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Rating Index Rating
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3.5
1152 Reviews (1152)
5 Stars
166
4 Stars
249
3 Stars
337
2 Stars
194
1 Stars
206
Conditions
3.1
Value
3.9
Layout
3.7
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.5
70.0%
Recommend this course
670 out of 1152 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
42 Reviews (42)
5 Stars
12
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
6
1 Stars
4
Conditions
3.4
Value
4.2
Layout
3.7
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.4
81.0%
Recommend this course
34 out of 42 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
113 Reviews (113)
5 Stars
40
4 Stars
32
3 Stars
17
2 Stars
15
1 Stars
9
Conditions
3.4
Value
4.1
Layout
3.8
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.5
76.1%
Recommend this course
86 out of 113 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The consistently friendly and helpful staff stand out as a genuine highlight at Willowick Golf Course. Exceptional value for money and a forgiving open layout make it a rewarding choice for golfers of all skill levels.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 71
Length 6061 yards
Slope 110
Rating 67.7

Opened in 1929, Willowick Golf Course in Santa Ana is Orange County's oldest public golf course. It is a challenging layout that has garnered a quite a following over the years. The course features wide fairways and large greens that offer ample room. There aren’t any water hazards a few strategically placed sand traps come into play and there are also mature trees lining the fairways. Golfers will get to practice a variety of different shots on this course. It is player-friendly enough for high-handicappers but there are still some challenges for low handicappers. The excellent condition of the greens and fairways are inviting no matter what your skill level. In addition to the golf course, Willowick also offers a grass driving range and three practice putting greens.

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Willowick Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1929
Golf Season Year round
Architect William P. Bell (1929)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Pull-carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Casual

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks, Restaurant
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Reviews

3.5
1152 Reviews (1152)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 16
Brunch 7
19th Hole Specials 6
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 19
Undulating Greens 8
This course/club is great for:
Walkers 20
Locals 19
Beginners 17
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 20

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing

Old Muni Course

Willowwick is an old muni course in Orange County. Greens were great. Perfect, in fact. The layout of the front nine is a bit confusing. The fairways are rough and bumpy (difficult to drive a cart full speed) and covered with native grasses. Staff was super friendly. Probably will skip it next time.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played

Not worth the money

This courses in terrible shape are driving rain was in terrible shape. The information on the golf now website is incorrect in an. I don't think those pictures that they show are from this golf course. Does golf courses in terrible condition. Don't be fooled like me It's not worth the money.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Bumpy road

They are working on the course but has a long way to go. Gophers are a major problem, making even the fairways bumpy.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Teeth chattering back smashing course

There isn't even a piece of flat surface on this course. Holes all over and hundreds of small piles of dirt all over. Every square inch of fairway is impossible to drive a cart on without banging your teeth. My back was sore from riding in the cart after 6 holes. Conditions were horrible. Greens ok but traps are hard and have weeds In them. There are no fairways just weeds and dirt and uneven ground..This course is not taken care of. I wouldn't golf again if it were free.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good value

It's a cool course. Just wish it didn't feel like off-roading when driving to your ball.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Save your money

Absolutely no maintenance whatsoever on this course.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Ugh

Gopher holes, dirt, weeds, and the bumpiest course I’ve ever been on. With all the rain we had this winter, why didn’t they seed the fairways and grow some grass ? I will not be playing this course again due to the complete absence of maintenance.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Not Great

The fairways on this course are not great. You are not rewarded for hitting fairways on this course. You could very well have a lie on top of huge patches of crab grass or bare dirt. The fairways are quite lumpy too. Driving a cart down the middle of the fairway feels like off-roading. Make sure you have your belongings secure when riding around; often things can fly out of the cart. I also found a couple of head covers while playing — probably fell out of the carts for the reasons stated above.

On other hand, the greens were in decent condition. The speed of the greens were pretty slow, but the balls rolled pretty true.

The layout of the course is a little scary. On a couple, few holes, tee boxes are facing each other on separate holes. A shanked shot could prove to be dangerous.

The pace of play was slow on this day. It may be different on other days. But we hand to wait to tee off on every hole.

Lastly, on the upside, the staff was friendly and very helpful. The price of the round $44 is probably what would justify me coming back; maybe on a weekday afternoon. So I don’t have to wait so long for the people in front.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Got what we paid for.

Cheap course that needs more upkeep.

We had fun but the fairways are in fair to poor shape.

Lost several balls in gopher holes.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Review

Staff was extremely friendly! Driving the carts down the fairway was very bumpy.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 27
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing

Terrible conditions, but you get what you pay for.

Course needs a lot of maintenance work. Overgrown rough, fairways were ok, greens were surprisingly good. Staff super nice. Bathrooms looked like they hadn’t been cleaned since the 90s. A little mowing would go a long way here. Otherwise, this was a straightforward course that’s worth the money for a casual round. Great for practice. Carts could use a good hosing down too.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great value for money

Great place of play - I pay there frequently. The rough is a tough as the balls may get lost in it. Otherwise, I'll continue to play there

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 10
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
First Time Playing

Worst course I have played to date.

This is the worst course I have ever played at. The fairway is ate up. Every lye was in dirt or crabgrass. Even if you hit it in the middle of the fairway, you’re still most likely going to be on some uneven overgrown dirt or grass if you’re lucky. The whole course was backed up even though we had a 6:40 tee time. It took nearly 6 hours to finish. The pro shop was bare bones as it gets. The breakfast burrito wasn’t bad, I’ll give them that. Hole 16 we had huge construction trucks drive across the fairway. Then they were reversing for about a minute with the loud backup horn beeping. And then as soon as they stopped reversing they started blasting mariachi music at full volume. I will never return to this garbage course. If you have to choose between playing here or not playing, stay home!

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
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