Played on 8/28 early 7:30, almost no breeze, sunny blue sky. Not many golfers at this time on a Tuesday AM. The Staff was great, good tips on how to play the course from the starter and LISTEN to him... Continue »

Played on 8/28 early 7:30, almost no breeze, sunny blue sky. Not many golfers at this time on a Tuesday AM. The Staff was great, good tips on how to play the course from the starter and LISTEN to him when he says to stay BELOW the hole, tho that is hard to do as the greens were firm. Excellent fairways and the rough was playing fair. A very demanding course from the Silver T's, 6597 yds, too much for most 10+ handicapers and 5700yds from the Copper T's is a little short. Hey, Sandpiper staff, how about another set of T's with a set of combo T's of the Silver and Copper course for 6100 yds. Apply the "Tee it forward" program! Also, an easy walking course with great views of the Pacific. Almost the same at Torrey Pines in San Diego but no Torrey Pines. Green fees are too high for the non residents. I played Glen Annie yesterday and would go back there before I would come back here because of the green fee. Glen Annie is just as enjoyable at half the cost.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

On August 2, I embarked on a road trip from South OC to Lake Tahoe where I would meet some friends for a long weekend. I decided I would turn it into a golf adventure and allowed my self to play five... Continue »

On August 2, I embarked on a road trip from South OC to Lake Tahoe where I would meet some friends for a long weekend. I decided I would turn it into a golf adventure and allowed my self to play five courses on the drive up. I played Sandpiper on 8/2 as the first course along my sojourn.

Played as a single at 10:40 am. Unfortunately, the sun never really came out, but that is my only complaint about the day. The course was in very good condition. The pace was fine. I played it in 4:10, but I was behind several foursomes so acceptable.

The pro shop, starter and restaurant folk were all very professional. I asked the starter for any tips and he only gave me one: STAY BELOW THE HOLE. He was 100% correct. My three three putts all came from approaches above the hole.

It was pretty pricey ($139) and I've played better layouts, but the views are pretty spectacular.

On this trip I played five different courses (Sandpiper, La Purisima, Winchester CC, Gray's Crossing, and Edgewood). I would rank them in the following order (taking total golf experience--conditions, layout, value):

1. Gray's Crossing (immaculate and fun and challenging)
2. Winchester (fun layout, free for me with a member, ideal conditions)
3. La Purisima (my favorite layout, only $50)
4. Sandpiper
5. Edgewood (the high price and conditions that were below what you should expect for $200)

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

First time playing Sandpiper. Location is amazing; walking from parking lot to clubhouse, all you see is the course laid out in front of you with ocean beyond.

The course itself is just a straig... Continue »

First time playing Sandpiper. Location is amazing; walking from parking lot to clubhouse, all you see is the course laid out in front of you with ocean beyond.

The course itself is just a straightforward challenge. No holes are gimmicky or impossible which is nice because I hate unfair golf holes. The greens and wind are what makes this course tough. They tell you at the start to not be above the hole. The practice green provides ample opportunity to see just how slick the downhill putts will be.
The conditions yesterday were pretty still but you could tell there was more of a breeze that would affect your ball flight. It was at least a one club affect on your approach shots. My group was constantly short on approach shots as they got held up in wind that you couldn't feel at the surface.

Holes' 10 and 11 are breathtaking.

Also, they offer a pretty significant discount for Tri-County residents which made my total cost $96 instead of $155. Pretty spendy but a fantastic course and challenge.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

Greens are smooth and putting well.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

Greens are smooth and putting well.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

Played Sandpiper Friday 4/6 at 12:42pm with my brother in law who lives in the area. Postcard day at Sandpiper 72 degrees, sun out and no wind. Our pace of play walking was 4 hours 15 minutes. This wa... Continue »

Played Sandpiper Friday 4/6 at 12:42pm with my brother in law who lives in the area. Postcard day at Sandpiper 72 degrees, sun out and no wind. Our pace of play walking was 4 hours 15 minutes. This was my second time playing Sandpiper as I played it around 2 years ago. The customer service here was very attentive from the General Manager, behind the desk and the starter boys who gave us a scorecard, pin sheet, clean towels, layout of the land and a few free tips. We were off to the practice facilities just before our tee time. Grass range, very nice putting green which you are also allowed to chip on. There is also a mini chipping green just behind the 1st tee. To start off the views are amazing playing this course. Most of the holes #5, #6, #10, #11, #12, #13 etc have an ocean view. We did not ride but it looked like the carts were state of the art and in good condition. The conditions were very good for our round. The tees were lush and for the most part were level. There were a few par 3's that you had to find a level stance but for the most part they were in good shape. The rough was lush and anywhere from 1-2 inches long. I know they had a pro-tour tournament here a month or so ago and I am sure that they have cut down the rough some to make this course more enjoyable. If you were in the rough it was in nice shape and if you got a bad lie it could still effect your shot. Perfect length rough nice and green. I was not in any of the sand bunkers thankfully today but they looked to have quality sand in them and were nicely raked. The fairways produced mostly lush lies with always enough grass coverage to get your club underneath the ball. They were lush enough to produce not to much roll on drives and I found about say 75% of the fairways with nice green lush grass. There were only minor areas where the fairways looked dry and even in those areas which were few and far between the lies were good. The best part of the course by far are the greens. I encourage golfers that want to test their touch and speed to play thee greens right now. I would say they were rolling close to a 11 or above on the stimp and the best piece of advice was to stay below the hole. The starter boys and clubhouse were warning players to stay below the hole. Lucky for me I was only above the pin on one green today. The greens were very smooth and putted great today. They felt and looked like they had moisture on them but were some of the faster and most pure greens I have putted on this year. Kudos to the greenskeeper in regards to how nice the greens are. This course has some holes to score on such as #1, #5, #12 and #13 possibly but others where you will take par and run for the hills such as #2, #4, #10 and #11 and #14. Its a great test of golf while providing birdie opportunities in places. I would for sure take advantage of their twilight rates and an even better deal is their player preferred package. Just call the pro-shop and ask for more details like I did. I wish I was a little closer in proximity to this course. I would recommend this course to all golfers....very nice shape, friendly and attentive staff and a nice layout. Thanks to the Sandpiper staff, my brother in law also enjoyed the day also.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

Sandpiper was a good deal for 90 dollars on 3/11. The views don't change... period. Gorgeous holes and layout. Problem here is the course doesn't have a good handle of the fairways right now. They ... Continue »

Sandpiper was a good deal for 90 dollars on 3/11. The views don't change... period. Gorgeous holes and layout. Problem here is the course doesn't have a good handle of the fairways right now. They are not in good shape. Besides the views, this course is playing like a glorified muni by the ocean. Love the track, will go back, need to see improvement in the fairways.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

played on Sunday, course was in great shape, customer service was awesome. nothing better than playing on the ocean in sunny conditions, and very little wind.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa B... Continue »

played on Sunday, course was in great shape, customer service was awesome. nothing better than playing on the ocean in sunny conditions, and very little wind.

Sandpiper Golf Course Review
Santa Barbara California Golf Course Reviews

Got out to Sandpiper with my buddy for twilight rates on Monday, 10/10 and we were paired up with a father/son two-some. Got out around 1:25-ish. Generally good conditions on a beautiful venue and lay... Continue »

Got out to Sandpiper with my buddy for twilight rates on Monday, 10/10 and we were paired up with a father/son two-some. Got out around 1:25-ish. Generally good conditions on a beautiful venue and layout. While there was some lingering fog on a good portion of the course to start, it was dissipated by the second hole. Not a cloud in the sky, the temps were comfortably warm and there was a light breeze at worst and no breeze by the end of the round, right before sunset. Pefect weather. Tee boxes all good, fairways more towards thin than lush overall and made the short game a little tougher, but they were still good and the payoff was a good roll. Bunkers were good—nothing fancy or super fluffy. Rough is a mixed bag from impenetrably lush, to burrowing animals areas to sparse. Greens were very fast, tricky and demanded your attention. While generally pretty good, they were a touch less than pristine and may have been showing some remnants of the weekend traffic. No bag service in the parking lot for us, but courteous and helpful once we got to the cart area. No beverage cart service while we were playing. I'm there less than once a year, always weekday, twilight hours, so I don't know if they have beverage cart service having never seen it. We were a little slow as a foursome and let a two-some through on the fourth hole, but caught up to them on a slow down around the 11th hole. A marshal attended to the offending four-some up ahead and the pace picked up. We finished in something over 4.5 hours. My game was off, and I was disappointed with that, although one of my few pars was the signature 11th par 3 (I got dat goin' for me), but as we headed to the parking lot, the sun was setting on the water with a full moon hanging over the mountains on a breathless evening. It was all good.

Played Sandpiper for the first time on 8/22 and really enjoyed the experience. Payed twilight rates which was resonable since I could find no other discount anywhere ... don't know why it's so expens... Continue »

Played Sandpiper for the first time on 8/22 and really enjoyed the experience. Payed twilight rates which was resonable since I could find no other discount anywhere ... don't know why it's so expensive. Previous poster was a bit harsh but it's true that the course is a rough around the edges ... still a great layout with beautiful ocean views, probably the best I've ever played along the California coast other than Pebble Beach. Greens were in great shape, so were the bunkers. Fairways had some patchy spots but not what I thought took away from the overall fantastic day of golf. Good food on the patio before our round, grass range ... real nice.