Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

With more rain forecast for tomorrow, I'm probably going to spend the day working on my taxes. Lol. Certainly not making the hour drive back to the Ventura area. So, today it's a little post-round pub crawl in Oxnard and Ventura. Starting with Wagon Wheel Brewing Company in Oxnard. Small brewery with a dozen taps, but the Oxx Belgian Golden Strong Ale is mighty tasty. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Stopped at three brewpubs in Ventura, but the imperial stouts were meh. Wound up at Barrelhouse 101 in Ventura. Currently 80 taps with a decent selection. Went with an Prairie Artisan Ales Prairie Bomb! imperial stout. Not my favorite, but drinkable nonetheless. 

 

 

[postfold]

Never would have guessed that you could find so many courses with affordable greens fees in suburban LA of all places.  I would have expected $100 even on weekdays for 4+ cow courses.

[Argonne69]

5 minutes ago, postfold said:

Never would have guessed that you could find so many courses with affordable greens fees in suburban LA of all places.  I would have expected $100 even on weekdays for 4+ cow courses.

 

No kidding. After averaging $150 a round in Palm Springs, I was expecting the worst. There were a few somewhat pricey rounds here, but I've been shocked by the affordable weekday rounds. Now, finding a decent early morning tee time has been a struggle, but I can certainly see why. 

 

[Argonne69]

O.M.G. Wow, I was warned that The Avenue Burger at Barrelhouse 101 had ghost peppers, but that was some serious heat. Made with a blend of ground beef and chorizo, the burger also included a fried egg, guacamole, cheddar, pepper jack, grilled onions, tomato, lettuce, and 3 pepper aioli. The 3rd rail was fatal. Lol. Definitely worth a visit. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Rainy day. Glad I sat this one out. Probably going to head into Ojai this afternoon for a beer and an early dinner. Ojai Valley Inn GC tomorrow. The forecast has the rain stopping just before my tee time. Fingers crossed. 

 

Heading to Santa Barbara on Monday. Booked golf at Sandpiper on Tuesday. So much for the budget SoCal rounds. Lol. $195. At least they allow walking. 

 

Looked into booking Alisal Ranch, but it turns out the course is reserved for members and resort guests only. Cheapest room is over $800. No thanks. They have a sister course, The River Course at Alisal, that's open to the public. Booked a tee time there for Wednesday. 

 

Booked Glen Annie for Thursday. 

 

Edited March 2, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Exciting day. Worked on my taxes. Ouch. Last year was the first year I started pulling from my IRA. I was living off my severance and proceeds from the sale of my condo for the previous few years. I wasn't quite sure how much to withhold given that I have dividends and capital gains from my investment accounts. Apparently I need to withhold a little bit more this year. Lol. At least I didn't get hit with a penalty for under withholding. Since I owe Uncle Sam, I'll finish the taxes in early April. 

 

Looked at courses in the Santa Barbara area for my round on Friday. Nothing particularly interesting, so I'll probably wind up at Santa Barbara GC, the local muni. My next stop is Lompac, so I'll hold off on the courses further up the coast, e.g. Mission Club, La Purisima. 

 

First stop today is Ojai Valley Brewery and Side Street Wine. Small brewery with 20 taps, but a number of those are wine. Lucky for me they have several Belgians and an imperial stout. Starting with a sample of their Accidental Belgian Strong Ale with hints of banana. 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

It's Saturday, so of course that means Mexican. Couldn't find a restaurant in Ojai that had mole on the menu, but I did discover a place that claims to serve New Mexican cuisine. I definitely enjoyed my stay in NM, so I I gave it a shot. Wow, definitely worth a visit. Tres Hermanas Ojai. Delicious stacked blue corn enchiladas with Christmas sauce. The sauces are excellent. Very small place with only a handful of tables and bar seating, so avoid the dinner rush. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2024 by Argonne69

[StoutKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Exciting day. Worked on my taxes. Ouch. Last year was the first year I started pulling from my IRA. I was living off my severance and proceeds from the sale of my condo for the previous few years. I wasn't quite sure how much to withhold given that I have dividends and capital gains from my investment accounts. Apparently I need to withhold a little bit more this year. Lol. At least I didn't get hit with a penalty for under withholding. Since I owe Uncle Sam, I'll finish the taxes in early April. 

 

Looked at courses in the Santa Barbara area for my round on Friday. Nothing particularly interesting, so I'll probably wind up at Santa Barbara GC, the local muni. My next stop is Lompac, so I'll hold off on the courses further up the coast, e.g. Mission Club, La Purisima. 

 

First stop today is Ojai Valley Brewery and Side Street Wine. Small brewery with 20 taps, but a number of those are wine. Lucky for me they have several Belgians and an imperial stout. Starting with a sample of their Accidental Belgian Strong Ale with hints of banana. 

 

 

Never played SBGC so interested to hear your take on that one.

[Argonne69]

Gorgeous morning. The rain finally stopped early this morning, and the sun came out just before I teed off. Sloppy conditions, but nice to be back out playing, especially given that I was paired with another single as the first group out. Love quick Sunday rounds. Lol. Ojai Valley Inn today. Beautiful parkland layout with some very nice elevation changes. The Inn sits at the high point on the property, and many holes play up and down from it. Water in play on just a couple of holes, but there were a few forced carries over ravines with dense brush. Four left to right sweepers definitely favored the fader. Fairway bunkering was light but greenside was quite good. Overall, a lovely course that only had a few meh holes. 

 

While there were a couple of tough driving holes, most we're fairly straightforward with generous fairways and light bunkering. A handful did have side slope that fed decent drives down into the rough. Minor misses were no issue with generous rough cut to a good height. Big misses could get lucky on a couple of holes finding an adjacent fairway, but most would be lost in the junk. Approaches were tough. Solid greenside bunkering and a handful of elevated greens. The soft conditions pretty much ruled out running a ball up. Greens were excellent with plenty of contouring and slope. Putting was anything but easy. Up and downs were fairly straightforward with decent rough around the greens and few funky lies. 

 

The five ar 3s were decent. The two on the front were short, and a bit boring. The three on the back were all over 200 yds. The 16th was a real beauty with heavy bunkering in front of the green, and trouble left and right. 5s were meh. Don't understand why a course can't have a nice risk/reward hole, or at least some trouble off the tee and/or on the 2nd shot. The 571 yd 15th was tough simply because of its length playing into the wind with zero rollout in the fairway. The two short 4s were mixed. The 4th was bland, but the 6th had excellent bunkering and a shallow green with a creek behind it if you went long. 

 

Conditions were soft, but (mostly) playable. Cart path only for the riders. Fairways were thin and muddy. Rough was a little inconsistent, but generally better than most courses I've played lately. Bunkers were groomed, but they really need to break up the compacted sand. Greens looked nice, but speeds were all over the place. Everything from 8 to 11. 

 

Played the Blue tees on the par 70 layout at 6252 yds (71.0/130). Should have played a combo, because the combination of sea level and soft fairways was stealing rollout. Couldn't reach the green on numerous holes. One birdie and nine bogies. Highlight of the round was the 27' birdie putt on the par 3 3rd. 

 

Almost earned a seven, but going with a solid 6 cows. Beautiful piece of property with some very nice holes, but the resort course is too tame off the tee, and needs a risk/reward par 5. The $195 weekend rate (no walking rate) is steep, especially when Soule Park is less than a mile down the road and a quarter the price. Did appreciate that they allow walking. That said, it's still a must play in the area. No idea why Soule Park makes GolfWeek's best in state list, but this one is absent. 

 

Edited March 3, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Ojai Valley Inn, Ojai, CA 

 

 

The par 4 2nd has the toughest tee shot on the layout with a forced carry and a tree for good measure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5pan6ty5hkfqcs8j83vgj/h?rlkey=1dbvgtadyxb9zqkawf37xatt3&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Back to Ojai Valley Brewery for their East End Belgian Stong Golden Ale infused with *****ly Pear and Hibiscus.

 

 

Off to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I'm really glad that the rain stopped. As I was driving to the course early this morning on CA-150 I noticed a couple of new mudslides that had made their way on to the roadway. Any more rain and the only road out of the valley could have been blocked. Given that the road closure south of the RV park won't be cleared up for weeks, I'd hate to be trapped. It's going to be a dicey drive tomorrow on the twisty road, but as always, patience is key. 

 

[Argonne69]

A few from the trip back to the RV park. 

 

 

 

 

[StoutKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Gorgeous morning. The rain finally stopped early this morning, and the sun came out just before I teed off. Sloppy conditions, but nice to be back out playing, especially given that I was paired with another single as the first group out. Love quick Sunday rounds. Lol. Ojai Valley Inn today. Beautiful parkland layout with some very nice elevation changes. The Inn sits at the high point on rye property, and many holes play up and down from it. Water in play on just a couple of holes, but there were a few forced carries over ravines with dense brush. Four left to right sweepers definitely favored the fader. Fairway bunkering was light but greenside was quite good. Overall, a lovely course that only had a few meh holes. 

 

While there were a couple of tough driving holes, most we're fairly straightforward with generous fairways and light bunkering. A handful did have side slope that fed decent drives down into the rough. Minor misses were no issue with generous rough cut to a good height. Big misses could get lucky on a couple of holes finding an adjacent fairway, but most would be lost in the junk. Approaches were tough. Solid greenside bunkering and a handful of elevated greens. The soft conditions pretty much ruled out running a ball up. Greens were excellent with plenty of contouring and slope. Putting was anything but easy. Up and downs were fairly straightforward with decent rough around the greens and few funky lies. 

 

The five ar 3s were decent. The two on the front were short, and a bit boring. The three on the back were all over 200 yds. The 16th was a real beauty with heavy bunkering in front of the green, and trouble left and right. 5s were meh. Don't understand why a course can't have a nice risk/reward hole, or at least some trouble off the tee and/or on the 2nd shot. The 571 yd 15th was tough simply because of its length playing into the wind with zero rollout in the fairway. The two short 4s were mixed. The 4th was bland, but the 6th had excellent bunkering and a shallow green with a creek behind it if you went long. 

 

Conditions were soft, but (mostly) playable. Cart path only for the riders. Fairways were thin and muddy. Rough was a little inconsistent, but generally better than most courses I've played lately. Bunkers were groomed, but they really need to break up the compacted sand. Greens looked nice, but speeds were all over the place. Everything from 8 to 11. 

 

Played the Blue tees on the par 70 layout at 6252 yds (71.0/130). Should have played a combo, because the combination of sea level and soft fairways was stealing rollout. Couldn't reach the green on numerous holes. One birdie and nine bogies. Highlight of the round was the 27' birdie putt on the par 3 3rd. 

 

Almost earned a seven, but going with a solid 6 cows. Beautiful piece of property with some very nice holes, but the resort course is too tame off the tee, and needs a risk/reward par 5. The $195 weekend rate (no walking rate) is steep, especially when Soule Park is less than a mile down the road and a quarter the price. Did appreciate that they allow walking. That said, it's still a must play in the area. No idea why Soule Park makes GolfWeek's best in state list, but this one is absent. 

 

Great write up Arg.  When George Thomas designed Ojai years ago it was one of the best courses in California.  It has lost many holes and features over the years due to resort expansion.  Still it has a few good holes.  Pity that it can never been restored but the natural beauty is undeniable.  Glad you enjoyed.

[StoutKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Back to Ojai Valley Brewery for their East End Belgian Stong Golden Ale infused with *****ly Pear and Hibiscus.

 

 

Off to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I'm really glad that the rain stopped. As I was driving to the course early this morning on CA-150 I noticed a couple of new mudslides that had made their way on to the roadway. Any more rain and the only road out of the valley could have been blocked. Given that the road closure south of the RV park won't be cleared up for weeks, I'd hate to be trapped. It's going to be a dicey drive tomorrow on the twisty road, but as always, patience is key. 

 

You should be able to drive west out of the valley too, unless that has mudslides as well.  Will be glad when the rain finally stops.

[TBone0576]

Had to laugh about the out of control remote cart.   There is a guy at my home course that tees off very early, like before the sun comes up and plays on his own.  He uses one of these and walks very quickly.   A buddy of mine who is retired and I play with often said the guy had lost control of it last year and drove it right into one of the ponds.   

[Mullenboy]

Continuing to love all this and particularly your tour of CA, Arg.  You should enjoy the food and brews in Santa Barbara... it is very strong for such things.  As for the golf... we'll see.  Sandpiper has always been frustrating to me... it has several incredible holes.. but quite a few mundane... and it's hard not to imagine what could have done better with that site.  It's also stupidly overpriced as you found out.  The others are all 3-4 cow places at best, but who knows, maybe you'll see things I don't.  This is the public courses.  If you can access the privates... WOW.  Valley Club is legit top 50 on this planet, I think.  But you gotta know someone.  Send me a private message if you are interested in that... I might have a way.

 

As for Ojai and Soule, I am with you that the former is clearly better than the latter.  The latter gets best in state hype because it was re-done quite nicely awhile back.. it's a huge improvement over what it was before... people get excited about that.  🙂

Edited March 4, 2024 by Mullenboy

[Argonne69]

Exciting drive to Santa Barbara this morning. Stressful is probably a better description. Took CA-150 west to US-101, but I should have taken CA-33 south. It would have been a longer drive, but not as crazy. CA-150 was 20 miles of tight turns with plenty of uphill and downhill sections. The speed limit was 45 to 55, but I could barely maintain 25 in spots. The two lane road had no passing areas, so I wound up with a caravan of cars and trucks on my tail. There were also 5 sections where rock slides had reduced it to one lane, so there was another opportunity to pile up cars behind Bessie. The views of Lake Casitas were nice, as was a small stretch of the 101 along the coast before hitting the Santa Barbara city limit. 

 

Nice RV park 20 miles west of SB. I'm near the El Capitan State Beach, and there's nothing nearby. I'll stop in SB after tomorrow's round at Sandpiper. My last RV park had gravel and dirt pads, and packing up after a rain is a dirty affair. Nice to be sitting on a concrete pad. 

 

 

Booked an RV park in Monterey for the end of the month. I got lucky when I stumbled across the park at the Monterey Fairgrounds. I seemed to have missed that one when I was looking a few weeks ago. Small park, but the location looks great. Only 7 miles from Pebble Beach, and 2 miles from downtown Monterey. 

 

Got to climb on Bessie's roof to check the seals and tighten the bolts on the two roof vent covers. Don't want those flying off at 55 mph. 

 

[tad950]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Exciting drive to Santa Barbara this morning. Stressful is probably a better description. Took CA-150 west to US-101, but I should have taken CA-33 south. It would have been a longer drive, but not as crazy. CA-150 was 20 miles of tight turns with plenty of uphill and downhill sections. The speed limit was 45 to 55, but I could barely maintain 25 in spots. The two lane road had no passing areas, so I wound up with a caravan of cars and trucks on my tail. There were also 5 sections where rock slides had reduced it to one lane, so there was another opportunity to pile up cars behind Bessie. The views of Lake Casitas were nice, as was a small stretch of the 101 along the coast before hitting the Santa Barbara city limit. 

 

Nice RV park 20 miles west of SB. I'm near the El Capitan State Beach, and there's nothing nearby. I'll stop in SB after tomorrow's round at Sandpiper. My last RV park had gravel and dirt pads, and packing up after a rain is a dirty affair. Nice to be sitting on a concrete pad. 

 

 

Booked an RV park in Monterey for the end of the month. I got lucky when I stumbled across the park at the Monterey Fairgrounds. I seemed to have missed that one when I was looking a few weeks ago. Small park, but the location looks great. Only 7 miles from Pebble Beach, and 2 miles from downtown Monterey. 

 

Got to climb on Bessie's roof to check the seals and tighten the bolts on the two roof vent covers. Don't want those flying off at 55 mph. 

 

 

There's a golf course near the fairgrounds. And at the end of the runway of the airport. Certainly not the best course in the area. But really handy! Monterey Pines. I think it's still military, but open to the public.

[Argonne69]

13 minutes ago, tad950 said:

 

There's a golf course near the fairgrounds. And at the end of the runway of the airport. Certainly not the best course in the area. But really handy! Monterey Pines. I think it's still military, but open to the public.

 

Yeah, I have Monterey Pines on my list, in addition to Bayonet, Black Horse, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Del Monte, Pajaro Valley, and Laguna Seca. 

 

[hammergolf]

17 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Yeah, I have Monterey Pines on my list, in addition to Bayonet, Black Horse, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Del Monte, Pajaro Valley, and Laguna Seca. 

 

You gonna try and catch Pasatiempo before the remodel next month?

[sheppick.dan]

On 3/3/2024 at 12:31 PM, Argonne69 said:

Back to Ojai Valley Brewery for their East End Belgian Stong Golden Ale infused with *****ly Pear and Hibiscus.

 

 

Off to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I'm really glad that the rain stopped. As I was driving to the course early this morning on CA-150 I noticed a couple of new mudslides that had made their way on to the roadway. Any more rain and the only road out of the valley could have been blocked. Given that the road closure south of the RV park won't be cleared up for weeks, I'd hate to be trapped. It's going to be a dicey drive tomorrow on the twisty road, but as always, patience is key. 

 

you going to play pasatiempo while there? It was a great course with a lot of history!

[Argonne69]

12 hours ago, hammergolf said:

You gonna try and catch Pasatiempo before the remodel next month?

 

Probably not. I played it on my Monterey trip back in 2019.

 

[Mullenboy]

Might not be the best time to play Pasatiempo anyway... right now the front 9 has been restored, the back nine will beginning late April.  $385 for half of a restored course.  Of course... it's likeky to go way up once the back nine is done, so maybe now IS a good time to play it!

 

As for the other Monterey area courses you have planned.. we've discussed such before.  You are hitting the right ones based on what you want to do and what you've done before.  I am very glad you added Monterey Pines (great condition, bargain price, very fun) and Pajaro Valley (usually the same, but also a personal favorite - lots of history there).

 

None of those are more than an hour from my house.  Let me know if you want a tour guide.  I am stupidly busy always but one does never know.  😉

[hammergolf]

19 minutes ago, Mullenboy said:

Might not be the best time to play Pasatiempo anyway... right now the front 9 has been restored, the back nine will beginning late April.  $385 for half of a restored course.  Of course... it's likeky to go way up once the back nine is done, so maybe now IS a good time to play it!

 

As for the other Monterey area courses you have planned.. we've discussed such before.  You are hitting the right ones based on what you want to do and what you've done before.  I am very glad you added Monterey Pines (great condition, bargain price, very fun) and Pajaro Valley (usually the same, but also a personal favorite - lots of history there).

 

None of those are more than an hour from my house.  Let me know if you want a tour guide.  I am stupidly busy always but one does never know.  😉

I’ll be interested to see how it looks on tv for the Western Collegiate tournament on The Golf Channel.

[Mullenboy]

Front nine will look quite different from back.  🙂

[Argonne69]

Gorgeous morning. Plenty of sun and mild temps. Sandpiper GC today. Gorgeous oceanside course. Reminded me a little of Torrey Pines, although not quite as dramatic. I didn't realize that the course was located on the coast, so a real nice surprise. A few nice elevation changes, but most of the course is fairly flat. Trees are sparse. Native areas are thick as molasses, though. There be danger. Water in play on just one hole, the par 3 18th. Only four holes with modest left/right movement. Fairway bunkering was very light. Greenside was a little better. 

 

Very easy off the tee with generous fairways and light bunkering. A couple of short forced carries didn't intimidate. Minor misses on the front were no problem with somewhat generous rough. On the back the rough was a very narrow strip before the thick grass started eating balls. Big misses could find an adjacent fairway on a few holes, but otherwise it was a lost ball in the junk. Approaches were straightforward. Plenty of room in front, and decent sized greens for the most part. Greens had a moderate amount of contouring, but some serious slope. Putts from above the hole were dicey. Up and downs were tricky due to the same contouring and slope. 

 

Par 3s were mixed. The 11th was a real looker with the elevated tee and the Pacific as the backdrop. Not overly difficult, though. The 18th had a forced carry over the pond, but plenty of room with the back pin position. Par 5s were meh. Again, no risk/reward holes and little danger. The long, dogleg right 15th was tough due to its length, and the fact that the inside corner was thick junk. A long carry was needed to clear the corner, and anything short was lost in the hay. Only one short 4, the uphill 12th. Other than playing uphill with a blind shot to the green, there wasn't much to it. 

 

Conditions were playable, but soft. Cart path only for the riders. Fairways looked fantastic. With preferred lies one could almost tee the ball up. However, the soft, shaggy turf was robbing any rollout. Rough was recently cut to a nice height. Bunkers were pristine. Groomed, wet sand with just enough depth to get a club under. Greens looked great, but speed was inconsistent. Likely due to the early morning dew, they were rolling 8 early in the round. With the sun and the wind they dried out, and were probably 10 late in the round. Downhill putts were a good 13. Lol. 

 

Played a Gold/Silver combo at 6435 yds (71.4/128). Up and down day. Solid off the tee, but the long holes were killer with the soft fairways. Two birdies and eight bogies. Highlight of the round was the views. Took a ridiculous number of pics. Pace was OK, but with cart path only I was still waiting on nearly ever shot, so I killed time snapping pics of the shoreline. 

 

Going with 6 cows again. Beautiful piece of property with wonderful views, but once again it needs bunkering, a risk/reward par 5, and another challenging short 4. I honestly think it could rival Torrey Pines if they put in some bunkering. Pricey at $165. Definitely worth a visit, but at that price I wouldn't have it in my regular rotation. 

 

Edited March 5, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Sandpiper GC, Goleta, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

The fun really begins on the 10th 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/hy5ojs12f4y23hgdgnxwu/h?rlkey=mg8l54a2hlnbiojwxh47hkrsh&dl=0

 

Edited March 6, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Oooh. Definitely the highlight of the day. Third Window Brewing, a Belgian nirvana. 20 taps with a heavy Belgian influence. Working my way through a variety of tasters, but the Oak Aged Tripel is might tasty. The Quad is no slouch. A couple of barrel aged brews are on deck. 

 

 

The bourbon barrel aged quad was the top of the mountain. Looked and tasted like an imperial stout. At 12% ABV, it was a heavy hitter. 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2024 by Argonne69

[Mullenboy]

Great review and great pics of Sandpiper - you did get a chamber of commerce day!  That's awesome.  Yeah this is one that growing up in LA would be a special occasion course... as you saw it's just too pricey to be a regular visit.  And you nailed it about what could/might be... the more one plays it the more one tends to see things that could be improved.  Still, it's pretty darn fun as it is.