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!

Walked the Orange tees this morning 1/6/2020 at 10am with my buddy Mack, buddy and fellow teaching pro Brian P. and his nephew Jake. Great group to play with. We came in a shade over 4 hrs for pace of... Continue »

Walked the Orange tees this morning 1/6/2020 at 10am with my buddy Mack, buddy and fellow teaching pro Brian P. and his nephew Jake. Great group to play with. We came in a shade over 4 hrs for pace of play on an absolute perfect day for golf, low 70 temps with no wind. Very friendly staff checking us in. They have a range here with mats, seperate little chipping area and a nice sloped putting green. I have been playing this course for many years and cannot remember the greens being this nice. Very quick and firm on putts and chips(would say close to a 11 on the stimp), yet holding irons beautifully. For sure the highlight of the course. Staff should be commended on how nice the greens are. Very undulating big greens here where they can put some awesome challenging pin locations. Rated 9/10 Fairways were semi-lush with most areas green and lush(epsecially for early Jan). Some wet and muddy areas in shady areas. Rated 7/10 Tees level and in good shape. Rated 7/10 Was not in any bunkers(thank goodness) but let me tell you they are white marble and are very thick. Great player in our group had a hard time getting out of them. Our group described them as almost having too much beach like sand. Would rather have to much sand rather than hard rock bunkers. Rough was mostly mowed down, uniform length and mostly lush. Rated 7/10. Soule's green complexes will challenge players along with holes 6 and 8 on the front nine and hole 14 on the back nine. Had a career round out here today--even if I didn't----- I just love the layout and weather up here. Recommended.

Walked this morning--- mid-morning 11/12/2019 with my buddy Matt on a perfect day for golf with no wind and temps in the mid 80's. POP was just a shade under 4 hours not waiting on one shot with nobod... Continue »

Walked this morning--- mid-morning 11/12/2019 with my buddy Matt on a perfect day for golf with no wind and temps in the mid 80's. POP was just a shade under 4 hours not waiting on one shot with nobody in front or behind us.

As previous reviews have stated Soule Park is in really nice shape especially for mid November.

Greens were soft and receptive on approach shots yet putted medium to quick for pace and all balls held there line beautifully. Rated 8/10

It looks to me like the tees have been resodded and leveled some and they were in great shape. Lush, green level and clean. Rated 8/10.

Fairways were mostly lush with very few problem areas. Great lies 7.5 bordering 8/10.

Was only in one bunker on #16 greenside that was in perfect shape, beach like sand that was raked to perfection.

Rough was mainly cut down to uniform nice length, mostly lush. 7/10

Highly recommended.

Played 11-9-19 early morning walking as a single for $42 and finishing in about two hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly level with good coverage and minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairway... Continue »

Played 11-9-19 early morning walking as a single for $42 and finishing in about two hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly level with good coverage and minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in really nice shape, very lush with great lies and decent roll out. Rough was in decent shape not to long with some minor bare spots the farther you get from the fairway. Was not in any bunkers but they looked to be in good condition with nice white sand. Greens might be in the best shape I have seen them in here in a long time, rolling medium/fast, smooth and holding shots like darts. Overall conditions are really nice and definitely worth playing.

played here 10/22 before 8 am as a walking single. caught up to a group on 8 & went through. thus finishing around 10:45. for $32, there may not be a better deal in golf. played the back tees & althou... Continue »

played here 10/22 before 8 am as a walking single. caught up to a group on 8 & went through. thus finishing around 10:45. for $32, there may not be a better deal in golf. played the back tees & although the card says par 72, i'd say its more like a par 70, even arguably a 69. 4/5/18 are par 5s a single digit should hit in 2 in today's game. regardless, it's a great experience and much fun, call all 3 those holes par 4.5's if you will. additionally the 6th hole is a great 230+ par 3 and they even have a grown over tee box that would make the hole 285-300, and in that case it'd be a great short par 4. although 9 isn't too long, that's 1 thing this course lacks in comparison to rustic canyon is a good short par 4. yes 9 says 333 from back, but playing uphill, it plays longer to an awesome green. overall, you have well designed memorable holes here. 10's a strong downhill par 3, 14-16 is a very challenging stretch and in totality you can see the great work gil hanse did here on billy bell course bones. i see why it's called the "sister" course to rustic canyon. although i was staying over at OVI, i came here to play instead. cant say enough good things about my soule park experience.

Walked 10/15/2019 with my buddy Matt teeing off around 10:30am finishing around 1:45pm for POP 3 hrs 15 minutes. Got to speak to the GM before the round to compliment him on how nice the course has be... Continue »

Walked 10/15/2019 with my buddy Matt teeing off around 10:30am finishing around 1:45pm for POP 3 hrs 15 minutes. Got to speak to the GM before the round to compliment him on how nice the course has been looking. I have been playing here almost 30 years and have never seen the course this nice this late in the season. Weather was perfect mid 80's with a slight breeze. Greens were super receptive, soft and rolling medium pace. Hardly any ballmarks and in great shape. Gil Hanse design greens were there are I believe 7 different hole locations on the pin sheets. Rated 8/10 Fairways are incredible for mid October. Mostly all green lush areas, ball sitting up beautifully. They have some nice strategic fairway bunkers that come to mind. #12 right in the middle of the fairway is my friend as I flied it right into the face of the bunker. So impressed with the fairways. 8/10 bordering on a 8.5/10 Tees are mostly lush and I believe more level than before possibly? Rated 7.5/10 Was not in any greenside bunkers and just one fairway bunker that was in perfect shape and easy to get out of. Rated 8/10 Rough is mostly lush and uniform and in decent shape. Course has done an amazing job for those shots that don't find the fairway--they have cleaned some areas up in and around the rough. Rated 7.5/10. I just love both Ojai Valley Inn and Soule Park--the way these 2 courses are looking and the peaceful vibe of Ojai I wish Ojai had a couple more courses to boast this great laid back city. Recommended.

With how busy I’ve been burning the candle at both ends preparing/testing the GreensKeeper iPhone app, Saturday’s golf round, an invite from last month I accepted from a client, came at the perfect ti... Continue »

With how busy I’ve been burning the candle at both ends preparing/testing the GreensKeeper iPhone app, Saturday’s golf round, an invite from last month I accepted from a client, came at the perfect time.

I played in an outstanding golf tournament in support of the Ojai Valley Family Shelter and of course Soule Park was the perfect the host. This was a very well run event with a full field. We teed off just after 8:00am and finished in just over 5 hours but it was one of those tournaments with fun games on the course which contributed to long round. Plus it was hot. High 90’s.

Golf course was in excellent shape. Greens running smooth, fast and holding shots. Fairway lush with decent roll out. Rough lush but cut down so not much of a factor. Most fairways are generously open so grip and rip! However miss the fairways and there is a steep price to pay. Trees, brush, bunkers or small water hazards. Speaking of the bunkers…fantastic. Beautifully designed with quality white sand. From the tee boxes, love the site lines and gorgeous Ojai backdrops. Tee boxes were in good shape, lush with some divot damage.

I snapped some photos to check out – highly recommended!

Played 8/6 with Mr. Kich on an unseasonably cool morning. Starter was very nice and let us out at our leisure as the course was pretty empty on a weekday morning.

Not much to complain about. My l... Continue »

Played 8/6 with Mr. Kich on an unseasonably cool morning. Starter was very nice and let us out at our leisure as the course was pretty empty on a weekday morning.

Not much to complain about. My last time out here was in the thick of the drought and it was clear that the lack of water at the time really took a toll on the course. Now, Soule is about as lush as any other course in Southern California.

Greens were unquestionably the highlight of the course. Large and incredibly smooth, they putted true as can be. In fact, the slightly overcast and damp morning made them even trickier than usual, as the large linksy greens didn't play as firm as you'd expect.

Fairways were lush and provided great lies. Tighter near the greens to allow for various options. A few bare areas, but they were few and far between and for the most part relegated to the areas least likely to see play.

Rough was thick and lush and definitely provided a challenge to play from, especially near the greens.

Sand was a little hit or miss, but it didn't feel terribly out of place given the links-esque feel of the course. Greenside bunkers were soft and sandy, while fairway bunkers were more inconsistent.

The tees were for the most part in very good condition, however a few had quite a bit of divot damage and looked like they needed to be rotated a little.

POP was pretty leisurely. Mr. Kich and I were playing our GK Cup match, so we were probably a little slower than we would normally have played. A single did show up in front of us on 10 and never got more than a hole in front of us. A minor annoyance, but since we were still moving at a brisk pace, it wasn't much of a bother.

If Soule Park was closer, I would play it regularly and often. It's an absolute steal for the condition it's in. It's a very fair test of golf, fun and challenging for all handicaps (a plethora of tee options), a great layout, putting green, practice bunker, and customer service.

Played 8/6 at 9 am with USCDodger. POP 3 hours.

I came away from this round extremely impressed with the course all around.

The tee boxes were all healthy and level.

The fairways were very... Continue »

Played 8/6 at 9 am with USCDodger. POP 3 hours.

I came away from this round extremely impressed with the course all around.

The tee boxes were all healthy and level.

The fairways were very good to great and had only a couple very isolated areas that needed some attention. They provided some good cushion which made hitting the ball great but took some roll off the drives.

The rough was thick but not overly penal. Was consistent in areas near the fairways but was a bit spottier once you got away from the fairway.

The sand was well stocked and was fine.

The greens were the highlight of the course. They were big, undulating, smooth, and fast. They held shots very well. Downhillers were a nightmare.

Service was excellent and allowed us to tee off a little early and were friendly.