It’s been 7-9 months since I’ve played Coyote Creek and apparently even longer since I last wrote a review. The course... » More

It’s been 7-9 months since I’ve played Coyote Creek and apparently even longer since I last wrote a review. The course conditions here always remain constantly good and today was no exception. My Buddy and I teed off in near dark to ensure we had a quick round. In fact the only reason it took us nearly 3 hours to finish is we often waited for the grounds crew to finish mowing the greens.

Even though it was cold, dark and we just had rain two days ago, the course played very well. Greens were smooth at a decent pace (some were a bit slower due to us being in front of the mower and the greens being damp). Greens at Coyote are on the firm side and don’t often hold approach shots as well as you’d like. It didn’t help that I was playing a second tier ball today and that my iron game went to complete garbage 1/3 of the way through the round. Greens at Coyote have the perfect amount of undulations to them. enough to keep it from being boring but nothing that enters the 3 ring circus world.

Fairways were nice and lush. Very green throughout and dry. Tee boxes were just short of immaculate. Very level and perfectly mowed with only a few divots here and there. I was not in any greenside bunkers but was in a couple of fairway traps and they too were great. Coyote Creek is a well maintained fun course that’s worthy of a stop if traveling on Highway 101 which splits the course.
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Just as I said about the course when we played in the summer, all that green grass in fairways was GRAB GRASS and when i... » More

Just as I said about the course when we played in the summer, all that green grass in fairways was GRAB GRASS and when it died you have dirt. Moving ball around in fairways is the only way to play the course right now unless you want to practice hitting off bare dirt lies, you will have plenty. I kinda liked the fine dirt in the sand traps, different and really easy to get out of, just think lob shot dirt will not stop you like sand. Greens were slow and most puts fairly straight even if you do not read them that way. Did not think we would get any better playing conditions than we did, but we agreed to moving ball around in fairways so it was still fun. Just have to play some of these far less than perfect courses now if you want a good tee time.
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Walked the golds 12/19/24 with my buddy Mark and two of his work colleagues Mike and Kyle who were a pleasure to play wi... » More

Walked the golds 12/19/24 with my buddy Mark and two of his work colleagues Mike and Kyle who were a pleasure to play with. Our POP was 4 hrs 45 minutes teeing off at 12 noon and finishing with about 15 minutes to spare watching the SB sunset at our backs as we walked back up to the clubhouse. We maybe had a club of wind midway through the front nine that was very mild all day. It was almost 70 degrees as a high just picture perfect SB/Goleta weather with sunny skies. Super friendly staff. We had a driver head fly off on 7 tee for one of our playing partners.

He was able to rent a driver at the turn. Cartgirl around several times, very friendly cartbarn staff. Top notch customer service here. They have a very sloped putting green and a grass range.

The conditions were very good for December golf. Fairways were really nice besides hole 8 that looked a little drier and thinner than the other 17 holes. All other holes were semi lush to lush with good lies. Rated 8/10


Tees were mostly level, very lush and very soft at times wet. Good shape! Rated 8/10.

Rough cut down very low left of 13, left of 14, right of 15,
left of 16 and right of 17. This dramatically improves pace and makes the course more manageable if you do happen to spray one which I did once going a little left on 13. The fairway rough just off the fairways inside the cart paths
was beautiful lush and around 3 inches thick. Rating that portion of the rough a solid 8.5/10.




Was not in any greenside or fairway bunkers but they looked decent maybe a bit thin at times

Saving the best for last the greens. They were a solid 12.5 on the stimp. Downhill 15 footers had to be treated as 2 to 3 foot putts to give you an idea. They were rolling very quick and true. One of the main reasons I come out to
Sandpiper is to putt these greens. If you can putt these here on a day like today you can putt anywhere. Rated 9.5/10

Highly endorse this track. It is one of Socal's gems.
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Played here first time Dec 19th in afternoon. I'm from NorCal so was anxious to do a little compare. First off, staff w... » More

Played here first time Dec 19th in afternoon. I'm from NorCal so was anxious to do a little compare. First off, staff was excellent from shop, to range, starter & cart girl who we saw 3x which was sufficient. Much has already been said about conditions which are what they are but I really like the layout where I don't think any hole is the same, it's a thinking golfer's course. Value was not there for me as a non-member. I paid $150 w/cart to play in the afternoon and on Tuesday I had played Poppy Hills in Pebble for $125 with cart (afternoon rate). Poppy is many tiers above Coyote Hills, no where close. POP was slow too, much waiting on most holes.
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Played Thursday, 12/19, 9:30 tee time. Friend called me last week, said if you can get out of work the golf is on me. ... » More

Played Thursday, 12/19, 9:30 tee time. Friend called me last week, said if you can get out of work the golf is on me. Sorry boss, free golf beats work any day.
Perfect day for golf. Sunny, warm, no wind. Paired with a father and son, good guys. Course is in fantastic winter shape. Tee boxes were in good shape for the most part, level, and easy to find a good spot to tee up. A few of the white tee boxes are being worked on, doesn't affect play. The fairways green, full coverage, ball sits up nicely. Rough not long, brownish/yellowish frames the fairways perfectly. Greens rolled well, medium speed. Subtle breaks that are hard for me to read accurately. A few 3 putts that shouldn't have been.
We started on #10 - not sure why but not an issue. Drink cart around a few times on each side.
This is one of my favorite OC courses. Somehow they make you feel very secluded in the middle of the city. No houses and very little street noise, although that appears to be changing as there is some construction going on adjacent to the course. Staff very helpful and friendly. My friend has their membership deal which makes the greens fees more reasonable. Highly recommend you get out here and play.
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Hit Soule park today 12/19, for the first time in about 30 years. i never played it a lot, but the times I did when I wa... » More

Hit Soule park today 12/19, for the first time in about 30 years. i never played it a lot, but the times I did when I was living in the area gave an appreciation of it as solid and scenic course. The Gil Hanse makeover was something I wanted to check out and I finally got around to it. I was not disappointed. Very nice conditions all around with some Hanse touches, like the extended close-mown areas beyond the official fringes to extend the putting options. Fairways tended to be more open and reasonably forgiving, offset with character to the greens complexes which often had significant contours to consider. Local knowledge helps because being on the correct side of the green or below the hole frequently made a big difference in your chances to score well, but often you couldn't see/gauge that from the fairway. Summarizing: tee boxes fine, fairways nice, rough not very punitive, bunkers in very nice shape, greens also in nice shape, reasonably quick and generally challenging. There is a nice flow to the course and the surrounding hills and mountains create a very attractive and somewhat dramatic setting. Pace was fairly steady, if a touch sluggish. We teed off a little after 12:00 and were the second to last group to finish on 18 with just enough daylight.

I didn't get to try it out, but the clubhouse has been improved and the restaurant there has a good reputation as a place to eat. It has open areas and places to perch with sightline to the course. Basically a cool spot whether a golfer or not. GDR25 has praised the place for its overall value and the quality of the course and I have to concur. I also have to find excuses to get back here more than every 30 years or so.
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In Solvang for a few days, teed off @noon on Tuesday, 12/17. A beautiful day to play, I caught the single ahead of me on... » More

In Solvang for a few days, teed off @noon on Tuesday, 12/17. A beautiful day to play, I caught the single ahead of me on the 4th hole and we continued together. Per my previous reviews, I don't think this is the most interesting course around – generally flat and fairly straight forward – but the setting is very scenic and the conditions are pretty good all around. Good conditions tee to green with rough more often benign than not. I also found the bunkers well maintained with good sand. The greens were particularly clean and putted well at a reasonably quick speed. Behind some foursomes, the pace was about 4.5 hrs which seemed more sluggish than it needed to be, but it was as good a place as any to spend the extra time taking in views of the surrounding landscape.

An additional note: I took my wife and in-laws down to the course restaurant the previous day for lunch for the first time. Good food and service in a nice setting. There is a patio area outside that is a great setting for dining but it was chilly that day and only indoor dining. I don't know if it is otherwise used this time of year, but a great spot in warmer weather. Breakfast and lunch during the week with early dinners on the weekend. The Christmas decorations were off the hook.
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Played today. Greens are back in good and almost great shape. Fairways have decent coverage and good roll out. No tee bo... » More

Played today. Greens are back in good and almost great shape. Fairways have decent coverage and good roll out. No tee box issues. Traps all playable but not being raked well. No issue with rough to speak of. Great customer service as always from Christian and Madison. Holiday rates Christmas eve New Years eve Christmas day and New Years day. 57 with cart 40 walking. Rate increases 2025.
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played sun 12/15, 7:45, 4:40 round. another socal nostalgia stop for me, must be a decade since I played here last. Ac... » More

played sun 12/15, 7:45, 4:40 round. another socal nostalgia stop for me, must be a decade since I played here last. Actually, the clubhouse was not finished. So, cold morning. Course in pretty good shape. Greens firm and fast. lots of unfixed ball marks.. small ones, cuz the firmness, so had to smooth out a lot of marks on my line. very grainy, which i never fully figured out. Probably 12 downgrain, 10 up grain. Rough is dormant. Bunkers not raked all over. Need to have good course knowledge to score here. Had a good time.
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Our final Private Course outing of 2024 went fantastic on 12/16. Thank everyone that came out to this one or the others ... » More

Our final Private Course outing of 2024 went fantastic on 12/16. Thank everyone that came out to this one or the others I've organized this year.

I had a great time playing with GKer sparky14, Anthony and Ben. Saw a bunch of other GKers there and members of the Facebook Group – Southern California Golf Community, which I'm in.

Western Hills CC was in excellent shape.

Greens were fast, mostly smooth and holding shots. Man were they challenging and fun.

Fairways were lush, mostly firm with full coverage.

Rough was lush, cut low, just about an inch above fairway height (bringing all the false fronts into play – especially hole 7 – be long on approach on that hole!)

Tee boxes were lush, groomed and mostly level. The course just finished its tee box renovations to Holes 8 & 10. Great job.

Bunkers were inconsistant with some having fresher sand than others. Some soft with most firm.

As for the layout, its a fun very demanding, mature tree lined, hilly track. Missing the fairways almost always results in an obstructed next shot by an abundance of large assorted trees. Level lies are hard to come by and if you miss the green on approach there is high probability of a tough up & down. Once on the greens…. if you think its going to break, its going to break more, if you think that downhill put is fast, its faster. There are many of hard breaks combined with subtle breaks which always keep me guessing on my reads. Add to that what I call the "Hill Effect". Most holes out there are either going up or down hill creating some optical illusions to the untrained eye putting... OK can you tell the greens have tormented me in all 4 rounds I've played there?

As far as running an outing at Western Hills CC, I’ve already booked two more for 2025. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The parking, clubhouse, and close proximity to practice putting/driving range make it very easy to keep track of all your players. They have a cozy grill/café to grab a bite to eat before the rounds and very large banquet room should you have additional needs. Great people to work with.

Check Out The Photos I posted.

Highly Recommended.
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Played 12/7 at 10AM. Check in was fast. Everyone in the pro shop was very nice. Went to the range to warm up before my r... » More

Played 12/7 at 10AM. Check in was fast. Everyone in the pro shop was very nice. Went to the range to warm up before my round started. Beautiful practice facility at Goose Creek. I could spend hours a day practicing out there and enjoy every minute.

Course was in fantastic shape. Tee boxes were all level. Fairways were cut perfectly and had some roll out. Bunkers were good shape. Greens were holding shots very well and rolling very nice.

Goose Creek is a course that is made for everyone. You can walk it very easily and it makes you feel like your at a high end course without the high end price tag.
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Just an incredible golf course. I was wowed by the layout and the challenge. Played with one ball, was in the middle of ... » More

Just an incredible golf course. I was wowed by the layout and the challenge. Played with one ball, was in the middle of every fairway, 3 putted twice and still shot 90. Pure torture and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Not tricked up, just a flat-out tough course. Gold tees played 6375 but with the overseeded fairways and the elevation changes it played longer. Lots of deep bunkers defending greens on all sides, many in front. The course was in excellent shape all-around. Teed off at 1:20 with some friendly Canadian snowbirds who slowed down at the end, but we finished with about 15 min of light left. Got a Golfnow deal so that made it very reasonable, but my cheap ass might even pay the rack rate. Highly recommend.
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