Played 10/11. A half of each green is sanded right now, but they are still rolling pretty well. Fairways and tee boxes were decent. Front 9 was very slow but pace got much better at the turn.

CPennbo's review is accurate. Conditions are average at best, greens are slow and bumpy and fairways are very thin. Had a number of shots from the middle of the fairway which would have been better off in the rough due to the lack of grass on the fairways. A good lay-out but the conditions just aren't good enough right now to warrant playing.

Played 8-16-08 on a warm sunny afternoon. Greens were in good shape except for the ball marks left by the tournament players just in front of us. Fairways were generally good and the sand was immaculate. Customer service was terrific. Pace of play was very good. I love the layout and this course will definitely test your shot-making skills. Recommended.

Played 8/9 and 8/10. Greens are in good shape, same with the bunkers. Fairways are a bit dry but not too bad. Expect lots of wind unless you play early morning. A good test of your golf skills. Great layout for the $.

Played 8-2-08 at 6:30 am. Course is in good shape, greens were terrific, very smooth with good speed. Fairways for the most part were in good shape. Pace of play was also good, 4 hours 15 mins. which is unusual for here but I guess the early morning round helped. $25 to walk is simply the best deal in so-cal, period. Great layout, especially the back 9.

Played 7-27. Course is in good shape. Greens are running true as they almost always do here. Fairways had a few bare spots but for the most part you got a good lie. Walked in 4 hours from the tips. $30 after 1pm on weekends to walk is a very good deal for this course, which in my opinion, is one of the most underrated courses in SD.

Played 7-20 on a warm windy day. Greens ran fairly well, although there was a lot of unrepaired ball marks. Fairways were a bit patchy in some areas but fine for the most part. Pace of play was awesome, walked the course in 3.5 hours. I liked the layout, you get plenty of room to hit drivers but you really need to hit the right part of the fairway to have a chance to attack the flag. Would play here again.

Played June 21. Previous reviewer is pretty much spot-on, the rough is very difficult to hit out of, fairways are decent and greens rolled ok, if a little slow, probably because it was so hot over the weekend and they wanted to make sure they had enough water in them. Still one of the best muni's around.

Played Saturday May 24. Course is in pretty good shape right now. The fairways are lush, the rough is penalizing (thick but fair) and the greens ran fairly well. Having played Balbloa numerous times over the years, these conditions are certainly some of the best I have seen there. It was very windy on Saturday and this made the course more challenging than usual. For 6200 yards from the tips this is a very difficult course, it puts a huge premium on straight driving. $35 resident rate is still one of the best deals in SD.

Played 4-19-08. Course is in pretty good shape right now. The fairways are spongy and green and the rough is lush. The greens roll true but are a little slow, which seems to be the case most of the time here. The bunkers have fairly new sand and are quite fluffy so you have to swing a little harder. Pace of play was great, a little under 4 hours walking. I like the layout and will return. They have a great facility here with two good courses and a great practice area. It is getting a little pricey at $72 on a Saturday, but I had a free round though so I can't complain!

Played 4-12-08 on a very warm day. The first 7 fairways are in very good condition, after that it gets a little spotty, with some burnt out and GUR areas, not that bad though. The greens are slowish and a little bumpy but rolled fine for the most part. The layout here is excellent, with a good variety of holes, with the par 3's all being very difficult. I am a reasonably long hitter and I hit 4 iron, 4 iron, 3 iron and 3-wood to them, #17 is as hard a par 3 as you will find. #18 is a very tough, but enjoyable par 5 finishing hole. The staff were great, and the clubhouse here is a perfect place to enjoy a cold drink after a round. It was $32 to walk as a guest on a weekend, 60 range balls for $3. Will be back.

Played 3-27-08. This golf course is a MONSTER right now. I am a 3 handicap and played with another 3 handicap and we have played the course a lot, we both shot 81 and it felt like a 65!
I have NEVER seen the rough this long, thick and just plain brutal here. It is 5+ inches in many parts, absolutely impossible to hit anything but a 9 iron, PW or SW to escape it, and even with these clubs it is no guarantee. One player in our group took 8 (yes, 8) swings at his ball in the rough on no. 1 and couldn't escape, he was 10 yards off the fairway and just picked up. PLEASE make sure you watch the exact spot where your ball goes into the rough because it will sink to the bottom every time. Also, if you can, walk the course, it is cart path only right now and being in a cart completely distorts your idea of where your ball went when you are trying to find it. For practical purposes, on the par 4's if you miss the fairway play it as a par 5, wedge out to the fairway and just try to get on in 3. On par 5's same thing, if you miss the fairway, play safe, wedge out and try to get on in 4. You will save yourself a lot of strokes (and time) doing this. Finally please play the right set of tees, we played with two 120 shooters who played the tips, and by the 8th hole they were so frustrated and angry because it was taking them 10 shots to reach the par 4's and par 5's, it just wasn't fun for them and it was taking them 25 mins. to play a hole. The greens were recently punched, they are still bumpy but have good speed, they will be great in about 2 weeks. The fairways are perfect to hit from, the sand is smooth and the tee boxes are in great shape. This golf course really is the ultimate challenge and gives you an idea as to how tough a US Open really is. Enjoy!