Sandpiper Golf Club- Goleta, CA

I love playing particularly scenic golf courses because you just don’t care when you play poorly. Well, maybe still a little, but at least there is a consolation prize. Sandpiper is impossibly scenic. With a half mile of Pacific Ocean frontage, this challenging links style course practically turns your golf round into a day at the beach.

The first five holes work their way back to the beach, offering little more than distant ocean views. That is not to say the holes aren’t scenic, or fun; they are for sure, but they are fairly straightforward land locked holes, and largely unremarkable. Relatively speaking that is, they do have wonderful mountain views. Hole 6, however, is a game changer; a lovely little par 3, where the flag is framed by the Pacific. Just don’t get distracted and hit long.

It’s back into the course interior for the remaining front nine holes. Not many good things can be said about drought conditions, but they will definitely work to your advantage at this course. While the front may largely lack water hazards, the rough here can be impossible if not trimmed back. And for the past few years, threat of brush fire has kept native grasses and rough neatly trimmed. You may actually find your ball if you hit into it. Once you finish Hole 9 however, the course changes significantly.

Hole 11 is absolutely magnificent, and without a doubt one of the finest public course par 3 holes in the United States. Protected by sand traps on the sides, and the Pacific in the back, it is a good way to ease into the next few holes. Given you are most likely are going to be hitting into the wind, you are pretty safe clubbing up. The next several seaside holes are absolutely heavenly. Hole 15 brings you back to the interior, while 18 finishes with a small pond in play. After your round, make sure to spend time on their patio, which overlooks the course.

You would never know it to look at it now, but Sandpiper sits on the site of an old oil refinery. Oil was discovered on the land in 1927, and soon after a refinery was built to process the crude. At its peak, over 25 wells dotted the landscape, which is absolutely inconceivable to imagine today. The refinery was actually attacked on February 23, 1942 by an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine, just months after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. While the refinery was shelled, no major damage was sustained. Oil production continued until 1965, when all operations ceased.

Designed by William Bell, Sandpiper Golf Club opened in 1972. Over the years it has hosted several PGA and LPGA events, and is consistently ranked one of the best public golf courses in the country. So, yeah, it isn’t cheap, unless you’re a resident; actually, resident rates are still a bit pricey, but it is absolutely worth it. All around, it’s an unforgettable course I plan to play again at some point. Hopefully with better results.

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