About
Perched in the hills above Santa Cruz, DeLaveaga Golf Course & Lodge features plenty of elevation changes as well as tight, tree-lined fairways making this short layout anything but a cinch. The result of the tight layout, however, often translates into long rounds as higher handicappers look for their golf balls in the woods. Designed by Bert Stamps, the golf course opened in 1970. Conditioning is average, but DeLaveaga Golf Course & Lodge's green fees are a small fraction of its more famous neighbors.
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Course Details
Rentals & Services
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Policies
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Lodging
Available Facilities
Golfer Photos
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Photo submitted by Chrisgolf123 on 01/24/2022
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Photo submitted by AlliDoisWin2416 on 08/11/2021
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Green and lush ! Photo submitted by trat10 on 06/05/2019
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Photo submitted by uPPGO6271PP on 11/29/2013
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Short Par 3 over a ravine Photo submitted by dwl613 on 09/22/2012
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Downhill Par 3 Photo submitted by dwl613 on 09/22/2012
Golfer Reviews
Love this course!
This is a challenging course so play smart. You can run into trouble if you don't use your course management. If you like to be challenged then you gotta play this course!
Santa Cruz Value Golf
DLV is a great course. It has everything you would expect from from a public course but with perfect weather. The green play average for the area but where you can reall have fun is with you second shots. You can make them very strait forward or get creative. Your choice but don't hit it into the trees, cuz the poison ivy is around.
Well Maintained
local knowledge is key in good course management.
local knowledge is key in good course management.
local knowledge is key in good course management.
local knowledge is key in good course management.
Muni with some issues.
Challenging course,sloping fairways ball tends to roll out into the woods. Greens could use some care many are bumpy.Bunkers should be played as ground under repair,they are very inconsistent no sand in most of them.The ground crew should really take a course in how to maintain a bunker.
Fun Course, Not Easy
Unless you are a single digit index, play the white tees, or, red if you are a female golfer.
The course is tight and makes you think about each shot. Don't miss to the right on the front 9 and don't miss to the left on the back 9.
Hole #10, their 1 handicap, needs to be played numerous times before you feel comfortable. Highly recommended, check it out!
De Laveaga - Tough but Beautiful Course
Narrow fairways, sidehill lies, deep ravines ... all in the hills above Santa Cruz. This is a well cared for course. The greens are superb but challenging. Bunkers are deep and steep but with real sand and no hard bottoms.
good value, conditions are getting better
Don't judge this course by its yardage, it'll be a tough challenge. Good muni course with lots of variety in its holes. Course conditions are coming back, some more rain would help. Definitely recommended - especially on a nice day. Nice vibe!
Poor carts
The course is in good condition but the golf carts are not. Our first cart (electric) was running out of power on the third hole. Near the clubhouse at the 7th tee we switched carts. The replacement cart ran okay but the GPS didn't work. On the 9th tee a courtesy ranger gave us his cart (with a working GPS) but on the 11th hole we (again) were running out of power. On just about every hole with any elevation change we had to push the cart. The clubhouse DID give us cards for free carts on our next visit.
Very nice course
First time I played with my son in law in this golf course, it's pretty challenge and fun too! I will definitely come back to play in this golf course.
Love This Course
This course provides a challenge for all levels. Keep to the right on the front nine; favor the left on the back nine.
The fairways were a bit shaggy given the recent rains (yea for rain!), but the greens were in great shape.
A bit foggy and soggy but enjoyable!
Complaints: the restaurant / bar was not open. Tee-time was at 9:15am and was hoping to get a bite before play. Nothing was available 10am on Monday. The weather was pretty foggy and the course was like walking on soggy waffles all day. I play this course when I visit the area every 3-5 years. I always enjoy the challenging holes and terrain. The course demands hole management, especially if you are not familiar with the course. Bring plenty of balls. Most areas cannot be easily accessed for retrieval. Even though I play as a single I always appreciate playing with others that are familiar with the layout. Over all, this is one of my favorite courses. The fog, saturation and hours of operation are things we cannot control. The greens were all great. The traps were 90% under water or eroded with drainage valleys. Oh, I enjoyed the new auto ball feed/tee up range feature. That was new since my last visit. Enjoyable experience over all.
Fun. Interesting. Challenging.
I learned to play golf at DeLa years ago. Used to play there all the time. Back then it was very affordable; not really the case anymore. But all in all I still love the course.
It is difficult, especially for beginners or those who are inconsistent off the tee. If you can't control your teeshots and find the fairway, you're going to have a tough day -- and lose a bunch of golfballs. The good news is it's not a terribly long course; most of the par 4's and 5's give you lots of options off the tee (irons, hybrids, whatever). I hit driver twice all day when I played there last (on 9 and 18.)
A great round of golf. Requires 100% of your attention. Number 10 is a killer. A short par 5, not much on the scorecard. But it's tough.
But why does DeLa struggle with drainage? My local courses have gotten soaked recently and the turf recovered great. But at DeLa the entire course was a swamp. I lost a ball in the middle of the fairway - it plugged in the mud and I never found it. And there was standing water three days after the last storm. It's strange that such a hilly course would struggle to drain that much. I thought the re-model was intended to address that? Speaking of the re-model... they converted two par 5's, making it a par 70. I thought those two par 5's were two of the most interesting holes on the entire course, especially 18. The old 18 green made for a sweet finishing hole. Oh well.
Enjoyable Course
Overall good. Very nice setting, usually nice weather, challenging layout. Slower play especially on weekends is typical. Greens need some maintenance and were bumpy reflective of a high volume of play. Course likely to recover well with recent rainfall.
Lots of Lateral Hazards
We played on a rainy day which added to the challenge of the course. It is a nice course to play. We saw plenty of walkers out there as well. There are plenty of challenges in the course: hilly, trees, plenty of lateral hazards with steep ravines, and some forced carries. The fairways seemed very thin (probably the drought) making some fairway shots more difficult. The greens were bumpy and had just been fed (flakes on all the greens). However, I putted quite well (30 putts). The course is in a park so there are no houses around, just the wildlife and trees.
Overall, we had a good time and I will play it again.
TOSSED GREENS
THIS COURSE IS VERY CHALLENGING FOR MY LEVEL OF PLAY. I WORK ON MY PUTTING THE MOST, BUT THE GREEN CONDITIONS DID NOT HELP MY GAME.
Bad greens
Not sure if the greens have some sort of fungus, but there are patches all over the place. Hopefully they can fix them because they used to be nice for an inexpensive public course.
Current Condition Abysmal
The greens are absolutely unplayable. They have huge bumps as the result of an aeration done over 4 weeks ago. They also seem to have a disease with significant bare spots. The fairways are also in horrible shape.
I've played here for nearly 40 years and have never seen a course of this caliber in such bad shape. It breaks my heart. And they are hosting the NCGA Qualifying event this weekend.
I am not a complainer, But!!!!
First we where not told that it was cart path only!!!
The greens where in terrible condition. Where absolutely nothing like the practice area. and as for the Marshall most unfriendliest one I have come across in the 14 years of playing golf. (Must have gotten up on the wrong side of his bed!!!!!
Another good day at DeLa
They had punched and sanded the greens earlier in the week, but in all fairness, they warned us and gave us a discount for the round. They also told us that if we wanted to we could enforce a maximum two-putt rule due to the exceptionally slow surface.
We gladly enforced the rule because our putts were definitely affected by all of the divots.
Sand Box
ALL of the greens had just been punched and sanded. My fault for not finding out beforehand, but nonetheless, frustrating.
However, the weather was perfect and we had a great time.
I've played this course dozens of times and love the challenge.