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.

In a golfer's fantasy, all this rain would have made courses in the best shape they've been in months. In reality, it doesn't seem to have made much difference. Balboa was dried out and a bit hard. ... Continue »

In a golfer's fantasy, all this rain would have made courses in the best shape they've been in months. In reality, it doesn't seem to have made much difference. Balboa was dried out and a bit hard. It was easy to get a thin lie almost anywhere on the course. Drives ran but chipping was a bit dicey. Tee boxes and bunkers were ok and the greens were decent - a little faster than I'm used to here. The 10minute apart tee times give plenty of room for everyone to play at a decent rate and the on-line reservation system makes getting late tee times as a single relatively simple.

Got out Sunday 10/17, 8:50 as a foursome on a cool, still morning and still damp golf course. First time back to Balboa in seven months, which feels about right. Conditions are mixed, for a net rating... Continue »

Got out Sunday 10/17, 8:50 as a foursome on a cool, still morning and still damp golf course. First time back to Balboa in seven months, which feels about right. Conditions are mixed, for a net rating of just OK. Tee boxes are generally level with coverage and present suitably as launching pads. My impression of the fairways was was 70 to 80% grass lies and the rest thin, bare or browned out. The grass was on the firm and tighter side but presented good lies and a fair bit of rollout. Classic muni condition of generally serviceable and a bit unsightly at times. The rough could be anything from bare, to non-punitive light coverage, to a little fuller and sticky, to occasional grabby and punitive where more grown in — mostly on the thinner or less lush side. Bunkers could have been better raked, but reasonable clean, decent sand. I managed to avoid footprints and found them firmish and playable with most I was in dry and one moist. The green-side areas were more lush for short game and the kikuyu fringes could check up in-coming shots. The greens were in pretty decent shape overall and ran at a medium-on-the-quick-side and I found them enjoyable to play. Pace was steady and I'm guessing somewhere shy of 4.5 hrs. A beautiful, clear day, it warmed and dried out quickly, starting out windless and developing to a +1 club or more breeze at times towards the end of the round. This is quintessential muni golf — a little under-irrigated overall and less than visually pristine, but it is what it is. Not a destination course to go out of your way for, and the "just OK" rating not withstanding, I had a good time playing it. Sometimes just OK conditions is more than good enough. Good greens also helps. Mostly generous fairways, reasonable length, straightforward with no water hazards or anything tricked up about it, and very good for walking. Perry, Wendy and Tom were excellent company and thanks especially to Perry for reaching out with the open tee time.

Played Balboa on Monday Oct 11 at 7:20. Hadn't been to this course since they reopened the pro shop and the starter moved into the shop. So it's been a few months for me.

Course is playing great ... Continue »

Played Balboa on Monday Oct 11 at 7:20. Hadn't been to this course since they reopened the pro shop and the starter moved into the shop. So it's been a few months for me.

Course is playing great right now. The greens especially were nice and smooth, and rolled very true. Fairways were pretty good -- I hit into a few bare spots but I usually just take relief and reward myself for good tee shots if I find a bad lie. Our pace was very good -- just under 4 hours.

Definitely recommend playing here right now.

Walked the white tees at Balboa today at 7:00am. Our foursome never waited on any hole. We finished in 3.45 hours; very nice pace of play. Overall, Balboa is in nice condition. Tees are fine. The fair... Continue »

Walked the white tees at Balboa today at 7:00am. Our foursome never waited on any hole. We finished in 3.45 hours; very nice pace of play. Overall, Balboa is in nice condition. Tees are fine. The fairways are mostly lush, with some bare of thin areas. I never had anything but a very good lie when in the fairway. The rough ranged from very lush and about 3 inches in length to thin and spotty. But mostly it was in good shape. The rough around the greens is that sticky kikuyu grass. It was thick and lush and very grabby. The bunkers on the course are in very poor shape. The fairway bunkers and greenside bunkers are similar. They are crusty and wet, with a lot debris and weeds growing in them. They were inconsistent and a challenge to hit a good shot out of them. The greens were mostly in good shape. Although they were a little bumpy here and there, they were medium speed and soft. They held shots well and mostly rolled well. I do recommend playing this course right now. For the price, it's a good deal.

Played Balboa 7/13, 8*00am Tee Time. LA City still using 10 min tee times, works out beautifully! Easy check in, got out on time.

Last time I played here, year or so ago, it was bad. Much improved... Continue »

Played Balboa 7/13, 8*00am Tee Time. LA City still using 10 min tee times, works out beautifully! Easy check in, got out on time.

Last time I played here, year or so ago, it was bad. Much improved.

Tee Boxes were in poor condition overall. Need leveling.

Fairways were ok, mostly lush with some bare or dry spots. Much better than last time out.

Rough is not great, lot of dirt/weed/hardpan/gopher damaged ground, especially further from the fairway. Still playable.

Greens are BIG. They are the highlight of the course. Med speed, mostly flat but decent roll.

Areas around the green are mostly Kikuyu grass. Very sticky stuff. Chips don't get through it. Shaved areas can be putted through. Thick stuff like a bunker shot. Very good condition.

POP was 3:45. 4some following 3 2somes, best pace ever on a City course.

No refreshment cart. Restaurant is open, I didn't use it.

Overall, it was fun to play this less challenging course. Nice day on the links, close to home.
Wouldn't drive far to play it, but glad it's here.

Walked the blue tees this morning (5/6/21) with a 7:10am tee time. Overall, Balboa is in just fair condition. A number of tee boxes were unlevel and had a lot bare areas. Some were fine. The fairways ... Continue »

Walked the blue tees this morning (5/6/21) with a 7:10am tee time. Overall, Balboa is in just fair condition. A number of tee boxes were unlevel and had a lot bare areas. Some were fine. The fairways are not in good shape. They have a mix of grasses, and many bare areas and coverage is typically thin and hard. They were playable, but looked and played like the middle of winter conditions.

The rough is mostly thin with some areas of thicker grass. Usually not a difficult shot from the rough. I was in one greenside bunker and one fairway bunker. Both had adequate heavy darker sand; good to hit from. The greens were punched a number of weeks ago. They were medium speed and held shots OK. But they were still a bit bumpy and our balls wobbled at times. In its current condition, I don't recommend playing Balboa. Encino and Woodley are in considerably better shape.

Teed off at 3:20 Sunday as a foursome playing the whites on a nice afternoon. This was the first time I've played Balboa in a good many years with the exception of 13 holes of twilight back in January... Continue »

Teed off at 3:20 Sunday as a foursome playing the whites on a nice afternoon. This was the first time I've played Balboa in a good many years with the exception of 13 holes of twilight back in January 2020. Quintessential muni golf, the conditions were not in any way plush, but generally serviceable with some high points. Teeing grounds were large and predominantly well covered — also as consistently level as any I've played in a long time which I really appreciated. The fairways were a tight, mottled combination of grasses that provided a lot of rollout. If you take a lot of divot or need a fluffy lie, you are going to experience them as problematically tight. I don't, and generally found the hitting surface pretty satisfactory all day. Even with the general tightness, there were few actual bare or hardpan areas in the fairways. I had good results and enjoyed them for what they were. The rough was frequently only a little thicker than the fairways and no penalty from which to play. Managed to avoid the bunkers but they seemed reasonably playable, albeit with footprints to consider. The greenside areas were more tight than lush on average, mostly set up well, but pitching/chipping up from the fairways was tight. The greens were pretty good and had a nice pace — a medium on the quick side and true with not a lot of pitch marks. They were nothing like the heavier/slower practice green, but pretty consistent on the course. Since they were playing competitively and yapping excessively, my playing companions' pace was a bit more sluggish than I would have liked, but so was the course, so we were never too far behind. We just finished 18 in the gloom of last light and the glow of the driving range. The tree-lined course is pretty straight forward and flat for walking, has some length and generally wide fairways, the latter encouraging you to unclench and swing a little more freely. Not a destination course or a first choice, but I wouldn't avoid it. Nothing too tricky, so a good course when you have group of varying abilities. The driving range is fully functioning and the the short game practice areas are back in play. I admit I was generally striking it well and had a good time. I will eventually return.