Santa Margarita, CA

Santa Margarita KOA DGC

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2.25(based on 5 reviews)
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The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Santa Margarita KOA DGC Offers Great Views And Multiple Fun Downhill Throws! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 23, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

In general the course here is a mess however the two big downhill throws on # 5 and then on # 7 make the course worth playing, IMO. Speaking of worth, the DGCR information sheets reads that there is a $5 fee to play. The friendly lady who gave me directions and a map didn't charge me anything.

The course starts up the street from the store, near all the old trailers, cars and trucks, kind of a mini-wrecking yard. The course features DGA baskets w/numbers. There really any tee pads, you just play basket to basket.

# 1 plays along the street to a basket down near a tree.
# 2 comes back about 180'.
# 3 starts up the hill to a basket about 225'.
# 4 keeps going up the hill 173.

# 5 sits atop the hill with a 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding area. It's really quite spectacular looking this way at a lake, in this direction are lovely rock formations and everywhere else is surrounding houses and hills. The throw down the hill is great fun although I thought throwing at the # 9 was more fun. You may as well launch a couple discs at both baskets.

# 6 plays back up the hill about 2/3 of the way.

# 7 is another fun downhill following a dirt road all the way with a barbed wire fence on the left side. Over the fence is quite a ways down and there was a standing pool down there in January. I threw far to the right and my disc hysered back and then skipped through the fence all the way to the bottom and just missed landing in the lake.

# 8 plays 280' down a gentle slope.

And then # 9 is another great little downhill touch shot.

Cons:

The holes that aren't cool downhill shots are junk. I didn't care for them at all.

The area is really junky with all the old vehicles and mobile homes and whatever else is abandoned there.

Not really any tee pads.

$5 a car to play if they feel like charging you.

Other Thoughts:

This is an interesting course to play and also to evaluate. It's trashy, the amenities are bad and the first four holes are very sub-standard. But then you have the outstanding views combined with some excellent downhill holes. It's too junky to be called average but rest is pretty special. I guess a lot depends on your perspective of the junky holes vs. beautiful scenery and the bad golf vs. the downhills.

If this course had ended after hole # 4, my rating would probably be a 1.0. If the course started at # 5, it would be much higher. When you combine the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, you get the young Clint Eastwood and his menacing stare, not the frightened old man in "The Mule." I'll give this course a 2.5 and that might be a little charitable of me but the lady did allow me to play for free.

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Lonhart
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 30 years 422 played 38 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Fun if you are already in the area 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 16, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

We were given a map at the KOA office, and this was important since there are no signs.
When you leave the office, walk up the road past the swimming pool (on your left) to a dirt road that immediately forks. A rubber tee pad is up the hill (~150 ft) in the grassy area to your left. The distances listed below are based on the Google Earth measuring tool and where I think we teed off and the pin location, so accurate to within 30 ft or so.

Hole 1--280 ft. Rubber tee pad has "Hole 1" and an arrow painted on it. There was a stock trailer in the middle of the fairway with a large goat in it, and three bee boxes/hives just past that. The pin is actually right in front of a chicken coop, which is covered in wire and is a backstop to aggressive upshots or putts.
Hole 2--180 ft. Rubber tee pad had no writing on it, and I think this had been moved from its placement according to the KOA map (we found it near the bee hives). We walked down to the lower building and the adjacent goat pen, which is where the KOA map indicates the tee for hole 2 should be. We could find on pad down there, so we went back up the hill to the unmarked tee pad. RHBH hyzers go over the cow pen, which is guarded by a big dog, who was chained up (thankfully!).
Hole 3--250 ft uphill. Rubber tee pad on right side of little ravine, and the basket is up the hill and in front of a tree. Area had been mowed recently, but some areas had waist high dry grass and small thorny shrubs. Tee 4 is back down the hill and closer to the barbwire fence.
Hole 4--230 ft uphill. Tee is near barbwire fence, and another uphill drive. Mowing really helped with finding discs. Walk up hill past end of barbwire fencing for tee 5.
Hole 5--295 ft downhill. Top of the hill is flattened and has tee 5 and tee 7. Downhill shot with motor homes and trucks behind the basket, which is near a cluster of rocks. Beware of wind pushing discs wide of pin.
Hole 6--300 ft uphill. Pin is on a very steep slope but the shot is wide open. Continue up slope for tee 7.
Hole 7--265 ft downhill. Tee pad is on flattened top of hill and this is the second of the three downhill shots. Pin is near a big drop off, and RHBH hyzer shots can easily be pushed by wind all the way to the bottom of the hill and the volleyball courts (40 ft drop or more). Fencing has some mesh on bottom to catch discs, but there are gaps and the safety net is low to the ground.
Hole 8--225 ft downhill. Not as steep of a drop off as holes 5 and 7, but similar kind of shot.
Hole 9--240 ft. The pin is hidden behind bushes and the shot crosses a small ravine. You end up very close to where you started.

Cons:

-No signs.
-Animal pens and vehicles could come into play on holes 1, 2, and 5.
-Rubber tee pads not always on level ground, so footing was treacherous a few times.
-I would have rated this 2.5 except for the animals and risk of going into a livestock pen.

Other Thoughts:

We checked in at the KOA office and the helpful lady gave us a map and generously waived our parking fee due to it being the slow season (November 16, 2016).

The disc golf course is located on a piece of property above the KOA campground that is an active farm, with goats, geese, chickens and cows in pens and cages, and even a few bee hives. While it is cool to see such a variety of animals, unfortunately their holding areas are scattered throughout the fairways of holes 1 and 2. There is also a variety of farm equipment and several old vehicles and motorhomes. If you lost a disc in one of the pens, you might not get it back. And a very large dog (looked like a Great Pyranees) was chained up next to the cows and barked at us while we played hole 2 (which had part of the fairway over the cow pen). I think the tee pad for hole 2 had been moved away from the goat pen. It makes more sense to dive from down there, but we saw a tee pad just before the chicken coop and opted to play from there to hole 2. Once you get to hole 4 the animals are out of the picture, and you basically play up and down a small hill for the rest of the holes except hole 9.

If you look at Google Earth and compare satellite photos through time, you can see the motor homes move and land use shifts. Maybe now that the disc golf course is in this happens less often.

We saw no one else out there.
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geodude
Experience: 40 played 38 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Pobably not worth the drive 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Holes are well thought out considering there are no trees. Lots of up and down. Nice views. Good exercise. No poison oak. Store and campground. beautiful area. Good cages, ok tees. They lowered the price for us because only 6 holes available to play.

Cons:

If you have an allergy to animals do not play here. Cages fenced off with goat pens everywhere, hot in summer, no shade. Owners use area for farming, maintenence etc, Could not play all the holes due to keep out of goat areas.

Other Thoughts:

Nice idea, probably a good place to play in the off season perhaps, and if they decide to make it a disc golf getaway. Right now it is more of a farm than a course.
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Hazer
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18 years 168 played 53 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Very Fun 9 with Elevation Change 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 14, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Rubber tees. Free to play. All baskets have hole number on them. Course maps available for free at campground store by parking lot. Breathtaking 360 degree views of the mountains and rolling hills (especially on top of the hill by hole 5's tee). Moderate to heavy elevation change on nearly every hole. 2 nice shorter 'top of the world' shots (5 & 7) that will punish an overthrow. Easy to navigate once you find hole 1. Hole 9's basket is near 1's tee and the parking lot and store. Small store on site with beverages and snacks. Quiet, calm, and peaceful setting with very low traffic. Hole 3: nice longer uphill shot with a winding creek carving through the fairway (the creek only runs after heavy rains). Hole 4: another nice uphill shot, shorter and steeper than hole 3. Hole 7: one of the mini 'top of the world' shots, it's basket sits next to a steep hill with a fence running along the edge of the hill with OB beyond the fence, which requires RHBH shots to be conservative. Hole 9 shoots over a creek and has a couple small trees in play. At a KOA campground with a swimming pool, restrooms, showers, and a store on site. The people working in the store were very nice and helpful and seemed very happy that someone came to play their course. Fun course for players of all skill levels.

Cons:

The rubber tees are not flat (some are bumpy) and several are falling apart. No signs. Medium distance holes with nothing very long or too challenging. Completely open with literally no trees on the course besides a couple smaller ones on hole 9.

Other Thoughts:

I am really happy I got a chance to play this newer course as it was a lot of fun. Despite having no trees and relatively short distances, the holes are not extremely easy due to heavy elevation change. The course is on a grassy open hillside but is surrounded by more wooded areas with similar and more extreme elevation change, so I can only hope that the potential "extreme" 27 hole course mentioned by DocHaole will open in the near future as the terrain surrounding this 9 hole is fantastically suited for a premier disc golf course.
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DocHaole
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.7 years 79 played 48 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Santa Margarita 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 8, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

With steep hillsides and scenic views of the lake this is not your average 9 holer. The course is new and is still a work in progress but it is still a lot of fun.

The land is great for disc golf, with elevation coming into play on practically every hole. In just 9 holes you have 2 "top of the world"-ish holes and a variety of uphill throws.

Brand New DGA Mach 3 baskets with hole numbers.

New Rubber tees.

Steep inclines or dropoffs on 5 of the baskets (2,3,4,5 and 6) that reward accurate putts but can really punish an overthrow.

The course follows a logical flow, even without a map as long as you can find the first tee you should be able to figure it out.

Absolutely no crowds, as is the case with most courses in the area you won't be waiting around on every hole. We were the only group out there the entire time we played on a Saturday afternoon.

There is a camp store that sells beer and food. Also beer is allowed on the course.

It is a fun use of the elevation but it's not overly punishing so it is a good time for experienced players but still fun for begginners.

Cons:

To be fair most of the cons are a result of the course being new and I'm sure will be addressed as the club raises funds. There are no tee signs, so you kind of have to figure out the layout on your own, but it should be pretty easy, the numbers on the basket point to the tee so work backwards if you have to. The shop was out of maps, but at least they do exist. Accordingly we had no idea what the distances were.

The biggest con to this course is there are no trees . . . at all. So you can basically take any route you want to get to the basket. That being said the elevation and wind are enough to keep it interesting.

Other Thoughts:

This piece of land has a lot of potential for disc golf. The guy at the shop said that they are working on 27 more holes of "extreme" disc golf. After snooping around it looks like the other areas may have more in the way of trees and obstacles while still having the severe elevation changes. Keep this one on your radar, it's not a destination course yet but it has the potential to be a Lake Casitas type of course.
I want to give this course a higher rating because I am so excited about the potential but it still a work in progress, I can't wait to come back in a year or so and give it an upgrade.

Here is my hole by hole breakdown, it may be helpful if they are out of maps. Distances are my best guess, if anyone knows the actual distances please let me know.

Hole #1 - Tee is located by the sign for camping space #5. Blind shot straight ahead, the pin is located about 30' before the chicken coops. I'm guessing 330-350'.
Hole #2 - Uphill shot, good ace run opportunity, somewhere around 200'. But watch out there is a steep drop off behind the basket.
Hole #3 - Steep Uphill shot straight ahead probably around 275'.
Hole #4 - Steep Uphill shot again, played a bit longer than the last one lets say 300'?
Hole #5 - Ahhh, the fun one. After climing up the hill, catch your breath and enjoy the view of the lake and the rock formations behind you. Then it's a fun steep downhill shot, hard to guess the distance but it is easy to overshoot with a buzz, maybe 400'.
Hole #6 - Working your way back up the other side of the hill you just went down. Another steep straight ahead shot, but it plays pretty long I'd say 360'.
Hole #7 - Next to the #5 teepad, this time shooting toward the campground. Very easy to overshoot with a dangerous dropoff right behind the basket. An ace run that goes just a hair too high can end up 200' down the hill very very easily.
Hole #8 - Slight downhill shot, no real hazards, around 225'.
Hole #9 - Shoots over a small ravine, another fairly short one 225'.

Again, it's not a destination course yet. But it has the potential to be a great camp and play kind of course.
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