Santa Maria Golf Club

Pretty good course for a city run public. Layout is nice, nice mix of easier holes with hard ones. The biggest problems are course drainage... the course was a soaked mess after it had rained days ago... and the bunkers are absolutely atrocious. Honestly all of their bunkers should be marked ground under repair they are so bad. Most of them are unplayable. Also the driving range was closed which would have been nice to know beforehand. Apparently this is a common occurrence according to locals. Overall it was a fun course but really needs new or significantly repaired bunkers. Greens were in good shape and challenging.

The only problem was that the course did not have record of my tee time that I booked the night before @

The greens are extremely fast during the winter months. The fairway bunkers are undergoing improved drainage and the work on the bunkers has been complete on only a few holes. This bunker project has been on going for nearly six months now and the bunkers that are finished are very nice. With water potentially coming into play on 9 of 18 holes this course demands and accurate tee shot. Challenging layout for sure yet my favorite course to play in Baton Rouge. If visiting BR it is a must play. Santa Maria does offer a senior rate (over 55) for $42.00 and GN will offer some great hot deals if you book the same day you play. Otherwise the walk in rate for non seniors is $55.00 which includes the cart and green fee. Once the bunker project is complete this course will be worth every bit of $55.00.

Nice layout. Course conditions are improving. Bunkers need work (lack of sand). Greens were nice.

Greens were excellent, bunkers not so good. Overall 8 out of 10.

Whenever I’m in Baton Rouge I will play this course!

I've been playing Santa Maria for many years, and it has finally gotten back into good shape after the flooding took it's toll on a number of holes on the course.

You'll have a great time if it hasn't rained recently and you don't land yourself in one of the course bunkers.

The course continues to have poor drainage, so when there's any moderate amount of rain, expect to be cart-path only.

My biggest complaint on the course however is the condition of the sand traps, which absolutely suck! Where do I even start. First of all there is no sand in the traps, unless you consider dirt a sand substitute. Getting the ball out of the bunker and onto the green without even a quarter inch of sand will challenge the best golfers. I've seen more balls skulled out of the sand trap over the green because the club literally bounces off the ground in the bunker and into the ball. Drainage within the traps is so bad or non-existent, the traps will hold water for days even after it has rained. As I've seen at many courses I've travelled to, I have never seen any of the Santa Maria grounds crew riding around to pump out the water and rake the bunkers. I even overheard some of the marshals talking with other patrons saying they have no intentions of fixing the sand traps, which is an absolute shame.

All that said, I still play there regularly because it's the best course in Baton Rouge outside of the private courses.

So be wary of hitting out of the bunkers or you could find yourself in an unhappy scoring situation. After a recent rain, its not a bad idea to agree with your playing partners to just take a drop out of most all sand traps.

I had a very good round. Course was in great shape. I started a little late because of a tournament that ran a little long, but, the staff called and let me know about it. I was still able to get my round in before dark.

Great layout. Always has been. My last few rounds, the course hasn’t been in the best shape. Saturday, the course was impeccable. Their biggest problem is one, for the money, there are better local places to play. Two, the marshalls are grouchy old men who ruin the experience. The starter walked onto the range 20 minutes prior to my tee time and argued with me about starting early. I still had a few clubs left to hit and told him we had 20 minutes. He threatened to put a foursome out in front of us or pair us with others. Not how I want to start my round. So rather than cause a scene, we packed up and headed to the tee box. Right before I started my backswing, he stopped me and asked for my receipt. Fortunately I let it roll off my shoulders and shot a 75.

Only reason I gave a 4 star in course condition is due to sand traps wasn't raked the day we played.

The stater did not let us tie off until 12:30 we arrivel at 11:30 No other player was ahead of us and two hole open. That also left us at the tie box to go on a lunch brake, and did not say any thing to us, I had to call the clubhouse and ask them to let us tie off. " VERY RUDE"

I had a very enjoyable round of golf. The greens and fairways were in great shape, pace of play was good, and I had a great time.

Nice course will play again the only problem sand traps packed extremely tight hard to get the club to cut through it.

Overall the course was in good condition. Fairways and greens were excellent. Sand traps needed work.. value was good for what I paid.

For $16 you can't pass up playing Santa Maria.

The course is well maintained and offers some challenging holes for an average amateur golfer. I mostly play during the work week and can complete a full round in 3 hrs easily very little waiting if any. They also offer an excellent practice facility one long chipping area out to 80yards with green and sand bunkers, a short chipping and putting green, driving range and a putting only green. Top notch facilities, I would recommend giving it try you won't be disappointed