Soule Park Golf Course is a great golf course and fun one to play. This originally designed course by William F. Bell in the early '60s was renovated by Gil Hanse in 2005. I never did play it after ... Continue »

Soule Park Golf Course is a great golf course and fun one to play. This originally designed course by William F. Bell in the early '60s was renovated by Gil Hanse in 2005. I never did play it after the redesign and the greens made it feel like a bucket list has been played. What an enjoyable course to play!! We played here yesterday, 10/10/21, where the temperature got up to about 82 degrees if any. There was a slight breeze of no more than 12 miles mph and a clear blue skies. The greens here were delightful to putt on. Yes there were many golf ball divots and a hand full of them were not fixed properly leaving to heal longer than it should. If I were to guess, these are bent grass (I could be wrong). They were smooth and not grainy that rolled pure and fast. The bunkers were good and had plenty of light colored fine sand- well prepared. The teeing grounds were very good and had a lush with grass coverage. The rough was healthy and some areas could be penalizing with its thickness although there were just a few areas where it was thinning due to foot/cart traffic. The pace of play took us 4 hours and a half while following a group up front. If the greens haven't been aerated yet, it is a must play. Enjoy!

Played 10-7-21 early morning walking as a threesome and finishing in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. Tees were lush and level with good coverage and cut to a nice height, only tee that was a little thin... Continue »

Played 10-7-21 early morning walking as a threesome and finishing in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. Tees were lush and level with good coverage and cut to a nice height, only tee that was a little thin was the 10th a par three that has a little smaller box and gets a little of short iron play. Fairways were very green all around with ball sitting up nicely but not much roll out in the early morning. Rough was in good condition, not to long along the fairways with some thicker areas around the greens. Was in one greenside bunker that had nice thick white sand in great shape. Greens were really nice fast and smooth, playing semi-soft with not as many pitch marks as last time I played here. Most of the work on the outside of the club house is done and looks great. Customer service is very friendly. Recommend playing here.

Played a couple rounds from a combo set of tees 9/27 and 28, first time. Always well regarded by reviewers since the Gil Hanse (Rustic, Rio Olympics) renovation about a dozen years ago or so of a Wil... Continue »

Played a couple rounds from a combo set of tees 9/27 and 28, first time. Always well regarded by reviewers since the Gil Hanse (Rustic, Rio Olympics) renovation about a dozen years ago or so of a William Bell original, it deserves high praise as a municipal course, is a great value in terms of condition, challenge, and design. Nearby Ojai Valley Inn definitely has a real competitor for tourist golf, and the locals clearly prefer Soule. In fact I was hoping to play both, but it is very hard to get on the Inn course if not staying there, which I wasn’t, and my brief trip was not lessened a bit by the repeat at Soule. My wallet also was not lessened nearly as much!

This is a naturally beautiful course in a great mountain valley setting, terrific mountain backdrops are common but the course is not especially hilly and is very walkable, they even rent push trolleys and more players walk than don’t. The playing areas are in excellent shape, the rough is often thin but playable, plenty of trees but lots of openings from among them. The greens are pretty fast and quite undulating, definitely a pace and reading challenge. Ball marks are an issue; the greens are on the soft side of firm, they receive a lot of long shots. There is an excellent mix of hole lengths, at least one reachable par 5 for a decent ball striker, one long par 3, and one short par three with water, downhill, and into the prevailing wind. One long par 4 with a forced carry on the second shot. Several par 4s with elevated greens that make them play longer, also a couple excellent short par 4s. Almost all the holes reward knowledge of the angles, so the course gets more fun as it gets more familiar. 14 and 18 are quite beautiful, and several other holes also are very pleasing to the eye. The greens are small but have the thin lie closely mown surrounds that are a Hanse staple ( as at Rustic). No frills, and some of the non-playing areas are pretty bare, but the golf course and the setting are the only frills needed. The course is fair in the landing areas, but the angles and small greens offer plenty of challenge. It gets a lot of play from learning golfers, but POP was decent for a crowded course, 4.25 and 4.5 despite all the walkers and newbies. I rank this a must play if you are anywhere near the area, and very worth a special trip.

The carts do not have GPS, but marked sprinkler heads always seemed nearby if my handheld had trouble with the background. 4 sets of tee markers, but also two combo sets of tees give everyone a good place from which to play to the design. The range is adequate, the mats seem to be changed reasonably regularly, but the balls need more rotation. Putting green is okay, but almost no straight putts. There is a small practice bunker and very short chipping green that is hard to find, so ask if interested. There is a quasi-starter from inside the pro shop; both days I felt like I was the only one around with a watch, they were running a full tee time behind but seemed totally unaware inside the pro shop, and so there was confusion on the first tee each day. They are working on the restaurant, so if that is important to you, check ahead to see when it is open.

Soule Park really is good for the soul. Highly recommended.

Played 9-15-21 early morning walking as a single for $34 finishing in about 3 hours taking my time with no one in front of me and no one behind. Tee boxes were in real nice shape, level and lush with ... Continue »

Played 9-15-21 early morning walking as a single for $34 finishing in about 3 hours taking my time with no one in front of me and no one behind. Tee boxes were in real nice shape, level and lush with some minor bare spots along the edges and minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in very nice condition, green and lush with minimal roll out and great lies. Rough was in decent shape not to long with some bare areas as you get around the trees. Was not in any bunkers, but they were well groomed with nice white sand. Greens were in good shape, semi-soft and rolling medium/fast, unfortunately some of the greens had some poorly and unrepaired pitch marks that did effect the roll, otherwise they were mostly smooth. Course is in real good shape right now and I would highly recommend playing.

Walked the Oak Tees this afternoon with Pedro teeing off around 12:35pm with a POP of 4 hrs 15 minutes under beautiful weather one club wind and Temps in the high 70s. Looks like they are renovating... Continue »

Walked the Oak Tees this afternoon with Pedro teeing off around 12:35pm with a POP of 4 hrs 15 minutes under beautiful weather one club wind and Temps in the high 70s. Looks like they are renovating the clubhouse which should look beautiful when finished. Love the guys and staff at Soule very friendly vibe. The course is really in great end of the summer shape with pretty much wall to wall lush grass on the tees, fairways and rough. Took a couple IG photos today from different angles from the course which were breathtaking. Greens super healthy, medium paced speed and really holding both approach shots and chips. Greens had a couple extra ballmarks we fixed. Rating the greens close to 8/10. Fairways never dissapoint in the spring and summer and were gorgeous. Lush ball sitting up around 8.5/10 rating. Back tees were mostly lush and thick and most all tees were level. Rated 7.5/10. Was in greenside bunker on 17 that had perfectly raked beach sand. The bunker renovation done a couple years ago have the bunkers looking like Augusta National. Rated 9/10 Rough was mainly lush and grabby thick in some spots with pretty decent coverage throughout. Rated 8/10. Thoroughly enjoy this layout, vibe, peace and quiet and the prices here are a steal. One of the better bang for your buck courses around. Highly recommended.

Went out here on a warm weekend. Definitely bake under the sun. Nice breeze though. I'm not as high on the course as some of the other recent reviews. Greens were great. Not too tough but large l... Continue »

Went out here on a warm weekend. Definitely bake under the sun. Nice breeze though. I'm not as high on the course as some of the other recent reviews. Greens were great. Not too tough but large links style greens. Most tee boxes were level, with only 1 or 2 searching for a slightly better place to tee off from. Sand is great. The threesome I played with mentioned that the course was sold a couple years ago and they've picked up the maintenance including the sand. Sand is definitely lush. I was in many traps and they were very good to play from, even if I played in them too much for my liking. The fairways and rough were pretty close to the same. Mixed grass with many brown patches like you would expect from a so cal muni. If they are make plans for future upgrades, cart paths need to be flattened, many dirt paths that are half a wheel deep, which people drive around causing more damage to the grass than necessary and then people feel like they can drive anywhere. Felt like the shots on the course were repetitive, drive wedge wedge wedge wedge putt. Unless I got lucky, the drive wedge putt. Only took out the long irons on 2-3 holes. Definitely a nice play in the area, but would choose Olivas first.

Played Soule Park Sat. 6-26-21 late morning into afternoon with my golf club. I hadn't played Soule in a few years and it was nice to see it again. It was hot but on a few holes a slightly higher elev... Continue »

Played Soule Park Sat. 6-26-21 late morning into afternoon with my golf club. I hadn't played Soule in a few years and it was nice to see it again. It was hot but on a few holes a slightly higher elevation you can feel little cooler breeze since the ocean isn't that far away. The course was in great shape on tee boxes, fairways and greens. The greens seemed pretty fast but you're in a valley so several greens are tricky to get a good read. Pace of play was good for our foursome. There was no cart girl so make sure you purchase or take plenty of your own liquids and energy foods. The bar/restaurant is being remodeled so it was closed but they sell food and drinks in the banquet room bar. You have to eat at some outside tables but they were in shade, at least in the mid afternoon. The bunkers had plenty of sand. I live in Moorpark so I like to get there via the 126 freeway and then take the highway 150 in Santa Paula. It's a nice drive through the mountains for about 15 miles and not that scary (for people not used to that) until maybe just before you get to Ojai and you start descending down into the Ojai valley. Just stay on the road, turn on your headlights and watch your speed around curves. Soule Park is at the southeast end of Ojai so you avoid driving through Ojai much when you go that way. I think they still honor free birthday golf also.

I had the privilege to play Soule Park today (6/24/21) with a morning tee time. I love this place. It is in excellent condition, especially compared to most other public golf courses. The fairways are... Continue »

I had the privilege to play Soule Park today (6/24/21) with a morning tee time. I love this place. It is in excellent condition, especially compared to most other public golf courses. The fairways are mostly lush and nicely green: abundant wonderful lies everywhere. They would also provide good roll out on most drives. I wasn't in any bunkers, but the sand appeared to be in great shape on every hole. The greens here can be quite challenging. They have many undulations, with plentiful breaks. Being on the right side of the hole is critical if you want to score well. Many of the greens are elevated. So running the ball up on the green is not always possible. You have to fly it on. The greens were running very smoothly at medium fast speeds. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the course. It is a gem.

Played on Saturday, 6/5, with an 1p tee time. I arrived a little early and immediately fell in love with this place. I sat on the patio, just feet from the 1st tee, while enjoying a drink while soakin... Continue »

Played on Saturday, 6/5, with an 1p tee time. I arrived a little early and immediately fell in love with this place. I sat on the patio, just feet from the 1st tee, while enjoying a drink while soaking in the mountain and course views. It has an old-school feel to it and I could see myself playing here a lot if I was a local.

Course was in really good shape. Tee boxes were pretty good, with some divots on the par 3s. Fairways were lush with some roll. The rough changed from a little thick near the fairway to just natural as you got farther away, so some hardpan spots way away from the lushness. Bunkers were outstanding when compared to the thin desert ones I'm use to playing. The greens were faster than I was ready for, but consistent with the practice green near the clubhouse. They rolled smooth but had some ball marks.

I loved the design of the course. I found it an easy walk. Classic feel, tree lined, and some large fringe areas that start 30 yards short of the green. It took me a couple holes to realize the almost false front appearance as the it's cut to green height. The only bad part of the course was the pace. We started about 20 minutes late, and slogged to a 5+ hour round.