Alex C.
Yelp
Let's break this down into the good and the bad. (Being in Coronado, there is no ugly.)
The good: Coronado is a very pretty course and a great course to walk. Right on the bay, on any given round, you might see anything from an osprey catch a fish out of the water or a team of Navy Seals hanging off of a rope ladder daggling from a helicopter. At the very least, you will have a very pretty bay and bridge views and some lovely sailboats gliding by. Particularly for how much play it gets, Coronado is usually in fantastic condition for a municipal course, with reasonably fast and smooth greens and very well-kept fairways and traps. Also, because the course is built on a sandy base, it drains extremely, making it a great choice for post-rain rounds of golf. The layout is not exactly hard, but it's challenging enough to hold your attention. Also, the kikuyu grass makes it play longer than it's 6,590 yards, as you will not get much roll out there. Links style golf it most definitely is not.
The bad: It can be slow. Very slow. I'm not sure why, as it's not very long, and the rough is short, but I have never had a quick round out there. The other day I was the fifth or sixth group out in the morning, and it still took over 4:15. It is also one of those courses for which a 4:15 round feels much slower than it actually is. The other major drawback is the tee time system, which is essentially rigged to favor the Coronado locals. Aside from paying a $18 advanced booking fee, you pretty much have to show up before the crack of dawn two days before the day you want to play to get a good tee time. You can try getting one over the phone, but that is definitely a crap shoot. While most every other course has an online booking system, Coronado seems to want to make sure that locals have the advantage. While this can be great for those who live on Coronado, it's not so much for outsiders.
In spite of all this, Coronado is definitely worth a visit, as it is a great muni, with pretty views, and is a nice walk, albeit but not without its drawbacks. You would be hard pressed to find many better munis.