Played this course a few times thirty-five years ago when it was called Willow Park. Never thought much of it and it never made our local rotation. Fast forward: it is now called Redwood Canyon and all I remembered of it was the driving range where you hit balls into a giant pond/lake.

Since it played like a new course and I had low expectations I was very impressed. I r... » More

Played this course a few times thirty-five years ago when it was called Willow Park. Never thought much of it and it never made our local rotation. Fast forward: it is now called Redwood Canyon and all I remembered of it was the driving range where you hit balls into a giant pond/lake.

Since it played like a new course and I had low expectations I was very impressed. I remember it being short, mickey mouse and always mushy. It seems it's a little shorter now as it tops out at just under 6,000 from the tips. Many of the holes seem like their own entity in a nice, secluded canyon setting. Very scenic.

$30 to walk after 3PM, (think it drops to $20 after 4) not sure how much for a cart. Very reasonable and a pretty easy walk, tee boxes mostly close to the greens. Biggest transfer was crossing the big parking lot between 9 and 10. Fairways had some spots and different kinds of grasses, but I didn't encounter any bad lies. The greens were smooth and of medium speed. Bunkers looked crunchy but reasonable full of brown sand. Saw lots of unraked footprints as I walked by them and had to fix a million ball marks but that was pretty much it for bad stuff. We waited on every shot but finished in well under four hours. Not a hard course but not a pushover. Lots of tree trouble, and a creek meanders thru the course and slightly wayward shots will bounce into it.

I only played it because I was getting my car worked on a half hour away and I seemed to have lost my old scorecard if I ever had one. So, either they fixed it up, I have a terrible memory, or trees and canyons really fill out over 35 years (or all of the above) I left pleasantly surprised and would recommend checking it out if you had the same previous views that I had.

The shop guys were all helpful and as a big bonus I think it may run 15 or 20 degrees cooler in the summer than some of its more inland neighborhoods.
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Played last week, course is in solid shape all around. Reasonable rates in the afternoon make it well worth it.

Walked the blues this morning around 1110am with my buddy Matt joined by two nice singles Kevin and Daniel. Pop was 4 hrs 50 minutes under humid conditions around 78 degrees with maybe a one club wind. The best staff in VC County and a great practice area to work on your game.

Greens were in great shape maybe rolling about a 10 on the stimp, very healthy and holdin... » More

Walked the blues this morning around 1110am with my buddy Matt joined by two nice singles Kevin and Daniel. Pop was 4 hrs 50 minutes under humid conditions around 78 degrees with maybe a one club wind. The best staff in VC County and a great practice area to work on your game.

Greens were in great shape maybe rolling about a 10 on the stimp, very healthy and holding softly. Rated 8/10

Fairways were terrific. Nicely padded lush lies with hardly any trouble areas. Rated 8.5/10.

Rough was nice and thick lining the fairways and in good shape. Rated 8.5/10

All tees were level and lush and in great shape minus the divot damage on par 3s. Rated 8/10

Was in one bunker left greenside on 8 that looked crusty and wet on top but had a perfect layer of sand underneath. Rated 7/10.

Love my summer rounds here. Humid conditions with lush Fairways had the course playing just a tad longer today. Olivas has a great mix of some scoring holes and some hang on tight holes. The native areas look beautiful all fully grown. The golf course is in great shape. Would highly recommend a round here.

Don't miss stopping at the Varsity Club for pizzas and beers down the street right across the street from Buena Ventura Golf course...fabulous pizza and half off happy hour specials from 3-6pm.
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Played this morning on a great golf day. Weather has broken and cooler temps are appearing making the morning golf great.

With the cooler temperatures the course played a lot better than the days played when it was hot.

Tee boxes very good.

Fairways lush and firmer so some decent roll and even better lies vs the softer ones of past weeks.

T... » More

Played this morning on a great golf day. Weather has broken and cooler temps are appearing making the morning golf great.

With the cooler temperatures the course played a lot better than the days played when it was hot.

Tee boxes very good.

Fairways lush and firmer so some decent roll and even better lies vs the softer ones of past weeks.

The traps are always very playable here the only issue is we still have players who have no idea what a rake is or does.

Rough was decent length and able find and play your ball.

Greens were firmer today so chipping and putting were much better all round.

Great customer service at all levels here at this course.

IMO one of the best maintained public courses not only in N CA but all of CA.
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First day out after one week shut down for tee aeration, collar treatments, and tree trimming. Thankfully they didn't touch the greens, or it would have lowered an already dreadful rating.

Typical summer conditions with many fairways burnt out as the overseeded winter rye grass dies off waiting to get redone at the end of September. Been this way for at least six summer... » More

First day out after one week shut down for tee aeration, collar treatments, and tree trimming. Thankfully they didn't touch the greens, or it would have lowered an already dreadful rating.

Typical summer conditions with many fairways burnt out as the overseeded winter rye grass dies off waiting to get redone at the end of September. Been this way for at least six summers in a row with management always claiming that they have learned from past mistakes. They could have pulled the trigger in 2020 when the idea was floated to re-grass the course (with corresponding irrigation replacement) but Covid and cheap ownership got in the way. New owner is beginning to spend some money but not sure he wants to spend $10-15 million to completely update golf course that is held together with band aids.

Greens are in good condition, soft and medium fast. Membership still needs to learn how to fix ball marks as the dozen groups in front of us seemed to think someone else would do it for them. As noted, fairway grass very thin on probably nine scattered holes and soaked in spots creating mud balls in 95 degree heat. Visually, a real disappointment. But we have to live with it for a few months. POP was 4 hours. Carts are $30 each/pp. C'mon, $60 for a cart??
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