Excellent course, great value. The renovation was done very well. Has made a so-so course a very good course. Once you get on the greens your work begins.

Excellent course, great value. The renovation was done very well. Has made a so-so course a very good course. Once you get on the greens your work begins.

I played Olivas Links on Sunday, Sept. 2nd. I typically play on Saturday mornings at River Ridge with my regular group, but since my wife was entertaining her friends on Sunday I decided to try to wa... Continue »

I played Olivas Links on Sunday, Sept. 2nd. I typically play on Saturday mornings at River Ridge with my regular group, but since my wife was entertaining her friends on Sunday I decided to try to walk on at Olivas. I arrived at 10:30 am and to my surprise was able to get to the first tee at 10:45, great job starter. The greens are really great, however, typical of new greens they do not hold any approach shots (gee, maybe that's why all the yardage markers are to the front of the green and not the center). The course is very interesting, and on many holes it is hard to pick a target off the tee. Some holes have OB on the right and water on the left. Many tee shots bounce severly to the right or left even though initially landing in the center of the fairway. The summer weather could not have been better as temps were in the high 70s.

Now for the bad. I took 5.5 hours to play 18 holes. Now I know that in LA on weekends that may not sound bad, but in Ventura anything over 4.5 is just plain awful. Worse yet, the marshals never did anything to any of the groups causing the problems with one or more holes open in front of them. Management needs to learn how to deal wit the public when there is slow play. When my group got to the fourth tee, we were the fourth group standing on the tee. One of our players droped out at that point, and later I heard that he received a refund. I continued to paly because I had heard so many good things about the course. Later, after the 13th hole, the other twosome I played with also called it quits so I ended up playing the last five holes on my own. Most of the holes had two and three groups on each tee and I waited on every shot to the green.

The fairways are quite bare so if you're not accustomed to hitting on thin lies you will have a real problem on this course. The course also requires controlled tee shots. Big hitters using the bomb an gouge method off the tee will have a bad day, assuming they can find any of their tee shots. There is lots of algae in the water hazards. Isn't there some concern regarding West Nile Virus?

I only saw the beverage cart twice on the first 10 holes. After that, the cart was MIA. The management is very nice and pleasant, but they do need to learn how to manage a public course so that everyone has a good day.

I enjoyed the course, but with the competition in the area, I am not sure that I will play here in the future, despite those great greens. Maybe when the staff becomes more experienced I will give it another shot. I played well, shot a 79 with a birdie on the 18th hole so I do have some good memories of my experience.

Yes, this is really me, Cheeseburger. I have not been captured by aliens and nobody taken over my brain. I know, I know...I've been known to rip into golf courses all over Southern Calornia for a va... Continue »

Yes, this is really me, Cheeseburger. I have not been captured by aliens and nobody taken over my brain. I know, I know...I've been known to rip into golf courses all over Southern Calornia for a variety of reasons. I've been downright nasty when things are not in good shape or if the staff sucks. I've jumped all over courss for slow-play, ground-under-repair issues and poa-infested greens.

I can find the good, the bad, and the ugly at every course I've played...and my posts on here go back to 2002.

All that being said (are you ready?)...here is my review of Olivas Links:

I LOVE THIS GOLF COURSE!! I WILL BE BACK!!

Played O.L. for the first time today. Drove all the way up from Pasadena to Ventura because it was going to be over 100+ at home and out at Goose Creek...so - we booked a time on-line yesterday (terrific on-line system from the course web-site)...our time was 11:56 A.M.

I am the first one to scream bloody-murder at slow play! It took us three-hours to play the front!!

BUT GUESS WHAT??? I DIDN'T CARE!! The course was SO NICE...the weather was so perfect (if I hadn't been playing golf, it was cool enough to require a jacket!!)

We waited on every shot. So what??? It was so beautiful and there was a nice breeze....

I thought the course was well laid-out...I thing the conditions were near-perfect...even the areas of ground-under-repair were being worked on and you could see that progress was being made...

The greens...were beyond terrific. They were 'Angeles National' good. They were 'Robinson Ranch' good. They were hard...and didn't hold shots very well...(it's almost true links-style bump-and-run golf - can be frustrating until you get used to it)...but they were awesome to putt on!!

All 18 of the greens were FAST...true, beautiful to look at, tricky... they rolled so nice...by far the nicest greens I've played on all year.

The fairways were not what I would call 'lush' - but - there was a links-y loamy kind of sand below the surface that made taking divots and getting down into the ball possible.

We played the blue-tees...plenty of golf-course for everybody...with whites and blacks and teal-tees as well. It's not a very tough course...but it's fun.

Again...I loved it.

O.K. O.K. So the five-hour round was a bit long...but three-hours-on-the-front-two-on-the-back was really more indicative of the fact that the course was just packed today because of the nice weather.

There's a couple of par-three bottlenecks on the front side...but guess what??? They had MARSHALLS (yes, plural not a typo) at the tight-spots to keep things moving.

All of the staff were pleasant....they all wear matching shirts...there is a real professional air to everything...

Oh...except for the "double-wide-trailer" pro-shop. They really could use a club house.

I loved the tee-signs....rustic...on the ends of barrels.

I cannot say enough good things about Olivas Links.

Even the practice range is top-notch.

My personal rating: Probably an 8.75

Got to play this course on the August 16th for the first time. Really went out there to get out of the bloody August heat! I have to say I found it both interesting an challenging. It's a whole differ... Continue »

Got to play this course on the August 16th for the first time. Really went out there to get out of the bloody August heat! I have to say I found it both interesting an challenging. It's a whole different mindset in playing a links "style" course and it takes some getting used to. Conditions were quite good. Greens were awsome! I love I nice fast true green and I wasn't dissapointed. The fairways had some bare spots but not anything that I would consider GUR. Bunkers had sand in them! No, I'm not joking actual sand! (OK, I play some mediocre courses and I'm used to hitting out of dirt) The rough can be quite rough. the wispier grass you can hit out of but get yourself in that tall kikuyu and you will regret it.

The reason I noted the links "style" course is that I don't feel it stays true to being a links course throughout. Many of the greens did not afford you a true bump and run opportunity. Many were very heavily guarded and when you can't really stick on the firm greens it becomes an issue. Greens were a little small for a links course as well. The first few holes played pretty slow for us and there was a serious back up at the first tee. We were delayed by almost a half hour...on a week day.

All in all I had a great time. The weather was great, the course was beautifull (stick some rusted out farm equipment between holes and I'm a happy man), folks were nice and the price was right. No clubhouse (yet) and no snack bar, although they did have a very attentive cart lady. No GPS but very nicey marked on the sprinkler heads.

One other thing, if you're not going to have GPS, or the course lay outprinted on the score cards, then you really should have yardage books available for purchase. I feel that would have helped me out a bunch on several of the less conventional holes.

Great Course, Great Staff! I played this course for the first time on 8/14/07. I loved the layout. The holes were challenging, but fair. The staff was very nice. A marshall even helped us look fo... Continue »

Great Course, Great Staff! I played this course for the first time on 8/14/07. I loved the layout. The holes were challenging, but fair. The staff was very nice. A marshall even helped us look for a ball on one hole! It's very flat (links style) and very windy. However, it's a nice change from all of the target golf courses in the area. Plus it was 20 degrees cooler than Thousand Oaks. Greens are challenging and in good shape. Some of the fairways were a little shot, but they'll get better. The only real negative I would say was that there is no course layout to be found. On a few holes, you have to guess where the green is and hope you're right. I also think it plays easier that its rating. I will definitely add this to my regular rotation.

It was great to play Olivas for the first time on 8/12.
The course is in great shape, with nicely raked bunkers, true greens and plenty of sprinklers with the yardages marked.

Depending on where ... Continue »

It was great to play Olivas for the first time on 8/12.
The course is in great shape, with nicely raked bunkers, true greens and plenty of sprinklers with the yardages marked.

Depending on where you are on the course you may be clubbing up or down as much as two clubs, which made it challenging.

It was very busy, but that's the weekend for you.
No beverage service or clubhouse yet, but it's a great start!

Absolultely love this course, can't wait to play it again.

Absolultely love this course, can't wait to play it again.

Played Sat July 28th. I’ll join the chorus that praises Olivas; not much else to add. Overall the course condition is good – not much better then the others in the area – however Olivas really plays a... Continue »

Played Sat July 28th. I’ll join the chorus that praises Olivas; not much else to add. Overall the course condition is good – not much better then the others in the area – however Olivas really plays as a links-style course like you’d see on TV. Combined with genuine hole designs [doglegs, tree placement, hazards] for me Olivas was a treat.

One word... Wow! I played this course when it was the old Olivas and have been looking forward to play it since they redesigned it... boy, was I thouroughly impressed. From tee to green this was one o... Continue »

One word... Wow! I played this course when it was the old Olivas and have been looking forward to play it since they redesigned it... boy, was I thouroughly impressed. From tee to green this was one of the best courses I've played and I don't hesitate to say this could be one of my favorites. The layout was great and I enjoyed the elements. Teed off at 3pm in the sunshine, few white clouds and nice breeze that made you have to choose your club wisely. Finnished at around 7:45 in the fog shooting blind onto the 18th green. Played from the champions tees and didn't play that bad, for the first time and with the elements. The tee boxes were actually level and the greens were rolling true. It would be nice not having to see the hackers that will be attracted to play here, which were right behind us, but what can you do. I've never had the privelage of playing in Scotland or a true links style course, but for 4 1/2 hours I was there: ocean breeze, fog, and all. I'm coming back next week.