After finishing playing Elkins Ranch so quickly, and already being in the area took advantage of the geography and played another of my favorite courses. As I rarely get to Soule, it was a treat to ... Continue »

After finishing playing Elkins Ranch so quickly, and already being in the area took advantage of the geography and played another of my favorite courses. As I rarely get to Soule, it was a treat to return.

Sure wish I lived closer, because I would play here a whole lot more often. Course was in excellent condition, much better than I remember it being. Greens rolled true, faster than Elkins. Fairways had good coverage, bunkers were a mixed bag, but better than most of the courses I've played recently. Overall the course is far better than the majority of courses I've been playing.

The only negative for me was my poor play (again) so difficult to fully appreciate how much fun this course could/should be to play. I'd like to blame walking 36 holes today in the heat as an excuse, but the truth is, some days you just don't have it and today I left any kind of game back in Orange County. Hate to waste poor golf on good courses !!

This course is seeing plenty of good reviews lately - I'll add another. While I do love that most of the time, when I play there, its wide open (weekdays or Sunday afternoons are best), I'll give awa... Continue »

This course is seeing plenty of good reviews lately - I'll add another. While I do love that most of the time, when I play there, its wide open (weekdays or Sunday afternoons are best), I'll give away that this has to be the best value course in LA (ok, this is Ventura, but I'll explain).

Since moving back to the Westside from Long Beach, courses here are limited - Rancho's pace of play is awful, I haven't been to Woodley or another Valley course in a while, and I was never a fan anyway. I've heard decent things about Griffith (Wilson/Harding), but frankly, its worth the drive (less than 90 minutes now with covid-traffic) to goto Ojai.

Tee fees are low ($44 to walk, add $12 or so to ride), the course keeps getting in better and better shape. It was taken over a couple years ago, and they've been working steadily to improve every aspect. They care about their golfers - an example, they don't charge people to just ride along with the players. I've seen guys out there with their kids (they often won't charge for the little ones, or wifes to caddy them around while they walk (single rider policy in place cause of covid). Soule park wants you to enjoy your day.

This is a course that doesn't ride up against any buildings, condos, homes. There's a dog pound that you can hear on hole 8, and a donkey that loves to honk on hole 12, otherwise its a super peaceful and gorgeous place. (I don't get why some people have to play with music here, the place is so tranquil).

Where else you gonna play? Drive down to Skylinks and hear the helicopters all day? Spend 6 hours playing at Rancho? Go east is d%mn far to play Pacific Palms - only to find that the Babe is all tore up and the Ike is slow as sh*t.

Only thing better is going out to the desert, which is way hot, and 30 more minutes further for me now. So Soule Park it is!

Played early this morning. I have wanted to drive out and play since I read what great shape Soule is in through GreensKeeper.org. My buddy and I were not disappointed. We both agreed that Soule is ... Continue »

Played early this morning. I have wanted to drive out and play since I read what great shape Soule is in through GreensKeeper.org. My buddy and I were not disappointed. We both agreed that Soule is in the best shape we’ve ever played it. We played as a twosome and it was pretty slow until the foursome ahead of us (they were apologetic) let us play through on the start of the back nine. Tee boxes level. The fairways were great. The bunkers had raked, playable soft sand. The rough was not too penalizing. Finally, the greens were pretty good. There was still a little residual sand on them that made them a tad slow. Just a tad. Probably still about a 10 on the meter. It’s starting to get hot so I truly recommend getting up early and driving out to Ojai and playing this gem.

Walked the Oak tees this afternoon 6/29/2020 as a twosome with Pedro teeing off at 3:20pm and finishing in 4 hrs playing through one group that was nice enough to let us play through on number 7. Weat... Continue »

Walked the Oak tees this afternoon 6/29/2020 as a twosome with Pedro teeing off at 3:20pm and finishing in 4 hrs playing through one group that was nice enough to let us play through on number 7. Weather was perfect low 70s with a one club breeze. Very friendly starter with a nice big putting green, nice range with mats and separate putting green. Covid-19 masks worn in proshop at check in. Bar and restaurant open taking orders at outdoor counter. Well when the range turf is super lush and green you know you are in for a treat. Most fairways were super lush, super green and I would say almost Palm Springs/PGA tour quality. Best I have ever seen Soule's fairways. Rated 9/10. Tees were Super lush. Don't say this often about tees but they were almost too lush and thick?. Very level teeing grounds and the back tees that I played had no divot damage. They have 5 sets of tees here to suite any player. Rated 8.5/10 Greens were rolling great. Medium to quick pace and holding shots beautifully. Only number 17 green in the front section had many old ballmarks which we tried to repair as much as possible. Huge Gil Hanse greens here with many(up to 8) different areas to put pin locations in. Green rating 8/10. Rough semi thick, super lush and green and in great shape. Rating 8/10. Was in greenside bunker on 7 and fairway bunker on 17. Bunkers here contain very soft thick beach sand. Maintained very nicely but there are no rakes so with as big as the bunkers are here there is many opportunities for many footprints. Rated 8/10. I just love this course. It just has always fit my eye, is always in great shape, is very affordable on the wallet and has a great layout and peaceful setting. Recommended.

Played here 5/22 as part of GK Cup match with Ron on a wonderfully sunny and not very breezy Friday with a 7AM tee time. Course was packed today and I can see why; it's in fantastic shape. Standard CO... Continue »

Played here 5/22 as part of GK Cup match with Ron on a wonderfully sunny and not very breezy Friday with a 7AM tee time. Course was packed today and I can see why; it's in fantastic shape. Standard COVID-19 precautions in place.

Tee boxes: Good shape, a few with some unlevel lies, but nothing that would cause major issues (avocado tee boxes).

Fairways: Good to excellent shape with good roll especially as the day progressed. Lies today were more than fair, even as no divot mix was available to fill the holes.

Rough: Penal in areas where it exists, though the natural lateral areas and non-rough areas were far more penal. A large amount of trees in play on the entire course make you think about your shots more carefully.

Sand: Was only in one bunker, but it had a good amount of sand that was just the consistency I like. No rakes obviously however no issues with footprints.

Greens: Good shape, few divots, roll was fair. Breaks on these large greens can be tricky at times, but if I am making putts, they can't be that hard to master.

ETC: Please see review from GK Cup match. Highly recommend coming out here as conditions are good and it's a walkable course.

I played here today at first light. One threesome ahead of our four; as you know, due to the C19 protocols, everyone is walking. It made for a great pace, at least for the group ahead of our 4. We mig... Continue »

I played here today at first light. One threesome ahead of our four; as you know, due to the C19 protocols, everyone is walking. It made for a great pace, at least for the group ahead of our 4. We might have been faster than the four hour round if not for the extra practice swings by one in our group. Hint: Not me! Notwithstanding that nonsense, I found it to be totally zen and watching the sunrise light up the course was icing on the cake.

I have not played here in quite some time; not since 10/2016. Wow! What a difference three and a half years makes! Green grass everywhere! Large aprons and collars around the greens, very much like Rustic Canyon! That's a good choice for this course as it can be long at times.

Other than the above, I don't have a lot to add to mdames' review. The greens remains on the medium-slow side. There were a couple of subtle breaks, but nothing crazy.

The tees ( I played the Avocado tees) were level and had good grass coverage. Some were very firm about an inch and a half down. There was some maintenance ahead of us. A couple of guys were fertilizing tees and the long cut from the tee to the fairways. Nice to see crews working and keeping the course as nice as possible.

Fairways were a joy to hit from. Great coverage everywhere. Soft enough to take a divot, but firm enough to run a ways on a low trajectory shot.

The rough had good coverage as well. It ranged in height from about 2"-3" to knee deep native areas. Best to stay away from that stuff.

Bunkers had great amounts of fluffy beach sand. A couple had a thin layer of sand over some hard pan, but mostly those were in the fairways.

Greens and approaches were really nice, but on the slow side. We thought they would speed up, but no significant change in speed happened by 10:00 when we finished.

Overall, I think I got a great bargain at $30. I booked on their website and it appears that the tee sheet is pretty full up all week long. I might try to get back there in two weeks on my next Friday off.

Played Soule Park Monday, 4/20/20 with a 9:30am tee time. When I found out that this course would be open on Monday, I thought this would be a great course to break my 60 day, imposed fast from golf. ... Continue »

Played Soule Park Monday, 4/20/20 with a 9:30am tee time. When I found out that this course would be open on Monday, I thought this would be a great course to break my 60 day, imposed fast from golf. All tee times are prepaid online, and appropriate physical distancing was emphasized with signage. My threesome had no trouble maintaining a good distance between us. The driving range is open. All the pins are in the holes for the entire course. But there is a styrofoam insert that fits around the flagstick inside the cup. It sits about 1 inch below the surface of the cup. This allows the ball to be holed, yet makes it easy to retrieve your ball without touching the cup or pin. We were told to not remove any pins. Everyone complied in my group and it was simple to do. There are no rakes or ball washers on the course. That's about all the pandemic stuff. Now, to the course playing conditions.

I really enjoy the layout and scenery around this course. It is fantastic. Overall, the course is in great shape. The fairways are excellent; very green and lush, with super lies. The rough is quite penal. Most of it is about 3 - 4 inches deep. And when the ball sits down you really have to hack it out. The two bunkers I was in (both greenside) had beautiful, soft sand. The bunkers were a dream to hit from. Most of the tee boxes were in good shape. However, there were a couple that were thin and had spotty coverage. Hole number 4 comes to mind.

Unfortunately, the greens on the course right now are not very good. They are very slow, even downhill putts were slow. Because of the slowness, all the breaks were exaggerated. It was very difficult to pick the right line and speed because of this. To compound the problem, the greens were likely punched and sanded a week or two ago. So the greens were also somewhat bumpy. Even though the greens were in this condition, they were playable, but don't expect to hole too many from distance.

Even with the greens in poor shape at the present time, the course is still very enjoyable to play. I don't think I minded the poor greens because I was just happy to be able to get out and play. Hopefully, once the greens heal from the aeration they will speed up and be smooth. Once that happens, this course will be a must play. Enjoy

Played 2-19-20 early morning walking as a single for $32 finishing in a little over 2 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin on some but mostly level where the markers were. The 4th tee box tha... Continue »

Played 2-19-20 early morning walking as a single for $32 finishing in a little over 2 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin on some but mostly level where the markers were. The 4th tee box that they had gotten in such good shape last year was mostly bare with some clumps of grass here and there, hopefully come spring and summer the grass will fill in with longer days and more sun on the box. Fairways were a little then and slightly muddy so not much roll out but still gave decent lies. Rough was cut pretty low along fairways and a little longer around green complexes. Was in two greenside bunkers that had a lot of nice soft sand, maybe to much but still very playable. The big aprons around the greens were in really good shape giving you the option of putting from them ( rolling pretty smooth ) or chipping from a very tight lie. Greens were in really good shape, a little soft, but rolling true at medium speed with very few unfixed pitch marks. Winter conditions right now but still in overall good condition and well worth playing.

Played here yesterday (1/26) with my partner's family on a beautiful Southern California day on a 9:20AM tee time. This was my second time playing the course and once again, I believe it to be one of ... Continue »

Played here yesterday (1/26) with my partner's family on a beautiful Southern California day on a 9:20AM tee time. This was my second time playing the course and once again, I believe it to be one of the better deals in all the state with good conditions and affordable green fees, even on a Sunday. The layout here is fun and even in winter conditions, it is worth a visit if you are in Ventura County. Tees: The tee boxes were a bit chewed up (we played Orange) and some were actually located on un-level ground (the turf where the #16 tees were placed was actually downhill). This may have been the weakest part of the course but even then we aren't talking detrimental. Fairways: Good shape overall, not as green as it was last time I played here but where it counted was in the condition of the grass. Not ever a bad lie and roll was pretty fair. Grass was cut to a good length and divots were filled for the most part. Rough: A mixed bag as a few areas (that probably weren't meant to be traditional "rough") were as deep as Torrey and the more immediate rough far less penal. The areas outside the stakes was deadly for errant shots. Bunkers: Was in two and they both played very fair. The sand here appears to be in far better shape than say Sterling Hills and there are some massive bunkers on the course, all in good shape. Good consistency of sand and plenty of rakes. Greens: Very nice and a pleasure to test your skills on. Some of the green complexes at Soule Park are huge and a bit complex to read, but in the fun not sadistic way. The speed was just about perfect; speedy but not insane with a good roll to just about every putt. A tip of the hat to the greenskeepers here! ETC: Friendly staff at check in and bar. Cart attendant came out but literally only had liquor and minimal non-alcoholic choices, no food/snacks. Carts are basic and could stand to have a tune-up or to be replaced all together (no GPS). Lots of walkers here so rounds can run heavy on POP (sorry my serious walk-only golfers, the guys here are walking third behind socializing and golfing in that order) though today even with waiting everywhere, it was about 4.75 hours. Good food at the restaurant after the round. Recommend!