The good: the greens, very nice and FAST, bunkers new sand, rough thick and brutal, fairways very good condition
The bad: the wind, blowing hard
The ugly: my game
Overall: the course is in very goo... Continue »

The good: the greens, very nice and FAST, bunkers new sand, rough thick and brutal, fairways very good condition
The bad: the wind, blowing hard
The ugly: my game
Overall: the course is in very good condition and worth a look.

First off for twilight, cart paths only today, but POP was still OK at just under 4.5 hrs.
Fairways and rough are thick and full thanks to the rain, but could use a mow.
I wasn't in a trap, but some... Continue »

First off for twilight, cart paths only today, but POP was still OK at just under 4.5 hrs.
Fairways and rough are thick and full thanks to the rain, but could use a mow.
I wasn't in a trap, but some were hard wet sand and others looked OK.
Greens were in great shape, rolling well at medium speed with a few un-repaired ball marks.
Weather was a bit chilly and windy most likely keeping some away, but it has been busy lately.

Conditions similar to last review although a bit drier and they added some nice sand in many of the bunkers. POP was at 4.5 hours, I don't know if it's the limited play at Torrey or what, but the plac... Continue »

Conditions similar to last review although a bit drier and they added some nice sand in many of the bunkers. POP was at 4.5 hours, I don't know if it's the limited play at Torrey or what, but the place has been really busy for the last month.

Late decision to play the friendly confines turned out to be a good decision, had the place almost to my own. POP was just over 3 hrs. No carts allowed today. Soggy everywhere but playable, some bunke... Continue »

Late decision to play the friendly confines turned out to be a good decision, had the place almost to my own. POP was just over 3 hrs. No carts allowed today. Soggy everywhere but playable, some bunkers were full of water. Greens held well and rolled very nice. The conditions will do nothing but get better with all this rain.

Day off, looked at the online tee sheet and twilight looked busy so decided to go earlier and grabbed a 12:07. They were running behind so we didn't get off until almost 12:30 . . . in fact the group ... Continue »

Day off, looked at the online tee sheet and twilight looked busy so decided to go earlier and grabbed a 12:07. They were running behind so we didn't get off until almost 12:30 . . . in fact the group behind us were only charged twilight which is supposed to start at 12:30? It was slow out there with us barely finishing in the semi-dark at a little after 5. The course is in decent shape after the rains, with the greens being the highlight. Tee boxes were fine, good lies on the fairways (although the need to be mowed) with no run out, rough mostly consistent with some splotchy areas here and there, bunkers basically the new normal at most courses thin wet packed sand and the greens were actually slightly firm, running well, semi-quick, with limited ball marks (the holiday crowd don't hit a lot of greens) but some to be mended (I always do fix 'em). The group I was in were all golfers, one regular I play with often, a guy who was one over coming into 16 then got an unfortunate 8 and a guy from Kansas who after a rough start played well . . . most every other group I saw out there looked to be less focused on golf per se. So I may just pack it in for the year and not play again until next year! HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!

You know what? Balboa is a great course. Great layout and I think it may be underrated. I wish it was in a little better shape, but we got hammered with rain yesterday, so most everything was soake... Continue »

You know what? Balboa is a great course. Great layout and I think it may be underrated. I wish it was in a little better shape, but we got hammered with rain yesterday, so most everything was soaked and they couldn't mow the greens this morning. Cart path only, but I was walking, everyone should walk this course, great workout.

Just a beautiful day, had a great time. I really need to play here more often. Customer service was great, they moved the check in to the pro shop and the people are always nice. I walked on as a single, got out in about half hr. on a Saturday, not bad. $40 resident rate to walk, can't complain. POP was 4.5 hrs, pretty slow, waited a lot, but probably due to cart path only. POP wasn't great, but it was consistent, so just enjoyed the views and the walk and dealt with it.

Course was in ok shape, everything soggy from the rain. Greens were very bumpy, probably because they couldn't mow them from the rain. Had to hit em a little firm to make sure they held the line. Fairways also soggy, but nice and green, usually had great lies in the fairway. Rough was spotty, not thick, but had bare spots and high spots, tough to hit from. Didn't find a bunker, but most of them were filled with water. Tee boxes were good, they had the blues set all the way back, so that was nice.

I'd say get on out there, it's only gonna be better in the next few weeks when it dries out and get your walking shoes on. We all need to walk more courses, wish they were all walking friendly.

Last round of the year, so Merry Christmas to all my fellow Gkers, love all you guys and gals!

Third time in five days to play at the friendly confines. The overall condition of the course is good to very good (remember, the city can afford to water the course generously). The greens are fully ... Continue »

Third time in five days to play at the friendly confines. The overall condition of the course is good to very good (remember, the city can afford to water the course generously). The greens are fully back, but are on the slow side, they have been mowed at least twice since my last review and have sped up, but aren't back to where the can/should be speed wise. The greens roll nice (although I fixed many ball marks . . . an attempt to appease the golf Gods I guess) and accept well struck shots, but need to speed up. All other conditions are similar to my last review.

Back to the friendly confines for first off twilight. The course is in good playable condition right now with the greens 95% back from aeration, they just need a good mow and a roll. I was out there y... Continue »

Back to the friendly confines for first off twilight. The course is in good playable condition right now with the greens 95% back from aeration, they just need a good mow and a roll. I was out there yesterday to hit balls and both yesterday and today were packed. Tee times were pretty much full all the way up to twilight so we barely finished at 6:45.

First off at twilight, it's been 12 days since winter maintenance so I knew the greens would be so-so and they were . . . but A. I'm not a pro so I don't need perfect greens and B. I was too lazy toda... Continue »

First off at twilight, it's been 12 days since winter maintenance so I knew the greens would be so-so and they were . . . but A. I'm not a pro so I don't need perfect greens and B. I was too lazy today to venture far from home.
Tees: decent, playable, mostly level
Fairways: a little furry so not much run out, but there is grass most everywhere
Rough: in need of a mow (like the whole course), thick and overgrown in spots, just unruly in others
Bunkers: very nice, not the thick fluffy stuff but maintained and playable firm sand
Greens: still a bit sandy, with punch marks so slow with no break
POP: a bit over 4 hours with no waiting as the threesome I was with were walking, talking and drinking, they played well but slowed down a bit as the round wore on and we did hold up the group behind us on the last 6 or 7 holes, but no biggie . . . they were having fun
Customer service: it's muni, a city run muni, they check you in, sell you range balls and send you out
Overall: the rain helped but the course needs a bit more time, a trim and a roll