Ojai Valley Inn

Played the Blues (6292/71.0/131) with kviser, JohnnyGK & RGM2525 on a beautiful weekday afternoon with temps well into the 80's. Breezy getting toward windy later in the day, we let a 2some play through and enjoyed a leisurely 4H, 45M POP, just taking in the beautiful surroundings.

The par 70 layout is hilly and fairly tight. Three par 5's and five par 3's. The first few holes are not that taxing, but the layout gets sterner and sterner the farther you progress into the 18. Elevation changes with numerous forced carries and holes with penalty areas down one or both sides. There are few bailouts areas on this course, you have to keep it within the rough lines or it would be a long round. This course would be a beast to walk, not only hilly, buy several tees are a hike from the last green.

They have recently punched the Kikuyu fringes and were punching the Kikuyu rough, but neither affected playability.

The tees were mowed close with good coverage. Only a couple needed divot attention.

The Kikuyu fairways were some of the best non over seeded desert fairways I have played in a good while. Lush and mowed close. How nice did they look? I mistook the small part of #1 fairway you could see from the elevated vantage point of the clubhouse for a sod farm or large chipping green... it looked more like a green than a fairway.

The Kikuyu rough was mostly mowed down fairly close. Sounds non penal unless you missed the "Kikuyu" part. Even mowed down, it is still challenging to attain both length and direction on your shots out of what appears to be lite rough.

The Sand traps were well maintained with nice sand. Thicker and heavier than it 1st appeared until I played a couple of shots out of it.

The greens still showed some visual evidence of their spring aeration, but I thought they putted well. Medium fast, firm with a generous amount of break. With the amount of break I had on numerous putts this round, they would have been treacherous if even a little faster.

I was surprised to learn that while there have been redesigns over the years, that parts of the course date all the way back to 1923. I also did not realize the sheer size of the resort, it is spread out over many acres in a beautiful, rustic setting. Customer Service is definitely emphasized, the sheer amount of employees out and about between different sections of the resort and especially out working on the golf course was impressive. Complimentary chilled Oranges and Apples were provided at comfort stations, another nice touch.

With the greens and the numerous penalty areas, this is not a beginners course. I enjoyed the round and would not hesitate to recommend this course to anyone who is at least an intermediate level golfer.

Playing holes 12 and 13, we had random guests and their children running on to the Course, during live play. I would hope, for the safety of their guests, this issue should be addressed immediately!

The course has several ravines and if you just miss the fairway plan on hiking down to retrieve your ball. Overall condition of the course was good but for the price I cannot recommend playing here. If you want to play in the area check out Soule Park. $49 and is way more fun to play.

This course is an absolute blast. It’s not very long, but requires some good shotmaking. The original course architect also designed courses Los Angeles Country Club and Riviera so the fact that the public gets to play Ojai Valley Inn is a real treat. Not to mention the course being located within a true 5 star resort! I drive 75 miles each way regularly to play this course and I’d consider it my home course even though there are dozens of other courses closer to where I live.

Wish the app was smart enough to tell us the course was recently punched. Tees were all sand and greens were not putt worthy.

Great course, friendly staff, especially Mark at the clubhouse check in! Nice course narrow at places but majestic and beautiful. Must try!

We love playing this course, not only for the challenge but the beauty that lies in and around the entire property. It's the type of round that we always wish didn't end after 18 holes! Well worth the price!

The course had just been aerated but the traps and fairways were excellent!

Firstly, finding parking and the pro shop is confusing if you never played the course. Ojai Valley Inn is a huge property . Once on the property, I followed the long winding road and signs to golf parking which had a couple of areas. Once I found parking, I called the reservation desk for assistance for directions to the pro shop. She was very helpful. A shuttle was sent out to pick me up and had taken me to the pro shop. Once there the staff had given me all the information that I needed to have a great round. The course layout is challenging on some holes but fair. Course familiarity is huge for landing spots and targets. The fairways are in excellent condition. The tee boxes are level for the most part. The greens are in excellent shape and fast. The pace was good. All the staff were nice and friendly, top-notch.

Don’t miss playing this course! Classic holes, beautiful views, friendly staff. We had a wonderful day on the course. Great avocado toast in The Oak!