Tremaine E.
Yelp
I love golf, and because of that, I am willing to play just about anywhere.
Dirt patches with splotches of grass are getting more and more common with the California drought, so it was time for something a little nicer. That's when Quail Lodge came into play.
Situated in the valleys of Carmel, Quail Lodge is a beautiful area for visitors of multiple activities--such as renting Range Rovers, which conveniently and hilariously is an option at the Quail Lodge parking lot.
The clubhouse is quite nice, and the downstairs area is somewhat entrancing in its narrow, maze-like design with multiple members-only rooms.
With the tee time came free balls at the grass range; there were multiple targets to fire at, but I was too distracted freezing my fingers off. The putting green was also quite nice and featured flat areas as well as some quick hills. There also was a chipping and pitching area complete with a bunker.
I appreciated the free water, plastic ball markers, and tees--nice touch.
The course itself is quite gorgeous. Very lush fairways, rough that doesn't pose as US Open-thick rough, mountains surrounding.
When it comes to golf, the course is quite fair. None of the holes are absurdly long, the fairways are pretty wide, and the very soft greens aren't postage stamps. That said, the bunker placement is very strategic and right where most golfers where land, the greens are extremely quick and tough to read, and the par 3's are pretty long.
I really enjoyed the design of the course, which emphasized hitting golf shots without punishing you for them if they're just a fraction off. I'm just not a fan of the courses that insert ravines and forced carries just for the heck of it, and thankfully, Quail Lodge doesn't fall victim to that.
What you do have is a litany of dog-leg lefts and rights, a few uphill holes, and even a couple that are straightforward with those accursed bunkers right where you'll hit your tee shot and shots to the green. As I said before, those greens are true but very tough; I had a few misreads, and I realized I needed to pace all around the big greens to get a true feel for what was going on. I loved how my shots were sticking into the green and stopping or rolling back; all too often at other courses, they bounce off often because the green really has no water at all (which is fine, but takes a different style of golf).
Also, my twosome played in just over three hours! That's amazing!!!
A few non-major things that can be improved: one hole didn't have a ball washer for some reason, the construction/maintenance on the course (heavy machinery digging holes, lawnmowers) kind of got in the way (I almost hit some poor guys...haha), one hole had a lake that was almost dried up and I was dumb enough to go in after a ball and sunk to my ankles because the mud was so soft...Yeaaaah that was my bad, but a warning would have been nice too.
This place is definitely up there in terms of California golf courses. Strongly recommend it if you ever get the chance!