Played Wednesday 3/13 7:50am tee time. Great short game area so come early and take advantage of that. $35 to walk and $18 for shared cart. We teed off on time 4hours and 20 minutes to finish. There w... Continue »

Played Wednesday 3/13 7:50am tee time. Great short game area so come early and take advantage of that. $35 to walk and $18 for shared cart. We teed off on time 4hours and 20 minutes to finish. There were many wet areas that had standing water/mud/puddles. I guess this course doesn't drain very well. I'm assuming because it's so wet, the maintenance guys can't cut the grass. The fairways were very patchy with many different types of grass and were not cut. I couldn't tell fairways from rough. I don't play Encino/Balboa too often but it seems like this course is less maintained than Encino. Tee boxes, fairways, rough, around the greens, all below average in my opinion. The greens were smooth for the most part. Medium speed. Very hard and bouncy. Overall the course is ok only because it's $35.

Made my way out to Balboa this weekend to try and keep the 'hot streak' going. I had the choice to play Encino as well (which is generally a better course) but wanted to switch things up after having ... Continue »

Made my way out to Balboa this weekend to try and keep the 'hot streak' going. I had the choice to play Encino as well (which is generally a better course) but wanted to switch things up after having played there the last few times up at the Sepulveda Complex. One thing I did notice for the first time really is that while many courses don't have a lot of chipping/pitching areas, Encino/Balboa has a huge area between the clubhouse and the ample driving range. It's a very good facility for that kind of practice. As for the course itself, greens are in very nice shape right now, running medium-fast and holding shots well. There's nothing overly tricky about the green complexes for Balboa, but adjusting to the speed is difficult as one generally expects them to be much slower. But props to the greens crew for a job well done. The rest of the course is not quite as well set up for your play. The fairways are good not great - lots of thin lies in and around the greens and even in the fairways. Rough is often preferable as it's very playable and you're less likely to thin it. Bunkers look pretty bad but actually played alright, while the tee boxes (played the blues) were a mixed bag of fine, not so fine and definitely could use some love. POP moved along pretty nicely and our group of four singles got around in around four and a half hours. I was shocked to also see cart service riding around which is very uncommon around here and a nice change. All four players also walked as it's a very easy walking course with no major distances between holes or nines. And the price? It was a steal - let's just put it that way. In summary, Balboa is playable right now but not quite at its absolute best.

Played Balboa today 7/13 was disappointed to fine the greens airrated. Not the best time to do it with Hot weather for the nest week.

Played Balboa today 7/13 was disappointed to fine the greens airrated. Not the best time to do it with Hot weather for the nest week.

Played Balboa on Memorial Day at 6:40 am. First time in a few months as I stayed away during the very rainy season and waited until post-aeration to give it another try. I would say the course is dec... Continue »

Played Balboa on Memorial Day at 6:40 am. First time in a few months as I stayed away during the very rainy season and waited until post-aeration to give it another try. I would say the course is decent and will probably play pretty nicely during the hot summer months. The two notable aspects at the moment are (1) the greens being quite slow, and (2) the rough being quite long and penal. But really the course is quite playable and the rough being long at least puts a premium on tee shots hitting the fairway. Bunkers were unraked and were lumpy like going to the beach, but hey at least there was plenty of sand in them. I recommend Balboa if you go into the round with the right expectations.

Played 1/10/23 and after reading the previous review from last week, I was anxious to see if Balboa still suffered from the rains from that week. I'm pleased to report that the course has definitely ... Continue »

Played 1/10/23 and after reading the previous review from last week, I was anxious to see if Balboa still suffered from the rains from that week. I'm pleased to report that the course has definitely bounced back. Balboa has dried out and is playing long and fast. My friends 86 yr old mom was hitting drives over 200+ yds and even reached a few of the greens in 2! Ha! She hits from the yellow tees and is a good player but I could tell she was having fun from the constant smile on her face. My drives were rolling out so far that I just hit the "fairway finder" today and still had many approaches inside 120 yds. The best surprise was how good the greens were. They were firm, rolled smooth, and FAST. Had to adjust my club choices due to several approaches running through and off the greens. Our group doesn't play here often and only came as a last resort, but after today they all want to add this to our regular course rotation. The main flaws being it was almost too dry without much if any rough, and bare lies, the bunkers had enough sand but were pocked with footprints without many rakes and many tee boxes were patchy/beat. Balboa isn't a difficult course if you mostly stay in play, and now is a great time to play it if you've been struggling and need a confidence booster!

Played 1/2 in the new year 2023 with a mid morning tee time. Pace of play was just over 4 hours for 18 holes. Haven’t played this fast in quite awhile.

We called the course beforehand and found o... Continue »

Played 1/2 in the new year 2023 with a mid morning tee time. Pace of play was just over 4 hours for 18 holes. Haven’t played this fast in quite awhile.

We called the course beforehand and found out it was walking only. No riding carts on the course. With all the recent rains the last week of December, I can see why. The course was rather wet, muddy and had areas with large puddles of water. The tee boxes were level but we’re starting to get muddy. For a lot of holes, all the tee markers were all together. The fairways had good grass coverage but some areas were thin grass with a lot of mud. Had to move the balls on the fairways as I was either standing in water or in mud. Can’t comment on the bunkers but I can see there were pools of water in some of them. Greens were in decent shape but I found them quite firm. There were area on the fairways where it was roped off due to mud and pools of water. The driving range was open. Might wait until rains stop and let the course dry out before we play here again.

Wanted to get one last round in before being likely shelved for the next month or so due to some medical issues, so got a late afternoon tee time on Saturday at Balboa, hoping for a nice, easy round t... Continue »

Wanted to get one last round in before being likely shelved for the next month or so due to some medical issues, so got a late afternoon tee time on Saturday at Balboa, hoping for a nice, easy round to take into my hiatus. I was a bit surprised by the $64 greens fee with cart, but wasn't about to make a stink.

The course itself is pretty basic and straightforward with no water hazards or much in the way of danger, but it's got a few narrow fairways and doglegs, but mostly you're competing against the conditions. The fairways are not terrible, but there's a heck of a lot of thin out there so you better be hitting your ball crisply. Rough is totally playable and often preferable, especially when chipping around the greens.

Speaking of the greens, they were a little on the slow side but rolled just fine and held shots well. The only real perplexing green was the 16th that was half covered in large aerification punched holes and lots of sand all over. It was the only one so that was quite odd. I was also in two bunkers that were okay, not great but not terrible, and the tee boxes were a little dodgy in spots with coverage but all flat and workable.

No cart service at all which seems like a lost opportunity on a busy Saturday, and even more important on Balboa as you do not return anywhere near the snack shop or starter when you make the turn. Basically you're on your own out there! POP was actually a nice surprise though as we finished in just under four and a half hours. Not too shabby at all on a gorgeous SoCal late summer day.

I generally prefer to play Encino of the two tracks at Sepulveda Basin, but every so often it's nice to play Balboa for a different feel. It's a good confidence course but definitely not in its absolute best shape right now.

Got a Friday 4:00pm start with a buddy and were paired up with a middle-aged, husband/wife couple. I had been out at Woodley recently with a 3:50 start and managed to get 18 in and was cautiously hope... Continue »

Got a Friday 4:00pm start with a buddy and were paired up with a middle-aged, husband/wife couple. I had been out at Woodley recently with a 3:50 start and managed to get 18 in and was cautiously hopeful of doing it again. For me, this course is the epitome of muni and as someone who frequents munis, that is not necessarily a pejorative. It's about basic golf, enjoyable but not always pretty. I was happy enough with the conditions. Teeing grounds were generally level with coverage. Fairways here are mostly generous, had reasonable coverage on the tight side and a fair bit of rollout. The grass quality is inconsistent visually and otherwise with occasional brown areas, but few actual bare areas. I found it all pretty playable with mostly good lies. The rough was almost, (how should I put this?) nurturing. Mostly grown in, rarely punitive and in some cases even teeing the ball up a little, so little stress there. I was in a couple of bunkers and quality was fine other than the lack of people raking the sand. Fortunately, I missed the footprints. The green-side areas were good for short shots. The greens themselves were soft, showed visual remnants of past aeration and ran at a good medium quick with the occasional muni bump but looked bumpier than they played, which was good. Mixed skill levels in the group didn't prevent us from maintaining about a 4-hour pace. As dusk was encroaching the coupled peeled off after the 16th while my buddy and I finished out 18. Depth perception becoming an issue at the end, we got it done. A pretty straight forward and forgiving course currently, I was in the mood for it and enjoyed it. It's not pitch and putt and no course is without its challenges, but I wanted room to focus more on sorting out the quirks of my swing execution than those of the course and Balboa fit the bill. Basic stuff but enjoyable @ $32.50 total for both of us walking. Nice weather, good company, got it done. What's not to love? It's golf.

Played Balboa on Sat 2/26. Tee time was 6:20, but it was so cold they actually pushed the first tee time (6:10) back by 10 minutes as a quasi frost delay. The loudspeaker said to go ahead and tee off... Continue »

Played Balboa on Sat 2/26. Tee time was 6:20, but it was so cold they actually pushed the first tee time (6:10) back by 10 minutes as a quasi frost delay. The loudspeaker said to go ahead and tee off a couple minutes before 6:30, so no big deal at all. The pace was incredible the whole way through, which is unusual given that I'd expect to run into back-niners somewhere around hole 13 or so. Basically no one in front of us the whole round, and we only saw the group behind us a couple of times. Other than the frost on the ground for the first 7-8 holes, conditions were good for a round at this time of year. Greens were in great condition -- again the frost was challenging for judging speed but rolled great for line, and then by the latter half of the round were pretty much as good as you can get for a city muni. Fairways had decent coverage, slightly to mostly brown but spongy and very playable. Bunkers had good sand. They are working on some of the tee boxes, so a couple holes had tees pushed up a bit. Overall I like this course to work on the game and build up confidence -- not overly challenging, but not just a driving range. A number of holes favor a cut teeshot which is something I've been working on. A word to the wise on 18: if it's a blue pin, be advised there's quite a fall off on the back right part of the green which basically makes for a green that slopes both back to front but also left to right. I always forget about that part because it's not very visible from the approach. Better to aim for the left half of the green on the approach and let the ball gently release to the center. If the pin is front or middle, then the hole is much easier -- just be short of the pin and it's an easy birdie try.