It’s been probably 20 years since I played Glen Annie Golf Club. Before launching GK in 2002. So jumped on the chance to play Monday with GKers. Teed it up with mpisarski01 and wbuchler on beautiful d... Continue »

It’s been probably 20 years since I played Glen Annie Golf Club. Before launching GK in 2002. So jumped on the chance to play Monday with GKers. Teed it up with mpisarski01 and wbuchler on beautiful day in Santa Barbara. I had totally forgot the layout so it was like playing a golf course for the first time. I really enjoyed it. Hilly, challenging track that demands accuracy and a solid short game. Beautiful views of ocean, surrounding mountains and the UCSB campus. We teed it up at 12:20pm and finished around 4:45pm. Check out the photos I just posted.

Conditions wise despite the previous reviews in October/September I knew given the dry weather we’ve been having this year and cooler overnight lows in November it was going to be a dormant golf course. Also given they aerated the greens in late October there was chance they would not be fully healed to perfection yet. I got what expected which was fine. The golf course still played well.

The greens still had visible evidence of aeration and a little bumpy but rolled mostly smooth. I’d say this time next week and moving forward they will be better only getting better. They held shot well, had good speed and man there are tricky pin placement out there.

The fairways despite going dormant had mostly full coverage and a good amount of turf pad to hit shots from. I expect the fairways to become more dormant and firm over the next couple months.

The rough was not really rough. It was only about an inch higher than the fairways. It’s also bermunda turf like the fairways with some poa greenside. Those of you the fear kikuyu turf that typically accompanies bermunda turf in SoCal I saw very little of it.

The bunkers were COVID style. No rakes, a little thin with decent sand quality. Its brown sand, not the pretty white stuff.

Tee boxes, we played the white tees, certainly the most popular tees out there, we’re mostly thin, had some divot damage on the par 3’s yet level. They are small tee boxes which hilly golf courses typically have so with all the high amount of play there are not many options where to place the tees. The tees behind the white tees looked to be in much better shape.

Service was excellent in the proshop and starter. Did not see an on course food/beverage service. I did not hit range balls before playing so can’t comment on that.

Fun track I recommend.

Lumpy. Lot's of humps, bumps and lumps to be had a Glen Annie. When the round was over, the course had given my ego a bruised lump. Based on what I had heard, I was expecting a more difficult cours... Continue »

Lumpy. Lot's of humps, bumps and lumps to be had a Glen Annie. When the round was over, the course had given my ego a bruised lump. Based on what I had heard, I was expecting a more difficult course off the tee, but only a couple of holes felt unforgiving. The hilly course can play havoc with a mis-hit shots and the green complexes often require precision to give yourself a chance at par.

Conditions, I would describe at COVID fall/winter. Grass is turning brown and maintenince seemed a little behind. Fairways were fairly hard and fast and reminded me of hitting off a tilted driving range mat. Tee boxes looked like a grass range stall at the end of the day. I was in too many bunkers and they were a bit thin and a couple were a bit muddy. Greens seemed like they were as fast as they could be with all the tilted, tiered greens. While I saw punch marks, I never noticed the ball affected by them on my putts.

Would like a rematch with this course in the spring to see and play it with more grass. It seemed like a great course for the locals to play regularly and I'm looking forward to getting back here.

Joined up with Johnny and Will for a round of golf at Glen Annie. This was my first time playing here and I was pleasantly surprised with how fun this course is. There is a good mixture of flat and el... Continue »

Joined up with Johnny and Will for a round of golf at Glen Annie. This was my first time playing here and I was pleasantly surprised with how fun this course is. There is a good mixture of flat and elevation change holes. A few reachable par 4's that play down hill. Par 3's were just interesting enough and the Par 5's were a nice challenge with 3 out of 4 being reachable.

Course conditions were good throughout the course and was a good value for the rates they offer. Fairways were mostly lush and green providing a nice cushion for your approaches. Rough was cut short and a mixture of grass and dirt but mostly grass. Greens are still showing signs of being punched a few weeks ago and were a tad bumpy at times. Another thing to note is that a few of the greens were covered in bird poop as they have a Coot and Duck problem on the water holes. The tee boxes were a little chewed up and need to be move and I also noticed that the boxes were quite small. Sand traps were just ok but could use a little more sand to make them nice but it wasnt too big of an issue to get out of them.

Overall I like this course and if you are in the area and want to play golf this place should be on your list. Plus its half the price of sandpiper and offers great ocean views from the hills above SB.

Played GK Cup Match with Mike.Pugh & SR714 with an 11:56 tee time. Typical Covid protocols were in place, check in outdoors, masks required in all public areas, snack bar was open and a few tables w... Continue »

Played GK Cup Match with Mike.Pugh & SR714 with an 11:56 tee time. Typical Covid protocols were in place, check in outdoors, masks required in all public areas, snack bar was open and a few tables were missing on the patio. POP was 4:15.

Overall it was a great day! We had a spirited match where we split points right down the middle. It's pretty easy to review this course. The greens were amazing, slightly faster than average but smooth and ran true. The fairways were in very nice shape considering all of our recent weather and the tees were also in great shape. Tee markers seemed very narrow and I felt didn't give you much room to try to shape a shot or be creative, but that's honestly the only concern I had here.

The course layout is great with a good mix of tough holes, a few routine holes and a couple of quirky holes that you need to have some experience with to play them correctly. This was my first time at this track but I am already looking forward to going back. Definitely recommend!!

Played here yesterday with fellow GKer, S_Smith. We used a couple of Underpar deals for about $50/player. Our foursome went off on time at 2:12, each player in their own cart. My first time here and i... Continue »

Played here yesterday with fellow GKer, S_Smith. We used a couple of Underpar deals for about $50/player. Our foursome went off on time at 2:12, each player in their own cart. My first time here and it's very hilly. They have a nice patio area and the facilities look nice. Friendly service from all the course personnel. We finished right at sundown, so no extra holes for us.

Tees were mostly level and easy to find a spot to hit from. A couple of tees are tucked into the hillside and there is limited room to hit from.

Fairways looked great. There was good turf to hit from and it seemed like there were no issues.

Rough was cut nicely and very consistent throughout the course. There were a few thin or bare areas, but mostly it was no problem.

Bunkers looked fine. I did not get into any, but I saw my playing partners were able to hit from them without any problems.

Greens were very nice. Somewhat soft, there were ample ball marks to fix. They held most any good shot. They did roll nice and smooth with a medium fast pace.

Overall impression is that they like to get a premium price for playing here; good for them, but I would prefer to not pay the regular rate. I just don't think this is an $89 weekend course. They do have specials if you are signed up for the EZ Links 805 club. The course is a little quirky in places and it's tight with lots of hazards abounding. A little course knowledge is key here as well. I don't dislike the course and it's tucked away just off the 101 freeway in a nice part of the state.

I last played here 2 years ago. I always enjoy the course and was glad for the opportunity to return. There were no deals to be had so I paid the full $80. That part didn’t thrill me but I’ve paid mor... Continue »

I last played here 2 years ago. I always enjoy the course and was glad for the opportunity to return. There were no deals to be had so I paid the full $80. That part didn’t thrill me but I’ve paid more for less interesting courses so it’s all good. There were only a few people waiting to check in so it was quick and friendly, done thru a window outside the pro-shop. There was a bit of a wait for carts though, as they were being cleaned and brought up one by one. They are basic, with no GPS but comfortable and quiet. The driving range is small but adequate. The mats are relatively new and there is a bunker/chipping area. The large putting green near the first tee gives a good idea of how the greens are on the course- beautiful to look at, fast, smooth and full of tricky breaks. I was paired with another single and we started on time at 8:52am. We were behind a very slow foursome and we ended up waiting a couple minutes on every hole on the front. Finally, on the tenth, the marshal asked us if we’d like to play through if the foursome was ok with it. We much appreciated that, so on the par 3 eleventh, we made the move. The forward tee boxes were ok with just a few divots. I found so many bunkers I lost count. Some were just hard stone-filled dirt. Others had soft dark sand/dirt that was easy to hit from. I brought with me a mini detachable rake and got to use it a couple times. The fairways were very nice. They were equal parts brown and green, had good coverage and were cut short enough for some extra roll. There were a few muddy spots but they didn’t interfere with play. I did find some trouble with one of the frog crossings- the narrow rock lined channels that go across a couple of holes on the back nine. What started out as a good ball, hit a rock and took a hard right onto the next fairway. I had a blind shot back over the hill but it all turned out ok. I was little disappointed, though, that the frogs that are usually extremely loud on holes 14 & 15 were completely silent. The beverage cart came by several times. The snack bar is open and many tables are available for use on the patio. POP was exactly 4 hours. It was a great day! Recommended.

Played this morning with friends. We had two foursomes. Had to pay full price because didn’t at first realize that our coupon said after ll:00am. Stupid me, but as much as I like coming out here to... Continue »

Played this morning with friends. We had two foursomes. Had to pay full price because didn’t at first realize that our coupon said after ll:00am. Stupid me, but as much as I like coming out here to play, it’s not worth $73.00. I believe they’re strict about it now because with Sandpiper and Rancho San Marcos still closed, they can. I could swear that earlier in the year coupons didn’t have restrictions during weekdays because we always play in the early morning around 7am. The course was busy. I’ve noticed since the virus and getting one to a cart, POP has been faster, three and half to four hours. Not today, a little over 4 1/2 hours. Waited for every shot. Okay, enough of my whining. The greens are still very good, just a tad on the slow side. A few marshy areas around the greens where the water collects. I wasn’t in any bunkers today but noticed a lot of footprints and unkeptness around green side bunkers. Tee boxes okay. Fairways have some brown spots but it’s summertime. This is target golf and if you have some course knowledge, you can score. Always beautiful and cool by the coast but much better at $40.00 than $73.00. Out.

Played here today (7/3) with GK legend Matt "LOTR" Schliebe on a 9:20AM tee time under very pleasant weather. First time out here and I must say this course is the definition of quirky. Lots of blind ... Continue »

Played here today (7/3) with GK legend Matt "LOTR" Schliebe on a 9:20AM tee time under very pleasant weather. First time out here and I must say this course is the definition of quirky. Lots of blind shot, fairways that bend and snake everywhere, and short par 4's with tricks at every turn. Conditions today were about what I expected after no rain and some warming weather, but I was still pleasantly surprised with the greens. A great time had even if the score didn't reflect it.

Tee boxes: Nothing noteworthy either way; a few boxes had unlevel ground under them (playing the green frog tees today) but nothing so egregious it caused a bad shot.

Fairways: Decent to good shape. Visually they were browning and the turf condition was nothing special, but no bad lies and roll was fair (in most cases).

Rough: Not much to speak of that I remember, though just about every other type of penal areas exist; ESA, OB, canyons, lateral, water, etc. and all of those were of far greater worry than the medium length rough.

Bunkers: Another average to below average feature, the bunkers here are brown dirt-like sand that is lacking in consistency and quantity. I hit out of one and landed it 6 feet from the hole from 75 yards out, so how bad it can it really be?

Greens: The highlight of the round; visually pop with good solid and true roll. They had some tricky contours and a few of the breaks were a bit surprising, however I thought they played very fair and any missed putts were simply bad reads of speed.

ETC: Course is target golf all the way. Packed out there, exacerbated more so by the fact that Sandpiper and RSM have STILL not opened! No clubhouse, rather a booth to check-in/pay. Cart attendant (wonderfully friendly) was out and saw here twice; drinks only. Carts available as this course is hilly and probably quite a workout to walk. Saw people outside the course restaurant, so assuming that is open. All staff were very nice and COVID-19 precautions were present everywhere here.

Rode the green tees with Mrkich this morning for 36 holes using the underpar voucher. Beautiful weather, one club breeze and in the low 70s for most of the day. Played with a very nice twosome on the ... Continue »

Rode the green tees with Mrkich this morning for 36 holes using the underpar voucher. Beautiful weather, one club breeze and in the low 70s for most of the day. Played with a very nice twosome on the first 18 and we joined a very cool older gentleman from Arizona on the 2nd round on hole 5. Pop first round was 4 hrs. Pop 2nd round was 3 hrs 30 minutes.

Covid-19 pins had little metal red stakes that you could lift your ball out of the cup. No ballwashers, no clubhouse entry, bathrooms and grill was open. Had the Glen Annie burger in between rounds and it was delicious. Very friendly staff. Driving range mats only with range attendant loading and bringing range balls to you. Putting green was open. Very friendly vibe here.

Greens were super soft and receptive. They putted better than they looked. Fairly true roll with a little bounce on the greens here and there. Some of the greens were flat and big while others had some potato chip swales to negotiate. Very cool shared green complex on 4/7. Green rating 6.5/10.

Fairways had ample padding. Mostly lush, few thinner spots but not bad at all. Rating 6.5/10

Tees were very lush, mostly level. Rating 7/10

Rough was a mixed bag of green lush, some wispy dry stuff. Rating 6.5/10.

Was in 3 greenside bunkers. All fairly raked. Wet firmer base with enough sand. I enjoyed hitting out of them. No rakes. Rating 6/10

If Tierra Rejada has a sister this would be the course. From the tips it is 6400 yds or so but plays just a tad longer up and down hills. Fun course where not every hole is a driver hole but other than say hole 3 you can hit driver if you like on every hole. Holes 1, 9 and 17 will challenge the best of players. I would recommend the course but with La Purisma, Rancho San Marcos and Sandpiper nearby it's a tough sell as a first or second recommendation in the area.