What a fun and challenging 9 hole course. We all enjoyed the round and will definitely come play it again. Looks like a cool wedding and event venue too! read more

Rancho San Marcos Golf Course - The monster water hazard on the 5th hole. - Golf Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Staff is friendly and very helpful. Beautiful views! One of the best courses in socal read more

The course is beautiful and fun. The management is the opposite. We booked 18 for 2 people and 9 for the other 2 in our group. When we arrived, the guy at the front told us to pay for 9 and pay again for the next 9. No problem. We finished at 1:15 (the exact time our reservation said we'd be making the turn) and we went to book the next 9. They told us we would have to wait 40 minutes to replay the last 9 we had booked from the start. There was no one on the first hole and no one checking in. We could have easily went right back out. Not only that, the younger gentleman was rude and unfriendly. I assume he's the same one that has multiple negative reviews. It's a public golf course my man, not Pinehurst (Try a smile). My pops and I were looking forward to finishing out and watched as the tee box stayed empty long enough for us to tee off, play the 1st and replay it again. Love the course and all staff is usually friendly, but the younger one working this afternoon is not friendly like the others. read more

Great day yesterday Staff was very accommodating and friendly Course was great fun. Very challenging for part time golfer like me but nonetheless had a great time read more

I played here this weekend for my buddies birthday. I'm not from Santa Barbara, but with over 100 rounds in this year I think it is safe to say I know golf courses. Entrance - pretty cool with the rustic motifs. You come through the trees and see the barn and the VERY large putting green. Clubhouse - nice set up and the staff was spot on amazing. Very informative and friendly. Carts - basic carts without GPS, but no biggie Range - range balls included and tee box natural grass. The range is pretty much all dirt, but who cares it's the range. Your just warming up right Greens - decent shape with some tough breaks in them. Extremely fast, but expected. Challenging for sure. Course - great layout but like playing in West Texas. I know there is a drought but come on really. The only actual green grass on the course was the greens and the tee boxes. We were having fun with the boys so really didn't care, but I would never make the drive over the hill to play this course for $65. Maybe $20. Snack bar - it's actually a little stand inside the door of the clubhouse. The girl was really sweet and helpful which we got some drinks before we headed out to the course. Our buddy showed up with a cooler full of beer and the other guy in the shack was pretty rude to him and told him he could not bring on the course. Okay fair enough. He dumped the beer in his wife's car and paid $50 for 8 beers. The kid behind the snack counter was a TOOL about it too. Be thankful we were even playing. Fast forward to the turn and we wanted tri-tip sandwich's and the TOOL is behind the counter. No tri-tip and won't be ready for two hours but the close in an hour. WTF!!!! He was a total jerk about it and completely dismissive. I wanted to reach behind the counter and beat the little prick. My buddy ordered a chicken sandwich and they would bring it out to us on 10. Like the place was busy???? So we went out to 10 and teed off. The kid shows up with the sandwich and chastises my buddy for having the cooler. He reminded the punk he made him dump the beer and buy $50 of beer from the clubhouse. The kid was still being a jerk and wouldn't give him his sandwich unless he gave up the beer. WTF!!!! Are you kidding me? The kid finally gave up the sandwiches and drive off shaking his kid head in disgust. Even if this course was in good shape I wouldn't come back because of the lack of service from that little prick. My buddy who plays their said the kid is always like that. Why is the question? Why let the course go like that and blame the drought? Why have service like that knowing it's a blessing to have people on the course when it's in that bad of shape. read more

Great day on the course!! Love Rancho. It's just over the hill from SB and well worth it. The course is in great shape for this time a year. Yes it's brown in spots but use them to your advantage...roll baby roll! The animals were out today...turkeys, deer and tons of birds singing. Ended up eating lunch after our round and the Caesar Salad was delicious...add grilled chicken it's tasty! Had such a great we'll be back next Tuesday! read more

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Would be a 5 star review but.. when we got there, they inadvertently forget to tell us over the phone, that we would be playing the same 9 holes as they were aerating the back 9. Too bad as we love this course and come every year. That is the bad news, the good news, is the head professional, Josh Pollaro arranged to get us on Sand piper and it was perfect. He was so professional, understood that we wanted to play all 18 holes at Rancho so he came up with a great idea , for us to play Sandpiper and he called to arrange a tee time asap so we had time to drive over and they got us right on. THANKS Josh, we will be back in October and thanks for being so kind, accommodating and thinking of a great solution. See you in October!!! We love Rancho San Marcos read more

My wife and I another couple played here 10 days ago. The course is in the best shape in years. A challenging course and well worth it. We need to play it more often then we do. The only negative is that there are no course Marshall's and at times the play can getting a little slow. I am not a fan of 5 hour rounds. read more

RT Jones, JR courses are much nicer than his father. Those are tough. Tough as nails. Although he wouldn't think so. He was opening one of his courses, and it was on a long par 3, 244, and his usual greens, island, all carry, over water, green as hard as the 101, and then deeply bunkered all around Everyone was griping, "Robert, c'mon this course is too hard, it's not fair" He pulled out a 1-iron. Went up, swung...and the ball went up, and up, and onto the green, sort of close, and it keep rolling, and into the hole. Hole in one. Turned to crowd, "Seems like a fair hole to me." This is a little better in my estimation than RT Jr's course in Napa, Silverado. But the same things that I quibble with about the father's course, are in the son's. They penalize the average player for no reason. Case in point Par 4 3'rd. A sporty Par 4. 354 or so. And it could be a really great hole You can if you really want to just take it right over the left dogleg off the tee, makes it play much shorter. But most can't. Yet, there is a little ravine about 40 yards out from the green for those that play it like a 2 shot Par 4. Why? Now the only people that will hit in that ravine are not very good. Why penalize them anymore? This SLOWS down play. 7 is a great little par 3 And 9 is a great par 4. Great on the eye. Great shape. Great greens. And the staff is full of smiles. read more

My husband and I hadn't planned on playing that day but I saw a $39 tee time on GolfNow so we ditched our plans around the house and played here last Saturday. We both carry between a 12-15 handicap and my husband is what I call a "golf snob" preferring to play highly rated or premium courses for the most part. Another golf snob had told him about Rancho San Marcos but we kept forgetting about it. Although it was our first visit to RSM, all I can say is that it will be the first of many. Although we read the warnings, we were a little taken back by the dirt and gravel driveway/parking lot and my husband's black car definitely need a wash after our visit but that was the only downside. The staff was fantastic. From the young man that ran to meet our car and take the bags to the person who cleaned our clubs and loaded them into the car, you could not ask for more friendly or helpful people. The practice facilities were extensive with a well stocked range, multi situation chipping area and what we thought was a super fast putting green. I said that we thought the practice green was fast but the greens on the course showed us super fast. Except for some ballmarks (yeah, some people just won't repair their marks no matter how nice the course) the surfaces were fantastic. The first hole taught my husband the meaning of "keep the ball below the hole". We saw complaints about the condition of the fairways (dry due to lack of water) but didn't find than any worse than elsewhere this time of year and they played just fine. The trees, rough, bunkers and fast greens make this a challenging course but we both agreed that shooting in the mid-eighties was more a case of not knowing the course. We will be back as soon as the weather cools down to see it we can improve our scores. read more

I got to play the course a number of years ago. Then they shut it down for a couple of years. This past Friday I got a chance to go back. This course is beautiful, challenging, and has some of the best greens!! One other nice upgrade is they now allow beer/wine at the course. read more

What a Santa Barbara treasure! This course is very well maintained, challenging, and has beautiful landscapes all around. There is a small cafe with outdoor seating available so you can take in the views and watch people play no.9. The staff was welcoming and friendly. Definitely a repeat place to visit and play! read more

Rancho San Marcos Golf Course - The no. 6 green. Picture taken late November 2012. - Golf Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Gorgeous course! Can be very tough and challenging! Especially the greens and bunkers. The bunkers tend to lie in difficult locations to get out of (some have high lips). Very good for practicing your sand shots and chipping! Overall, a pretty straight forward course but if you don't hit it straight (most of the time) your ball is almost destined to get lost in their thick rough! It definitely helps if you're a great putter to really master this course! Tip #1: Bring some extra balls (maybe not all your favorites) just in case! Tip #2: Bring a camera to take shots of all the wildlife hanging around the course! Lots of turkeys, squirrels, deer, cool birds, etc! Tip #3: Go to Cold Springs Tavern for a beer after your round! :) read more

Played this afternoon and although very dry fairways and tee boxes, the greens and fringes were nice. The scenery is beautiful and pretty mountain passes to look at. The Staff is always kind and accommodating. With the dry fairways, my ball rolls, and rolls, and rolls and rolls..... Played a great round today. Look forward in going back to play again real soon! read more

Talk about a historic golf course... dating back to 1804 in California should classify anything in Cali as historic. I was able to get out on the links for 70 dollars on a Saturday... there twilight rates start at noon (1 in the summer). The course was challenging but a lot of green to account for those hooks and slices. The landscape is unmatched and the back nine has a lot of elevation. On the weekends they serve wonderful italian sausages and tri-tip sandwiches so don't eat like I did before you come to the course. This course is a must play and has been rated in the top 200 courses in the USA to play. read more

There's not one bad thing I can say about this course. Incredible layout, superbly manicured, incredible views, and an abundance of wildlife (deer and wild turkey, amongst others). If you love golf, you really must treat yourself to this gem. On the day my son and I played, we were in the group behind Michael Jordan - I heard he was a regular. read more

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Great golf course!!! Really incredible layout, fun mix of easy and tough holes, greens are lightning fast and pure, drought has made things a little brown, but that doesn't stop Rancho San Marcos from being amazing!! I would come and play here everyday if I could, a must play for anyone in the area!! read more

Sadly, a once excellent golf course left in disrepair. The tee boxes are just patches of weeds and dead grass, the fairways are like concrete, and around the greens there's no grass to chip from. Not sure why its in such horrible shape while SandPiper and La Purisima are ok. read more

Rancho San Marcos is definitely one of the 10 best course's you can can play as written by golf magazine. it is as tough as it is beautiful. the drive in its not this fancy parking lot, its just a gravel lot among the trees and you get the feeling that your getting to play on someones private course as the clubhouse is rustic and has that country home feeling about it. the staff there lets you know right a way that you are there special guest. they will cater to your every need with a smile and you feel welcome. the practice area is 5 star with a great range, huge putting greens and a sand practice area. now for the course, it has huge elevation changes on the back nine and the fairway can be generous and yet are some of the tightest i have ever played. course management is a must on some holes as you do not want to be long or short. the greens are bent grass, firm and very fast, did I say fast. yes they can test your putting skills to the limit. the layout is imaginative and breathtaking and the wildlife is everywhere. there are no homes on the course just you and mother nature at its best. a camera is a must as you will have many holes that will take you breath away, so make sure you don't forget it. there is one lake on the front 9 which you hit over on a par 3 and is on the left guarding the green on the 9th hole. a river runs along 3 holes on the front 9 too but is to far to hit into, but some may get a glimpse of it. the back 9 is where a cart is a must as the course climbs to the sky and shows you the valley in all its wonder. on 18 you tee off from the highest point of the course and then come back down to earth and finish a wonderful hole to clubhouse. while the clubhouse seems small its can hole gatherings of 60 with no problem. fine wines and beers are the only beverages for now along with a very good rice wine bloody mary which I recommend. our event was catered and they cooked tri-tip and chicken on a outdoor barbecue along with all the extras which was outstanding. I drove from Santa Cruz Ca to play here and with all the memories of this course it made the drive home pass quickly. I recommend that if you haven't played this course that you treat yourself to one life's pleasures and go play it. to all the staff at Rancho San Marcos, thank you for a day I will never soon forget. Smilin Steve GreensKeeper.org staff read more

Enjoyed playing, nice layout. Greens had been punched recently. I will play it again. I drove up from Orange County and it was worth it.

Played this course on Sunday, Aug. 26 for the first time with a friend who now lives in Santa Barbara. Great layout and the staff from the guys at the bag drop, the young man at the check-in desk and the young lady manning the snack bar - all were very customer focused and agreeable. I would highly recommend this course - great rate and the views are spectacular read more

This is my absolute favorite golf course not near an ocean. I first played it about 6 years ago as a twilight round and I remember just one spectacular hole after another especially on the back nine. My buddies and I recently made a weekend trip from the Bay area just to play Rancho and see if it was still as nice as we remembered and it did not disappoint. I love the understated clubhouse and gravel driveway leading up to it. The course is perfectly manicured, the greens are perfect and fast and the bunkers are filled with soft white sand. Most public courses have gravely or very little sand in their bunkers. I've played Spanish Bay Pebble Beach, Spyglass, and other top notch courses and I would say Rancho San Marcos is as good as any of them and perhaps better. The drive to Rancho is as nice as it gets as well. I hope to get back there again. The staff is great too. I was shocked not to see this course on any top 100 list. It should be top 10 in the US. read more

It's a shame to have to give a bad review because of weather, but due to the severe drought, they haven't watered their fairways in 10 months. Practice facilities and the grass range are perfection. As older pictures dictate, the course is in incredible shape when there's water. read more

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Golf was great, would be four stars except for one lone staff attendant who practically ruined it for me. AVOID BRENDAN AT ALL COSTS. There's not many people that work here, so you will probably meet him. He's the shorter lad, with the ego problem. Rancho 1804 was my third golf stop on my road trip down to San Diego, and out of the three, the worst. I arrived an hour early to warm up, and almost immediately, my troubles began. I'm diabetic so I like to carry a tiny soft cooler with me that has snacks and gatorade and most importantly, my medicine. I unloaded this and walked to the club house. This is where I met Brendan. "Sorry, but no coolers." "It's just snacks and gatorade, no alcohol." "Nope. no coolers." "Okay, I'm diabetic, this has my medicine too." "Then you need to empty everything else out of your cooler except for your medicine." I was speechless. A tiny gatorade and barely enough food to even call it a snack and he was going to get on my case about it? I had already driven all they way out there, so I did as I was told. But wait, it gets better. After that I got checked in just fine (there are tons of balls down at the driving range fyi) and after 15 minutes felt good enough to go. Went to talk to the starter aka brendan to see if I could go out early, because it seemed nobody was around. NOPE. He was quick to the point that my tee time was at 10 and he was going to hold me to that time. When I pointed out that no one was here and I wouldn't be cutting anyone off, he AGAIN said that my tee time was at 10am, and even though the 930 group wasn't even there yet, he wouldn't let me go out in front of them. Ridiculous. But wait, it gets better. I finally tee off, at 10, and make the turn after 9 holes. Brendan approaches me and tells me that I am behind pace. 1. There was nobody behind. No one. Not a single group. 2. Those starte sheets are easy to figure out. I also looked at that aswell and lo and behold, there wasn't a single tee time after me for an hour and a half. 3. This was a Tuesday, not a Saturday and Sunday, there was seriously NO ONE OUT THERE. I was shocked that he would tell me this, I figured he just didn't like me from the get go, so whatever. BUT WAIT, IT GETS BETTER. I finish the round. Hole 18 is wonderful. A beautiful elevation drop with a green guarded by many sand traps. I was a big fan. By this point I wasn't a fan of brendan though, so when he asked to clean my clubs (for the tip) I politely told him no thank you. He asked again, and for the second time, I told him no thank you. I gather up all my clubs, range finder and my snacks and begin walking to my car. I make it to grass when I realize I left something behind and I turn around. I swear to god, when I turned around I caught brendan talking to another staff member. I saw him shake his head in a disappointing nod and he then said the word "cheap". By this point I was ready to lose my mind. I get to the cart, grab my last item, returned to my car and left the course (hopefully for good). To the management: Brendan seems like a young man who needs an adjustment. Rules are nice to have, but if you have zero common sense in terms of how you interpret those rules, then you shouldn't be in the service industry. read more

Yes; Rancho San Marcos has been brought to its knees by the drought. My heart sank when I drove by the course last September and saw just bits of color on the greens and totally dead grass nearly everywhere else. BUT ... the bit of rain they've had this winter has been helpful. Now, with special rates ($59 on weekends; less during the week), I decided it was worth a shot. The fairways are patchier than they first appear but are playable. Many tee boxes are devoid of grass - appears that they are attempting to overseed. If you aren't opposed to playing "preferred lies", it's a pretty good value. You still can't beat the layout and the design of the course. Fingers crossed it survives the drought, but play it now before it gets dry again. read more

Great course. Tough greens. Located nicely away from civilization. Get the yardage book if it's your first time or print them off the web site - there are some surprises. read more

Fantastic layout, Trent Jones Jr. designed an incredible course. The vistas are breathtaking and there is an abundance of wildlife - including lots of birds. The course can play easy to ass-kicking depending on the tees you play. The greens are amazing, but fair. If you're in the area go play it! read more

I've driven by this hidden gym off of the 154 numerous times and wanted to stop and play it everytime! Finally, I got my chance and headed out to Santa Barbara and play here and it was great. It was cool, the layout was great, course was in good condition. Do yourself a favor and play here! read more

Such a great course in poor repair. The fairways are mostly dirt and dormant vegetation from lack of water. The tee boxes are okay and the greens are great. The staff was wonderful and the food was excellent. The pro shop was well stocked. read more

Rain has brought back a lot more green grass! Playing is much better! Also some of the best breakfast burritos in the Santa Barbara area!

When Rancho Is Green its the best Course in the area. Just finished an Epic round on a picture perfect day with some of the boys. Staff at the pro shop are solid, very professional & attentive to any ones needs. Rancho San Marcos is under priced for the Golf Course that it is. The only down fall is you have a short window to enjoy its beauty. With the terrible drought we are in it goes brown each Summer. That being said, it is as good as it gets right now, so get on it, you won't be disappointed!!! read more

My foursome played in a WPLGA tourney here last Thursday. We so enjoyed ourselves on this fantastic layout in the serene and gorgeous setting near Santa Barbara. During the current drought, it's golf in a different color at Rancho San Marcos...everything is beige and bone dry except for the greens and fringes. Although the lies on the fairways are thin, they weren't punishing. The greens were wonderful and putted true. The whole course is well maintained, including bunkers. I cannot say enough good about the staff. They were very professional, helpful and attentive to our small tournament. This was my second time to play the course. The first time it was all green, this time it was beige, but I won't hesitate to play it again, green or beige, when another opportunity comes up. Publinks plans to schedule Rancho San Marcos for another playday in 2015. I'll be there!!!!! It was a fun, fun day! Winni Rush Elkins Ranch home course read more

Hate to do this to this beautiful golf course but I wouldn't feel right giving any kind of positive review here. Just played here on Saturday, Feb. 15th and the condition was horrendous! I was informed that the course hadn't been watered in years with the exception of the greens. Fairways were basically all just dirt with very few signs of any grass remaining. The severe drought in California has basically ruined this gem of a golf course. Place is a beautiful setting for golf and it is really sad to see this happen here. My prediction is that this course will have to close soon as I don't see how they can continue operating with no water. Even the water features were about 2/3 empty and the course was almost unplayable with the severe dirt/tight lies and roll out on all the shots. I was still charged the ridiculous price of 75.00 to play this course. I felt that I really got ripped off here because there was no consideration for the extremely poor playing conditions and nowhere on the website was there any indication that this course was in the shape that it was. By the time you arrive there are no other courses within 1/2 hr of here so they know that if you want to play golf that you will have to just pay the price and play here. Shame on Rancho San Marcos for trying to dupe their customers and make them pay full price here! This used to be one of my favorite tracks but I will not be returning here unless they somehow miraculously find a water source! read more

I traveled to Santa Barbara to take my son and wife to the zoo and of course like any real golfer was determined to fit in a round of golf. I read the reviews about this course on yelp and every other site I could. One of the Yelp reviews sold me and at 7a I was the first person to tee off on Tuesday morning. This course is amazing. Pure golf at it's best. Great shape, great design and layout. Each shot must be thought about before hitting the ball to place yourself in opportune positions to score. The staff was great. It is in the middle of nowhere (which to me is the best golf) and you don't hear civilization like cars or construction or aiplanes. It is just you, your golf ball and the course. The clubhouse isn't anything to write home about but we don't play golf for the clubhouses. I promise you if you play this course you will not be dissappointed and will want to play there over and over again. On average I play golf once to twice a month in LA and Ventura County. Olivas Links in Ventura County is my favorite course but if Rancho San Marcos was closer I would play it every time. read more

WOW! What a course! I heard all of the hype about it and should have believed it. This is definately what a golf course should be. Great layout of holes to make you think about your shot, not just a grip and rip all the time course. Tee boxes, fairway, and rough is in great condition. Bunkers are full of great white sand, not a problem at all. Greens are very fast, so practice on them before you start your round. if there is no troule in front of the hole, think about hitting to the front and letting it roll up. Layout is great. Postcard Par 3's, a few dogleg holes, but not too many. Excellent opening and closing holes. Wildlife is great to see. Carts have good juice in them and quicker than most. Course was almost empty when we played. We saw one other group on the course and that was it. Even on a high elevation hole where you can see 9-10 other holes, was completely empty. Was serence and perfect. Pro shop is small, but has nice merch. Good designs with their logo on hats and clothes, not cheesy like other places. Definately one of my favorite places to play. If you get a chance to come here, take full advantage. read more

I had the Rancho San Marcos experience yesterday, and It was wonderful! In particular, I was treated very well by the staff, namely Josh Pollaro! His hospitality, customer/guest service was outstanding! He is a credit to customer/guest care! read more

Best course in the county by far. The greens are unbelievably pure and fast! The weather is always better over the hill and it is not that crowded. The holes on the top are the best 13-15. There is nothing like it anywhere else! The staff is also extremely friendly and helpful, they get me out whenever I show up without a tee time. Perfect for a family foursome or weekend round. read more

As a local Santa Barbara resident, I regularly play all of the courses within 40-50 miles of SB and Rancho is the best! The course is challenging and has some great panoramic views, beautiful mountain backdrops and old oaks trees around the course. What sets it apart though is the customer service from the pro-shop. The guys are super nice and service oriented. On several occassions i've ordered lunch on the turn and because the kitchen was running behind, they offered to drive my hot dog out to me on the 10th hole so our group didnt fall behind. I've played nearly a hundred different courses and never had anyone offer to do that. On another note, they also have a great ambiance and feel around the clubhouse, especially on weekends when they have Tri-Tip BBQ, and great music playing around the clubhouse, grill, and warmup area. Evern when you game is not on par - RSM is a great experience. read more

The golf course is an excellent layout! It has suffered lately from a lack of water. I drove by yesterday and it was very green. The Poa annua grass has rebounded from a rainy season. I played it today and was pleased with the condition! read more

Great golf course, I only give it 4 instead of 5 stars because my standrads are quite high. The greens have been fantastic everytime I have played there. The staff is the best that I have seen in the area. I have visits from deer and turkey playing there. My complaints are that it is somewhat expensive and not as difficult are the slope/rating suggest it should be. read more