Played Balboa Sunday Morning with fellow gkers Matt, Jim, and Andrew. I was tagging along on their first match for the GK South Cup. Balboa is still in fantastic shape. First thing we noticed was t... Continue »

Played Balboa Sunday Morning with fellow gkers Matt, Jim, and Andrew. I was tagging along on their first match for the GK South Cup. Balboa is still in fantastic shape. First thing we noticed was that we had nobody behind or in front off us, which seemed odd since it was primetime on a Muni on a Sunday. We all walked and played in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. The course is still in fantastic shape. Greens and fairways are as good as any public course in SD. The superintendent needs to be commended on the job he's done on this course. I miss living DT simply due to not having this course nearby. Don't expect your clubs to be cleaned, your bag to be retrieved, or a huge sprawling clubhouse. What you can expect is a fantastic conditioned course, awesome views of the SD skyline, and great prices. They are redoing the tee box (and lengthening) at 13 so expect a very short and dilapidated tee box on that hole. It was badly needed and just another sign of the good work going on at Balboa. Also, range is pretty funky and really not all that great, It grew on me since it was my quickest option living downtown. Very blue collar and a lot of cool regulars in the afternoon. They have a good putting area and two chipping areas. The better of the two is across the road near the 9th green of the 9 hole course.

Played 6/9/13 with fellow GKers Jim, Matt and Mike as part of the GK Cup. I paid the non-city resident rate of $50 (walking) and we teed off at 10:14.

The pace of play was absolutely incredible. ... Continue »

Played 6/9/13 with fellow GKers Jim, Matt and Mike as part of the GK Cup. I paid the non-city resident rate of $50 (walking) and we teed off at 10:14.

The pace of play was absolutely incredible. We were a four-ball walking, and Balboa has a lot of ups and downs so it's not the quickest walk, and we finished in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. We actually never had someone playing a hole ahead of us. I have to think this is rare out at a muni, but it was definitely awesome.

Balboa is in fantastic shape right now. I'm shocked that muni that gets the amount of play Balboa does is so well kept up. I'd say everything was in absolutely incredible shape except some of the tees, especially the back nine, which were pretty uneven.

The layout of the course is tricky and challenging, especially since it's only a bit over 6000 yards from the blues. The back nine has some really difficult holes including the par 5 16th which is just a bear.

I highly recommend playing Balboa right now. Being in the middle of downtown with views of the skyline and Coronado Bridge is pretty cool. Definitely worth the green fee.

Walked on as a single on Wednesday morning about 11 am and starter sent me right out as a single. Never played this course and had read the reviews and have always liked the setting of Balboa Park. St... Continue »

Walked on as a single on Wednesday morning about 11 am and starter sent me right out as a single. Never played this course and had read the reviews and have always liked the setting of Balboa Park. Starter gave me a tip that the first six holes are not about distance but accuracy and he was right. The first tee has a beautiful view of San Diego and is a down hill par 4. I walked this bad boy and it is quite a workout to get down to the fairway. The fairways were lush and well taken care of. The greens held shots and were rolling very well. Couple of tee boxes were not level. Caught up to a threesome on the sixth hole and completed the round in four hours. Course is fun, weather was great and the threesome I joined were really nice people. Watch out for hole 16, it is one heck of a par 5 and can't wait to go back to get some revenge.

Played here on 3/3

This place is a real treat to play. The $25 investment in a residents card for anyone living in San Diego is the smartest move you can make. Aside from the obvious savings at Tor... Continue »

Played here on 3/3

This place is a real treat to play. The $25 investment in a residents card for anyone living in San Diego is the smartest move you can make. Aside from the obvious savings at Torrey, there are also savings at Balboa that allow you to play on the weekend for a twilight rate of $24 (not including cart). Like many others have said, the renovations to this course have really made it standout and has made a round of golf here all the more enjoyable. Significant changes to the course include: serious trimming of trees/brush/and general cleanup of areas overrun with chaparral and an overhaul of the irrigation system that has improved the water flow throughout the course.

As of the writing of this review, there were a handful of holes in the front 9 that had fairways roped off (cart path only) so watch for that. The tee-boxes were generally level, although I play from the level-appropriate white tees, so it very may well be that the blue tees are chewed up as 90% of the players on this course choose to use those tee-boxes. Fairways looked really nice and green. Sandtraps were only average as the sand used here is not the fluffiest, but certainly not the worst. The greens were really the highlight of the course conditions. Green, receptive, and in great shape.

The pace of play here on a Sunday can get sort of ridiculous at times (especially from hole 2-6) as there are at least 2 par-4 holes that require groups to wait until golfers are either completely off the green or just about there). However, it's important to remember that a) this is San Diego and the weather is almost always perfect for golf, b) this is a MUNICIPAL course that receives a tremendous amount of play, and c) the rates are spectacular for the kind of course you get to play. Have patience as it will open up after hole 6.

I thoroughly enjoy this course and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun challenge.

Played Balboa 18 this past Sunday (3/3), course is in good condition. I'm still amazed at how well the investment in new irrigation has paid off here. My only complaint would be the pace of play as it... Continue »

Played Balboa 18 this past Sunday (3/3), course is in good condition. I'm still amazed at how well the investment in new irrigation has paid off here. My only complaint would be the pace of play as it took about 4:45 for the entire round. Fairways were good, greens were rolling well, tee boxes could always improve and sand in the traps is getting a little thin, but overall another great round at Balboa.

What a treat to play a course with lush fairways and good greens. So many courses in SD didn't over seed I was getting tired of thin, bare, overall crappy lies. Played Torrey the day after the farme... Continue »

What a treat to play a course with lush fairways and good greens. So many courses in SD didn't over seed I was getting tired of thin, bare, overall crappy lies. Played Torrey the day after the farmers and Balboa is not too far off. Get out there now, they'll be punching the greens in late April. Best value in SD, paid $19 twilight to walk.

Had the pleasure of playing BPGC on Oct 8. While the course is just coming out of reseeding and punching of greens, the overall condition of the course was very good. They were only allowing you to wa... Continue »

Had the pleasure of playing BPGC on Oct 8. While the course is just coming out of reseeding and punching of greens, the overall condition of the course was very good. They were only allowing you to walk but they were also only charging $21 regardless of whether you were a resident or visitor. Perhaps that policy is now changed but I was pleased with the courtesy and treatment of the starter. The layout of the course is very nice and if you like to walk, I suggest you be in reasonably good shape. I can see that when the course returns to top condition it will be a challenging course to play. It certainly appears, like many courses, local knowledge is welcomed when playing it for the first time. What I enjoyed most of all about the course, was it's great location to downtown SD. Being there for a conference/convention it certainly provides a great opportunity to get in a round of golf if you so desire. Overall the conditions of the tee boxes; fairways and greens are very good and getting better each day. No doubt it will be in great shape by end of Oct and going into Nov/Dec.

Balboa Park Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Balboa Park golf course maintenance and improvements are appreciated. The course looks and plays great now. It has its own character of play and challenges.

Balboa Park Golf Course Review
San Dieg... Continue »

Balboa Park golf course maintenance and improvements are appreciated. The course looks and plays great now. It has its own character of play and challenges.

Balboa Park Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews

Played Balboa again this week, hoping that the conditions have improved. I was disappointed that the greens were still soft, bumpy and slow. They seem healthy enough to cut and roll , but I guess th... Continue »

Played Balboa again this week, hoping that the conditions have improved. I was disappointed that the greens were still soft, bumpy and slow. They seem healthy enough to cut and roll , but I guess they are waiting for the weather to improve. My main concern, though, was the condition of the fringes and rough around the greens. They were overgrown and inconsistent.

I played Torrey North today and, for comparison, the greens were also a little slow, but the fringes were cut, and much more consistent than Balboa. And the fairways were fantastic.

The play was very light, so we finished in about 4 hours.

Balboa Park Golf Course Review
San Diego California Golf Course Reviews