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4.7
312 Reviews (312)
5 Stars
217
4 Stars
77
3 Stars
11
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
4
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.6
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.5
97.9%
Recommend this course
298 out of 312 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.8
10 Reviews (10)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.9
Layout
4.9
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.3
100.0%
Recommend this course
10 out of 10 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
46 Reviews (46)
5 Stars
35
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.6
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.8
100.0%
Recommend this course
46 out of 46 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Private/Resort
Par 70
Length 6117 yards
Slope 131
Rating 70.1

Back along Snively’s Ridge on the eastern boundary of the Santa Lucia Preserve is a spot that is one of the great luxury getaways in the USA. It’s called Carmel Valley Ranch, and its Pete Dye par-70 layout is a very playable golf course that was voted one of the Top 100 Women-Friendly Courses in the country by Golf for Women’s Magazine.

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Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1981
Fairways Rye Grass
Greens T1 Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Pete Dye (1981) Gene Bates (2006)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Cafe, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Spa, Locker Rooms

Available Sports

Fitness, Tennis

Accolades

Reviews

4.7
312 Reviews (312)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 9
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 15
Bunkers 13
Water Hazards 10
This course/club is great for:
A Weekend Splurge 14
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 13
Advanced Golfers 10
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 16
Worth the Drive 13

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 72
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 12
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Love it!!!

One of the funnest courses to play. Staff is friendly and the layout is just plain fun. Hard firm greens and wind make it interesting. Will definitely be back

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 36
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful course!

Great beautiful course. Excellent shape and pace of play was good. Greens were deceptive and speed was quick. Played the Orange tees so not very long. Very playable and a fun track.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Fantastic!

This is a great course. The fairways and greens are in perfect condition. The golf cart is state of the art. Very interesting course conditions with four holes in the Carmel Valley Hills which makes an interesting hazard in itself. The greensAre very challenging. I would highly recommend this course. It was a blast.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Love this Track

It's a lot of fun to play, and the course is always in phenomenal condition. The course is challenging but you still get a "member bounce" ever now and then when you really need it.

Highly recommend this course. I would also recommend staying the weekend at the hotel if you get a chance, it won't disappoint.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 15
Skill Advanced
Plays Twice a year
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Must play

The tail of two nine front 9 target golf at it’s best
Back 9 mountain golf, this course is outstanding and so was the staff a must play.great rate on golfnow app
You will not be disappointed

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course. Beautiful views and topography. Great value for the money. Even though the fairways were being aerated the staff were quick to clean up and keep the course as good as it could be. Very nice day of California golf.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Picturesque Carmel Golf Course

Had a great time at Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Course. Course is short but tight fairways. You got to hit it straight. First 9 fairly flat with hills. Upper 9 great vista views and tough layout but enjoyable. Played at 1 pm for discounted tee time. Highly recommend for a fun day in Carmel.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing

Did not get the chance to play

Very unimpressed. Booked to play. Booking was cancelled without explanation. Booked again at a different time. This time received a phone call less than 24 hours before arriving advising there was a tournament and the tee time could not be honoured. Surely when they cancelled the first tee time they should have known there was a tournament and removed the times from sheet. I ha travelled from Australia. I called GolfNow customer service which was a below average experience. Will never recommend GolfNow and will never use their services again.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
Incentivized Review
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

For a small resort course...pretty good

When it's not just a golf vacation or when I go with my wife, who loves the game but is not yet ready to take on Pebble, this type of course is perfect. The staff was excellent and everything was well run. The course was in very good condition and although it's short the design kept it interesting and challenging. You're not going to feel like you're in the same league as the big name Monterey Peninsula courses but that's the point; this is a vacation with a little golf or a quick get away that golf is just another part of. We've stayed at Quail Lodge down the road many times for the same type of getaway, and I have to say that this golf course was far more interesting than the one at Quail. It's a fun course and a great inland location.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 75
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 500 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Immaculate Conditions with Great Views

I was a little disappointed with the course layout after the first few holes. It starts out with a few short par 4s which are pretty boring, and an ok par 3. The holes are also pretty tight with a busy road on one side and houses on the other. Thankfully the track opens up a bit after hole 5.

The front 9 is relatively flat, but hole 10 takes you up to the hills where you will play some very interesting holes with some spectacular elevation changes and views of the valley.

There are a lot of fun tee shots on this course and I really enjoyed the back 9. Conditions are pristine! The rough and fairways are in excellent shape, greens are perfect and roll smooth and true.

The pace of play was great! Mostly twosomes on the course. We were on a 3:15 pace until we caught a foursome on the 16th hole and had to wait a bit. Still finished in 3:30.

We got a hot deal here for $120, which is about right. Not sure I would pay the regular rate over $200, but it was a good course for what we paid. Enjoyable round at Carmel Valley Ranch.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fun and challenging

Terrific course. Not long but difficult and conditions were great

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 46
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0

Disappointing Marshall and Insulting, Disrespectful Treatment Towards Guests

Course conditions were good at this upscale and expensive course and things were moving along, albeit, at a slow, wait-every-shot pace until the 11th hole when a Marshall came by and told our threesome to pick it up. We were speechless and upset at that insulting behavior. The problem with that admonishment was that we had waited on every shot since the first hole with a slow, short hitting foresome of members in front of us. A hole later the Marshall was back and told us to stand aside for 15 minutes to let a threesome of members play through. Interestingly, he required the slow foursome in front of us to stand aside as well even though they too were members. After that, our round continued slowly for the rest of our round without seeing the Marshall again.
The abusive treatment by the Marshall towards guests of the club earn the Marshall not only “one star” for his insulting treatment but a major downgrade of the entire club for allowing a Marshall to demonstrate such abusive behavior toward guests instead of fixing a problem - the slow playing foursome of members whom we were stuck behind for 18 holes. The Marshall not only failed to fix a problem, but he created a major problem by his discourteous treatment towards us. I would not recommend this course to future prospective guests.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice course

Enjoyed the layout .. outstanding views .. greens were sandy, but still rolled well.. would definitely play again

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 72
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Golf!

This course was so great to play that I came back to play it again 2 weeks later. Friendly staff and excellent course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Beautiful setting

Very nice course with serious elevation changes in Carmel Valley. Some very scenic holes as well as some challenges.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
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Golf Packages

Carmel Valley Resort Stay & Play Package

FROM $597 (USD)
MONTEREY, CA | Enjoy 2 nights’ accommodations at Quail Lodge & Golf Club and 2 rounds of golf at Carmel Valley Ranch and at Quail Lodge Golf Course.

The Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

FROM $327 (USD)
MONTEREY, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Poppy Hills Golf Course, Bayonet Course, Black Horse Course, and Del Monte Golf Course.

The Inn At Spanish Bay Stay & Play Package

FROM $877 (USD)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The Inn at Spanish Bay and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and Del Monte Golf Course.

La Quinta Resort & Club Stay & Play Package

FROM $167 (USD)
LA QUINTA, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at La Quinta Resort & Club and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of PGA WEST - Nicklaus Tournament Course, PGA WEST - Pete Dye Mountain Course, PGA WEST - Greg Norman Course, PGA WEST - Pete Dye Dunes Course, and PGA WEST - The Pete Dye Stadium Course.

The Casa Palmero – Pebble Beach Stay & Play Package

FROM $1,047 (USD)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The Lodge at Pebble Beach and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and Del Monte Golf Course.
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