Immediately after finishing my round on Balboa, was able to get out on Encino without any delay what-so-ever. In fact I was able to tee off as a single, which is crazy. There were a number of grou... Continue »

Immediately after finishing my round on Balboa, was able to get out on Encino without any delay what-so-ever. In fact I was able to tee off as a single, which is crazy. There were a number of groups in front of me, so I played two balls to slow me down. Although it felt like forever, I actually finished in under four hours.

Encino is in a little better condition than was Balboa. Fairways had better coverage and the greens seemed to roll more true. I marvel at their overall condition. Playing these two courses for $20 each is a true value. (Sure wish ANY of the cities in Orange County would provide some affordable golf) As I am a big fan of traditional golf and also a "walker" these course meet the criteria perfectly.

Both courses provide good solid basic golf, with enough challenge to keep one's interest, but without having so many hazards and forced carries which create delay and lost balls.

Played on Sunday, 9/10 with a mid morning tee time on a rather warm day. It took us around 4 - 4 1/4 hours to play 18 as the course was not busy due to the heat.

Golf course had decent coverage o... Continue »

Played on Sunday, 9/10 with a mid morning tee time on a rather warm day. It took us around 4 - 4 1/4 hours to play 18 as the course was not busy due to the heat.

Golf course had decent coverage on the fairways. With the weather being so hot, it seemed like they were always watering here and there. There were bare spots and divots on the fairways. There were a few very wet spots on the fairways. You can still play. The tee boxes had good coverage too tho' there were some rather large divots here. I didn't care for the sand as it was mostly hard packed. The rough was rather lush and deep so it can be hard to find your balls if it lands in the rough. Greens were in great shape. It seemed to roll rather slowly as they were watering a lot of greens while we played.

This is one of my favorite golf courses to play in the SFV. The par 3s are fairly long but the fairways are very wide so you can swing away.

I have been playing the Sepulveda courses lately because the city now has replay rates. While its bad for business, I like it that golf courses are not nearly as crowded as they where 20 years ago. I ... Continue »

I have been playing the Sepulveda courses lately because the city now has replay rates. While its bad for business, I like it that golf courses are not nearly as crowded as they where 20 years ago. I can play 36 holes in 7 to 8 hours. Where as in the past it would have been a 10 to 11 hour day. One effect of less revenue is you don't see course marshal's here or almost any other muni on the weekday. So today I saw things I have never seen in my 34 years of golf. A threesome was playing out of one bag. They were driving their carts ON THE GREEN. It is sad when courses become so complacent that fellow golfers have to take the initiative to patrol the ridiculousness of clueless "golfers". Conditions today were overall good. There is nothing here in superb shape and nothing in bad shape either. The greens roll good despite being a bit soft and slow.

Played Encino yesterday with some friends. The greens were the best I've ever experienced there. The course is in pretty good shape for a municipal. They're suppose to aerate at the beginning of ne... Continue »

Played Encino yesterday with some friends. The greens were the best I've ever experienced there. The course is in pretty good shape for a municipal. They're suppose to aerate at the beginning of next month so if you want to play a course that's not to tough with great true running greens, get to it.

Having played Balboa before but never Encino, had the chance to give it a shot and cross it off the list with a 9:52am tee time and hitting from the blue tees. My expectations (especially a day after ... Continue »

Having played Balboa before but never Encino, had the chance to give it a shot and cross it off the list with a 9:52am tee time and hitting from the blue tees. My expectations (especially a day after Rancho San Marcos) were decidedly humble. I know the deal.

I'm not going to say that I was overwhelmed in any way, but we can say that I was pleasantly surprised in a few good ways. The main one was the greens. They are in really great shape. They were not particularly fast at all (but certainly not slow - let's call it medium), but were fantastic surfaces with little to no damage at all, great consistency and coverage, and held shots nicely all the while rolling true. Cheers to the staff for that.

The rest of the course was okay, with some parts not great. There were some good sections of fairway to be found, but mostly a lot was a bit overgrown on the sides and just past the tee boxes, and it was often hard to find the line between fairway and rough. Speaking of the rough, it's rough. There's also a lot of debris around, including many of the fallen trees post storm. Definitely some thin lies to be found as well - not sure how well this course drains.

Tee boxes were what you would expect - a little beat up and in need of attention. And the bunkers were very firm and unforgiving. I was in three bunkers throughout the round and never once needed to take any sand, but instead just picking them clean off the dirt.

But it was a very hot, beautiful day and I was not too disappointed to be there. Having played Balboa before, and despite their obvious similarities, I do think I lean more towards the Encino side as being just a bit more fun and varied from hole to hole - and mind you that's not a big lean, but a lean nonetheless.

Played as a walking threesome on Monday, 2/13. The fairways were quite wet in many areas. The fairway grass is blotchy. You get some decent lies, and some muddy lies. Fairways are in fair winter condi... Continue »

Played as a walking threesome on Monday, 2/13. The fairways were quite wet in many areas. The fairway grass is blotchy. You get some decent lies, and some muddy lies. Fairways are in fair winter condition. We played lift, clean, and place all day. The tee boxes are in decent shape. The two bunkers I was in had good sand. The greens were the best I've seen them. They were lush, green, and rolled medium fast. For a quick Monday round using the walking senior rate of $20, it was OK. There are several very large trees that have been uprooted and have fallen down on a few holes.

Played Encino on a sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon 2/12. I had reserved a tee time through the LA reservation system. Checking in, we found out that due to the rains, they were not allowing golf carts ... Continue »

Played Encino on a sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon 2/12. I had reserved a tee time through the LA reservation system. Checking in, we found out that due to the rains, they were not allowing golf carts on the course. AND all of the hand carts for rent were being used. We called over to Woodley Lakes and learned they were also a "walking only" course. We pushed our tee time, drove home and brought back our hand carts. LOTS of arriving golfers were "quite vocal" about this inconvenience. Most went home. So, while this is not a maintenance alert, be aware that all three courses in the Sepulveda Dam rec area are walking only for the foreseeable future (at least until the rains stop).

We played 9 holes and it was quickly obvious why the golf carts were banned. While there was some standing water on the course, most of the water was just below the grass. Every step left a footprint of mud. The tee boxes were a muddy mess. The fairways were rippled from previous cart wheels...even the push carts were leaving tracks. The rough areas were swamps. Current course rules do not allow you to hit out of the rough. We should have played "lift, clean & place" too. Sand traps were like wet concrete with some still looking like wading pools. The greens were the one bright spot. They were in excellent shape, rolling true and faster than I remember for this muni.

While we probably could have played another 3 or 4 holes, we walked off after 9. Pushing the cart through the mud left our muscles sore and feet wet. I imagine the place will look amazing this summer, but wonder how they will flatten all the mud ridges in the fairway. I would think they should just close the courses for a couple weeks to avoid further damage.

Got out for a round in before work Wednesday, 8/3...teeing off at 7:04am as a twosome. POP was great, we finished in about 3.5 hrs. and waited on maybe two shots all day. Love that!

Overall, the... Continue »

Got out for a round in before work Wednesday, 8/3...teeing off at 7:04am as a twosome. POP was great, we finished in about 3.5 hrs. and waited on maybe two shots all day. Love that!

Overall, the course is in very nice shape right now. They're putting a lot of water on the fairways and greens. In some places, maybe a bit too much because we encountered some standing water.
The greens were the best part of the course...very soft and a bit slow, probably 8.5-9 on the stimp. They rolled very true with minimal bumpiness...I rolled in 5 putts over 10 ft, so they definitely were holding lines.
The tee boxes were in pretty good shape, mostly level with nice coverage. Obviously, the par 3's were more beat up than others.
The rough was pretty consistent, about 2-3 inches and thick, and penal. I had gotten out the night before on Balboa for a quick 9, and the rough was almost 5 inches. It was insane. I was happy they had cut the rough down Wednesday morning, because 5 inch rough is way too long for a muni...too much time spent looking for balls just off the fairway.
Sand traps weren't in the best of shape. Mostly fine, loose dirt that had a crust on top. Playable, but not ideal. My partner had to pull his ball out of the trap in front of hole 8...it looked like a small lake.

I was pretty impressed with the conditions for the middle of summer. Most of my golf this time of year is played in Ventura county, but if you can get out early or late to beat the heat, Encino/Balboa is in a good place.

Played 7/18/17 at 8 am and finished in 3:45.

Course was in the best shape I have seen it in a while. Tee boxes were well taken care of, the fairways had good coverage-- only a few dead spots, rough... Continue »

Played 7/18/17 at 8 am and finished in 3:45.

Course was in the best shape I have seen it in a while. Tee boxes were well taken care of, the fairways had good coverage-- only a few dead spots, rough was what you expect from a city course, and the greens rolled well but very very slow. As usual there were ball marks on the greens but not too many, and always took some time to repair stray marks. We didn't wait on a single shot and didn't see another group until we got to the 18th tee. There was a tournament behind us and they were a good 3-4 holes behind us when we finished. Make sure you're not teeing it up behind a tournament if you want an enjoyable round.