DeLaveaga Golf Course & Lodge

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.

Don't get me wrong but things just weren't up to par ..... The balls rolled forever never to be seen again, ( drought, I'm good with that ). The GPS didn't work, the cart died, no drinking water on the course, no drink cart and couldn't use the restrooms because we weren't told that an E-card was needed to use 'em ! Oh yeah, one more thing, the manager wasn't there, so no one took the initiative to get the refreshment cart out to the customers .................. With no water jugs, we couldn't wait to finish just for something to drink !!!

In spite of the drought conditions, The course was perfectly playable and fun. The greens had some fungus marks but most of them did not affect the role of the ball and they were rolling pretty fast. It was pretty warm maybe 94° but we had a great day

I used to play here regularly - moved away - now moved back. Course layout has changed slightly to make it easier to play. Still great layout with challenging holes, narrow fairways, & nicely manicured greens. Deep barrancas abound. Thankfully, they are lateral hazards instead of stroke and distance. The fairways were burnt out, very dry ground, many bare dirt spots - almost bordering on cow pasturish but smooth. Too much money for what you get. I would only recommend after it starts raining again.

I live only a few miles from DeLaveaga but haven't played there in years. Thought I'd give it a shot on a Sunday afternoon and now it will be many more years before I go back. The course itself is in rough shape -- fairways are patchy and dried out, greens are spotty and unmaintained, tee boxes look like the crabgrass in your backyard. Pace of play was horrible and there weren't many people playing, all of which were twosomes. Unfortunately this is what you get a lot at DeLa -- kids and hackers. We were behind a twosome that had no clue about golf etiquette or pace-of-play concepts. Chopping it down the course 10 yards at a time and walking along like a Sunday stroll while fully two holes behind the twosome in front of them. The two of us started playing two balls each and still had to wait too long on every shot. And don't look for a marshall to enforce pace of play -- you won't find one on this course ever. But it's a muni so they don't care. We quit after nine holes -- life's too short. They got my money for 18 holes but they won't get it again. Oh, and I started out with a cart (which I paid for) but it died between the 2nd and 3rd holes. Years ago this was a great place to play. I was even a men's club member. But forget it now.

Large areas of fairway are dirt on many holes. This is the worse condition I have seen this course in 40 years, and worse of any course I've played in the bay area. Put some water on the fairways. Play Seascape instead. The snack bar is poor. No course marshal and no on-course refreshment service.

This course is reasonably accessible down Hwy 17 from San Jose area. The course is fairly well maintained considering the drought. Some of the rough may be intentionally cut kind of high, to make it tougher. Some of the holes are very challenging, and fun. The staff and other players are very friendly.

A very beautiful, fun and, considering the horrific drought, well maintained public course! Plenty of challenges in the Santa Cruz foothills overlooking Monterey Bay. Always enjoy playing there.

Course is challenging. Fairway conditions are OK considering the drought conditions. Greens are not in the best of condition and it's not because of water. Need more care. Well worth your $$ They need to spend a little time & money on the bunkers. No or very little sand.

The first 9 we played in under 2 hours, but then the back 9 took over 3. We called the Pro Shop but it didn't seem to help. We could see open holes a ahead of the two groups in front of us at times the course doubled back. The drought has definitely hurt the course too. Hopefully it was just a fluke because it was the first time we played here.

Despite the water shortage, the coarse was in great shape. The greens were amazing. Pray for rain this winter! DeLavaega is a great course.

Played just behind a tournament that was not being watched by course management.
Pace was slow and participants loud . Never saw a ranger or the beverage cart.

The course is scenic and a challenging layout
Conditions dry due to drought.
Priced too high for a muny and items in the pro shop marked up too high

fun course to play, need to manage your shots every hole to keep out of trouble, front nine fairways slope to the right and back nine fairways slope to the left, the greens were almost to soft from watering and a little bumpy, will play again with coupon.

The city of Santa Cruz cut the amount of water the course can use by 40%. The first 1/3 of all the fairways are dirt now. The rest of the course still looks good. The greens are in nice shape. The marshals do their job and keep the pace of play going well. If you hit most of your shots decent, then you will Ike the course. If you miss hit the ball a lot, you will be hitting out of dirt.

The greens were nice but some of the fairways were dirt due to the drought I expect. Some of the holes were narrow so be aware.

Course has been a local fixture for many years and is an economical option to nearby Pasatiempo. Has matured nicely over time and they manage limited water well. Walking is quite easy and the pace of play exceptional.

Too expensive, $53.00 with a county discount card @ 2pm. Very dry and slow. We had two groups behind us hit drives past us. One group finally left or jumped ahead somewhere. First cart had broken GPS. Greens in good shape, tee boxes recently seeded. Fairways dry, got a great rollout, had to take that into consideration when driving.

Goose and George are 1/2 the reason I drive here
and play.

I live down the road so this is my go-to course. I have a County Card, which brings the cost into the "reasonable" category. I certainly wouldn't want to pay full weekend price, but my option is to drive an hour for a better deal/course.
First, the CONS: Like others have noted, the drought has ravaged this course, and watering has been cut back 50% (or so I read). The are not watering many parts of the course (mostly off the tees), and where there is grass, the fairways are getting hard. Not the staff's fault, and it's sad to see. Also, like many lower-cost courses, there's no real "sand" in the bunkers, but we duffers lean to play with those conditions from many similar courses. Also, like others have noted, punks must play this course because there's an inordinate amount of divots and ball marks on the greens. But, this is no different than most <$60 courses I see.
On the PLUS side, the course is in a beautiful setting, and there is not a single house you can see, or hit. The layout is really fun, with Hole 10 being famously difficult (two perfect shots off the tee, and you have a change at par, otherwise--fergetit).
The course used to play insanely slow--6 hrs wasn't unusual. Now, depending on when you get out, the pace can be pretty fast. But I always walk (which is not hard on this course), so if I do 18 in under 4.5 hours, I think that's going pretty good. Folks who like to play fast use carts, and I say, "Where's the challenge in that?"
SUMMARY: A fantastic muni, but desperately needs rain in July '14. Get out there and enjoy the scenery of this track, I've heard pros say we're l lucky to have it in our backyard.

In spite of the water shortage, the ground crew is ingenious in maintaing the course. The greens are fast, but yet soft to receive a high lob shots.