The Links at Victoria Golf Course

The playing conditions are getting much better. The greens have always been very good and now the fairways are beginning to show positive results from the turf injection process. Andrew in the pro shop and Mr. Hood, the starter, are very pleasant to deal with. I play at Victoria twice a month and will play there more frequently in the future.

I’m going to update my review and give the Links at Victoria a passing grade. Based on playing there (again) this past Saturday with a buddy. He shot one of his better scores there, and seems to think he has luck there, but to no avail… we both struggled (because of our own faults not the course).
Here’s my thoughts.
— The course isn’t tough to navigate. The fairways (in most cases) are wide. It’s your own fault if you shank a drive.
— The greens are of generous size, again it’s your fault if you find the hazards… though…
— I must say a few of the bunkers are super deep bastards, and not fun to get out from.
— Back to the greens… they are FAST. Super fast… tap the ball and watch it run. God forbid you land on the high side of some of the sloped greens because controlling ball speed is almost impossible. BUT… and I correct my past assessment here… they’re in good shape. The putting surface is well maintained. It’s my own fault I 3-​putted 8 times (which is pathetic and unacceptable to me…)
— Next up. I was starving again because we teed off ultra early. I relented and got a hot dog. The snack bar attended was nice. The food wasn’t bad.
— Also, the starter was present on this occasion and he was SUPER friendly (Kevin, I believe). But smiled a lot, had a few jokes for us, and made sure we got off the first tee pretty much on time.
— I saw the signs regarding the driving range and course improvements this time (I made a note to look for them). So I am happy the course is going to enhance the grounds and amenities.
As requested by the owners/​managers, I gave the course a very fair shake, and it surprised me more than I thought. I think a 4^th star will be in order once the driving range is re-​opened and the improvements are completed. Who knows… maybe more.
I hit the fairways pretty well, 11 out of 14. Made 8 greens in reg. and should have made more if my wedges had been better. My big issue IS indeed my putting right now, and no measure of practicing on non-​sloped, slower (trampled) putting greens at the range will help this… I need to read speed better, and I need to execute birdie and par putts instead of leaving too much out there and missing the sub 8-​foot putts for par… and settling for bogey (or worse).
I guess it was all on me from the start… I stuck with you Victoria… now maybe next time the golf god’s will shine on my putter!
ENJOY!

Like my golf game this course has serious ups and downs. Decent rates, fantastic greens, some unplayable fairways friendly staff. The biggest downside is the 5 hour round I played last week due to a 6 player group ahead of us. A 6some? Whoever heard of such a thing? Would this even be allowed on a miniature golf course? Where is a marshal when you need one? I’d give this course another go if course management would provide more oversight.

Hit there for 1^st time the other day, and i originally wanted to rate it a 2 Star. The reason I’m gonna give it a 3 is because of 2 reasons. 1) The Greens are so true, (… must have made 8 One putts… not short tap ins, 6 to 10 foot putts) and are MY FAVORITE GREENS EVER. 2) met an «associate mgr. of some sort» Andrew, who was telling me about all the improvements they been doing, and the on going improvements coming… I’m very excited to go back and see how nice it will be next time!!!

We use to play at Victoria 3 – 4 years ago and stopped due to the condition of the course. Most reviews were accurate — lousy fairways and unacceptable greens. My friend and I are retired now and play once a week — midweek. Beginning of 2015 we were playing Chester Washington with great fairways and decent greens but it took two of us 4 ½ hours to complete a round on a weekday.
Back in June we decided to give Victoria another try and were really pleased. They honor the Senior walking rate of $ 16 and have several promotions including free Nike balls for an online survey and the price of a 16 oz beer based on your total score — even at 100 it’s a deal. Yes, the snack bar is pretty basic but the staff is friendly and our breakfasts in the morning are always great! Two eggs, hash browns and toast for $ 3.95. Coffee still could use some improvement.
But two things switched our decision to play Victoria instead of Chester Washington on a weekly basis. First, the greens are fabulous, they have put a lot of work into them and it shows. Fairways are improving and I’m sure will only get better. But the second and perhaps best thing is we can finish 18 holes in 3:30 to 3:45. Damn good for an LA public course even on the weekdays! And did I mention how friendly the staff is?!

Worst golf course I’ve ever been to. Greens are not maintained and our golf cart died on the 16^th hole.

Staff was very polite and professional. Drew was awsome. The course i can honestly… wow…what a difference from what it was a few years ago. What ever they are doing to the fairways with a new hybrid grass. Keep putting that stuff in! Next step is to get rid of those ground squirells that make those dirt mounds. Other than that. The fairways are coming back. I will be coming back to play this course more often now. Greens has always been pretty good here. Some bunkers need some more sand… concidering playing a round at around 3 hours and 15 minutes for public? Thats pretty uncommon. Thanks!

The course is in much better condition now that the fairways are complete. See Drew and Joe in the pro shop.

This is literally my 3^rd round of golf ever, and I don’t remember it being a bad or good golf course, I was way too concentrated on my swings. I did take a couple of pictures and it was pretty and scenic, and I remembered seeing a lot (A LOT) of rabbits and gophers. Doesn’t surprise me seeing how this used to be a landfill, which also meant it didn’t smell great at a few places on the course. We were here on a late Friday afternoon and it was about $ 20/​person/​round including the cart, not a bad deal. It was fun but we probably won’t return any time soon.

Played here for the 1^st time this past Saturday (9÷12÷2015). There’s potential here, but also some things that are just unacceptable.
The greens & tee boxes were in good shape. They also get bonus points for great practice putting greens & a chipping green, which is quite rare these days.
The fairways and out of bounds were terrible. No other way of putting it. The driving range was non-​operational.
The café had simply terrible food selection & even worse execution (quality of food).
The most egregious offense this course was guilty of was only having a single water jug on the 15^th hole. It must have been 95 degrees with 75%+ humidity. On top of that, the dingbat beverage girl drove past us without asking us if we needed beverages.

Im writing this review because Victoria is actually growing grass. The course has improved over the last 6 months to a year. They still have some trouble spots but overall good improvements so far. Also the staff in the clubhouse has improved. Its also good to see the first tee program going strong. Keep up the good work. Thanks

This is only my 3^rd time to play here, the first time being about a year and a half ago and i must say i have definitely seen some major improvements each time. The tee boxes were much nicer and the greens looked great and rolled true. The fairways are starting to come around as well. It looks like they are now doing some major renovation on the driving range. Everyone on staff is all very friendly and professional. Either they got new owners, new management and team, or they finally started to care about the product they are putting out for the public. Whatever the reason for all the improvements its a nice course with plenty of potential. I will definitely come play here again and again especially if it keeps getting better and continues this up slope of improvement.

Booked a 40% off tee time on
using a promo code that was celebrating Jason Day’s first major — so my Saturday 1100 am tee time (prime time) was only $ 24 total (including the $ 2 booking fee) for 18 holes including cart.
We got there at 1030 and they let us start early since there was an opening from no-​shows, and to make it even better, our twosome didn’t have to get paired up with anybody else!
They have definitely started to improve the fairways and there was much more grass than in the Unilocal pictures, but they are still need some work (random patches of sand are still smack in the middle of the fairway on various holes).
The greens were very nice however, and we both put much better than we did on the crappy greens at Westchester two weeks prior.
I wouldn’t pay $ 52 bucks retail price to golf here on a Saturday with this course’s condition (worth more like $ 39), but it was a good value at $ 24 and I would for sure come here again on another special.
The snack bar looked kinda suspect since we were the only ones in there and there were a few little kids messing around behind the counter (causing me to switch my order from carne asada fries to playing it safe with canned chili), but they were some of the bombest and freshest CC fries I have ever had — see my pic (good portions as well).

This course has improved a lot over the last year. Truly. I had been here before to play last year and conditions were terrible. Fairways were dirt strips.
Fairways are greener and better maintained. Not much dirt in the fairways anymore. A couple fairways are hard compacted dirt with grass so there isn’t much chance of creating a divot. Probably a broken wrist. I think these are just areas where newly planted grass did not take. A few holes had blocked off areas due to new growth that I’m sure the management doesn’t want trampled on until the grass has taken and grown lush enough. Improvements are slowly coming. Greens are really good. A couple of greens were squishy but there had recently been rain, so it’s expected. Most if not all other greens were fast in my opinion which I like.
Staff in the café were courteous and didn’t take to long getting my drink and food order quickly before I was holding up anybodies game.
I will start playing here more often since the improved conditions. I live in Carson so this is my local course. There is no driving range right now. The driving range is under improvements.

Course has been improving since the change of ownership!
Close to LA and very good putting green!
Awesome staff and very challeging due to random wind conditions!
One of my favorite courses that is close to LA!

WORST COURSE EVER… Full rates for roped off areas, no driving ranges, and slow golf? I would rather take a 4-​iron to the back of my neck than play here again. The picture does not do justification to how bad conditions were.

These days, when a golf course calls itself a links course, it means the course is crap everywhere except the putting greens. How true that is at Victoria. The fairways are chewed up, and either clumpy or naked. While there is always some player who will say, «they recently replaced the fairways», the improvements only take hold for a short time (I assume because of methane wafting up from the landfill it’s built on). In fact, if you can see more than a few continuous yards of even, unclumpy fairway, you’ve got a keener eye than me.
There are several environmentally sensitive areas where errant balls go to die (players are not allowed to step into them). And there are several overgrown areas where finding a wayward drive can be tough, so you may want to play with your cheapest Noodles. Nonetheless, the greens are very good, and while a bit fast, they consistently rolled true. Plus the (copious) sand traps were reasonably full and soft. So while the fairways aren’t exactly camera ready, Victoria is a pretty good value when compared to other public tracks in the area. Play Alondra much? Same sort of fairways, but the greens are better at Victoria.

Just played this course. I had to pick someone up from LAX and needed to kill some time. I had read bad things about this place but it was close to the airport so it was convenient.
Overall not too bad. They have a nice practice facility with large putting greens and a chipping green.
As mentioned the course isn’t in perfect shape but I’ve played worse. It looks like they are making an effort and doing some work. The fairways are a patchwork of different lengths and color grass with patches of dirt in some areas. I’d say 70% grass and 30% dirt. In my round I didn’t really have any bad lies and the course was quite playable. The tee boxes and greens were in good shape. The turf around the greens was in good shape.
I’d say if you spray your ball all over the place you’ll find some poor conditions. If you keep your ball in play the course is very enjoyable.
If I was local I’d play here all the time. It’s a good value and it has great potential if they ever complete their renovations.

Every golfer has a course that means a little something extra to him/​her: this one is mine. I learned how to play golf here when my grandpa started bringing me along when I was only 4 years old. I have seen this course go through the best of times and go through the worst of times.
In the recent years this course has gone through some of the worst of its times. Needless to say many who played this course during then never came back due to the poor conditions of the fairways. However, due to a recent renovation project the course once again has grass back in the fairways!
I give the course 4 stars because of the following:
1. Greens.
Quite easily these are some of the best greens in the area on a public course. As with anywhere, greens have good days and bad days, but these puppies have been through the fire yet still look gorgeous.
2. Design and layout.
A Billy Bell course from the sixies makes this course related to the likes of Torrey Pines. Wide open fairways are pitted with fairway and greenside bunkers bound to invite your ball in for a beach party a number of times throughout your round. In addition, certain holes with considerable length, combined with an on shore breeze, prove to be formidable adversaries.
3. Staff
I at one point called myself a member of the staff here, and know how patient these remarkable individuals are to have to deal with all the things that they have had to over the years. Now that the course is looking up and up, I commend them for sticking it out. If you find yourself in the shop on a weekday afternoon, be sure to drop in and say hi to good old Joe and talk a little Jazz with him. You’re most certain to usually find smiles on people’s faces. If you don’t, it’s probably because you’re the one who wiped it off.
I do feel that some serious work needs to go into the range. And not necessarily the range itself, but the equipment. They are set up for night practice but they never use it, and their range balls definitely need an update. I prefer more than 6 dimples on my golf balls.
If you’ve played here when the course was at its worst, I don’t blame you for not wanting to come back. Had I not been attached to this course like I was, I probably would not come back either. But I call upon your sense of duty to the game of golf to give this course another shot. It will blow your mind how much has changed since you last played the Links at Victoria.
(This review was NOT written by an employee. I admittedly am a former employee who is no longer under any pay, control, or influence of the ownership. This is an independent review by an avid Southern California golfer.)

If you get a good deal on GolfNow or one of those other websites this course might be worth playing. But at their $ 49 rate I would never play here again. When we arrived a transformer had supposedly gone down and the power to the entire golf course was shut down. So they couldn’t take credit cards in the pro shop or in the snack bar. Not that it would’ve made a difference because they had no electricity to cook anyway.
Pace of play was decent and for $ 20 the course was in decent shape. Not great shape, not good shape, but decent shape.
So my recommendation is to play here, but not for a penny over $ 25.