First timer here, came to see what Olivas is all about. No better way than join the GK outing. Brought Jim and Vic, and I matched up with the dconnally. The course is a gem, everything other than the ... Continue »

First timer here, came to see what Olivas is all about. No better way than join the GK outing. Brought Jim and Vic, and I matched up with the dconnally. The course is a gem, everything other than the course has very few frills, it's all about the course here.
I agree with the other recent reviews.
There's a good blend of holes and challenges. The fairways reward you for finding them. The greens are good and no push over, especially with tougher pin placements like we saw. I try to avoid bunkers, and they are well placed here. The areas around greens are cut just right for chips, pitches and flops.
We enjoyed our round, the outing and my match. Recommended.

Played in the final group of Sunday’s GK Plays, walking in about 4:45. Good times with Andrew, Gary and Kevin. Thank you Johnny and all the sponsors for another first-class event. Good to see a bunch ... Continue »

Played in the final group of Sunday’s GK Plays, walking in about 4:45. Good times with Andrew, Gary and Kevin. Thank you Johnny and all the sponsors for another first-class event. Good to see a bunch of GKers I hadn’t seen for a while.

Course conditions are excellent. Greens are mostly smooth (a few putts bounced in our group), medium fast, and medium firmness. Full shots released just a bit for me before stopping. Fairways are excellent, great coverage and a terrific playing surface. Rough seems more like a mix of grasses and varying depths, which determines how penal it is. Regardless, it was in good condition as well. I was in one bunker and it didn’t seem people had been raking it earlier in the day, but the sand was good quality. Blue tee boxes were great.

I love this course more and more every time I play it. Just wished I lived closer. Get out there if you do!

I played in the foursome with Gary and Andrew so there is little I can add in terms of detail about the course conditions in general. The consensus seems to be that the greens were on the quicker side... Continue »

I played in the foursome with Gary and Andrew so there is little I can add in terms of detail about the course conditions in general. The consensus seems to be that the greens were on the quicker side of medium and I agree with that — a pace with which I'm normally comfortable. I did feel it worth mentioning the practice green, as clean and spacious as it is, I found pretty quick. Consequently it had me calibrated for a whole different level of pace when I got on the course and to an extent it stuck with me through the round. Not a complaint, but something that one might want to be aware of when anticipating and trying to dial one's touch pre-round. Some courses match up well with their practice greens more than others and its good to be aware of where it falls on the spectrum. I have only played the course a few times in its current layout. I lived in Ventura for a while years go when I played it in its original configuration. To say the redesign is improvement is an understatement and I have found the course growing on me each time I play it. In addition to the conditioning, there is a nice blend of visual interest, challenge and options that keep your interest without unduly forcing the issue. It is playable on first exposure but definitely rewards local knowledge. As I think of it now, there is a Rustic Canyon-esque quality to the strategizing, even as they have very different micro-climate characters. I like that many of the holes reveal themselves as you play them rather than seeing it all in a straight shot. It doesn't hurt that it is a pretty easy course to walk without it feeling overly flat or monotonous. Very reasonably priced for what it offers, I wish it was a little closer.

6/6 GK plays outing GK cup match with t8fish (Kevin) and fellow GK cup participants Mark and Andrew on a cloudy sometimes breezy afternoon but overall pleasant playing conditions. Fairways have good c... Continue »

6/6 GK plays outing GK cup match with t8fish (Kevin) and fellow GK cup participants Mark and Andrew on a cloudy sometimes breezy afternoon but overall pleasant playing conditions. Fairways have good cover with overall good lies a little tight for metals at times but good for irons and hybrids. Rough not that long but required attention to make a decent strike. Tees with good cover. Bunkers were groomed and had rakes. Found 4 today 1 plugged in the face 1 a little thin at the bottom but looked soft and thinned the shot 1 so so out and 1 40 foot out to 3 feet for the save==guess I got better with the practice. Greens are large and pins are placed in quadrants and today pins were mostly on the outer edge toward the perimeter so for me had lot of short side issues as pitches were often uphill over a mound to a down slope. Additionally there are contours and some areas of pronounced slope. Greens are healthy rolling mostly smoothly at medium fast pace. 1st time here and much more playable than expected as there were many comments about the native areas but was able to keep the ball mostly in play as the fairways are generally quite ample. Seemed also that most approaches had a side to hit to be more conservative so there was a risk reward factor. Still often found a way to miss on the wrong side however. Fun outing with a fun crew. All of us walking which I do not do much of anymore but the course is very walkable

Played in the GK Event here on 6/6, bringing up the rear with a 2:50 pm tee time. I think we played in about 4:45-5:00 and I'm guessing with a few of us having matches that lead to a few extra minutes... Continue »

Played in the GK Event here on 6/6, bringing up the rear with a 2:50 pm tee time. I think we played in about 4:45-5:00 and I'm guessing with a few of us having matches that lead to a few extra minutes on the round. Not too bad for four walkers on a Sunday.

This is my first time to Olivas Links and it instantly jumped into a high ranking for me. First of all, $45 for a city resident on the weekend is INSANE! I know these are probably fighting words for some, but I'm putting Olivas up there with Torrey as far as local resident value is concerned. This course jumps ahead of Torrey in my opinion as its only $61 for us out of towners. Absolute steal!

As for the course, I thought this layout was fantastic! I'm a huge fan of links style golf but while this course does have those characteristics it doesn't really play fast and firm and there are more carries into greens than links courses normally have. That being said, I could play this course everyday and not get tired of it. There isn't a boring hole on the course and while I don't know if I would say there's a signature hole (17 was absolutely gorgeous in my opinion) the layout in its entirety does not have a dull moment. I think that the teeth of the course is really in the greens. While some interesting angles and sight lines off tees make for interesting tee shots, and the longer grasses and flowers outside the rough can be penalizing, the interesting green complexes are the best! Just so much to keep your attention out here.

AS for the conditions of the course, wow! I have to assume this place gets tons of play and the fact that the greens were as good as they are, the fairways the best I've played all year (I bet when they get a fresh mow they are going to be tour sauce!) and all the flowers and cool trees around, the visuals and playing conditions are top notch.

If you have time before the round I would recommend coming early as the practice area with huge putting green and great practice short game area are perfect for warming up. Range was off good mats with plenty of targets and a nice way to get in some shots in the wind conditions. The clubhouse is just a trailer and it's just shut down with the covid stuff, but the guy in the shop was super friendly and helpful and they carried a tasty local beer which was a nice touch :)

All in all I can't say anything bad about Olivas and I probably haven't said enough good. Super glad I made the drive and I'm already figuring out my next trip up. Go play this now!

Played in the GK event on June 6th. This was my 2nd time O.L. and both times have been GK events. Olivas is just about the golf as they operate out of a trailer, there is no clubhouse. Other than not ... Continue »

Played in the GK event on June 6th. This was my 2nd time O.L. and both times have been GK events. Olivas is just about the golf as they operate out of a trailer, there is no clubhouse. Other than not really having a snack bar or restuarant on site, but that is fine with me. PoP was right at 5 hours, but it was a Sunday afternoon on a well conditioned, fun course.
Conditions were great.
Tees - In good condition, but a few felt a little shaggy towards the end of the round.
Fairways - great. Ball sat up nicely and GUR was marked nicely on a few holes.
Rough - nice condition and made you really think about club selection hitting out of it.
Greens - great to putt on these medium fast greens. since I have not played here that often reading them was a little difficult and some of the flags were located in some tough spots.
Bunkers - nice sand, but lots of foot prints as not many golfers raking them. I was raking my tracks and many others when in them.
I wish this course was not such a long drive for me as I would play here a lot more often.

Played today with the GK outing, second group out. POP at about 5 hrs. which is typical here on a Sunday. Overall course conditions are great. Lots of great turf coverage everywhere and nice greens wi... Continue »

Played today with the GK outing, second group out. POP at about 5 hrs. which is typical here on a Sunday. Overall course conditions are great. Lots of great turf coverage everywhere and nice greens with some very tricky pin positions today on many of the holes.

Greens rolled smooth and medium fast. They were somewhat soft and held most any decently struck approach. I did fix quite a few ball marks, though.

Fairways were really nice with ample turf to hit from and very few areas in distress, if any.

Rough was very nice, but the farther you got from the fairway it could get dicey. The areas of deep kikuyu have been pared back quite a bit from days of old. However, there are lots of native areas which will swallow your ball and if you're luck enough to find it, then it will be a task to hit out of.

Bunkers looked good and there were rakes available; if only folks started using them again, LOL.

Tees were level and had good grass coverage so no issues there.

Overall, I think this is one of the best courses around; it has lots of character and presents a good challenge for most any golfer. I look forward to coming back here soon.

Walked the blues in the GK event this afternoon with buddies JohnnyGK and Pedro teeing off at 240pm and finishing just under 5 hrs on a beautiful maybe 1 club at the most weather day by the coast. C... Continue »

Walked the blues in the GK event this afternoon with buddies JohnnyGK and Pedro teeing off at 240pm and finishing just under 5 hrs on a beautiful maybe 1 club at the most weather day by the coast. Conditions are really strong right now at Olivas. Greens were mostly smooth, rolling medium speed and we're very soft and receptive on approach shots. Rated 8/10. Fairways were lush, green and provided good to great lies. Rated 8/10. Tees were lush, green and mostly all level. Rated 8/10 Rough was green and lush lining the fairways. Get outside the cart paths and it could be thin, hardpan or knee high deep wispy stuff. The rough is down in most places that used to be more penal. Rated 7.5/10 Was not in any bunkers but they looked nice walking by. Would highly recommend Olivas right now. It's in great shape.

Played 4-27-21 early morning walking as a single, finishing in 2 1/2 hours for $20 on a TeeOff deal. Tee boxes were in good shape, good coverage, cut tight, and mostly level. Fairways for the most par... Continue »

Played 4-27-21 early morning walking as a single, finishing in 2 1/2 hours for $20 on a TeeOff deal. Tee boxes were in good shape, good coverage, cut tight, and mostly level. Fairways for the most part were really nice, there are a few thin and bare spots that were being taken care off but they are mostly green with good lies and decent roll out. Rough along fairways and around greens was around2-3 inches and in nice condition. Was not in any bunkers but they looked well groomed with nice white sand. Greens were in very nice shape, semi-soft and rolling smooth at medium pace. Overall course is in good shape and should only get better as summer rolls around.