Walked the golds Tuesday 5/30/23 with my buddy Mark teeing off just before 2:30pm under cold and windy conditions with a beautiful 4 hr pace of play playing through a foursome on 3 tee. Not much has ... Continue »

Walked the golds Tuesday 5/30/23 with my buddy Mark teeing off just before 2:30pm under cold and windy conditions with a beautiful 4 hr pace of play playing through a foursome on 3 tee. Not much has changed from my review here a month ago other than the fairways are in even nicer shape now than they were a month ago. Not putting to much stock into the greens today as they had a very minor punch and were top sanded so they were slower than the normal 11.5 stimp, easier to hold shots on today. The tees, fairways and rough are all close to the 9 out of 10 category and the greens in a week or so will be there as well. Was in one greenside bunker on 10 that had brownish clay like sand that was a pleasure to hit from. We had a great round despite the weather. 6700 in the cold wind with no roll felt more like 6900 yds. The conditions right now are off the hook nice. One of the best post round views at sunset on the patio with a natural grass greenside amphitheater of tee shots on the par 3 18th hole. Very friendly staff in the proshop. Feel real lucky to have this course only an hour away. Recommended.

Walked the golds at Piper one of my favorite tracks Monday afternoon 4/24/23 joined by my buddy Mark teeing off at 2pm finishing in 4 hrs 20 minutes under partly cloudy skies with the temp around 62 d... Continue »

Walked the golds at Piper one of my favorite tracks Monday afternoon 4/24/23 joined by my buddy Mark teeing off at 2pm finishing in 4 hrs 20 minutes under partly cloudy skies with the temp around 62 degrees. We flew around as a twosome for the first 9 holes and then caught a mini tournament on the 10th tee that played at a decent pace on the back nine. All staff encountered were super friendly including Vern in the proshop. All grass range is a plus. Very sloped beautiful putting green that you can pitch on and a great patio/restaurant overlooking the Pacific. The conditions here at this time are in good to very good condition. The greens are quick, putting true and in great shape. Like most courses but especially here you must be putting or chipping below the pins. Anything downhill here takes great touch to get close. I thought the greens held shots well which is a perfect combination. Rated 8.5/10 maybe closer to 9/10. Fairways were mostly all lush, carpet 9/10 range. Great shape. They had the mowers cutting some of the rough down just barely off the fairways. Anything past the 1st cut of rough/cart paths has up to waist high rough and really puts some teeth into this course. While some might not like it I love it not only visually but makes the course even tougher. Rough rating 9/10 Was in greenside bunker on 11 that had just enough sand and was raked to a firmer base on top. Rated 7/10 The tees were lush but several of them could use some leveling. Not to hard though to move a couple feet over and find a level stance. Rated 7/10 This course to me has it all. Some elevation changes, fast challenging greens, unbelievable views, great layout. Highly recommended.

Played 2-13-23 on a wonderful afternoon with Gary, John, and Mark, getting around the course in 4 hours and 45 minutes with no waiting. Tee boxes were in really good shape, all of them level and cut t... Continue »

Played 2-13-23 on a wonderful afternoon with Gary, John, and Mark, getting around the course in 4 hours and 45 minutes with no waiting. Tee boxes were in really good shape, all of them level and cut tight with very minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in great shape with some minor thin and wet spots, decent roll out with the ball sitting up nicely. Primary rough was about 2 inches and in real good condition, outside that you are in the thick Fescue with most likely a lost ball. Was in a couple of greenside bunkers that had a good layer of nice white sand, real nice to hit from. Greens had a small punch that didn't effect the roll much, they were rolling true at medium/fast pace and playing semi-soft. Overall course is in really good shape, best I have seen it in in a while, wall to wall green with great ocean views.

Joined mark_6m, GDR23 and rgm2525 Monday 2/13 for an awesome day of golf at Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa Barbara.

Now is the time to and likely the rest of this Spring to go play Sandpiper GC. W... Continue »

Joined mark_6m, GDR23 and rgm2525 Monday 2/13 for an awesome day of golf at Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa Barbara.

Now is the time to and likely the rest of this Spring to go play Sandpiper GC. With all the rain the cool temperature turf for this time of year is looking stunning. The greens are running fast and smooth. Fairways lush with good lies. Rough lush just off the fairway playing 2 to 3 inches and easy to escape from. But if you find the secondary rough mind as well start a search party for your ball because it is deep, at least a foot, thick fescue. I love it when they have the secondary rough long and untamed like it is now. Fits with ocean cliffs ambiance. The visuals are gorgeous and it puts a big premium on hitting a good drive. Bunkers are in OK shape, better than in the past and very playable. Well cared for they just could use some better sand. Tee boxes great shape.

IMO – given the bucket list reason to play the course is 6 to 7 fantastic ocean holes 5,6, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Holes 10, 11 and 13 are absolute have to experience golf holes. Now with the golf course in super shape its another reason to go for it.

My favorite time to play Sandpiper GC is in the late afternoon. Just give yourself time to finish 18 holes within 30 minutes of sunset because it sets right there over the ocean. The patio has beautiful views and the food is very good.

Always a pleasure to play here. Highly Recommended.

Enjoyed Sandpiper GC yesterday, being a Magical Monday with an early afternoon tee time. Played with Johnny, Ron, and Gary. We played it from the Golds with wind speeds between 5 - 15 mph. An incredi... Continue »

Enjoyed Sandpiper GC yesterday, being a Magical Monday with an early afternoon tee time. Played with Johnny, Ron, and Gary. We played it from the Golds with wind speeds between 5 - 15 mph. An incredible Monday!

The course was in very good condition and was very green. You can see the benefit the course received from the recent rainfall. The course was beautiful! As previously reviewed, this Ocean Front Beauty has a course layout that is top rated, and currently conditions are also rated very high.

I note the following:

Tee Boxes: Level and lush, no damage
Fairways: Green and lush, no damage
Greens: Green, medium to fast, no damage – recently Ninja Needle punched, which did not affect putting as greens were smooth. Speed 11 and held shots reasonably.
Sand: Reasonably maintained, both soft and hard. Had no issue with the two bunkers visited.
Rough and Waste Areas: Tall rough and waste areas are very penal on stray shots. Rough and waste areas that surround fairways was so brutal, you will likely lose your ball even if you are 1-2 feet in. This feature really made this a tough course on this day. It was Carnoustie Status rough!
Driving Range: Excellent grass range with the most beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean you can wish for. I can hit golf balls here all day. The hitting grass turf was also perfect.
Practice Putting Green: Excellent condition, but faster than course greens as it is very slopped.
POP: 4.75 hours – no wait, we just enjoyed pacing ourselves as we were not holding anyone up.

The course is an ocean style track with several holes running along the Pacific Ocean cliff line, remaining holes are inland with most offering beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. The course offers a few elevation changes and blind shots that keep things interesting. The layout is very scenic and an overall very fun playing track.

This course requires reasonable accuracy off the tee into midsized fairways that are lined with heavy rough; along with waste areas, trees, or cliff sides. Greens tend to be medium in size and run medium to fast, often breaking towards the ocean, and usually held good shots. Both greens and fairways were strategically bunkered for protection. Course plays a bit longer due to the heavy marine layer, play shots 5-15 yards longer than normal yardage this time of year.

Snack shack offers food, snacks, and drinks. Perfect service received. Service received at Pro Shop and Bag Drop was also perfect. Pro Shop is also very nice. We started on time and noticed 1 Marshall on the course.

This course is strongly recommended. No doubt a 5-Star Experience! One of the best golf courses you will find for the dollar in California. Very grateful to have this course within 2 hours of me!

Walked the golds this afternoon 2/13/23 under cloudy skies around 60 degrees on a cooler day with a club breeze. Played with buddies John, Ron and Mark with a POP of 4 hrs 45 minutes. Great group of g... Continue »

Walked the golds this afternoon 2/13/23 under cloudy skies around 60 degrees on a cooler day with a club breeze. Played with buddies John, Ron and Mark with a POP of 4 hrs 45 minutes. Great group of gents. Great friendly staff , nice grass range and very sloped putting green that you can also chip on. The greens as usual were in very nice shape would say close to an 11 on the stimp with a very small Mico punch that did not effect putts at all. Holding irons nicely. Don't want to be above the hole here is the constant theme. Rating these beauties a 8.5/10. Fairways mostly lush coverage, few muddy spots closer to chipping areas. Good to great shape rated 8/10. Tees level, lush and in very nice shape 8/10 Was not in any bunkers but they looked raked and firm. Rough just outside of cart paths super lush and thick us open style rough. Lost ball areas abound outside of the paths. Really adds challenge here and is visually stunning. One of my favorite courses in California. Love me some Sandpiper. Amazing views of the Pacific. Highly recommended

Walked the golds with my buddy Mark teeing off just before noon today 12/19/22 under cooler temps and at times maybe a club of wind. Course played long today with cooler temps but overall was really n... Continue »

Walked the golds with my buddy Mark teeing off just before noon today 12/19/22 under cooler temps and at times maybe a club of wind. Course played long today with cooler temps but overall was really nice weather! Joined by two nice singles Ryan and Patrick. Pop was 4 hrs 30 minutes. The sunsets at piper are quite spectacular and today did not disappoint. We walked but still noticed great customer service by cart staging attendants and pro shop staff. They have a grass range and one of the most undulating putting greens you can putt on.

The greens here are just fabulous and always the star of the show here! Rolling a 12.5 on the stimp. Putting pure as glass. Must stay below the hole on most all green complexes here. Most complexes here are large in size. These are some of my favorite surfaces to putt on anywhere. Rating is a solid 9.5/10.

Man the fairways have come in nicely since my last round here which was mid September. One member we played with stated they overseeded some before the big rains. Fairways were very lush for December and rated a solid 8/10. There were some muddy areas of the fairways just before the greens in the chipping area.

Tees solid. Level and lush and in good shape. Rated 8/10

Was not in any bunkers but they looked firmer and raked.

Some of the rough is returning from the rains in between holes. Most rough was lush, muddy and could be a good lie, muddy lie or lost ball all within a couple yd radius. Rated 7/10.

I love the layout and beautiful scenery at Sandpiper. Many ocean views and 10 through 14 is a beautiful stretch of golf.

Highly recommended for beautiful quick greens, lush conditions and a beautiful scenic course on the ocean.

Desk locked for weeks GKer mark_6m invites me to a late afternoon round at Sandpiper on Thursday (10/27). Not the time of the year I normally play Sandpiper knowing conditions are at its driest there ... Continue »

Desk locked for weeks GKer mark_6m invites me to a late afternoon round at Sandpiper on Thursday (10/27). Not the time of the year I normally play Sandpiper knowing conditions are at its driest there before Fall rains and winter grasses start filling in. No matter to me. I’ve always felt 75% of enjoyment I get from playing Sandpiper is the ambiance of playing golf on the high cliffs of the Santa Barbara coast. But mostly it means a lot to me when I can take up a GKer on an offer to play golf. Thanks Mark!

Under gorgeous weather with a light breeze and the good company of two UCSB professors who joined the day was fantastic. Greens true, fast and firm. Very challenging and a blast. Fairways, dry with thin coverage, awesome for big tee shots but bring a good iron game for tight firm lies. As far as the rough other than some shin high patches of fescue, mostly thin, with some bare areas on the most outer areas … LOL … give it three months once the rain comes with cooler weather and that rough will be Jekyll/Hyde-thick-nasty. Bunkers are well groomed and consistent but thin and very firm so be careful on your first sand shot. Tee boxes all in good shape, lush, firm and cut.

My suggestion is if you see a beautiful afternoon in the forecast for Goleta, CA consider teeing it up at Sandpiper then hang out on their patio for a spectacular ocean sunset. Then if you’re lucky enough you might get a front row seat of a rocket launch over the ocean. I videoed all my Ace Cams, the Sunset and SpaceX Launch and posted them on to my @greenskeeperorg - Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok accounts. Really cool stuff. Check it out. Thanks :)

Played here for the first time yesterday, after hearing great things about it. It did not disappoint. The course conditions are nothing to write home about – just average from tee to green. But the vi... Continue »

Played here for the first time yesterday, after hearing great things about it. It did not disappoint. The course conditions are nothing to write home about – just average from tee to green. But the views are AMAZING.

There are ocean views on at least half the holes. In fact, of the few ocean courses I’ve played (Torrey Pines South, both Half Moon Bay courses, Los Verdes), this has the most. The weather was perfect—sunny, warm, not overly windy—and from what the starter said, it’s like that most of the time.

The greens were fine, just noticed several unrepaired ball marks. All greens break back to front, and NOT necessarily toward the ocean. Very fast above the hole. Fairways, rough, and tee boxes were all average. Wasn’t in more than one bunker, but the one I was in was wet/muddy (at 2:30 in the afternoon), and I saw a large puddle of standing water in another bunker later in the round.

High price tag of $135 for weekend twilight, but it does come with a cart w/GPS and a (very small) bag of range balls (hitting off grass). The course conditions aren’t worth the price, but the views ARE. Especially if you’re like me, and don’t live up here. Certainly worth adding to your bucket list.