Played 2nd time ever here. Played in 2.5 hours, by myself. The course is still in great shape. Only one green that had a bad case of something, may be someone destroyed it on purpose. The tee boxes ar... Continue »

Played 2nd time ever here. Played in 2.5 hours, by myself. The course is still in great shape. Only one green that had a bad case of something, may be someone destroyed it on purpose. The tee boxes are in great shape. You have to stay in the fairway, the rough is usually dirt, but that is the same for Pinehurst.

Played an early round this morning, walking in about 2 1/2 hours. Yesterday and today they just punched the fairways so it's not the best conditions right now. That being said, the greens were rollin... Continue »

Played an early round this morning, walking in about 2 1/2 hours. Yesterday and today they just punched the fairways so it's not the best conditions right now. That being said, the greens were rolling really pure, the tees were great and everything else was good. I might give it a week or so before heading out. You could bump the ball to avoid the holes or dirt plugs, but the grass also is a bit long since they couldn't get the mower on it. Still a fun time out there and with the greens good it's still worth the $20 or so bucks to walk it.

Played the front 9 at Goat Hill Park on Friday with AndrewZ28. Walked, great workout even for 9 holes. We had a blast. It was my first time playing it since the renovations were completed. Challenging... Continue »

Played the front 9 at Goat Hill Park on Friday with AndrewZ28. Walked, great workout even for 9 holes. We had a blast. It was my first time playing it since the renovations were completed. Challenging course not to be taken for granted. Small undulating greens. Lots of elevation changes. Nice views. Lots of forced carries. Holes you are tempted to bomb your driver on but best to play smart. I’m disappointed I did not get in the back nine but, hey, great reason to get back out there hopefully soon. Super cool vibe by the staff. Very relaxed ambiance with some music playing. I met the GM Peter, great guy with plans to build a kitchen and improve the driving range. I think the course overall was in very good shape. The greens were in great shape. Moderately fast, smooth and firm. Greenside surrounds lush. Fairways mostly dry but lush in many places. Bunkers well maintained with quality sand that I was in. Rough, besides greenside, not very existent which in turn adds a difficultly factor to the course where if you miss the fairways in some areas, your ball will find some hardpan and go for an unexpected journey. Here is what you don’t want to do, take someone on that has USGA index at Goat Hill Park. Especially on their home turf. The golf course is massively under rated. Another thing you don’t want to do is walk this course if you have a heart condition. There are some very severe hills to take on. But what you do want to do is play this little gem. I know I will. Posted some photos. Check them out!

Heard a lot about the local joint called Goat Hill. I didn't attend Harvard, but I blew past the name and decided to walk the course. I will never do that again. It was a workout. Overall, the course ... Continue »

Heard a lot about the local joint called Goat Hill. I didn't attend Harvard, but I blew past the name and decided to walk the course. I will never do that again. It was a workout. Overall, the course is great! The greens were just as good as the new ones at Torrey Pines North. The fairways are in good shape. The course is challenging due to have to play a few trees and doglegs. Fun course and I recommend it. If your first time, tell the clubhouse, they have a card with local tips for each hole that really helped. I will always support a Muni, especially when the greens are in that good shape.

Played here on 6/28 at 7 AM. No one here but the guy in the Pro Shop. Only the second time playing here.

Greens: really in great condition, smooth, holding and running at a slow to medium speed.
... Continue »

Played here on 6/28 at 7 AM. No one here but the guy in the Pro Shop. Only the second time playing here.

Greens: really in great condition, smooth, holding and running at a slow to medium speed.

Fairways/Rough: a variety of grass on the fairway, not that bad. Real issue is if you miss the fairway by 2-3 yards you can end up 20-30 yards down into a valley because of the decomposed granite. If you are accurate, no problem!

Traps: well conditioned traps, some of the better traps I've been in the past few month.

Very confusing to navigate from the green to the next T box. Great "tips" sheet in the Pro shop is helpful.
Also, very hilly, tough to walk when you are in your mid 70's.
Grass driving range and two putting greens. Good to see the Pro conducting a junior golf class.

Finally played Goat Hill Park for the first time today. Their tee sheet looked wide open on the website, so I didn’t make a tee time and arrived around 1:00. I had a coupon from some sort of community... Continue »

Finally played Goat Hill Park for the first time today. Their tee sheet looked wide open on the website, so I didn’t make a tee time and arrived around 1:00. I had a coupon from some sort of community discount card purchased from a Boy Scout that was buy one green fee, get one free, so it was $26 for my son and I to walk. Very friendly woman in the pro shop welcomed us and gave us a little “Local Knowledge” card as an addendum to the scorecard. That was a big help for us first timers. The range was busy but few people seemed to be heading out on the course. After my son hit a small bucket, we teed off. Walking pace was about 3:25, getting pushed a little by a twosome in a cart on the last couple holes. Pretty good breeze most of the afternoon, sunny skies and temps in the upper 60s. Course conditions are quite good. The greens seem very healthy. I think salt air does them good, because they reminded me a bit of the greens at Olivas Links. Very thick, strong turf that felt sort of wiry when you fixed ball marks. Despite the great coverage and smooth cut, they were quite slow. I’d say slow to medium-slow. I can’t remember the last time I played greens this slow, and I had a hard time adjusting. They were also pretty firm. The few full shots where I actually hit the green today all took a bounce or two before stopping. Fairways were pretty lush with good coverage. Rough varied from bare spots to dry grass to lush, nasty green grass. Tee boxes were good. Neither my son nor I were in any bunkers. There aren’t many bunkers on the course, but the ones I saw looked quite good. Opinions on this course seem to run the gamut, but I enjoyed it a lot. Tons of elevation changes, and really great topography for golf. It’s tough, too. Definitely a good workout to walk it. The par-4 12th was my favorite hole, which plays from an elevated tee to a diagonal fairway, and then up a chute to the small, elevated green. A few minor nitpicks: I didn’t see any drinking water available on the course; would love to see a few jugs added throughout the course. The routing is a bit confusing for a first-time visitor, but we never got too lost. I got burned on a few holes by lack of local knowledge, where I hit what I thought were good shots and then they weren’t. Guess I’ll just have to go back! Oh, also, we saw a big snake on the 10th green! To see that and 49 other photos of Goat Hill Park, copy and paste this url to access my Flickr photo album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskVoKTYU

Played today 4/5/17 with 2 groups fm Oside early morning. Said I'd never play here again after it brought me to tears of disappointment years ago... so my review will be based off of comparison of w... Continue »

Played today 4/5/17 with 2 groups fm Oside early morning. Said I'd never play here again after it brought me to tears of disappointment years ago... so my review will be based off of comparison of waaaaaaay back then and how it rolled today. One word sums it up (in my humble opinion) = Impressed. Adams family haunted mansion entry gate, fixed. Clubhouse outside facelift, nice. Practice Putting/chipping area, Excellent. Driving range (although downhill), neat surfboard looking targets, level (albeit a bit divotted up today from all the use). Staff, as before, very welcoming/pleasant and obviously proud of the Goat (as they should be). Course layout changed around as Hole 1 was 10 and 10 was 1, as well as some other changes; a definite improvement. Tee boxes level, with Grass. Playing from the tips, even on this short course, can humble even the best. Fairways rolled out nicely and had, dare I say it, Grass - Awesome. Rough - well, a marked improvement for sure, but very punishing if you stray too far left or right. Simply keep it in the middle (riiiiiiiiight!) ;)
Bunkers had adequate sand, very playable, again a mega improvement from when I last played. The Greens were above and beyond remarkable, but far from easy. Soft, receptive, undulating, rolled pretty true, but very slow today. No major ball mark damage that I recall. Course knowledge is certainly a must for good scoring. There are several areas on the course that can be very misleading, and great shots off the tee, not so good after all. Pace of play was great...course was not crowded so it made for a very enjoyable, non-pressured round. Cart paths still could use some improvement, but hey...the Goat has my thumbs up vote. It is laid back, welcoming, family friendly and worth the green fee. Never thought I'd ever say it, but I truly did enjoy this quirky, quaint, Oceanside gem. Note: there is a disc golf course that winds through the golf course as well. We didn't run into anyone playing on it today, nice. In summary: Way to go owners/management and staff - hope others see fit to Give the Goat a Go!! I'm glad we did. Oh, nice Linksoul aparrel available in the pro shop also; along with neat pictures and other offerings.

I have not played here all that often, but I can represent that the course is in the best condition I have ever seen it in! The greens were the best part of the course, even though we had no cut green... Continue »

I have not played here all that often, but I can represent that the course is in the best condition I have ever seen it in! The greens were the best part of the course, even though we had no cut greens, they rolled well and true, albeit they were too slow for my taste. I'm certain once mowed, they'd be just fine. As always, lots of areas of bare dirt, but where there were fairways, they were green and pretty lush. Only in one bunker and it was fine.

The more I play here, the more I enjoy and appreciate this course. Playing from the "tips" it is by far the most difficult "short" course I have ever played. The senior special of $19 including cart is a bargin. If I lived closer,I'd play this place a lot more !

Played to new Goat Hill with Abbacat. Semi-busy on Xmas observed, but a steady pace of 4hrs on a course full of hackers. I really liked the work that Ashworth has done to the course. I remember p... Continue »

Played to new Goat Hill with Abbacat. Semi-busy on Xmas observed, but a steady pace of 4hrs on a course full of hackers. I really liked the work that Ashworth has done to the course. I remember playing here before the reclamation project to save the course and it was a dog track. Barely any turf cover on the fairways, horribly bumpy green and an adventuresome cart ride. Totally new experience this time around. The new green complexes are immaculate and the new turf cover is exponentially better than before. The car paths are still a "fun ride", but that is only an issue if it's really muddy. This course is actually a pet project of John Ashworth, founder of Ashworth Golf and Linksoul. I really sense the affinity and care that Mr. Ashworth has for the area and the course. It almost feels like an honor to play his backyard course. As the turf grow in, the playing conditions will only improve. NOTE: This course is also the home office for the North County Jr SCGA. They have another set of "par 3" tees (The Mini-Goat) setup for juniors. The tee boxes are artificial turf set into wood chips so the kids can play regardless of weather. (Actually, it was probably substantially cheaper to build the forward tees this way, but it serves two purposes. The kids are guaranteed dry tee boxes.)