Monterey, CA

Ryan Ranch DGC

3.685(based on 36 reviews)
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2 4
there4iluv2thr0w
Experience: 42.7 years 34 played 5 reviews
2.50 star(s)

omg no 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 2, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

wow i loved this course what happend, so many great shots long throws short throws , no lines or wait times,

Cons:

overgrown beyond belief, dont waste your time,i love this course and had some friends in town and was so embarresed that i said this was a good course, tees grown over baskets too , signs to next tee wernt there

Other Thoughts:

hopefully the do there spring cleanup soon i really enjoy this course especially if you can see over the 6 ft grass
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3 3
gianetics
Experience: 15.8 years 9 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

almost there 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 12, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

its a huge course with a lot of different shots required. huge distances, hole 3, the fact that i rarely have to wait for anyone.

Cons:

huge distances. it needs a few more technical short holes. should have more signs with pin position and distances.

Other Thoughts:

i think the course could be redesigned to go by the parking lot sooner. the first 18 feel like 27 sometimes. this course is really coming along, its bittersweet i love the fact you never have to wait but having a popular course brings tounaments and other cool stuff.
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1 2
CarlaO
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Slopes and drop-offs add challenge 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 27, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Not crowded, easy to get to from Hwy1, challenging pin locations

Cons:

Kinda hot at noon when it's sunny. Bring sunscreen! Some paths to tee locations criss-cross with other holes, so it was good there weren't many golfers out while we played.

Other Thoughts:

I enjoyed the change in elevation. Some really long holes (500+ feet) and trees come in to play.
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2 5
djphilzy
Experience: 23 played 17 reviews
3.00 star(s)

mediocre 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 9, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Excellent course up to 18. moderate mix of challenges. Great course for a group of friends to spend a day playing quite long and open. Bring some water and if your out of shape what a great way to get back into it!

Cons:

After 18 the course just was back and forth in a field, sort of lame. holes not well marked even with map it was quite difficult.

Other Thoughts:

The rough was pretty rough so long pants and or gators for those darned wild grass burrs that lined my boots. If your at DeLa and want to sample some other courses add this to your list but skip the last 9.
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10 1
ahayes97470
Experience: 16.2 years 20 played 2 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Best Course in the Bay 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 26, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+ Amazing views
+ Good variety of shots and lengths (200 - 600)
+ Benches and trash cans on most holes
+ Local club is improving it every day
+ Good use of the elevation changes
+ Course loops back to parking area half way through and also ends there
+ Never crowded
+ City mows regularly

Cons:

- Poison oak in the more distant rough (being taken care of)
- Without a map or guide it's really difficult to navigate
- Tee pads are still absent from some holes
- No signs yet

Other Thoughts:

The main reasons I enjoy this course more than DeLaveaga is because the course is almost always empty and there are no crossing fairways. Some people worry about ticks but I've never seen one out there. Most of the previous reviews were written before the local club did a major overhaul on the course to make it what it is today, although there is still much work to be done.
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7 8
steve
Experience: 2 played 1 reviews
1.50 star(s)

get your lime disease vaccination!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 4, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

nice vistas

Cons:

has a lot of un-mowed LONg grass that is impossible to find your disc in(watch it till it hits the ground, i spent as much time looking as i did playing), course has LOTs of ticks, they like to live in long dry grass! check ur dog too!(lime disease is no joke in monterey co.). very little shade on the entire course so bring your sunscreen! this place roasted me to a crisp! teepads are natural/mostly dirt and kind of dangerous to be honest, also many of the tees are dug into the ground leaving little/no room to run up.( difficult to huck one 500' on a tiny, constricting teepad) holes are pretty clear cut, nothing too memorable, little elavation variation. no rollers due to the rough earth the course is situated on. can u throw huge hyzer/ really far all day? also this place gets really really windy and a lot of the holes seem ridiculous w the way the normal wind makes you play the hole. on a windy expect to shoot well over par.
despite some efforts, there is ToNs of poison oak all over the course, so keep an eye out! also lots of stinging nettle!!

Other Thoughts:

much of the course is very wild and rough. a lot of the lower dead stuff on many of the trees should be cleared away as there are lots of little "jails" u can get stuck in, many of them in/below dense oak trees w poison oak intertwined w the regular oak. some of these pockets have not been maintained at all, stay on the fairway!!
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8 6
Peterb
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 31.5 years 81 played 32 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Jelly Jammin at RR 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 4, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

(originally written in 2009 and it has only taken me 6 years to get back down here to play the course!)

Every Shot in the book: long, short, medium, up, down, flat, left, right, excellent design, nice setting, gorgeous oak trees, pin settings, and tee locations. It can be windy (i see that as a positive)!

The Monterey Stinging Jellies have done a fantastic job with this premiere piece of property and the course has broken in well. Of course, the mowing is the biggest part of the work detail here, and I was fortunate enough to visit just days after folks had mowed the back 9 making play extremely clean for the dry season.

The live oak trees present a terrific hazard on much of this course, but make no mistake: this is a throwers course and if you have a 400ft drive that is fairly accurate, you should have a huge advantage here.

Elevation comes into play on most holes and combined with the wind are the biggest hazards out here. It is fair however, and one should be able to get a par on most holes. I shot -4 with 4 bogies and those mistakes of course were my own off the tee or a missed putt here and there.

All of the tees are in excellent shape still and most have benches for a quick break between holes. Some have great benches that invite a longer stay...

Cons:

The worst thing I saw is the B position on hole 11 ( I think it was 11). This sits perched above hwy 68 and if you were to go too long your disc could easily go into the road or beyond. How that is not considered a safety hazard I have no idea. Nor did I know that even existed there and was lucky to have thrown the hole almost perfectly with a putter, or else my disc would have gone careening towards the road and perhaps hit a car. That could easily cause an accident on the road and I wouldn't want to have to go retrieve my disc in any event. The A position is perfect and really shouldn't be moved...

Other Thoughts:

29 holes of pure bliss for me. I played solo, didn't take any breaks, and finished the course in about an hour and 45 minutes. Bring plenty of water, good hiking shoes, long pants, and layers for the wind. Have fun!
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8 0
Buzzzsaw
Experience: 17.1 years 10 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Diamond in the rough.... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 26, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Ryan Ranch has tons of variety as far as length and elevation. It is a great course for accurate long arms. The local club, the Monterey Stinging Jellies, has done a ton of work clearing out fairways (including poison oak). The scenery is awesome and the adjacent airport has landings every few minutes that provides come cool effects.

Cons:

Had a tour with the course designer last week... if not, it would be somewhat difficult to navigate. Discs can easily get lost here with some thick grass, bush, etc.

Other Thoughts:

It really helps to be able to throw accurately past the 400ft barrier here. However, there are also some easy birds if you can throw precisely inside of 300ft. Make the trip to Ryan Ranch! Once this course is broken in, I can see Monterey hosting Worlds in a few years.
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2 9
progolfer
Experience: 46.4 years 38 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 27, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

tuff lay out when the wind pick up spotter or need not the one man go play round disc will be tuff to find by your self and time will fly nice long holes for likeing get your wraiths ready and tame it right

Cons:

easy to lose disc and high grass but hey it,s new after about 2,000 people play the course it will be great and it already fine also lots of ticks stay out of the bush

Other Thoughts:

had no problems reaching all the hole they had not being cocky but miss alot of birdie putts today
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14 0
blackskies
Experience: 25.5 years 7 played 7 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Give it time and this will be the Mecca 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 5, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

A lot of variety.Uphill shots, downhill shots ect.
Beautiful setting. LOTS of room. Uphill shots, downhill shots.Technical enough that you have to use different discs to actually see what they and you are made of. You will have a good story after playing the course

Cons:

Parking - There pretty much isn't any
Discs- Be prepared to search or lose one or two
Distance between tees- Long
Location - Hard to locate but is worth it once you do
Markers- For this hole there might be one on a rock, on this one maybe on a piece of wood or maybe not at all.
You may have to be Ken Climo to par this course. Oh and poison oak, wear pants.

Other Thoughts:

I was fortunate enough to run into people that have played the course before and I joined them. I found out you can park right by the first tee if you have a code to the gate. Other wise you have to fight for parking in a lot filled with workers at some building.
I read a review about the Don Dahvee course and someone described it roughly as; a project for the builders and their friends. I kind of feel that way as well. HOWEVER I do RESPECT all the time and effort these guys have put into the area. But... Don Dahvee like Ryan Ranch is impossible without a guide in my opinion. Both of the official Monterey courses don't seem too "Out of town friendly".
And again I'm not trying to put down the progress that the city and surrounding areas have made but, if we put up more markers,more info etc.....Monterey will explode.
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13 0
DuBose
Premium Member
Experience: 5.4 years 137 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nice course. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 20, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful course plays through some nice hills. Nice mix of elevated tee pads or elevated baskets. Hole #3 is kind of like a mini 'top of the world' from Santa Cruz. I really like how the easier holes are at the beginning of the course and the longer more difficult holes are towards the end. Nice mix of really short holes to very long. I think the way hole #12 plays 520' around trees and uphill, compares with Novato's 1000' hole. Most tee pads had thick rubber mats nailed down and almost all of the baskets had numbers on them. The map that I printed from the Links/Files was very helpful. The layout from previous hole to the next tee pad is laid out very well except for #4 and #11. Even without signs I was able to navigate pretty easily with the printed map. I was the only player out there. This did not make me lonely, it meant NO WAITING! It was almost like having my own personal course. Very cool.

Cons:

No signs showing distance and pin placement. Many holes did have rocks with the distance written on them. Some tee pads were missing the rubber mats. No benches or trash cans but that's not really a big deal. The 3-4 and 10-11 thing is silly. I know that 27 holes are the plans but it seems like you could make a great 18 first and then add 8 later. I would like to see sharper turning right and left holes. Parking is a problem also. I parked in the parking lot ignoring the employee only parking. If I lived in town and was able to play this course more I would not feel comfortable parking there.


Other Thoughts:

Seeing that this is a new course, I think that they have done an awesome job. It's a great location for a course and the scenery is awesome. The mix of holes has been put together nicely. I am really looking forward to returning to this course and seeing the progress as it continues to mature. The potential here is unlimited. Having 5 courses in a smaller populated area like Monterey is pretty amazing. I only had time to play this one and one other. If I only had time to play 1 course next time that I was in town, I would play this one before the other one and even trying the other three. I suggest you print the map, take some water and try and give yourself enough time to play 2 rounds. Did I mention no waiting.
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9 2
DaveJones
Experience: 22.8 years 43 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Ryan Ranch DGC 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 17, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Beautiful landscape with serious potential. Still in it's first year, this course is evolving. And with alot of work from the local Monterey Stinging Jellies DGC it's really starting to take shape. The land provides an expansive view of the Ryan Ranch area with many elevation changes. Stands of oak trees line the valleys and grassy fairways. This is a BIG course! It will challenge all skill ranges and has long holes at 500'+ and the shortest one is around 180'.There are rubber tee pads with tee #'s and distances posted on most holes. The baskets are DGA Mach V's.

Cons:

Being a brand new course (1 year old ) there are still a few kinks being worked out. First time visitors are encouraged to use a map or hook up with a guide. Sign's, trash cans, benches and other amenities are showing up on the course more each day.
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8 3
Tonyofthsee
Experience: 18.8 years 31 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Championship Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 25, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Sweet course!! 27 holes. Average hole distance over 350. Just enough fun short holes to balence all of the really long ones. Rubber pads on most of the important holes. More coming soon. Elevation changes, long drives, beautiful setting, and easy to follow layout. The first 18 bring you back to the parking lot where you can refuel and then take on the tough back nine. There is a driving range set up with 550 feet of flags. Its a great way to warm up. The local club has done a lot in a short amount of time for this course. Expect big tournaments here in the near future.

Cons:

The gate is locked most weekday's. You have to park next door. Rain has brought a few water hazards into play this season. Can't wait for the multiple pin posistions. Off roaders on weekends every once in a while. Tell them nicely to leave.

Other Thoughts:

If you havnt played this course yet get out there. Its pretty special.
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6 5
hagar
Experience: 16 years 8 played 8 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Which way? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 14, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Dedicated DG Course

Cons:

This course was very reminiscent of my expereince a few days prior at the Don Dahvee course near MPC. The course was easy to find, but once there, it was tough finding even the first hole, even though it's right near the entrance. I HAD a course map and still couldn't find many of the holes. I probably played a few holes in unintended ways, just because I saw a basket and not the tee and just decided to play. After being out in the dust for 3 hours I got tired of looking for holes and gave up after 11 holes.

Other Thoughts:

I would guess with a guide, the course could be fun. There seems to be a good diversion of layouts with some extreme elevation changes. The course seemed pretty fair, yet challenging for all skill levels, but wandering around looking for holes all day is not my idea of fun. There were a couple other groups out there on a Tuesday (midday), but none in my immediate flow to follow. Not the most asthetic course I've played, but I would love to try it again with somebody who knows their way around.
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2 7
beauzen
Experience: 46.1 years 24 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Dry, dry, dry 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 17, 2008 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This has some real potential. There were some good/challenging holes.

Cons:

Needs signage and tee pads. A couple of prison shots.

Other Thoughts:

The walkout from 10-11 is rather ridiculous. I never did find the tee for hole #10. You may not get to park at hole #1 (locked gate), but can drive 'around the block' (back down the hill, to the south, back up a hill and back to the north) and park in a business park near hole #15.
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16 0
DGtourist
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.5 years 188 played 106 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Long with rolling hillls 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 8, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course has a few memorable holes. Number three is a big down hill bomb that offers you an opportunity to make a long run at it! There is a hole on the back nice called "the planet of the apes" hole that dog legs through some of the highest thickest thorny undergrowth I've ever had to walk through. Do not be like me people, stay on the fairway for the "Planet of the Apes Hole." A few memorable up hill shots that make a challenge out of bombing it up hill and below very mature oak canopy. 16 is nice, being able to make a run while the basket is guarded by trees.

Cons:

The course is long, mostly open and arid, and as a result somewhat boring. When I played, the fire danger was extremely high, you could set the entire town on fire by using a metal putter (if they make those) and sparking one off the chains. A person would be beyond irresponsible to smoke on this course. There are some crazy long walks from basket to tee box (3-4 & 10-11). There are no signs telling you distance or directions, just the occasional rock with feet written on them with sharpie. Dirt tee boxes.

Other Thoughts:

I write the pros and cons as of early August o8, the map I got from this site states that there are plans for changes in the future, and I do not doubt that those changes will come since there was ample evidence of a local disc club. My feeling is that if the course does get the nine more holes that the map eludes to and they get signage up, this course could be top notch. As it is, I'd be happy to go back and play Ryan Ranch next time I am in the area.
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