Rode tbe blacks this morning 10/7/24 just after 8am joined by a nice twosome under beautiful morning conditions which turned to hotter conditions the ... » More

Rode tbe blacks this morning 10/7/24 just after 8am joined by a nice twosome under beautiful morning conditions which turned to hotter conditions the last 4-5 holes. No wind and our POP was 4 hrs not waiting and not holding anyone up. Did not have time to practice before the round but they have a nice practice facility here with mats/grass depending on the day as well as a seperate chipping green right by the putting green. Pro shop very friendly and the cart girl was around several times as the day warmed up.

Had not been here in a couple years. Conditions are above average to good.

Greens are soft on full shots holding pretty nicely and putting around a 10.5 on the stimp. Several huge greens with swales here. Most putts into the grain or uphill were slower than our group played for. Rated 7.5,/10

Fairways were in good shape with tight to thinner padded surfaces all green to the naked eye. Rated 7/10

All tees are being sanded and sodded so all the markers were at back of every tee box almost in the rough. Can't rate the tees today but they looked basically level and should be in great shape when they grow in.

The rough just barely off the fairways is very lush and very thick. Up to 5 inches in some spots. Rated 8/10

Was in one greenside bunker on 7 that looked very wet and thin but had a nice layer of sand underneath to splash out of. Rated 7/10

Not a big fan of tee shot on 3 and tee shot on 8 if you go for the green with your driver but enjoy the rest of the layout here. Some beautiful views, pretty solid conditions and some great shot value here.

Recommended.
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Walked the golds yesterday Monday 9/30/24 with my buddy Mark under cooler conditions with some fog cover on the back nine for a total POP of 4 hrs. Ve... » More

Walked the golds yesterday Monday 9/30/24 with my buddy Mark under cooler conditions with some fog cover on the back nine for a total POP of 4 hrs. Very friendly staff got us out 15 minutes before our scheduled 2pm tee time. They have a nice all grass range and a nice huge slope putting green that you can hit pitch shots on as well.

Course is still in very solid shape for early fall.

Lush fairways with minor brown spots. Perfect lies. Rated 8/10

Tess lush, mostly all level and very soft. Rated 8/10

Greens firm, fast rolling 12 downhill, 10.5 uphill. Love the greens here! Rated 9/10

Rough in good shape lush just off fairways but manageable. Was only in one native area all day left of 10. Most of the native areas outside the paths are manageable and cut down. Rated 8/10

Was in one greenside bunker left of 10 that had thicker brown almost mud like material. Rated 7/10.

Recommended!
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Walked the blacks today 9/9/2024 under great weather around 80 degrees with little to no wind at tee off as a single. Friendly staff got me out 30 min... » More

Walked the blacks today 9/9/2024 under great weather around 80 degrees with little to no wind at tee off as a single. Friendly staff got me out 30 minutes before my tee time. I played through a 3some on 3 tee and flew around walking the front in an hour 15 minutes. Hit a logjam of players on 14 for a total POP of 3 hrs 30 minutes.

Enjoyed the course immensely today even way back at almost 7200 yds. Sandpipers layout from hole 10 through 14 is just something special. I also love holes 5 and 7.

Conditions were good but not as great as say 2 months ago. Most portions of the fairways had good to great lies with some spots here and there of browning. Rated 8/10.

Tees were very lush, soft and some tees needed leveling like the back box on #6. You needed long tees for your driver that is how soft they were. Rated 7.5/10

The rough was more brown than I'm used to just off the fairways but still in the 7/10 range. Was in fairway bunker on 8 that was perfect to hit out of.

The greens were very healthy looking and rolled pure. They are slower and softer than I'm used to. Would say a 10.5 on the stimp rather than there usually 12 on the stimp. Rated 8.5/10

It was a hot day in California so blessed to be able to walk this course today even in low 80s which is hot for Santa Barbara. I did not see one walker today. Would highly recommend this track. One of my favorites.
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Walked the back tees today 9/3/24 under cloudy skies in the high 60s/low 70s with a club and a half wind. Joined by 3 nice older gentlemen from the VC... » More

Walked the back tees today 9/3/24 under cloudy skies in the high 60s/low 70s with a club and a half wind. Joined by 3 nice older gentlemen from the VC area. Our POP behind 2 tournaments was 4 hours 45 minutes getting off a little after 10am.

Decided to pick a course that wasn't punching, had cooler temps and had tee times available. Unfortunately couldn't snag a time for one of my buddies but enjoyed the gentlemen I played with. I had not played Lakes in 3 years trying to avoid American Golf run facilities. I just love the layout and staff here and have tons of great memories with buddies here.

I was shocked how poor the conditions were. The first two greens were the worst with pot marks and some major bumping. The greens on majority of the holes had sand and bare areas around the edges and greens like hole 9 they are losing major portions of it. The healthy parts of the greens were soft on approaches and rolling very slow maybe a 8.5 on the stimp. It pains me to rate the greens at a 5/10 but that is where they are at.

Many Fairways have dead dry grass with very thin lies. Playable but ugly to the eye. Rated 4.5/10

The rough and what is left of it had maintenance dirt plugs with many little irrigation mini flags around it. Rated 4/10.

Tees were mainly level, dry and crusty. Rated 4/10

Was in 2 greenside bunkers on 16 and 17 that were actually pretty nice with just enough sand in them. Other traps I walked by looked terrible. Rated 6/10

If you play for cooler temps and the bones of a course this would fit the bill but would not recommend the conditions at this time. Would need to see many good to great reviews to come back anytime soon. Just a shame as it has a strong challenging layout and great people working here
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Little late on the review walked the blues Monday 8/19/24 with my buddy Matt under beautiful skies around 71 degrees with a strong 2-3 club wind for m... » More

Little late on the review walked the blues Monday 8/19/24 with my buddy Matt under beautiful skies around 71 degrees with a strong 2-3 club wind for most of the day. Wanted to give a shout out to the very friendly staff in the proshop. Somehow between the morning senior men's club and a College of the Canyons tournament they were able to squeeze us 25 minutes before our alloted tee time which helped our POP at 4 hrs walking. They have the best staff here. We practiced on their beautiful chipping area, putting green and huge range[mats] prior to our round. Great practice facilities.

This is I believe my 4th summer round here and the conditions continue to thrive with summer papsulum beautiful lush Fairways and tees both coming in at a 9 out of 10. The rough is beautiful 8.5/10, semi lush and well manicured. We saw the mowers cutting the rough between 1 and 9. Greens were in good shape holding approaches very softly and rolling at a medium pace. Of note looks like they recently punched 13 green but it still rolled fairly smooth. Rated 8/10. Was in last Fairway bunker left on 3 that had great sand to hit out of. Was not in any greenside bunkers but they looked in good shape.

The native areas have thick beautiful flowers and some deep stuff. The lakes still have water in them which makes this course even more beautiful. Olivas always has a special place in my heart. If you don't like wind play here in the morning. Just love the layout, staff, temps, conditions and everything in between which makes this a must play in socal.
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