Balboa has it where it counts..the greens They are in great shape. The rest of the course is decent. It is not immaculate. But the fee is not $200 as well. Trees come into play more on this side compa... Continue »

Balboa has it where it counts..the greens They are in great shape. The rest of the course is decent. It is not immaculate. But the fee is not $200 as well. Trees come into play more on this side compared to Encino side. It is why I enjoy the layout slightly more on this side. The difficulty of the nines are quite apparent. The front nine is tougher and longer. There are a lot of ground under repair areas where trees have fallen on both courses. The driving range is in shambles. You will get inconsistent lies in the rough around the greens. Or maybe I need to practice my short game more...not happening...no time

Decided I needed to pump the brakes on my handicap careening from 14 towards 17 or 18 - so I headed to Balboa to settle my game down. While the course played mostly normal, Balboa is still recovering... Continue »

Decided I needed to pump the brakes on my handicap careening from 14 towards 17 or 18 - so I headed to Balboa to settle my game down. While the course played mostly normal, Balboa is still recovering from the rain and winds from the previous months. A about six trees have fallen over at various points on the course. The one on 18 is blocking most of the tee boxes - so you have to play from the most forward tees. The driving range looks like it's been transported from the poorest part of the lush deep south. Deeply overgrown where it isn't completely bare with a fallen tree caving in a portion of the retainer fence.

Balboa is grassy. The fairways are patchy as usual but mostly grassy and I thought provided good lies the whole day. The rough is grassy - cut to the exact length where you have trouble finding your ball but can still get a club on it and hit a good shot - as punitive as anyone running a muni would want. There are some nice grassy lies in the fairway bunkers... you heard me. Didn't get to play one but enjoyed the odd visual - add that one to the "to do" list along with chopping up fallen trees. Greens were in good shape and a bit faster and more difficult to read than I remembered. I thought I used to just aim at the hole and hit it....

Played 12-28-16 early morning walking as a single in a little under 3 hours for $32. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some bare spots but pretty easy to find a level stance. Fairways had a litt... Continue »

Played 12-28-16 early morning walking as a single in a little under 3 hours for $32. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some bare spots but pretty easy to find a level stance. Fairways had a little of everything, bare spots, thin spots, areas with nice lies and some spots of 2-3 inches with 5-6 different types of grass some very green and others going dormant. Rough was about the same as the fairways. Was in two greenside bunkers both semi firm but okay. I guess the practice of not raking city bunkers is still in effect. Greens were in pretty good shape, a little firm with medium/fast speed with an occasional bump. Flat easy to walk course with not much character.

Played on Saturday December 17 with a tee time around 9 am. POP was around 4 1/2 to less than 5 hours to play 18. Only had to wait a few times on the par 3 holes. Otherwise, we didn't have to wait... Continue »

Played on Saturday December 17 with a tee time around 9 am. POP was around 4 1/2 to less than 5 hours to play 18. Only had to wait a few times on the par 3 holes. Otherwise, we didn't have to wait much.

Course conditions were very good for December. LA area got some much needed rain recently. Fairways had good coverage from tee to green. There were spots here and there where the fairway lies were a little thin or bare. Also some fairways spots were a bit muddy. It was good enough to play. Rough was a little deep in spots. It got a little hard to find your ball here if you hit into the rough. Also with it being fall/winter, there were a lot of leaves on the fairways and it can get hard to find your ball. Lots of trees here on the course too.

Played from the front tees. It's nice having the yellow tees but most of the times these tees are just a flat round spot in front of the white tees. Not your usual teeing area. I can't comment on the sand in the bunkers as I didn't land in any this time. Greens were in excellent shape. Speed was about average.

Course is pretty flat to walk. There is a driving range here but you are hitting into a dirt area. There is an area here where you can practice chipping and pitching. Lots of nearby parking next to the course. Pretty big snack bar/restaurant here.

Played Balboa for the first time today (7/23) and it was pretty much what I expected - which is to say a serviceable 18 with limited frills and mostly subpar conditions. It was a hazy sky with the big... Continue »

Played Balboa for the first time today (7/23) and it was pretty much what I expected - which is to say a serviceable 18 with limited frills and mostly subpar conditions. It was a hazy sky with the big fire nearby whose smoke blocked out the direct sun but created some heavy air filled with ash.

It wasn't all bad at Balboa though (played the black tees for $52 with cart - too hot to walk). The greens were actually in quite nice shape with minimal blemishes and decent speed to them, rolling true and holding shots well.

The rest though was all pretty pedestrian though. The fairways are covered with thin lies and dry patches. You never know after a good drive what your lie will look like. The rough is okay - varies with each hole, but generally playable. Tee boxes were just okay. Sand was a different at each hole - some thin, some fluffy, some mixed.

POP was not too bad for an early Saturday. We waited a few minutes on most holes but it never really got backed up too badly and the expectation was worse then the reality. Cart girl would have been nice but never saw her. And the layout is pretty standard back and forth LA Muni - not going to leave in awe, but good enough to play it once. Not sure I'll be back anytime soon with superior courses elsewhere for same rate.

Played 7/21/16 at noon, finished in 2:30. Promo going on where twilight starts at noon instead of 3 pm so it's a solid deal. Empty course since I snagged the first twilight time.

It was a hot day i... Continue »

Played 7/21/16 at noon, finished in 2:30. Promo going on where twilight starts at noon instead of 3 pm so it's a solid deal. Empty course since I snagged the first twilight time.

It was a hot day in the valley! The course is in decent shape. The greens didn't have many ball marks on them and were bumpy but not much. Tee boxes were mostly flat and had good coverage. The fairways all had some dead spots but there were limited in size. Rough was rough and patchy. Overall enjoyed the round. Played as a single on the back and finished in 50 minutes.

Played balboa New Years Eve day and showed up around 10:30 course was packed and took a little while to get out as a twosome from the waiting list. Played in a little under 5 hours, once we finally go... Continue »

Played balboa New Years Eve day and showed up around 10:30 course was packed and took a little while to get out as a twosome from the waiting list. Played in a little under 5 hours, once we finally got out.

Tee boxes where in decent shape lush, with even lies. Some of the shorter holes a little chewed up but not bad. Fairways were brown, still had decent coverage and didn't have a problem hitting off them, just dormant winter grass. Sand in the bunkers was nice just a little wet.

The greens are a different story. Do people just not know how to fix ball marks. I know this is a busy course but comeon there must have been a dozen that I fixed every hole. Towards the end of the day they got really bumpy. I can only assume that it's from the amount of play, but they need to be rolled or something. Speed was up but with the bounces putting was a challenge.

A good day was had, but I will probably only play here without a tee time as the odds of getting out with two courses seems to make it easier

Played the course the morning of August 29th, with a 6:42 tee time as a foursome with three friends. The course was running about 5 to 10 minutes behind already so I assumed we were going to be in for... Continue »

Played the course the morning of August 29th, with a 6:42 tee time as a foursome with three friends. The course was running about 5 to 10 minutes behind already so I assumed we were going to be in for a long day. POP was about 4 hours and 15 minutes so once we got going it wasn't that bad of a wait.

Course was in good conditions considering the drought we are in with lush lies in most areas of the fairway. The rough was little thin, but it played didn't play bad or to harsh. Sand was soft. Tee boxes were in good shape mostly level except for a couple. Not to many divots except for the par 3's. Greens ran smooth, but weren't very quick at all. They held shots like darts, and I had a couple of iron shots into the greens that instead of spinning back or releasing got ended up looking like a fried egg in the sand.

I am used to playing in the Ventura area as it is cooler, and because of the wetter air from the ocean the courses seem to be in a little better shape, but I really commend the grounds crew, and would return.

Whoever the greens keeper is for Balboa ought to get a raise. Aside from the occasional non fixed divot, the greens were excellent. I was expecting less lushness due to the drought conditions. Som... Continue »

Whoever the greens keeper is for Balboa ought to get a raise. Aside from the occasional non fixed divot, the greens were excellent. I was expecting less lushness due to the drought conditions. Some parts of the fairway and were patchy but expansive fairways and fast but true greens has Balboa playing much easier than I remember. This game is hard enough but it's a fun, straight forward track that works as a good confidence booster. I don't why this course doesn't get as much play as it should. Come out and enjoy the great weather and greens before they begin the aeration.