7925 Hollister Ave,
Santa Barbara, California 93117
Office
+1 (805) 968 1541Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Kyle Oliver (GM & Director of Golf)The Course:
18 holes. Clifftop course. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.
Surroundings:
Oceanside setting.
Designer:
William Francis "Billy" Bell Jr.
34.430890
-119.907521
11 miles W of Santa Barbara
Follow Hwy 101 west from Santa Barbara (for about 10 miles, passing Goleta). From Hwy 101, take the Winchester Canyon Rd exit towards Hollister Ave. Continue straight on Calle Real. At second stop sign, make a left and proceed over the bridge (over Hwy 101). Take the first right after the bridge, direction Bacara. After 100 yards golf is on your left.
Sandpiper, CA
Sandpiper Golf Club: Sometimes called the "Pebble Beach of Santa Barbara", Sandpiper has a lot in common with its more renowned Californian coastal cousin. The course also sits on cliffs directly above the ocean, affording spectacular views from many holes. This well-maintained and excellently crafted layout is a work of understated simplicity, designed to test and probe your game in all weathers.
The course gets underway in a tree-lined, pleasantly undulating, parkland setting. It's true character sallies forth at the the uphill par-5 5th. Here the wind freshens, the course becomes more open and from the hole's elevated green you enjoy the first spectacular view onto the mighty Pacific. There are many more ocean vistas to follow, especially from the back-nine.
Arguably the best stretch of holes commences with the wonderful par-4 10th, which tees-off alongside the clubhouse, before dog-legging its way towards the ocean, the green seemingly sitting on a raised promontory above the waves. The plunging 11th, with the ocean and a few palm trees as a backdrop, is the pick of a fabulous collection of par-3s. Anything hit too far right will find a small sandy inlet, anything too long will be on the beach. The excellent, uphill, dog-legging par-4 12th returns you to the clifftop plateau, and is followed by two long holes that hug the cliffs from tee-to-green.
With no housing on or around the course, you can enjoy 100-percent, natural, clifftop golf; perhaps accompanied by a breath or two of wind! If the wind is really blowing, then hang on to your hat and enjoy the ride.
Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.
Must book in advance.
Credit cards accepted. Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2021].
Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted at all times. Golf carts available to rent.
Good
Sandpiper, built on what was originally a crude oil production site, was developed by oil man and golf courses developer Kenneth "Ken" Hume Hunter (1944-2020). Hunter is also responsible for two other excellent golf developments in the California Central Coast area ... La Purisima in Lompoc (1984) and Hunter Ranch in Paso Robles (1994).
Sandpiper has hosted many professional tournaments, including the PGA Tour Tournament Series, the LPGA Santa Barbara Women's Open and the prestigious final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Nearby Santa Barbara is steeped in history. Over 13,000 years ago it was an important settlement for ancestors of the present-day Chumash Native Americans. In 1602 the name Santa Barbara was given to the region by Sebastian Vizcaino, in gratitude for having survived a violent storm in the Santa Barbara Channel on the eve of the feast day of that saint.
The Spanish were the first European settlers, arriving in 1782 to build the Presidio and Santa Barbara Mission. A powerful earthquake and tsunami, one of the strongest in California history, completely destroyed the town and the Mission in 1812. The Mission was subsequently rebuilt in a grander manner, and it is this construction, the best-preserved of the California Missions, which survives to the present day.
8301 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, California 93117
+1 (805) 968 0100
Visit websiteLike an intimate Mediterranean village, Bacara sprawls over 78 acres of beachfront, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains. Located just a few hundred yards along the coast from Sandpiper Golf Club, the prestigious resort of Bacara has 311 rooms and 49 specialty suites, which, like the resort's signature restaurants and spa facilities are luxurious, understated, intimate and relaxed. Every room features a private patio or balcony.
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Sandpiper (o.5 mls); Glen Annie
Rancho San Marcos
5650 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, California 93117
+1 (805) 964 6241
Visit websiteAn ideal location from which to explore the excellent golf courses to the west of Goleta and visit historic Santa Barbara, a few miles to the east. Goleta Beach and the Pacific Ocean are just a couple of miles away.
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Sandpiper; Glen Annie
Rancho San Marcos
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