Simi Hills Golf Course

Course History

Simi Hills opened for play on May 2, 1981, on a 160-acre parcel donated by developer Pacific Coast Properties, with opening-day green fees of just $10 on weekends and $7 on weekdays. The layout is the work of Ted Robinson, the prolific Southern California architect famous for weaving water features through his designs, and the course has been owned and operated by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District from the start.

By its 30th-anniversary tournament in 2011 — a shotgun-start affair benefiting the Rancho Simi Foundation — roughly 2.5 million rounds had been played here, and after the redevelopment of Lost Canyons the course stood as Simi Valley's only 18-hole public layout. A Ventura County Star Reader's Choice winner that has earned 3.5 stars from Golf Digest, Simi Hills hosts the annual City Championship along with regular in-house and charity events, and supports the Simi and Royal High School golf programs.

Signature Holes

Water comes into play on eight holes and more than 50 bunkers dot the property, with a hilly front nine giving way to a flatter, tree-lined back nine wound around several lakes. The 540-yard par-5 2nd tees off from one of the course's best vantage points, while the long par-4 7th is the front side's sternest test: it usually plays into the prevailing wind, the canted fairway feeds everything hard left, and the approach must hold a large green that slopes severely from back to front. The par-4 9th closes the outward half through a narrow driving corridor pinched by a red-staked hazard left and trees right, ending at a generous green reached by a slightly uphill approach.

Know Before You Go

• Public course at 5031 Alamo St, Simi Valley, CA 93063; call (805) 522-0803 for tee times and details.

• More info and booking at https://www.simihillsgolf.com/.