- either a credit for the remaining nine holes or a 50% refund -- we were shocked by the dismissive and rude response we received. Instead of acknowledging the poor pace of play and our wasted afternoon, Tony chose to blame us for only having three players in our group (how is that our fault?), claimed we "lost him money," and then offered us range ball credits as if that's an acceptable substitute for hours of lost play and a ruined experience. His attitude was unprofessional, condescending, and frankly, offensive. This is not how you treat paying customers -- especially those calmly and respectfully raising valid concerns. He clearly has no concept of customer service, nor any ability to receive feedback. We paid full price for 18 holes and were given half of a frustrating, painfully slow round with zero accountability or resolution. Monarch Bay needs to take a hard look at both its pace-of-play policies and its management team, starting with Tony. Do better. We won't be coming back. read more

First time here and I loved it! The service was awesome and the food was amazing. I had the special Torta Cubana sandwich! it was delicious! Found this spot on Instagram and I'm so glad I did. read more

I hit up Monarch on IG because I lost my headcover and they responded hella fast saying they had it. I pulled up last Saturday to grab it and the same guy, pretty sure he runs the page, let my sons fly the drone even though he didn't know us. That meant the world to my son, a real once in a lifetime moment. Service like that is why people keep coming back. Just off how he treated us and how quick and professional he was, I had to drop a Yelp review." read more

The whole marina vibe there is so amazing everybody there is very nice. You don't feel pressured to run around the holes people are very nice in the environment. Like I said is amazing. I would recommend this place for anybody. read more

It's been more than 2 years since I've been back here. The golf course had some changes, not too many thick bushes to lose balls, the fairways are nice but the tee boxes are spotty. The Sand Bunkers have no sands at all. The views are still beautiful. It was a Friday morning, I walked in and had a Tee Time available, lucky me. Senior rate is $36 walking, but I forgot the golf course is so long, especially the walk from the 17th back to the 18th is a long one since the bridge in the middle no longer or ever finished building. Next time I would rent a cart. 6.5 miles walking in the 86F heat really drained me although the sea breezes were cooler. The green is quite slow because the grass is thicker than most golf course. The golf course is still under renovation, quite a few holes are under construction. The fairways are nice, although some are still being fixed with new grass. Regardless, it's still a very nice golf course for the price. The pace was quite slow, but not bad for a Friday, it's almost 5 hr, Tee Off at 9:36 and out at 2:20PM. I would come back again when I have a day off, not sure how slow it would be on the weekends. read more

See all

this course was awesome. i first hit some balls at the range which was double decked. good course shape but my son couldn't play he would've loved it. hard course from the whites read more

Monarch Bay is not horrible, it's just not as good as the green fed would Suggest. It's more of a local muni vs a destination course. Layout is ok, views of the shoreline are nice, and it provides much need character. If you are in the area and don't mind paying a little extra for the few holes with ambience - go for it. read more

Honestly I didn't get good vibes from this place because of how torn up it was after the rain. First, it's going to be extremely muddy here as the drainage is bad. There is geese poop on many holes and also the rough is thick which makes it impossible to find your ball unless you hit it in the fairway. Now, that's all fine if you like a challenge but I personally don't enjoy having to wade through mud to find my ball. Course is walkable and has a decent range where you hit off mats and can hit driver :) This overall reminded me of playing a wet Corica Park but at least I could usually find my ball at Corica. Probably won't come back due to course conditions - definitely does not look like pictures. read more

Super scenic and relatively challenging 18-hole, friendly and accommodating 9-hole, and clean and spacious two-level driving range WITH lights -- what's not to like?! -Very reasonable rates -Lots of member perks for a low monthly cost -Great playing conditions -Great location, easy access -Very down to earth members and staff What are you waiting for, visit soon! P.S. One upgrade I'd like to see one day are a handful of Top Tracer machines similar to Mission Hills and Harding park. read more

Monarch Bay Golf Club - Golf Near Me - San Leandro, California

Okay, to be frank: this course would be amazing if it weren't for the geese leaving their feces everywhere and the horrible amount of wind due to being right on the bay. Obviously, mother natures doing, but it really made for a frustrating (and nasty) round! Pretty good conditions besides that. 2 floor driving range as well! read more

Monarch Golf has become one of my go to spots with my husband, It's a good mix of fun and challenging without making you want to quit golfing....Good vibes, good course, and the pro shop usually has solid deals, if you're trying to get better or just want a place to enjoy a round, definitely check this place out, will be back for sure since there Facebook has been giving us updates of the course. That's how I found the 40% off deal..I got a nice hat for myself and my husband read more

Played this 9 hole which is well maintained and reasonably priced. Players are friendly and courteous. I highly recommend!

It's almost impossible to book a tee time over the phone called 25 times and not even a answer or even get put on hold or anything even if it's busy you would think one of the the 25 times they would answer one call read more

Seemed pretty and nice but overcrowded and overpriced. Narrow fairways. Seems like we're all hunched together. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I left my gps/speaker on the golf cart when I returned it. THEY CLAIM THEY DO NOT HAVE IT, it's been less than 24 hrs. NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN. Not cool. Also girl who answers phone could care less. I've left it on a cart before and it's been returned at other courses. read more

I golf monarch bay golf course often as a local member. It's an accommodating pleasant golf course for most levels of players. The staff are very attentive to customer concerns friendly and polite. The price at monarch bay is incredibly inexpensive for members consequently it's popular and many golfers play there regularly. For me it's much appreciated five stars thank you monarch bay GC. read more

This review is for the driving range. Came at 8pm on a Saturday to get a bucket in before closing and didn't make it on time. One employee kindly let me know the range cut off hours time versus the course time. When I was leaving, an employee named Leo was kind enough to let me in. I just want to thank Leo for accommodating me. Great customer service from him and very respectful. Thank you Leo, I'll definitely come here more often cause of your kind gesture. The range itself is good. Nice two level deck and plenty of room and benches for folks hitting and spectating nearby. read more

This is my home course/range, and I think it's pretty great with the membership as long as you set your expectations. My review is for those who are contemplating a membership as well as for those who just want to know more about the course. Range: 1) Sometimes they're out of balls at the range and you'll need to wait for the picker to refill the range machine. Why? Because some of your fellow golfers think it's appropriate to take range balls out on to the golf course, and then proceed to lose 18 balls over 5 holes. This is (mostly) not the golf course's fault, and you'll probably only be waiting 10-15 minutes anyway. 2) In the past 8 months I'm pretty sure they haven't replaced the mats, so you're going to be a sad boy/girl if you hit chunky shots since the mats are not fluffy at all. Whatever, this will just teach you to make better contact and not use a death grip on your swing. 3) Dude, it's $50 for a month for a large bucket a day (normally $10-15 at any other range). You break even after 4 visits to the range. I don't get why people complain about this deal. Course: 1) I have no idea why you wouldn't play this course often if you have a membership. The rates are great for members. Yeah, the pace of play isn't great at times, but that's most golf courses right now. It's hard to beat $38 to walk at peak times (and cheaper for twilight rates). If you want no waiting, join a country club or get up at 5am. I hate getting paired up with members who whine about pace of play here after paying $5. It's like complaining that you're not getting concierge service at a Target or Safeway. Staff: 1) About 20% of the staff are super cool, and the other 80% suck because they're jaded and assume everyone is a whiner. FOR VISITORS: 1) There is no marshal. Unless you're teeing off at 5:15am or playing on a weekday, expect a 5-6 hour round. I feel like Metropolitan Golf Links is better for pace of play on weekends, with a similar feel, price, and level of challenge. No marshal over there either though. 2) If you're playing in the afternoon, expect challenging conditions with the cross-wind. You'll need to club up by 2 clubs at some points because the cross-wind is intense. The wind is less of an issue if you can get an early AM tee time. 3) There are definitely areas that should be marked as GUR that aren't. Just remind yourself this is a public muni, take free relief (if you're playing for money just establish this beforehand), and move on. 4) Unless you have a full foursome, there's a good chance you'll be paired with a budget-conscious member who sucks at golf. Remember, you once were conscious about your budget, and you once sucked, too. Help that person out instead of being passive aggressively angry. 5) The bunkers aren't very well-maintained, so if hardpan conditions make you cry, try extra hard to stay out of the bunkers. 6) ) Monarch used to have black, yellow, and white tees, but got rid of their black tees, presumably because enough ego golfers were making the pace of play worse by playing from the blacks. So keep that in mind if you're looking to challenge yourself from a length perspective. read more

Called today to book a teetime but the guy (Tony) said I have to do it online using the credit card. I told him I always get a teatime over the phone without any problem and then you guys always send me a confirmation email. He said I don't know who you talk to but I'm not gonna do that for you. I asked to speak to a supervisor and he said he was the supervisor. Bunch a liar, I know he's not. Such a rude customer service. Great way to lose a business. Thanks for nothing, Tony. read more

I have come here for a few times for the driving range, overall it provides all the basic and I usually come on Sunday morning - ground level is usually pretty packed but upstairs (which is covered - which I love) you will always find spots. To pay for the balls, go inside the office cashier and ask for the size of bucket you want, then they will give you a receipt with a special code, go into the range building structure all the way on the left side, enter the code at the machine. Sometimes I find buckets missing next to the machine so you may have to go hunt for a bucket somewhere around. read more

The pace of play can be frustrating but the staff is appreciative of members and receptive to feedback. Course is kept in great shape read more

For the second time in 1 hour, they ran out of range balls. The worker literally has one job - when I notified (Tommy?) at the pro-shop, he just replied "okay", so I voiced the annoyance of everyone in line. This employee told me he "doesn't appreciate" my concern, and made some excuse about how a construction hole dug for piping caused the slowdown (NOT the case, it has been like this for the entire 6 months that I have been coming here. Needless to say, I encouraged the cancelation of 5 membership cards amongst my friend group who used to go here. Visit only if you like going to a cheap facility where upkeep nor customer service is their biggest strength read more

Monarch Bay Golf Club - Typical basket of range balls - Golf Near Me - San Leandro, California

* = Beautiful course just off the water * = Challenging, yet forgiving, dynamics to each hole * = Service staff was terrific from all angles * = Driving range and practice green were both adequate - = Prices are a bit high... and you'll run into lots of goose droppings I had a terrific inaugural experience at Monarch Bay. We arrived at 10:00 AM for a 10:45 tee-time. It was my first time using a new set of irons, so I wanted to hit a bucket of balls before playing the full course with friends. The girl in the pro shop was very nice when we checked in... but what irked me was, we checked in, walked to the driving range, set down our bags, went to the ball dispenser... and there's no receiver for a credit card. So we had to go back to the pro shop, wait behind 5 other guests, and burn another 10-minutes before we could get our bucket of range balls. The girl printed out a receipt with a code on it, which worked fine, but the vast majority of driving ranges let you pay for balls on demand. This seemed like an annoying system and if we happened to be pressed for time, I probably would have gotten a lot more upset about it. After our range session, we hit the cafeteria to grab a quick bite. I got the cheese quesadilla and it was very good. Ready in less than 5-minutes and the cook who rang me up was very polite. I should also mentioned that we walked into the bar at the turn for a round of Jamesons and the bartender was excellent. The snack shack, by all accounts, was a big success. 15-minutes before our round, we load up the carts and scoot into position to begin our round. The starter was polite, helpful, and didn't blink when one of our friends sheepishly backed his cart up from the first hole to the starter's podium (he forgot to grab a scorecard from her). I should pause to mention: that's the pro shop cashier, the cook in the cafe, the bartender, and the starter. Every employee we encountered on 7/23 was wonderful. The course was gorgeous. Shimmering waters with white, rushing seafoam, all within a stone's throw on multiple holes. We encountered foxes, geese, groundhogs, and ducks. The wide, forgiving fairways were so generous that I didn't lose a single golf ball during my day at Monarch. The breeze off the Bay adds some additional challenges to a few of your tee shots, but it was much more mild than the blustery air above Coyote Creek that I played several months back. Your tee shot would get gently pushed, but wasn't overtaken by the elements. At this point, I'll go ahead and list the two aspects of our visit that were suboptimal: #1 is the price. Monarch Bay ran expensive. For only myself (riding in a cart), I ended up paying $88. The polite girl tried selling us on joining the club for the enormous price break, but we explained that we were tourists who'd driven in from the south bay. It wouldn't make any sense for us to join a golf club that took more than an hour to get there. So fair warning to any potential players: if you just moved to San Leandro and are looking to join a club, this seems like a good spot... but if you're intending to pay for the non-club experience, Monarch Bay will collect an extra arm and leg from you. #2 is the goose droppings. And look, I get it. You're golfing. You're out in some meticulously altered, human-produced version of nature. The majority of courses have geese and you'll typically have to deal with a portion of the course that is littered in bird droppings. I understand all of that. But having said that, Monarch Bay really showed us that there's a difference between the midsize geese in San Jose (sustaining themselves on roots, grubs, and bird seed), versus the big, hefty geese eating fish out of the ocean in Monarch Bay. There were numerous human-sized turds among the bird droppings, which turned an ordinarily innocuous aspect of golf into a gag-inducing moment of shock. Nobody died, nobody stepped in it... but my God, these were the biggest bird droppings I've ever seen. But aside from the relatively high cost for a public course and the large birds dropping Crohns disease level dumps on the fairway, Monarch Bay was extraordinarily pleasant outing. If you haven't been, I highly recommend giving them a shot. It's a great day out on the links! read more

Played 9-hole on Saturday morning and there was a group of ladies playing soccer golf (WTF???) in front of us taking their sweet time. Needless to say never coning back. read more

Golfed Monarch today in 88 degree weather. There was a long wait to check into the course. It was $29 to walk the course and with today's heat wave was very tiring especially to get to the 18th hole when one of the bridges is being repaired. I guess I should have rented a cart. Looks like most of the fairways were freshly groomed. It was hard putting as the flags have a small noodle at the base so our balls were missing the hole often. With most golf courses now they have a wide band which we just bump our balls on. I guess we got spoiled. We will most likely be back but I'll be waiting for Senior specials again which includes a cart. read more

Safety Concerns I was walking through the shoreline trail and one of the golf ball hit me so strong my derrière that took a while before I could recover and complete my walk. It made a big black and blue bruise that hurt for severals days. There is many people, including kids, walking and biking on that trails and wonder why the club haven't put safety net walls around (like the MissionHills Golf Course). I hope the management took action before someone else get really hurt. There are a lot of kids around and I can imagine if the balls hit some one in the eyes or just hit a small kid. read more

On a rainy day, I decided to drive 20 minutes to the range to only find out that it's closed. Without any notice via email, I was rudely treated when asked regarding the notification. I guest you pay for what you get. read more

I'm not an avid golfer and I only went to the driving range, so I can only compare with this with topgolf. This place is good for nights where you want some time away to yourself to take some stress out on some golf balls. It cost about $15 for 100 balls which takes about 30 to 45 minutes to finish depending on how stressed you are. I highly recommend bringing your own golf clubs. If you don't have a set you can always borrow from them, but I ended up having to use a left-hand driver when I'm right-handed. What can you do, you're at their mercy. read more

This was a great golf course they had well kept fairways and thick rough. This caused the golf course to be pretty hard. This is also a great tournament course. read more