The course is an old golf course with rough playing conditions. It's hard to complain because the price is right, but I won't be going back.

The course is an old golf course with rough playing conditions. It's hard to complain because the price is right, but I won't be going back.

With both courses at Coto being unavailable due to the "Windmill Classic" on Friday & Saturday, was looking for somewhere to play which did not charge weekend rates and was not too far from home. Deci... Continue »

With both courses at Coto being unavailable due to the "Windmill Classic" on Friday & Saturday, was looking for somewhere to play which did not charge weekend rates and was not too far from home. Decided that Willowick might fit the bill.

Arrived at 5:45am on a misty, drizzly morning and only one other person was there, so no issue getting out right at 6am. As I was waiting for the shop to open, I could see just how much conditions in general had deteriorated. After playing the first two holes, I came to the conclusion that this is what a golf course looks like just before it dies. It was just awful and depressing. However, as the round progressed, things did improve and by the back nine, it almost looked like a golf course again. Fairways on the back had decent coverage, greens were at best fair, but at least were puttable. The greenside bunkers were actually not bad. Reasonable amount of well-maintained sand.

It had been a few years since a last played here and will probably be a while before I return. But I think there is a place for Willowick type course and pleased to see that they have not yet closed the doors here. Golf needs basic, no frills, inexpensive walkable courses. I can't in good conscious recommend playing this course as it exists now, but I do remember when this place was actually "alive"

Wednesday morning tee time at the Wick. Check in was ok. Tees and fairways were very thin, rough was all over the map, traps had coarse sand and were well groomed. Elevated greens with some speed to t... Continue »

Wednesday morning tee time at the Wick. Check in was ok. Tees and fairways were very thin, rough was all over the map, traps had coarse sand and were well groomed. Elevated greens with some speed to them need to play to the center. Greens had good coverage and held shots. POP was four hours. No amenities at the course except restrooms at the clubhouse had not played here in a long time and conditions were not the best. The course will do if your expectations are low.

Just played Willowick in Santa Ana. They should be ashamed to charge anything on that course. Riding a cart down their "sot-a" grass fairways amounted to off-roading. Lost a couple of balls to goph... Continue »

Just played Willowick in Santa Ana. They should be ashamed to charge anything on that course. Riding a cart down their "sot-a" grass fairways amounted to off-roading. Lost a couple of balls to gopher holes. Bunkers were okay and greens were okay, but that was all. No balls for the driving range. The snack bar was closed. Don't waste your money here. I played this course in the 80's and it was fun.

Played Willowick last week and boy has this course taken a turn for the worse. We had a 830 tee time and when we showed up there was 5 groups waiting to tee off and we ended up not getting off until 9... Continue »

Played Willowick last week and boy has this course taken a turn for the worse. We had a 830 tee time and when we showed up there was 5 groups waiting to tee off and we ended up not getting off until 9. Staff was apologetic but it seemed like they were just saving face. We paid $40 to walk and I think that was $20 too expensive for the shape that it is in. Tee boxes looked like they hadnt moved in weeks and finding grass was tough on par 3's. Fairways a mix of 10 different grasses and a 20% chance of having a good lie. Greens were not terrible but not great. Bumpy and slow is not a good combo. The area is not the greatest but if you need to play this is the only thing with a tee time I still wouldnt play here again.

Word is they might shut down but if they find new life its going to take a lot of work to fix the issues here. DO NOT RECOMMEND

Played Saturday Morning before the rains started and the course was empty except a few groups and some singles. Finished in just over 3 hours so that was great. Fairways are spotty and have mixed gr... Continue »

Played Saturday Morning before the rains started and the course was empty except a few groups and some singles. Finished in just over 3 hours so that was great. Fairways are spotty and have mixed grasses and lots of bare spots but we were allowing us to move the ball and find a spot. Greens were actually fairly smooth and not bad and putts rolled well and stayed on line. Was in one bunker and the sand was fine and it was in good shape.

Course was better than expected but didn't have much expectation but for a Saturday to play in 3+ hours for under 50 bucks with a cart, I would make it out here more often if I lived anywhere closer.

Played 6/8/19 10am... Donovan Daily is no longer managing Willowick, so no more hot dog deals. Billy Casper now runs it (they run Birch Hills and Alta Vista)- just recently punched the greens the begi... Continue »

Played 6/8/19 10am... Donovan Daily is no longer managing Willowick, so no more hot dog deals. Billy Casper now runs it (they run Birch Hills and Alta Vista)- just recently punched the greens the beginning of the week. Apparently the greens haven’t been punched for 4 years! There are still homeless people “living” near the 5th hole- they just moved their boxes from the previous spot. Condition wise, no improvements yet but the starter said they’re working on it. Pro shop empty, no merchandise at all... Tee boxes- daisies all over the place, fairways- 5 different types of grass to hit from, sand- hard as a rock, greens- slow with many, many bumps. The only reason why I keep coming back is because my friend is too cheap to play anywhere else, I might as well write a review and warn people before they come...

Played 3/10/19 @ 720a with a Donovan Daily deal. Conditions were par for the course here... Tee boxes uneven and beat up, fairways thin in most areas, rough non-existent, sand traps horrendous, greens... Continue »

Played 3/10/19 @ 720a with a Donovan Daily deal. Conditions were par for the course here... Tee boxes uneven and beat up, fairways thin in most areas, rough non-existent, sand traps horrendous, greens bumpy and slow. There is a homeless encampment on the side of the 5th hole and they have messed up the bathroom that's between the 4th and 5th hole. Beware when you go in there, it will make you gag! Not sure if I will come back any time soon.

Played on Saturday morning Feb 9th. Had not been to Willowick in over a year. It was so-so last spring. It didn't rain as much last year so the course was probably a bit more bare than it should have ... Continue »

Played on Saturday morning Feb 9th. Had not been to Willowick in over a year. It was so-so last spring. It didn't rain as much last year so the course was probably a bit more bare than it should have been, but the putting greens, despite the multi-colored nature, weren't too bad. They were smoother and faster than I had thought. With all the storms this year and yesterday morning, I didn't anticipate ideal conditions but I was a little disappointed with a few things. First the good: 1) friendly staff; 2) despite all the rain during the night, the greens were not slow which I appreciated. The bad: 1) No rakes in the sand traps! When there was one, it was the tiniest flimsiest one I've ever used; 2) one of the holes didn't even have a second set of tees; and another only had one of the pair; 3) graffiti on the walls - the only course I've ever seen graffiti. Willowick is not the greatest course on earth but it does have some interesting holes esp. with the huge bunkers covering the front of some of the holes and some of the pin placements on odd shaped greens can make a miss to the wrong side penal. There were enough of these factors that I did discuss a number of course management issues with a junior golfer I was playing with. I'm used to really excellent conditions at a private club, but I don't think a course has to be country club perfect. My priorities when playing at public courses are pretty simple: 1) greens that are not slow and somewhat smooth; 2) good coverage on fairways; I could care less about the rough because you shouldn't be there anyway. I'd like to add a few things after Willowick: rakes for all bunkers, tees for every tee, and no graffiti. I can live with terrible tee areas, but I don't want to be penalized for hitting into the fairway, and I want to be able to make some putts if I hit them well. Also, while I know I'm not in the greatest neighborhood, I don't want to be reminded of that with graffiti. Not having simple things like rakes and tees gives me the impression that the course operators don't care and so the course is likely to be worse the next time. Courses like Willowick and Los Amigos can be wonderful places to play for the general public. Just get a few things right.