i want to but cant make it happen, hit em well and enjoy!
I would join, but for work.
Lincoln Park still has raised foam noodles that go above the cup as of last weekend
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Anyone know if poppy ridge are doing raised noodles still?
Hello Bay Area! I’m a Southern California Refugee who will be on the North Coast next week and am trying to play Northwood on Monday, 11/16.
Two questions:
- any tips/tricks or other things I should know before I go?
- any one here interested in joining? It’s a weekday so I understand it could be tough but if anyone wants to join for a very casual round, I’ll be teeing off some time between 9am - 11am.
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Make sure you play twice (two nine hole loops). Grab some food and libations between the two rounds. Other than that, pretty hard to screw up. Enjoy!
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I think that is your answer. They are required to use 80% reclaimed, not able to use “xx much” potable water and make up the difference with reclaimed.
woof. that’s terrible policy. we need a ballot prop next election cycle haha
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I changed my mind…still have an open slot?
Let me know if that opening on Wednesday is still there. Would love to join you guys at Harding!
Anyone else notice 18th at Presidio in the IBM Master’s commercial? I did a double take because they’re driving the wrong way in the first shot!
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Folks!
I finally got around to looking back through the camera roll after my socal golf trip and figured I’d drop some pics and unsolicited course reviews/opinions/musings on you all.
Day 1 - Poppy Hills - Monterey, CA:
Sure, it isn’t on the ocean like it’s neighbors, but if you don’t get that special feeling when you finally get through the entrance gate at 17 mile drive… just knowing how many incredible tracks are within minutes of you and the fact you’re going to one of them.
Poppy Hills is my happy place. It’s the Trails to Monterey’s Bandon. More than any other course I’ve played in CA it reminds me of back home in VA with the pine trees and the quiet, wooded setting. Maybe it’s hearing well-struck iron shots echo through the tree corridors. Maybe it’s because somehow every hole fits my eye off the tee. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get in a fight with the guys I accidentally hit a tee ball past on #5 (they were NOT happy, and I get it). The place just does it for me.
This place is a treasure, and if it wasn’t an hour and a half away I’d be there every weekend. Did I score well this time? No. Did I putt well? Not even close. Did I care? Absolutely not.
Day 2, Round 1 - Olivas Links - Ventura, CA:
It’s tough this time of year to fit 36 holes in a day, but such was the task ahead of us for days 2-4 of the trip. On day 2 this meant rolling into Olivas Links before dawn, strapping our bags onto our push carts and hoping that sunrise would bring some warmth and that we wouldn’t regret only bringing shorts on this trip (it’s supposed to always be summer in socal!). At ~$40 for a Saturday AM tee time, Olivas links is one of the best values in golf I’ve ever played.
The cop-out comparison is to Baylands…same grass in the fairways and greens, largely flat, similar contouring, and reasonably forgiving off the tee. But Olivas improves on Baylands in some key areas. The fairways were firmer. The land is more interesting, with more shrubbery and small trees. There’s a lot of variety in the holes, and aside from the handshake par-4 opener, I was totally engaged the whole way around. Hole 11 was a standout; A dogleg-right par 4 that required a well positioned tee shot up the right close to the junk to set up a mid-iron to an elevated green.
It didn’t hurt that I was striking it well, and I was fully sold when on the #1 handicap 16th when from 170 out I hit a punch 4 iron through a tiny gap in the trees that ran out perfectly up the fairway, onto the green, and straight into the hole for an eagle 2. A birdie at the last gave me a 1-under 71 and my best score to par on the trip. Throw in the complementary breakfast burritos from their sister course just down the road after the round and the southern portion of our trip was off to a phenomenal start.
Day 2, Round 2 - Sandpiper Golf Club - Goleta, CA
You all have likely seen the tourist sauce video, so I won’t get too into the details on Sandpiper, but I do have some thoughts. We nabbed a twilight time for $100, which was a reasonable price for a weekend round considering the setting.
I’ll start with the positive. The greens were in awesome shape, and lightning-fast. There were a handful of awesome, awesome golf holes, with some quirkiness thrown in. I’m always a sucker for playing towards the ocean and getting the big reveal, so I loved #5, an elevated tee shot then straight uphill par-5 that reveals the ocean once you get to the green site. 6 was a great par 3 along the water. You’ve all seen the pictures of 10. 11 was one of the coolest par-3 settings I’ve ever played, and a perfect snapshot of what golf in southern california looks like when you close your eyes. 12, a quirky, totally-blind uphill short 4 was great. 13, a magnificent par 5 along the water with an approach requiring some strong measure of heroism.
And then…14. A long par 4, directly along the water, tilted perfectly from right to left so you can’t see even the slightest bit of the ocean. If you look at the course map, you’ll see just how much of their ocean real estate it uses. A total waste. From 14 in, the course kinda loses all the momentum it had built. All in all, I’ll echo what a lot of people have already said about the place: unreal location, some phenomenal golf holes…but boy could they have done more.
Day 3, Round 1 - Soule Park - Ojai, CA
Olivas Links is one of the best golf values on the planet. Soule Park is right up there with it. We did not take advantage of the extra hour of sleep daylight savings would have ordinarily given us Sunday, and instead headed up at the crack of dawn from Oxnard to the Ojai valley for 36 more holes of golf. The location is stunning, with mountain ranges on both sides. And the course was tremendous.
Engaging hole after engaging hole, great conditioning, closely mown green surrounds, and some incredible breakfast burritos at the turn. There was a buzz about the place on a Sunday morning. Tons of folks on the range, putting green, and even just getting breakfast and watching football on the patio. I particularly loved the 5th hole, the second of back-to-back par 5s with a partially blind approach to a huge downslope, with 30 yards of closely mown area short of the green all feeding back to the flag.
The 17th and 18th holes, on the other side of the clubhouse from the rest of the course, are the only odd pieces, and it seems they just flat-out ran out of the good land on the other side. Could there have been some other routing that would have fit all 18? Maybe, but the slightly lackluster finish does not detract from 16 excellent golf holes in one of the most picturesque places you can imagine. Compared to the fancy resort next door, Soule is an unbelievable value.
Day 3, Round 2 - Ojai Valley Inn - Ojai, CA
Ojai Valley Inn. A place so beautiful that I’d almost believe COVID isn’t allowed past the front gate.
After having played at Stanford for the past couple of years (and incredibly fortunately getting to play Riviera in January), I was excited to check out another George C. Thomas course. If you’re an architecture nut, you may be interested in this write up of the place from the fried egg (https://thefriedegg.com/ojai-valley-inn-golf-course-review/). While a lot of the original Thomas is missing, pieces do remain and there is plenty of excellent golf if you don’t let the “unoriginality” get into your head.
And why should you? In the same stunning setting as Soule, OVI throws the picturesque dial up to max. The topography was much more severe and varied than at Soule. Lots of elevation change, some blind shots, and golf holes that required strategy + commitment. Some really fun tee shots, cool bunkering, and the Shark Experience in the carts all contributed to an awesome afternoon. After walking the first 4 rounds of the trip, we were happy to prop our feet up and soak in the scenery. Pace of play wasn’t superb, but we were not in a rush. I struck it well but #couldn’tmakeanyputts, and it added up to an even-par 70 for my low round of the trip.
Day 4, Rounds 1 & 2 - Rustic Canyon - Moorpark, CA
I don’t know what I can add to what’s already been said many places about Rustic Canyon, so I’ll keep this brief. We played Rustic in January, and it was a no-brainer to go back and book 36 holes this time around. Awesome course, terrific value, and no shortage of folks who will let you know that everything breaks towards the opening of the canyon.
We got paired up with two buddies in their early 20s. The first named Quentin: Long pants, shirt tucked, soft-spoken, deliberate, serious. The second, Raphael: Tall, lanky, long red hair (think Dustin May of the Dodgers), vibrams, gym shorts, compression leg sleeves, a baseball jersey, 1-length irons, and a portable speaker cranked up. After Raphael asked the group somewhere on the back nine, “does anyone have rolling papers?”, Quentin just walked by and says “there are two types of golfers…”
I think he was right. There are two types of golfers: those who are an absolute joy to play with, and those that aren’t. These guys were firmly in the first category. I suppose there are two types of golf courses too: ones you want to play again, and ones you don’t. Rustic Canyon also belongs to the former.
Day 5 - La Purisima - Lompoc, CA
Our final round of the trip on the way back to the bay was La Purisima, one of the self-proclaimed toughest courses in CA. I didn’t know a lot about this course going in, but was very happy with what we found. The conditioning wasn’t perfect, but the layout was quite fun. Elevation change, forgiving holes, unforgiving holes, some true par 5s and stout par 3s. Pace of play was aspirational on a Tuesday morning, and we zipped around in under 3 hours. This place in proper condition would be a great tournament venue and a proper test. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to get there, but if you have time driving back this direction it’s a great place to stop on the way.
Final Thoughts
I’d be happy to (and very well may) do the exact same itinerary again in the near future. We listened to Steinbeck’s East of Eden on audiobook on the way down/back/between rounds, which was very cool given our route took us right through the setting of the book. Another highlight of the trip was snagging bottles of Stagg Jr. and Colonel EH Taylor Small Batch bourbon at reasonable prices from a mom & pop liquor store in Ojai. We’re fortunate to live around some great golf up here, and even better that there’s an easy getaway down the coast for some fantastic affordable public golf down there as well.
Cheers!
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Awesome. Def doing a similar trip next yr so I really appreciate the detailed report. Great pics. And great book choice too 
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Lessssssssgo!
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Yeah dude. I’m all in like Kokrak.
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This is a fantastic itinerary. Have played and enjoyed all these courses (I’m lukewarm on Sandpiper).
Would very much recommend checking out Monarch Dunes just a bit north of La Purisima. They have a full 18 hole course in some wild dunes and, even better, a 12 hole par 3 course (2 holes on every green - a normal cup in a difficult location and a big cup in a more accessible location) that’s loads of fun. Dunes-y, sandy, windy. Challenge par 3 course is one of my hidden gems anywhere.
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We’ll swap this in on one of the travel days next time, sounds great!
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Really agree with the poppy giving off southern vibes with the tall pines. If i ever get the need for some nostalgia and can deal with Art being a dick in the clubhouse I head to Poppy. I think it’s an underrated track for sure. (That being said, also not worth the non ncga retail price)
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