Played today, Sat 8/3, knowing what to expect from a course that was underwater a good bit of the winter.
As expected, fairways were not great: Mixture of some grass, many bare spots, weeds and rare... Continue »

Played today, Sat 8/3, knowing what to expect from a course that was underwater a good bit of the winter.
As expected, fairways were not great: Mixture of some grass, many bare spots, weeds and rarely a good lie.
Rough could be thick or non-existent.
Greens were nice, in good shape and soft.
Bunkers were ok, but some have grass growing in them. I saw piles of sand so maybe they are getting ready to work on them.
Range balls were good, the staff I interacted were nice. There was a Marshal and a beverage cart.
It is still a fun track to play with friends.

From 7/29


Really enjoyed Encino! Did not see Encino Man.


Got out Monday morning onto Encino Golf Course and glad I did so. Will not go into course design details as such are noted in prio... Continue »

From 7/29


Really enjoyed Encino! Did not see Encino Man.


Got out Monday morning onto Encino Golf Course and glad I did so. Will not go into course design details as such are noted in prior reviews.


I note the course was not in top tier condition as such has been battling the Summer Heatwave, but was still in reasonably good playing condition given the climate. Pace of play was around 4.0 hours. I note the following conditions:


Tee Boxes: Level and mixed with green. Limited bare spots noted. Condition average for a Muni.


Fairways: Green and defined from rough. Condition average for a Muni.


Greens: Green, slow in speed, with softness. Speed about a 10. Condition average for a Muni.


Sand: Bunkers were OK in some areas, and other in other areas were not maintained as grass was growing. Condition below average for a Muni.


Rough: maintained and defined, about 3 – 5 inches. Condition average for a Muni.


Really enjoyed this course as the design is flat but strong if playing from the tips. This course is a go-to that I always seem to enjoy. Despite the heat, the course was still doing fairly good. If looking for an enjoyable round of golf in the SF Valley, this is great place to play. And try to the Club Sandwich after your round, it is so good.

Having an appointment in the Valley, decided I would try to play one of the Sepulveda Dam courses. Was actually hoping to get out on Balboa but ended up on Encino. Used to play here quite often when I... Continue »

Having an appointment in the Valley, decided I would try to play one of the Sepulveda Dam courses. Was actually hoping to get out on Balboa but ended up on Encino. Used to play here quite often when I lived in Westchester, but South OC to Encino is a long haul in traffic. Since it's been a while, I should have adjusted which tees I played, because many of the holes have become unreachable in regulation for me now. While the holes themselves are not all that demanding, just the length of some of the holes made scoring a rather daunting endeavor.

Course was in pretty nice condition overall. Greens better than expected - rolled well and had decent pace. Fairway coverage decent for the most part. I could always find a spot to tee it up without issue. Only in one bunker and it was fine. If/when I make the trip to the Valley, I hope to get on Balboa, but if I end up on Encino, I will PLAY IT FORWARD.

I don't have much to add to roarksown1's review/rating for last Friday, June 7. This facility has two courses and sees a lot of play. There's a huge parking lot, parkland adjacent, large practice area... Continue »

I don't have much to add to roarksown1's review/rating for last Friday, June 7. This facility has two courses and sees a lot of play. There's a huge parking lot, parkland adjacent, large practice area, and an old-school vibe that screams MUNI GOLF! Feels like going back in time. The proshop and cafe looks like your typical 60's high school single-story brick building. The restroom indicates "Men's/Women's locker room" but is nothing more than a restroom with no hot water or towels. Like the Woodley Lakes course nearby the two courses here are more or less flat. Lots of huge trees line every fairway and offer great shade during the heat of summer. If you like shade, just stay out of the fairways!

Good times to be had here and the price is right.

Played Encino this past week with kviser for our GK Cup match and am happy to report that this heavy-usage track is actually in quite good shape right now and well worth your time for the value. We pl... Continue »

Played Encino this past week with kviser for our GK Cup match and am happy to report that this heavy-usage track is actually in quite good shape right now and well worth your time for the value. We played from the blue tees and I walked with a ridiculously affordable $32 rate. That just can't be beat anywhere, can it?

No one is going to mistake Encino for Bel-Air anytime soon, but it's at or near the top of its user-friendly game right now with well-covered fairways that mostly left good shots available (yes, of course you're going to find some thin patches out there), decent rough that wasn't difficult to play from, average bunkers that were playable and tee boxes that were far from pristine but level and in good working order.

The greens were in very fine shape indeed, however they rolled a bit slower than they appeared, however we all adapted fairly quickly as the day rolled on. They are consistent, hold shots very well and rolled pretty darn true. I can't even complain about too many pitch marks as it seems that most patrons had done a good job fixing them. Long may it last!

POP was pretty good as well with no major delays until the par 3 15th. It's a very long and tough hole so it usually always backs up there with so many bogeys or worse on the table. Didn't see any cart service either to my recollection, but we refueled at the turn a bit.

I would definitely recommend Encino right now for a great value and a solid if unspectacular golf course that will give you your fill as required.

Played 01/17/24. Staff was great. Fairways are terribly inconsistent. Some areas are thick, some are hard-pan, some areas are dirt and there is often no real delineation between rough and fairway. Gre... Continue »

Played 01/17/24. Staff was great. Fairways are terribly inconsistent. Some areas are thick, some are hard-pan, some areas are dirt and there is often no real delineation between rough and fairway. Greens were OK and so slow it was tough to make yourself putt it hard enough. Trees are in excellent shape and excel at knocking balls down. Pace of play was a zippy 3:45 and that was a pleasant surprise.

Played a twilight Friday round at Encino with a buddy and can't think of many better deals than $24 to walk and $34 to ride. Pretty outstanding in this day and age. And the course did not disappoint, ... Continue »

Played a twilight Friday round at Encino with a buddy and can't think of many better deals than $24 to walk and $34 to ride. Pretty outstanding in this day and age. And the course did not disappoint, either.

We played from the blue tees with a 1:55pm tee time and headed out after a nice range session and after being paired up with a pleasant older couple. POP was pretty smooth throughout the round with only minimal extended waits and the group in front of us took off after the 12th hole so it was smooth sailing after that. Even saw cart service out there for the first time ever!

In terms of conditions, pretty darn good I must say. Greens are actually in really nice shape and moving much faster than normal. I could never really adjust mentally to the speed and had a pretty poor putting round that kind of sabotaged what would have been a very good round (including one four-putt). But that's my fault - not the very good greens.

Fairways have good to decent coverage throughout and the rough is only really thick in very select areas. Generally speaking I had pretty darn good lies throughout the day. I was only in one bunker and it played far better than it looked. Tee boxes were all nice and level but some were definitely lacking in the grass department and had to kind of search around for the right spot. But nothing horrific there ... all in all a good showing from the heavily-trafficked Encino course.

Not a lot of trouble to get into here but a good strong selection of long par 3s and definitely a course to build some confidence on if that's what you need.

This is very late as I played Friday, 6/30 at 1:50, but since the previous post is from back in late April, it makes this pretty current. I played from the whites, joining another single and a twosome... Continue »

This is very late as I played Friday, 6/30 at 1:50, but since the previous post is from back in late April, it makes this pretty current. I played from the whites, joining another single and a twosome with me being the sole walker. The short story is it played well and I enjoyed it. Teeing is fine, fairways are a less than aesthetically pleasing psychedelic mix of grasses, but they are mown evenly, give reasonably good lies and are starting to dry up and give more rollout. In many cases, the rough is not significantly longer than the fairways. Bunkers were in decent shape and mostly clean. The surrounding areas provided generally good but variable short game opportunities and the greens themselves were in good shape — consistantly medium quick, a little spongey and mostly clean with few marks. Being one of the first days when the temps were due to bump up 10º or more, I was a little leery about walking but it is a good walking course. It didn't get oppressively hot and there was a nice breeze to take some of the edge off. The twosome was nice, the single a bit touchy, but he loosened up by the end. The price was right, pace varied but came in at about 4.25 hrs. Straight forward muni golf, and with the appropriate expectations, nothing to complain about. As stated above, I enjoyed it.

Played Encino on Saturday 4/29 early morning. First time since the heavy rains earlier this year, and wanted to see how the greens were healing since aeration a few weeks ago. The course overall is lo... Continue »

Played Encino on Saturday 4/29 early morning. First time since the heavy rains earlier this year, and wanted to see how the greens were healing since aeration a few weeks ago. The course overall is looking pretty nice. Tee boxes were just ok, but fairways were really nice and green. The rough is pretty penal which seems to be how every course is at the moment, so getting drives into the fairway is worth it. The greens are doing pretty well but probably need about 1 or 2 more weeks before they are perfect. Right now they are quite shaggy and slow, and pretty bumpy. It’s definitely playable and enjoyable but putts are somewhat inconsistent and will move in different directions depending on which part of a recovering aeration hole you may hit on the way towards the hole. The putting surfaces aren’t too sandy though which is a great thing. And the fairways are so good right now it’s worth playing for sure. Pace was a little slow because we started to run into the back nine folks on the second half of the round but finished in around 4 hrs 10 mins so not terrible.