Sandpiper Golf Club

Sandpiper Golf Club: Member Reviews

7925 Hollister Avenue
Goleta, CA 93117 • (805) 968-1541

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Goleta, CA (93117)

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Humidity: 47%
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Sunset: 7:13 pm
green Sunrise: 6:54 am

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91. Nickesquire

Posted: 08/26/16 3:37p
Member Since: Aug 11, 2007
From: Simi Valley, CA

Played the Golds (72.8/131/6646) in windy, sunny conditions in the 80's. POP was great, rarely waited and played in less than 3.5 hours. I like the course layout and the ocean breeze always makes club selection challenging. Because of the wind and the greens, par's are hard for me to string together on this course. Before I know it, I have a string of bogeys going. The tees were decent, mostly level with adequate coverage. Several could use more divot repair. The Bermuda fairways were mostly lush with a few thin areas. The rough was usually penal even if not overly tall. Get off the beaten path and it was the usual combination of hardpan, thin or native weeds with occasional high patches that were lost ball deep. However, barely missing the fairway meant that the ball usually sat down in thick Bermuda. Literally the difference in using enough club to try and reach the green or being restricted to a shorter iron and advancing the ball maybe 100 yards. I found the traps to be both well maintained and challenging to play out of. The sand was thick and many of the lips near the greens large. I find the greens here to be deceptively difficult. I never seem to get the speed down on this course. There is alot of slope on these greens, and it's easy for downhill putts to leave 6' to 10' coming back. The greens were relatively smooth, firm and quick bordering on fast. The greens are still a week away from being pristine again as they recently were punched with small tines about 2" apart and should be yellow on GK. This layout is fun and deceptively demanding. The greens are quick and have alot of slope, I 3 putt here more often than any course I can think of. Many holes with at least partial ocean views. Holes 6,10,11,12,13 & 14 in particular either play right along side or right into the ocean. On a cloudless day, the scenery is about as good as it gets. The customer service was excellent from everyone encountered. Recommended as a great change of pace, it's more the location you are paying for. Enjoyed the experience, it's a treat to play here.

All Reviews by Nickesquire

13 Likes.

Rated
6.7 Conditions

92. Nickesquire

Posted: 08/24/16 3:13p
Member Since: Aug 11, 2007
From: Simi Valley, CA

Played the Golds (72.8/131/6646) with Robert in breezy, sunny conditions in the 80's. POP was great, we rarely waited and played a 3 1/2 hour round. I am impressed more with this fun and demanding layout on each visit. The course had many holes with at least partial ocean views. Holes 6,10,11,13 & 14 in particular either play right along side or right into the ocean. On a bright, cloudless day, the backdrop is about as good as it gets. The tees were decent, I had no issues finding level lies with adequate coverage. Several could use more divot repair. The Bermuda fairways were good overall, mostly lush with a few thin areas. The rough was usually penal even if not overly tall. Missing the fairway by a foot was the difference in using enough club to try and reach the green or being restricted to a short iron and advancing the ball maybe 100 yards out of thick Bermuda that the ball usually sat down in. Get off the beaten path and it was more a combination of hardpan, thin or native weeds with occasional high patches that were lost ball deep. I was in multiple traps and found them to be challenging to play out of because the sand was so thick. Well maintained. The greens were recently punched with small tines but were still relatively smooth, firm and quick. I find the greens here to be deceptively difficult. I never did get the speed down. There is alot of slope on these greens, and downhill putts just creep, and creep and creep, until pretty soon the putt you thought you had lagged up by the hole is 6' to 10' past. I suspect that being near the ocean (less landmarks to compare with) creates the optical illusion of making you think the slopes are gentler than they actually are? I like the course layout and the ocean breeze always makes club selection a challenge. It's more the location you are paying for, because while everything has been above average on every visit, it has not been excellent. The customer service was excellent from the cart gal to the attendant who cleaned and took care of your clubs after the round. Enjoyed the experience, it's a treat to play here. Recommended as a great change of pace if you are willing to pay the high fees the courses location dictates.

All Reviews by Nickesquire

13 Likes.

Rated
6.5 Conditions

93. roarksown1

Posted: 07/10/16 11:50p
Member Since: Jan 6, 2013
From: Playa del Rey

Played twilight round at Sandpiper on 7/7/16 at $80 from the gold tees. Got out before a league group and finished a little slower than we could have when a group of teenagers cut in front of us at th... Continue »

All Reviews by roarksown1

12 Likes.

Rated
6.0 Conditions

94. lamitchw

Posted: 06/14/16 3:49p
Member Since: Oct 19, 2012
From: Lake Balboa

Played Sunday 6/12 going out with the first twilight time at 2pm. POP for our foursome was around 4:30. The layout totally reminds me of Torrey South. Challenging course, but very scorable if you know your way around.

This was my first time playing Sandpiper. Oh my. I'm in love. The weather was perfect, about 70 degrees and maybe 3 mph of wind. As benign as it ever gets, I'm sure. My wife and I walked, and I played the gold tees. The course is walkable, but there are definitely some hills to contend with. The hill on #12 is no joke. Overall, the conditions were very good.

Tee boxes: all very level and lush. Some divot damage on par 3's but that's to be expected.

Fairways: For the most part, they were great! Extremely lush, almost like carpet. Very moist and not much roll, which made the course play a bit longer. However, there was A LOT of ground under repair. It was all marked, but some of the marked areas were huge. Large sections of fairway on #14 were completely cut out. They're obviously working on them, but that was a little surprising.

Rough: There were some drought related issues in some areas of the rough, but its mostly very thick and penal. It will grab your ball and stop it on a dime. Keep it in the short grass!

Greens: I was informed they had done a small tine punch on the greens within the last week, so they had let them grow out a bit. Still in nice shape running around 10 on the stimp, and very fast downhill. The punch really didn't affect anything. They were a little bumpy because of being longer, but were still pretty receptive and balls stayed on line. NO prevailing ocean or mountain breaks on this course, what you see is what you get.

Sand traps: I was in two, and I didn't love them. More like dirt traps than sand. Playable, but not what I was expecting from a course with such a high price point.

For me, the $95 fee to walk at twilight is absolutely worth it. $195 to ride during peak times seems a bit steep to me, but the property IS pretty amazing. They offer a 20% discount if you come back within 7 days...we loved it so much we're driving back up this Sunday!

All Reviews by lamitchw

12 Likes.

Rated
6.8 Conditions

95. sirfun

Posted: 04/22/16 9:57p
Member Since: Jan 1, 2014
From: Oxnard

First time to play Sandpiper, What a great place to play golf! From first glance the course looked wide open, but boy was I wrong. Good thing I packed extra balls because I needed them. This is a re... Continue »

All Reviews by sirfun

10 Likes.

Rated
7.1 Conditions

96. robcanter

Posted: 10/29/15 10:40p
Member Since: Feb 24, 2005
From: Westwood, CA

Played 10/26. Course is not in good shape. Greens are best part but some had a lot of ball marks. Fairways are thin with bare spots and ground under repair. Many tee boxes beat up. Great layout, fanta... Continue »

All Reviews by robcanter

14 Likes.

Rated
4.7 Conditions

97. JohnnyGK

Posted: 09/23/15 9:17a
Member Since: Dec 30, 2002
From: Westlake Village

First off, again, I want to thank everyone that came out to join in on the fun at our GK Plays Sandpiper Golf Course. This was a GK Plays put together on short notice and we still got 19 players.

... Continue »

All Reviews by JohnnyGK

13 Likes.

Rated
6.1 Conditions

98. rgm2525

Posted: 09/22/15 7:08p
Member Since: Jan 24, 2005
From: chatsworth

Played 9-20-15 in the GK plays with Wangster, Mattis, and the man himself JohnnyGK. Tee boxes were in descent shape, mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were just ok with many dried out areas an... Continue »

All Reviews by rgm2525

9 Likes.

Rated
6.3 Conditions

99. kevbig

Posted: 09/21/15 4:32p
Member Since: Mar 15, 2007
From: Rowland Heights

Played in the GK Plays yesterday with Osamabinhacking, Ringworld, and RobStretch and we had a blast! It was my first time playing Sandpiper and I think knowing ahead of time that the course was hit ha... Continue »

All Reviews by kevbig

10 Likes.

Rated
5.6 Conditions

100. wangster

Posted: 09/21/15 10:52a
Member Since: Dec 2, 2014
From: Santa Monica / Rancho Cucamonga

Played my first GK event at Sandpiper Golf Club on 9/20/15.

To my standards, this is a high-end course. The rack rate is $165 Monday-Thursday and $185 Friday-Sunday. I haven't played golf too long so I was very much looking forward to playing here but really came back thinking if the view on several holes is worth the fees. If the conditions were immaculate, I would say yes but maybe my expectations were too high.

Tee Boxes - All tee boxes were in great shape. Mostly level and plenty of smooth grass.

Fairways - This is where I had the highest expectations. I was expecting a solid green colored fairways throughout the entire course but I've seen better coverage on courses that charge half of what Sandpiper charges. There were few holes with fairly large patches of hardpan areas. You can avoid them but visually, it's a disappointment.

Bunkers - I did go into several bunkers and the they are a lot softer than bunkers I am used to. I almost found them too soft but I honestly don't know which is better.

Roughs - The grass is thick where there is grass and there are some areas where you are hitting from hardened sand. In my opinion, you are supposed to stay away from the rough so I really don't care if the rough is crappy or not regardless of what a course charges.

Greens - As a less seasoned golfer, I cannot say whether they are fast or slow for a course of this caliber. They are definitely faster than a $50 course out in the Inland Empire. Greens are smooth but I honestly think I expected better.

Customer Service - Great. Saw the beverage cart at least four times throughout the round. The starter offered wet or dry towels before starting the round and they clean your towels afterwards.

*Do note that this review is written in the middle of a serious drought. Maybe the standards at this course was higher and will be higher if we get decent amount of rain.

I don't know if I will pay a $100 to play here but you have to consider that you are also paying for the service and it was definitely less crowded than the $50 courses. I personally would rather play Oak Quarry in Riverside than here even if the rates were same.

Having said all that, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I had a great time at my first GK event and walked away with some awesome GK gear. Also played with some really good golfers so hopefully I picked up a few things from watching them.

All Reviews by wangster

13 Likes.

Rated
6.9 Conditions

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Playing Conditions
6.98
Good

Course Statistics
202 of 2,342 Overall Rank
Value
Layout
Service

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PRACTICE FACILITIES

- Driving Range (Grass)
- Practice Chipping (YES)
- Practice Putting Green (YES)