Emerald Isle Golf Course

The recent remastering of Goat Hill Park across town gets the majority of the pub, but it's not Oceanside's only casual, quirky, fun little course. The laid-back surf-mad community is a haven of short-form, come-as-you-are golf.

Just like The Goat, the family-run Emerald Isle knows exactly what it is - a little bit weird, a little bit scruffy - and leans into it, extracting as much joy and SoCal chill out of its L-shaped property as possible.

This is one of the places where the vibe is at least as important as the course itself. Emerald Isle’s 18 holes are a mixed bag of 16 par threes and two short par 4s, ranging from pederstrian to surprisingly interesting to downright odd. The third hole, which crosses a canal to an elevated green, is an early eye-catching test, and the cluster of short holes around the turn is fun as well. Your short irons and wedges will get plenty of work but there are a few sneaky-long and sneaky-tough one-shotters to get you into the longer end of your golf bag a few times. The greens were in good shape and everything else was slightly shabby, but not at all in a way that detracted from the experience.

Emerald Isle is as much about the hang as the golf. The small clubhouse is equal parts skate shop and beer hall, and the driving range is a happening place, too. When I arrived, part of the parking lot was devoted to setting up for the course’s annual winter festival, with food trucks and carnival games and local bands and DJs. It was a great reminder that a golf course doesn’t need to just serve golfers.

There are plenty of golf facilities where overly buttoned-up types can fairly scrutinize every detail. That’s the wrong way to look at a place like Emerald Isle, which thrives on a little bit of ramshackle charm and overall relaxed, friendly vibes.

Emerald Isle is a pretty average executive course... average layout, average conditions, average price. Pretty narrow. Very casual atmosphere. It's fun, but not much about the course really stands out.

The clubhouse food is phenomenal though. The burgers and sandos are better than any other course in SD. Heck, they're better than most sit-down restaurants in SD. The staff will deliver them to you on the course as well.

First time playing Emerald Isle. Pretty good diversity of holes. Course was in very good condition with the exception of the tee boxes and too many ball marks on the greens that weren't fixed. Overall the greens were almost perfect. Ran quick, with some really good undulations that made every putt pretty tough. Well definitely play again and recommend to others.

Got hurt, unable to play for 5 years. 60 to 65 yrs old. Used the range to help with my return. Been playing here for the last 6 years and will continue for as long as I'm able. I enjoy everything about playing here.

Great course for the money! Friendly staff and great food.

Been playing here for some time now. Course is great,fun but challenging enough to keep you coming back. I like to play here to dial in my Irons when I'm rusty in between full course rounds. Kassidy who works there is very friendly and helpful! Always nice to get a warm welcome from staff with a positive attitude

I decided to give this course a try because I had a little extra time and was in the area. I am glad I did, I didn’t think playing a par 3 course would fun, but I was wrong. It can be challenging in some spots, but if you want to work on irons, this place is for you. The staff were very friendly, Carts are in average condition but it’s a par 3 course so I wasn’t expecting a gravity stop, gps cart, so it got the job done. I also had my 4 year old son with me, they didn’t charge me for him to tag along with his clubs so my son and I had a blast. The pace of play was great, no one rushed us and everyone on the course seemed laid back. The greens were fast and in great condition, the tee box I really didn’t care about, I thought they were just fine. Overall my experience was good! I would definitely play here again. Only thing that caught me off guard was the price. I clicked 9 holes for $0.00 on the website. When I got there the cashier said they don’t offer that, they charge for 18 holes. So I ended up paying 20 bucks. Even though I wasn’t expecting to play 18 holes for $20, I am glad I did. Probably should change that, some people might not like that.

Friendly staff, very well maintained greens.
Good value for the money i paid.

The next time you can’t decide between the Driving Range and playing a quick 18, think about playing at Emerald Isle. You’ll get a full Irons Workout, practice shots ranging from 85-245 yards. Yes, this course is very rough (scrub) in some areas, but still a fun, quick course where you can focus on what you’ve been practicing.

Hopefully, the Autumn/Winter rains will fill the ponds and easy the water burden common to most golf courses.

All said a good place to play/practice.

This course always seems to be immaculate. The greens are always consistent in speed and well manicured. If I had to pick one thing the course could improve, it would be the tee boxes.

Course was fun and challenging for an executive! But the manager in the pro shop was rude and very unfriendly towards the non regulars. And then while on the course the marshal very rudely explained to us about how a foursome should let a twosome play thru. Even though we asked the twosome if they wanted to go thru multiple times. Then on hole #11 when we were getting taught a lesson on golf etiquette by the marshal. We again asked the twosome to go thru. And again they declined. The marshal apologized. But if he had only talked to us like the adults that we are. He would have known that we had already offered. Other than that. The course is well maintained. They just need a Lil lesson in customer service!!!

We had a foursome and did not catch anyone and never had anyone catch us...felt like we had the course to ourselves, had a great time.

Rate increase, due to operating cost. Do we need to know this. Why is everyone not increasing rates? Cart paths are a literal pain. Cars don't have enough power and the breaks don't always work correctly. The staff is not into what they do, just doing a job. Ambassadors can be friendly, but often times don't have a clue as to what is going on. Just reacts to biggest complainers. Course could be fun if fixed up.

the course is dusty, they might want to consider pay the cart path.

Good field condition, Great practice to shot. Beautiful course.

This course offers challanges for all levels of play. The greens are well maintained and require focus to make par. while this is a short course, the elevation and breezes can make club selection challanging. the staff does an excellent job with T box and pin locations so one feels they are never playing the same course.

A bit pricey for an Exec course. Very narrow, but challenging.