Played this morning @ 9:36am. Yeah, I know, we are very very stupid. It must have been 110 degrees. Anyway, the course was in very good shape, especially given the heat. The greens seem to be quite resiliant as they rolled very true. But obviously in this heat they cannot cut the greens too closely, therefore, the greens were not very fast. They were quite hard, however. On the normally shaggy, slow, soft greens of Long Beach courses, it's really easy to stop the ball on the green with pretty much any club. But there were several times today where a long iron had difficulty stopping, where it wouldn't in the conditions under which I normally play. The tee boxes were a little hairy, but again, that was probably due to the temps. I was impressed with the layout and the conditions

This course is very challenging. Tee shot placement is crucial and you have to resist the urge to go at some pins. If you miss in the wrong places on this course, you'll suffer. Buy a yardage book (it's worth the $9) and try to figure out where to miss and not miss. You can't hit driver on every hole, and you shouldn't hit 3-wood to into the par-5 greens either (note: I played from the tips; this advice might not be applicable from other sets of tees). The starter was a little annoying: he pumped us for all our indexes, and then proceeded to tell us from which tee boxes we were to play. I told him I was a 2 (which is true) and he said, "oh, well then YOU can play from the blues". I proceeded to ask him what I needed to say in order to have "permission" to play from the blacks. He said that those tee boxes weren't open. I asked, "Then what in the heck are those tee markers doing there? Shouldn't you just take those out, not cut the grass from those boxes, and put signs there saying they are closed?" After looking at me quizically for a couple of seconds, I told him politely that after paying good money to play, they should let me tee off from the parking lot if I want to, just so long as I don't hold up the group behind us. I walked back to the tips, teed it up, and drilled one. Where does he get off? Power trip much?

Played the back nine this morning early. It seems as though some people just show up to play the back nine without paying. I saw several people walk straight to the tenth tee from the parking lot. I have never seen so many people playing the back nine on any other golf course (except maybe Eldorado Park). Still, even though there were a bunch of people (playing slow), you can't beat $14. The course was in pretty good shape considering the amount of play the course gets. I would have given the course a higher rating, but the amount of ball marks on the greens was absurd. The greens were in really good shape, but the ball marks make it difficult to get a good roll on any decent length putt. Overall, I thought the course was in very nice shape. The tee boxes were in really good shape as well as the chipping areas around the greens. The fairways were being cut today, but the clippings were left there, so there were a bunch of clumps of grass just sitting out there in the middle of the fairway, which cut down on the roll.

Played the Champions early this morning. Course was in very good shape. Tee boxes and fairways were pretty lush, but cut tightly. The greens were medium-fast, but very firm. It looks as though people never repair their ball marks here, but it seems that the grounds crew has done their best to repair all of them. As a consequence, the ball marks don't really affect putts much. The balls rolled really nice and true on the greens. The only real downside are the bunkers. There really wasn't much sand in them, though I was only in 4 of them, so that might not be an accurate sample. There was also a little bit of soggy ground here and there in the fairways, but they were roped off. This course is a great layout and is always in better than average condition, and in many cases is in excellent condition.

played 6/4 @ 10:30am. course was in pretty good shape, especially for how many rounds are played here. the greens were the best part of the course. they were pretty fast, especially above the hole. there are some tricky greens on this track, and some of them are kind of small. if this course was in great shape, i think it would really be a pleasure. the course is designed very well. the course designer did really well with the land he was given. the rough and bunkers were in pretty good shape. the only thing that was unfortunate was the uneven tee boxes and the sparse fairway grass. this is a fun track and is a great bargain for under $30.

played may 30th @ 7:20. course was not in good shape. The tee boxes were recently punched and none of the plugs were picked up. The tee boxes were an absolute mess. Usually the tips are in the best shape of all tee boxes, but this was not the case. I play here three or four times a year, but I haven't played the Ike in 7 years or so (I LOVE the Babe). The Ike is very challenging, especially from the tips, but the tee boxes and the fairways were not in good shape at all. It was challenging enough to hit a good tee shot because of the tee boxes, plus the course is challenging on top of all of that, but the fairways were really dry and the grass was sparse. The best lies I had all day were in the rough. After a good solid drive at this course, you are usually left with an uneven lie in the fairway. This is difficult when the course conditions are good, but when the fairways are hardpan, it makes it very difficult to hit high quality iron shots. The greens and the bunkers were in good shape. The greens were wet and the rest of the course was dry (dry as a bone). But the last few holes were overwatered. I can't believe that such a course would be in such crappy shape. On top of that, the guy in the proshop, when he overheard that we were going to be playing from the tips, asked what our handicaps were. I asked him if it mattered, just so long as we kept up with the group in front of us. He said that they were "closed" unless we were scratch. I thought this was rude and shouldn't have been an issue, unless we were holding up the groups behind us (which we didn't). When I showed him my index (-0.5), that shut him up; still I thought it was uncalled for. I love how the holes are laid out at this course. If the conditions were good, I'm sure it's one of the best courses in the LA area; I know that the Babe is.

the greens were slow slow slow. they left these greens really hairy after punching them some weeks back. (heck maybe even months back) the tee boxes, bunkers, fairways, etc. were in pretty good shape, but the greens were as slower than i see at my local muni courses. again, maybe this has to do with the close proximity time-wise to punching the green, but i doubt it. the greens weren't bumpy at all, just really slow. this course offers some interesting shot choices and offers some interesting risks and rewards. the shot value here is good; bring a solid iron game here.

played a couple of days ago. went off the back 9 early. there were many people waiting to go off the back; this is a very crowded place. the course was in very good shape. the greens and the tee boxes were nice (played from the tips). as to be expected at a muni, there were some bare spots in places, but all in all in very good shape. definately worth the green fee. i would highly recommend playing this course from the tips. there are some interesting tee shots when playing from back there. it requires you to be able to maneuver the ball better than from just the blue tees.

Played this morning @ 7:12. Was minorly disappointed with the staff. The only reason I say that is because my group (a threesome) got there a little early and the guy in the proshop said we could go out early because there wasn't anyone there yet. This turned out not to be true because there was a twosome practicing on the putting green. Anyway, the starter said that we wouldn't be able to tee off until our tee time because the "members" had filled up all the tee times up until our original tee time. So I went into the proshop and asked why he told me that no one was here and I inquired why the starter told me we would have to wait. He said the starter has the last word and that the members didn't have the same check-in requirements as "non-members". I'm not really sure what a "member" is at a public course, but apparently they don't have to check in much before their tee time, or at all to be considered present and accounted for. So the crotchity old starter made my group wait even though NOBODY was on the tee. Ultimately, this is not a big deal, but I didn't like being treated in such an arbitrary way by the starter. Well, for $40, I guess I should be willing to put up with a schalaking every once in a while. That being said, the course was in great shape. Tee boxes and fairways were tight and short. The greens were fast except for holes 5-7. Pace of play was good, even though we had a foursome in front and a threesome riding our butts. This is one of the best courses in the southern california area, especially for the price. Only one small thing to complain about. Pretty much every other hole there were groundskeepers working on something and they were constantly in the way. The other thing is that the 7th fairway had rows and rows of mower clippings going the whole length of the fairway. I don't recall ever losing a ball in the middle of the fairway before. Will definately come back, but I will refrain from asking to tee off early.

played 7/17 @ 7:30 am. There hadn't been rain in weeks and yet the course was sopping wet. The fairways were water-logged. Many of the bunkers were bereft of sand. The greens were kind of hairy. I am a little disappointed that it got such a high rating so close to the day that I played there. I got a coupon for a $50 green-fee, so it wasn't all bad. But I'd rather pay $48 with a coupon and play SCGA (awesome shape) than play in 100 degree heat on a course that was rated an 8, but was actually a 5.

I like the layout of the course. Many good risk/reward holes and you can't hit driver all day. I played from the tips and even back there, the course takes the lumber out of your hands on numerous holes (1,4, 11, & 15). #1 is pretty wide open, but you can easily reach the greenside bunker if you hit driver. #4 I hit 3-wood to within 40 yards of the green and was lucky to do so because the fairway is about 15 yards wide right there. #11, if you hit it 280 straight, you run out of fairway. #15 there is no advantage to hitting driver (you'll be left with one of those awkward yardage shots); a 3-wood will leave you a wedge anyway.

If this course "shapes" up, I'll be back.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the conditions of the course this time around. I usually play here about four times a year or so and am always impressed with the course. Don't get me wrong, as far as shot value goes, this course is wonderful; it penalizes poor shots (and sometimes decent ones too) and rewards a person that can curve his/her ball off the tee. The tee boxes were a little hairy, but the greens were nice as usual. The rough was nice and lush and the fairways were good. But to me, tee boxes are really important because this is your best chance at hitting a good shot, so you want that area to be in great shape. Some might think that since the ball's on a tee, who cares what the grass is like. But for those of us who like to hit it off the turf on par-3's, it's a little annoying when the grass is sparse and in poor condition. I still love this course and thoroughly enjoy playing it. I don't miss playing the Ike one bit.

Just played @ 7:30am on Cinco de Mayo. Course conditions were superb. The greens were really fast, but they always are at this time of year. I play here about one to two times a year, and the greens are always fast around April-May, after they punch the greens. The greens (they said) were running about 12 on the stimp-meter. I think they were right. One thing you must keep in mind on this course - keep the ball BELOW the hole. Downhill putts here are treacherous; more so than any other course I've played. This course is always worth the green fee. A Trent Jones golf course that's under $70 is a steal. The layout is great with heavy emphasis on tee shot placement, as well as how well you are able to place your iron shots. The course plays shorter than its yardage. It says 7,000 plus, but I didn't have any longer than a 9 iron into any of the par 4's, except for 18. That is a great finishing hole. Playing 18 from the tips is a great hole because the tee box is in a little depression and the tee shot is straight up the hill and requires you to work the ball left otherwise you'll run out of real estate. Good risk-reward par 5's as well as challenging par 3's. Watch out for hole #6, stay below the hole or less "hello 3 putt". Two guys in our group (single digits mind you) putted off the green. On 18, my partner hit his approach to the middle tier and watched the ball roll ALL the way back off the green. The false fronts on these greens make chipping and hitting to front pins VERY tricky. This course played really tough. I can't remember the last time I shot higher than 80, but I did today, and I felt like I was hitting the ball decently.

Played this morning and we were the first group off. The greens were smooth and quite quick. The fairways were quite firm and sometimes even kind of hard. It looked as if the fairways hadn't been watered in quite a while. Maybe this is a reaction to the drainage problems after the rain(s). The bunkers were in good shape and the rough was lush. Overall, this is a wonderful track and I always make a point to play here at least once or twice a year. They are currently running an ad in Southern California Golf magazine with a coupon for $20 off anytime. Funny enough, I forgot to bring my magazine with me to get the discount, and they had a bunch of them in the proshop. Go figure.