009: Twin Oaks Golf Course
Twin Oaks Golf Course in San Marcos has greatly benefited from the post-COVID golf boom. Back in my college days at CSU San Marcos, I could walk on at any time of the day and play 18 holes in three hours for just 30 bucks! Back then, the course conditions needed some work, and overall, it was just average at best. Fast forward to today—tee sheets are full on the weekends, and the recently renovated clubhouse and grill are bustling, creating a super fun weekend vibe on the deck overlooking the 18th green and 1st tee.
From what I understand, the luxury golf goods company VESSEL has partnered with Twin Oaks in some commercial way, which makes sense because the course has improved significantly.
Today, Twin Oaks had the best green conditions I've ever seen there and definitely some of the best in the county. Hopefully, that holds because they were truly enjoyable to putt on. They were rolling fast enough to keep you engaged and avoid three-putts but were also fair in terms of firmness. I really enjoyed putting on them—they rolled true, unlike past experiences when they were bumpy and furry.
I'm no golf architecture snob, nor do I hold any course to a higher standard regarding layout, but Twin Oaks has never really been my favorite. The front nine is the more boring of the two, with no real shape—most holes require a straightforward driver off the tee. The highlight of the front nine has to be the par-3 7th hole. It plays between 145-165+ yards, with water short and a tricky two-tiered green. Going long brings unpredictable bounces, leaving you with a tough (if not impossible) up-and-down. Factoring in the wind—usually into your face from the left—and landing on the correct tier is crucial. Otherwise, you could easily putt off the green if you're coming from the top tier.
The back nine is where the course opens up and finally "feels like a golf course" (whatever that even means, lol). Hole 10 is a longer par 3 with an awesome yet undulating and tricky green. Putts across it break a ton, and being below the pin is crucial. Hole 11 plays uphill and to the left, rewarding a high draw that leaves a short iron or wedge in. If you fade or slice, you'll hit the hill, which will just kick you further right into the lower 15th hole fairway, leaving a long second shot.
Hole 12 seems like a straightforward par 4, but it rewards a great drive and punishes mishits with tall fairway bunkers around 265 yards. There's also a super fun tee box way back, practically in someone's backyard—usually a bit overgrown—but it completes the hole. From there, you're forced to hit a fade with OB left and fairway bunkers right in your landing zone.
Hole 13 is another fun sharp dogleg left, forcing you to either lay up short or really carve a right-to-left shot. A straight or sliced driver brings the houses into play quickly. Hole 14 is a great straight-ahead par 4 with a valley before the green. A great drive lands in the valley, but that leaves you with a blind uphill wedge shot. Sometimes, it's better to be a bit farther back on the flat fairway up top.
The 15th is a downhill, drivable par 4 with a pond short of the green—a huge risk-reward tee shot that forces you to aim uncomfortably left, close to the houses/OB line. The par-5 16th has, in my opinion, the best green complex on the course—super undulated with a bowl that funnels toward a middle-right pin.
Overall, the back nine is much more enjoyable in my opinion. Twin Oaks Golf Course has become a super fun weekend round, and as mentioned, I really hope their green conditions hold up because they made the experience that much better.
—Hewgss