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Rating Index Rating
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3.7
431 Reviews (431)
5 Stars
97
4 Stars
188
3 Stars
91
2 Stars
31
1 Stars
24
Conditions
3.5
Value
3.7
Layout
3.7
Friendliness
4.1
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.4
77.9%
Recommend this course
351 out of 431 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.5
24 Reviews (24)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
13
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.4
Value
3.5
Layout
3.5
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.3
StaffFriendliness
4.1
75.0%
Recommend this course
18 out of 24 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.6
45 Reviews (45)
5 Stars
11
4 Stars
20
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
5
Conditions
3.5
Value
3.6
Layout
3.7
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.4
StaffFriendliness
4.2
77.8%
Recommend this course
35 out of 45 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Balboa Golf Course delivers outstanding value as a municipal course, with well-groomed fairways and consistently maintained greens that reward returning players. Friendly pro shop staff and a smooth pace of play make each round an enjoyable experience.

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Par 72
Length 6628 yards
Slope 116
Rating 70.5
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Balboa Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1954
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Steve Timm (2008) William P. Bell (1954)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $11 - $18
Pull-carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Proper attire is required.

Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage

Available Facilities

Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.7
431 Reviews (431)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 10
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 6
This course/club is great for:
Locals 13
Walkers 13
Seniors 9
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 14

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 4
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser

Disapointing

Allowing for all the rain and storms, it still was in very bad shape

The greens were ok but all else subpar

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Not such a HOT Deal

Boring layout and ZERO amenities (there is no access to club house at turn).

I play a lot of golf in LA, so if I can get a Hot Deal on Golf Now I usually jump at the chance. This was the first time I booked a round (cart included) where the starter said I had to split a cart with the other single (complete stranger) in our foursome. Well, the other single was nice but he only spoke Korean. Realizing that this could make for an awkward 18-holes, I forked out an ADDITIONAL $16 so we could have our own carts.

There were plenty of carts available, the Pro is apparently just trying to squeeze out a little more profit. It's a muni that sells out every tee time, so it's not like the course is struggling. In fact they are recorded record earnings last year.

The Encino course is worth the weekday rate but Balboa course is a total yawn. I won't be coming back.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Poor
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

This course was confusing

The tee’s were not well marked and there are 3 courses sharing the real estate. It was easy to get confused about where the next tee was. Also bathrooms were not very clean. Also parts of the cart path was quite bumpy and uncomfortable to drive over.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 170
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
2.0
First Time Playing

Lol what?

No bathrooms because their water system got jacked up. No electric carts because reasons. No push carts because no electric carts. Waited for an hour before my tee time, checking in repeatedly to see if I could get a push cart. Five minutes before my tee time they gave a push cart which just came in to another person who just showed up.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Ranger needed

The group in front of kept hitting many range balls and spent too much time on the green practicing putting. Need ranger to monitor.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 217
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Top 50 Contributor
Previously Played
Walked

Greens spongy, maintenance is really bad

Hilarious. Look at my pic. What is that? Bunker or trap. Sure it's a trap because it's just junk. How can they let it get like this? Seriously. And then the greens were soft, spongy and bumpy, just horrible.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 217
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Top 50 Contributor
Previously Played

Maintenance is lax

Why do maintenance neglect Hole 3??? It’s always in the worst shape. The first fairway bunker on the left is NOT a bunker any more, it has overgrowth and hasn’t been maintained in months, it seems. But it’s still a hole. What are we supposed to do with it? And then as you approach the green, they haven’t figured out how to maintain the dirt patch to the left of the green where rule-breaking lazy cart drivers have literally TRASHED the area because they just barge through the ropes and tear up the area with the carts even though it’s already just dirt. Why don’t they just block that area off completely with more stakes and ropes and force people to drive around it. I don’t get it. We pay good money for the whole course, they should maintain this Hole just like the rest of the course. It’s a total disgrace.

And there are other areas like this that are starting to get bare and ripped apart by cart drivers who just don’t care. They drive on the tee boxes and park their carts 5 feet from greens and just rip the course apart. And then they wonder why the course is in such bad shape.

Sad. But that’s why culture.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 81
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played

Always a good time at Balboa

Love this track. Lots of fun, pretty wide open but has its challenges. Greens were rolling great! Fairways a little yellow due to the drought but they were great to hit off. Looking forward to coming back soon.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
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