I have heard a lot of good things from people about this course, but I don't think any of them have played this course in a while. I asked the woman at the make-shift clubhouse what condition the cour... Continue »

I have heard a lot of good things from people about this course, but I don't think any of them have played this course in a while. I asked the woman at the make-shift clubhouse what condition the course was in and she replied that it was in great shape. A local behind me replied "the fairways are in crap condition"! He said that they planted the wrong kind of grass and were still waiting for it to grow in or something to that effect. He also told me they raised the rates. I appreciated the honesty and proceeded to play my round.

The greens were in great condition and rolled very true, but the fairway were in horrible condition. Clumpy, Brown and Hard. I probably averaged about 75 yds of roll off of my drives. Normally I would be happy with that kind of distance, but when I kept rolling into hazards because of it, it did not make for a great round. All in all, I would wait until the fairway grass grows in before playing this course. I would play this course again due to it beautiful layout, but it may be late summer before I go out there again.

Played this week and I knew I was in trouble after hitting it 290 down the middle of the fairway of #1 and its all brown with lots of divots. Not any grass to pick that ball cleanly. VERY thin lies ... Continue »

Played this week and I knew I was in trouble after hitting it 290 down the middle of the fairway of #1 and its all brown with lots of divots. Not any grass to pick that ball cleanly. VERY thin lies and very difficult to chip or get spin. Its a nice track to walk and great people working there. Give it till june so the fairways can recover, thats my recommendation.

First of all I hate to make excuses..but after our round saturday I had to piggyback some more on a previous post from Ricogo regarding Olivas Links..

Our group tried to play twilight on Sat 3/22.... Continue »

First of all I hate to make excuses..but after our round saturday I had to piggyback some more on a previous post from Ricogo regarding Olivas Links..

Our group tried to play twilight on Sat 3/22. should have known to turn around when marshall stated on #1 tee..its slow today boys...
I look down on #1 and realized that I left my sand wedge on the previous course that I played(wo-hoo)..big mistake to leave that club on a day like today. Couple that with another day of 20mph winds, greens rock hard cause of the gusty winds, a 10-15 minute wait every tee box(teed off 1:10pm , finished at 6:30pm, drunk group behind us, distractions within our own group and once again no grass on the fairways and this one was a round to remember.

Now to the specifics.... I am debating whether to come back and play Olivas if they cannot start putting some grass on the fairways(that's my rant/beef and to be frankly honest others too that I have heard),

I hit fairways on #1, #4,#6,#7,#9,#10,#12,#14,#16,#18, drove it through the fairway on #15 and nothing to show for. Had drives of 325 on #9 and 355 on #10 came away with bogies not being able to even get underneath balls with simple 1st grade chips.....Its time for managment to either lower the rates or put some grass on the fairways...its not fair to your customers..Even the marshall that greeted us stated that the mens club plays lift clean and try to find some fairway to place your ball on. You are losing a regular customer here who loves this course, layout and friendly staff due to the current conditions of the fairways...its time to make a change.

Played Sat March 10th in a foursome - 4 1/2 hours. Beautiful day to play. Was partnered with 3 excellent golfers playing from the tips. I should have stayed with the blues at my 18 handicap!! Great co... Continue »

Played Sat March 10th in a foursome - 4 1/2 hours. Beautiful day to play. Was partnered with 3 excellent golfers playing from the tips. I should have stayed with the blues at my 18 handicap!! Great course to walk and an excellent links golf experience. Still no proper clubhouse - working out of trailers. Helps to be a resident of the county for a discount green fee.

Teed off @ 12:02 on 3/8, our 3some finished @ 5:20 after playing behind a 3some that evidently thought they owned the course. They were often a hole behind and seemed to wait like Forrest Gump ran, fo... Continue »

Teed off @ 12:02 on 3/8, our 3some finished @ 5:20 after playing behind a 3some that evidently thought they owned the course. They were often a hole behind and seemed to wait like Forrest Gump ran, for no apparent reason. The marshall had no effect on their pace as he talked to them at least twice on the back nine alone.

The fairways need some work and some water, maybe in inverse order. The hardpan seems to be getting worse and there are dozens of divots in every fairway landing area that are unfixed.

Why they didn't overseed again when the original fairway grass came in spotty is a mystery to me. Why not overseed the fairways for the winter? Restricitng carts off 1/3 of the fairways is a bandaid, not a cure.

With that said, the greens are immaculate, the sand traps excellent and the aprons and tees are as well maintained as any course around. I keep thinking that with some rain and warmer weather the Olivas fairways are going to perk up, but it hasn't to date and w/o some work & water, I have doubts it will. They need to get more good turf on the fairways before this summer, or this course is going to be in trouble.

The new layout is excellent. The greens were GREAT, fast & firm. The traps and tees were excellent overall. However, the fairways seem to be getting worse and worse. I keep thinking that recent rains ... Continue »

The new layout is excellent. The greens were GREAT, fast & firm. The traps and tees were excellent overall. However, the fairways seem to be getting worse and worse. I keep thinking that recent rains and hot weather will bring out some lush, green grass.....and the hardpan is still there. Plus, far too many people don't repair fairway divots on this course.

Out March 2nd AM. I dunno- everyone is different and not all courses fit everyone’s eye. This is my third loop at Olivas; #3 and #2 basically walked away wondering why this course is so highly rated. ... Continue »

Out March 2nd AM. I dunno- everyone is different and not all courses fit everyone’s eye. This is my third loop at Olivas; #3 and #2 basically walked away wondering why this course is so highly rated. Think the Buenaventura fairways are poor? They’re Sandpiper compared to Olivas. Not only are the lies thin, they are hard, zero bounce at all. This includes areas around the greens. Also, still have punch marks and some strange grass patches that the mud-hens feast on- I hope those threads of grass are not want will hopefully become the fairway grass sometime who knows when.
The balance of the course is reasonable- sand traps, tee boxes and greens- which run quick and true. I spend about 50% of my time hitting in the fairway towards the green so from my view 50% of this course is really poor. At least at Victoria Lakes- when the Bermuda hybrid grass is also completely dormant- the lies remain spongy. At Olivas, I was hitting off dirt lies or punch holes on all 9 of the fairways I hit.
3 more: we played from 2 different tee boxes [different genders] behind a foursome in carts [same gender] and waited constantly. The foursome was at least a hole behind- after #9 we could not see the next group. Marshals? = almost a 5 hour round.
Now the aprons have come back from the sanding nicely….but why are they fluffy? Shouldn’t they release a shot forward?
I guess walking through this barren landscape for 5 hours gets to me after awhile. I could smell the ocean and it was a glorious day. I’m landing on ‘sandlot golf’ to describe Olivas and will be back for the challenge- not the enjoyment of the course.

Played sun afternoon 2/17..greens great shape as usual, tee boxes nice and level, sand traps in great condition as I was in 3 of them on the front nine. Rough cut down in certain spots... staff friend... Continue »

Played sun afternoon 2/17..greens great shape as usual, tee boxes nice and level, sand traps in great condition as I was in 3 of them on the front nine. Rough cut down in certain spots... staff friendly as ever. Nice practice area..pace of play was a little slow 5 hours but still enjoyable and marshall did as good as job as he could in moving groups(just alot of people out there). Fairways still need ALOT of work. Hradpan with dirt in several areas. Shot even on the back nine which for me is usually a real chore!

Caught the course on a bright, hot, sunny, almost windless day. Unfortunately, didn't take advantage and post a decent score, as I continually hit it where I advised the guys who didn't know the layou... Continue »

Caught the course on a bright, hot, sunny, almost windless day. Unfortunately, didn't take advantage and post a decent score, as I continually hit it where I advised the guys who didn't know the layout where NOT to hit it! The greens were smooth and firm, perhaps a little slower than usual but still quick, especially if on the wrong side of the hole. The fairways are mostly dormant but with the recent rains and hot conditions they are improved over the last time I played here a month ago. The traps look better each time I'm here, well maintained with nice white sand. Our 4some walked the course in 4 1/2 hours from the tips and had a great time, even if there wasn't a whole lot of great golf shots witnessed. Thanks to Christian, Ian & John for driving up and checking this track out, hope we can do it again soon!