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Rating Index Rating
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3.6
1157 Reviews (1157)
5 Stars
167
4 Stars
252
3 Stars
338
2 Stars
194
1 Stars
206
Conditions
3.1
Value
3.9
Layout
3.7
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.5
71.2%
Recommend this course
675 out of 1157 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.6
39 Reviews (39)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
20
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
5
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.4
Value
4.3
Layout
3.6
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.6
StaffFriendliness
4.4
84.6%
Recommend this course
33 out of 39 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.8
105 Reviews (105)
5 Stars
39
4 Stars
32
3 Stars
15
2 Stars
12
1 Stars
7
Conditions
3.5
Value
4.2
Layout
3.8
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.8
StaffFriendliness
4.5
80.0%
Recommend this course
84 out of 105 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

3.6
1157 Reviews (1157)

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 69
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Excellent pace of play!

Greens were good and fairways were mostly good, but did have some unexpected wet areas especially in front of greens that was annoying. But overall good day of golf on a competitive course in excellent weather conditions.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/27/2019

Thank you so much for your review. We value your feedback, and hope to see you back soon.

Played On
Reviews 36
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

neglected golf course

When we played this course two months ago it was in pretty good shape. When we played yesterday we were shocked over the condition. Huge weeds and dead spots on most if not all of the fairways. Greens were pretty beat up as well. I think they are about to close so they dont see the need to employ a grounds crew. Sad course.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/19/2019

Thank you for taking the time to provide your valuable comments on your recent experience. These comments allow us to gain valuable information from our guest experiences in an effort to continue to improve service and conditions.

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Willowick - Great Value

Picked this randomly from GolfNow based on price and location and it didn’t disappoint. Lost of maintenance needed on cart paths and seemingly irregular upkeep of fairways. Tee boxes and greens were in good shape. Definitely a great value.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 51
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/06/2019

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your support and hope to see you again soon.

Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Even $25 was too much for this course.

The staff was great. They’re super friendly and hooked it up with practice balls before our round started. This course is rough though. More dirt than grass. Vatos locos riding their bikes through the course. Graffiti everywhere. Did I mention all the dirt? It’s a super cheap course but I don’t know if I’ll be back. I’ll spend more money on a better course from now on.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/06/2019

Thank you for your review. We are working to bring Willowick back up to the standards that we know it can achieve. We appreciate your support and hope to see you again soon.

Played On
Reviews 25
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Change in management

was told Willowick was sold. Clubhouse merch was almost non existent. Place was not too staffed. If the new owner is going to do something about it, the emlloyees don't know about it.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 36
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Good value/ LOVE the GPS in the cart

I like this course. Some of the fairways are a little sketchy, but overall it is good shape. The 'sand' bunkers are like cement, so i would not recommend hitting in them. I love the GPS unit on the cart. I will absolutely be back soon.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

No reservations

I reserved 10:08 AM today, but starter said no reserved, that’s why I have to waited more than 30 minutes.

It was ridiculous

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/22/2019

Thank you for posting a review. Sorry to hear that you had to wait to get out and play. It may help us if you could email us how you reserved your tee time. If there's an issue with one of our systems, we'd love to find it. Feel free to let us know at info@willowickgolf.com

Played On
Reviews 84
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather

Too Soft

Course being readied for tourney which make couse very soft. Long roughs and fringes. Pace at 3 1/4 hrs because of heat.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/22/2019

Thank you Sarpei for your 4 star review. We appreciate your support and hope to see you again soon.

Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing

DONT PAY MORE THAN $20

Horrible course, not taken care of at all. There is literally homeless people living on the course, and it is not cheap to play. I played a cheaper courses that are far better than this, I would only come back if they paid me to play.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/15/2019

Thank you for your review. We take customer feedback seriously, and are working hard to improve the customer experience. We are under new operators and investments are ongoing to bring Willowick back to where she should be. Hope to see you again in the future.

Played On
Reviews 22
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Faiways, rough cut almost the same

Easy to get on. Pace of play was not rushed. Course was not busy. Fairway cut is not as short as it used to be. To me with the golf now deal this is an excellent course for casual and fun play.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/15/2019

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your support. We are under new operators and investments are ongoing to bring Willowick back to where she should be. Hope to see you again in the future.

Played On
Reviews 35
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great course and quick play

This is a course I haven't played in years and I loved it. Greens are in great shape fairways just o.k. but look good.

Length was nice and pace of play was awesome. Our Foursome was done if 3 hrs and really enjoyed it.

Thank You,

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/08/2019

Thank you for taking the time to post a review. We work to provide our guests a great golfing experience and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Good challenging course

Had a nice round, a few wayward shots, but overall it was a good experience.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Not bad

Course used to be really bad. But with new management the starting to get on top of it. I'll definitely play there more. Greens are almost completely back from being punched. Fairway does have long grass in the rough is even longer. Need to really pay attention to watch a ball after you hit it. or else she have a high possibility of a lost ball.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/01/2019

Thank you so much for your 4 star review and nice comments. We value your feedback, and hope to see you back soon.

Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Overall Good Value for the Money

I was told by the starter today that the Willowick GC is under new management, by the Billy Casper Group. It's not being shut down as previously rumored. This course has great potential, hope to see significant improvements in the near future.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/24/2019

Thank you so much for your review. You are correct about the new operator "Billy Casper Golf" planning to improve conditions and create new programs and specials. We all work to help ensure our guests have the best possible experiences. We value your feedback, and hope to see you back soon.

Played On
Reviews 47
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Fun, Flat Course!

Fun, Flat Course!

Should be able to bogie/birdie or par every hole (simple layout).

Actually played the front 9 solo in one hour. Back 9 had slow players stacked up all the way through (foursomes AND fivesomes).

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 51
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/17/2019

Thank you for posting a review. We take your opinion seriously, and are working every day to improve customer experience. If you wouldn't mind, we'd love to speak directly with you in order to improve our teams performance. Please contact us at info@willowickgolf.com

Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 20-24
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/17/2019

Thank you for posting a review. We take your opinion seriously, and are working every day to improve customer experience. If you wouldn't mind, we'd love to speak directly with you in order to improve our teams performance. Please contact us at info@willowickgolf.com

Played On
Reviews 2
2.0
Previously Played

Mediocre round

Course layout isn’t great, but the lack of attention it gets hurts. Also had some weird experiences with homeless and drunk people on the course. I’d play again if it’s cheap, but that’s probably it

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/12/2019

Thank you for posting a review. We appreciate your support and interest in our facility and hope to you'll enjoy the improvements that we have planned. Looking forward to seeing you at the course in the future.

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