With my player's card soon to expire, decided to make the drive from the OC and play the two Sepulveda courses. Teed off first alone on Balboa at 6:25am (still dark) I had some concerns about catch... Continue »

With my player's card soon to expire, decided to make the drive from the OC and play the two Sepulveda courses. Teed off first alone on Balboa at 6:25am (still dark) I had some concerns about catching "back-nine" players, but as it turned out, only a couple singles in front of me, so played two balls to slow it down and not push them.

I am blown away at just how good the greens are ! Given this is a muni course, I thought the greens compare with most every high end/private course I've played recently. The fairways had some rough areas/bare spots, but much of the fairways were very playable. I was in several bunkers and all had plenty of sand, but not all were well maintained.

Staff was perfect. Checked in, paid my $$ and was told I could tee off any time I felt comfortable. Friendly and accommodating. I miss playing here, but given the geography, I just don't get up here that often.

Played twilight round at Balboa yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that the friend my other buddy brought along happened to be a fellow GKer VitoCo1972 whom I had never met. Good time always when ... Continue »

Played twilight round at Balboa yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that the friend my other buddy brought along happened to be a fellow GKer VitoCo1972 whom I had never met. Good time always when meeting up with other GKers. Of course the round started off fairly disorganized as there was a line of about 15 people waiting for the starter who had trouble keeping everything flowing between the two courses. Maybe someone didn't show up to work? Either way, we had little time to prepare for the round waiting in line, then just hustled to the first tee. It was only my second time playing Balboa but I enjoyed it more this time, however it's still one of the less memorable 18s you'll find in LA. It's very straightforward with few twists and turns, but it's an enjoyable round with good company and some good aspects to it. As far as the good parts, visually speaking the greens look absolutely fantastic. They don't have a ton of ball marks either and it just looks like some pristine carpet. However, it's a deep, spongy shag carpet that renders putt speeds medium-slow at best, and unfortunately retains many of the bumps from shoes of anyone who enjoys the cheeseburgers a little too much. But in terms of appearance? Top notch. The rest not so much ... fairways a total mixed bag but mostly thin lies with the occasion lush area. Lots' of dried out spots and dirt piles just off the fairways on numerous holes. As for the rough itself, penal in some places but mostly very playable and often preferable to the thin lies in the fairways. Bunker I was in played nicely but could see from others they were good but not great. And tee boxes were not in particularly great shape, but served their purpose. But overall, I actually had a pretty good time at Balboa and while it's not going to inspire to you to greatness, it will help you get your golf fix in and maybe even add some confidence to your game, as long as you can figure out how much extra to give your putts to get them to the cup.

Walked the Blacks (6619/70.6/120) with Mrkich in 3 1/2H playing as a 2some for the standard L.A. city rate of $32. Great golf weather, sunny, in the 80's with little breeze. Thanks to Matt for a fun r... Continue »

Walked the Blacks (6619/70.6/120) with Mrkich in 3 1/2H playing as a 2some for the standard L.A. city rate of $32. Great golf weather, sunny, in the 80's with little breeze. Thanks to Matt for a fun round! My 1st time here. Balboa for whatever reason was the only public course within probably 50 miles of my home I had never played. 37-35 parkland layout with only three par 3's/5's. A high % of straight holes featuring tree lined fairways with mostly large greens that slope from back to front. The tees were decent, not as many divots as I usually see on L.A. city courses. The Kikuyu fairways were mostly lush and usually good to play from. The Kikuyu rough was more hit and miss. Close to many sprinklers it was super lush/deep, usually semi lush with some thin areas farther from the sprinklers. But it was all Kikuyu, nuff said. The greens were definitely the high light of the course. Smooth, medium speed and consistent from green to green. Fairly firm, but held well struck irons well. The sand traps were definitely the low light of the course. I was not in any, but they were not well maintained. I enjoyed the course, it was better overall than I had heard from a wide range of sources. Not too taxing and provided scoring opportunities if you played well. However, the large mature trees also provided opportunities for big numbers and the Kikuyu was just high/thick enough that Matt & I both lost at least one ball down the tree line that you would have thought was findable. The customer service was very good, the starter got us right out on time. Saw the drink cart once. Decent conditions, if the greens are as consistently good as we experienced today, I would play here occasionally to mix things up. Recommended.

Balboa has it where it counts..the greens They are in great shape. The rest of the course is decent. It is not immaculate. But the fee is not $200 as well. Trees come into play more on this side compa... Continue »

Balboa has it where it counts..the greens They are in great shape. The rest of the course is decent. It is not immaculate. But the fee is not $200 as well. Trees come into play more on this side compared to Encino side. It is why I enjoy the layout slightly more on this side. The difficulty of the nines are quite apparent. The front nine is tougher and longer. There are a lot of ground under repair areas where trees have fallen on both courses. The driving range is in shambles. You will get inconsistent lies in the rough around the greens. Or maybe I need to practice my short game more...not happening...no time

Decided I needed to pump the brakes on my handicap careening from 14 towards 17 or 18 - so I headed to Balboa to settle my game down. While the course played mostly normal, Balboa is still recovering... Continue »

Decided I needed to pump the brakes on my handicap careening from 14 towards 17 or 18 - so I headed to Balboa to settle my game down. While the course played mostly normal, Balboa is still recovering from the rain and winds from the previous months. A about six trees have fallen over at various points on the course. The one on 18 is blocking most of the tee boxes - so you have to play from the most forward tees. The driving range looks like it's been transported from the poorest part of the lush deep south. Deeply overgrown where it isn't completely bare with a fallen tree caving in a portion of the retainer fence.

Balboa is grassy. The fairways are patchy as usual but mostly grassy and I thought provided good lies the whole day. The rough is grassy - cut to the exact length where you have trouble finding your ball but can still get a club on it and hit a good shot - as punitive as anyone running a muni would want. There are some nice grassy lies in the fairway bunkers... you heard me. Didn't get to play one but enjoyed the odd visual - add that one to the "to do" list along with chopping up fallen trees. Greens were in good shape and a bit faster and more difficult to read than I remembered. I thought I used to just aim at the hole and hit it....

Played 12-28-16 early morning walking as a single in a little under 3 hours for $32. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some bare spots but pretty easy to find a level stance. Fairways had a litt... Continue »

Played 12-28-16 early morning walking as a single in a little under 3 hours for $32. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some bare spots but pretty easy to find a level stance. Fairways had a little of everything, bare spots, thin spots, areas with nice lies and some spots of 2-3 inches with 5-6 different types of grass some very green and others going dormant. Rough was about the same as the fairways. Was in two greenside bunkers both semi firm but okay. I guess the practice of not raking city bunkers is still in effect. Greens were in pretty good shape, a little firm with medium/fast speed with an occasional bump. Flat easy to walk course with not much character.

Played on Saturday December 17 with a tee time around 9 am. POP was around 4 1/2 to less than 5 hours to play 18. Only had to wait a few times on the par 3 holes. Otherwise, we didn't have to wait... Continue »

Played on Saturday December 17 with a tee time around 9 am. POP was around 4 1/2 to less than 5 hours to play 18. Only had to wait a few times on the par 3 holes. Otherwise, we didn't have to wait much.

Course conditions were very good for December. LA area got some much needed rain recently. Fairways had good coverage from tee to green. There were spots here and there where the fairway lies were a little thin or bare. Also some fairways spots were a bit muddy. It was good enough to play. Rough was a little deep in spots. It got a little hard to find your ball here if you hit into the rough. Also with it being fall/winter, there were a lot of leaves on the fairways and it can get hard to find your ball. Lots of trees here on the course too.

Played from the front tees. It's nice having the yellow tees but most of the times these tees are just a flat round spot in front of the white tees. Not your usual teeing area. I can't comment on the sand in the bunkers as I didn't land in any this time. Greens were in excellent shape. Speed was about average.

Course is pretty flat to walk. There is a driving range here but you are hitting into a dirt area. There is an area here where you can practice chipping and pitching. Lots of nearby parking next to the course. Pretty big snack bar/restaurant here.

Played Balboa for the first time today (7/23) and it was pretty much what I expected - which is to say a serviceable 18 with limited frills and mostly subpar conditions. It was a hazy sky with the big... Continue »

Played Balboa for the first time today (7/23) and it was pretty much what I expected - which is to say a serviceable 18 with limited frills and mostly subpar conditions. It was a hazy sky with the big fire nearby whose smoke blocked out the direct sun but created some heavy air filled with ash.

It wasn't all bad at Balboa though (played the black tees for $52 with cart - too hot to walk). The greens were actually in quite nice shape with minimal blemishes and decent speed to them, rolling true and holding shots well.

The rest though was all pretty pedestrian though. The fairways are covered with thin lies and dry patches. You never know after a good drive what your lie will look like. The rough is okay - varies with each hole, but generally playable. Tee boxes were just okay. Sand was a different at each hole - some thin, some fluffy, some mixed.

POP was not too bad for an early Saturday. We waited a few minutes on most holes but it never really got backed up too badly and the expectation was worse then the reality. Cart girl would have been nice but never saw her. And the layout is pretty standard back and forth LA Muni - not going to leave in awe, but good enough to play it once. Not sure I'll be back anytime soon with superior courses elsewhere for same rate.

Played 7/21/16 at noon, finished in 2:30. Promo going on where twilight starts at noon instead of 3 pm so it's a solid deal. Empty course since I snagged the first twilight time.

It was a hot day i... Continue »

Played 7/21/16 at noon, finished in 2:30. Promo going on where twilight starts at noon instead of 3 pm so it's a solid deal. Empty course since I snagged the first twilight time.

It was a hot day in the valley! The course is in decent shape. The greens didn't have many ball marks on them and were bumpy but not much. Tee boxes were mostly flat and had good coverage. The fairways all had some dead spots but there were limited in size. Rough was rough and patchy. Overall enjoyed the round. Played as a single on the back and finished in 50 minutes.