"The Soule of Ojai"
Soule Park Golf Course is one of America's most highly-regarded municipal golf courses. Situated in the stunning Ojai Valley, nestled beneath the grandiose Topa Topa Mountains, the playable parkland layout offers an enjoyable round of golf for players of all skill levels. The facility was ranked the 48th best municipal golf course in the country by Golf Week magazine in 2014 and named "The Best Course You've Never Heard Of" by GOLF Magazine in 2021. Soule Park was originally designed by renowned architect William F. Bell in 1962. Bell was also responsible for many other iconic Southern California golf courses including Torrey Pines (North and South) in San Diego and Sandpiper in Santa Barbara.
In 2005, Soule Park underwent a renovation led by Gil Hanse, who is one of the industry’s most highly regarded modern-day golf course architects. He was the architect responsible for designing the Olympic Golf Course for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, 2020 U.S. Open venue Winged Foot GC, and most recently redesigned both the North and South golf courses at The Los Angeles Country Club.
Relatively unknown architects at the time, Hanse and partner Jim Wagner, were brought in to revive the special land. With a minimal budget, the course was recreated in the manner of an old-school layout with interesting and strategic green complexes, beautiful bunkering and wide fairways calling for strategic lines into the putting surfaces. Soule Park is the kind of place where everyone is welcome.
