Played early today, May 17, just before 7:00 am. Was extremely worried about POP when the group in front of us was a hole behind after the first hole, and had much trouble on the second, but with encouragement from us and the marshal they played at a nice pace after that and we finished in 4:10. On service at the course, the coffee shop was opening for limited take out service as we were making the turn after nine. Looked like the range was open also but I did not get a chance to get up there.

The grounds crew has obviously been out there working on the deeper parts of the rough, such as right on #1, but there are still quite a few nasty areas including under those trees. The fairways were not as lush as last week, particularly on the back nine where they generally looked dry and in need of water. The greens were a little faster than last week but there were some bumps on the front and a few of the greens on the back looked like they were burnt or getting some disease especially #10. That said, they rolled well except for those bumps on the front.

Overall, recommended. It was a gorgeous day out there today.

Played Sunday, May 10. We played early, before 6:30 am, and the course was not crowded. It was Mother's Day which may have been a factor, but it was the first course I have played since the reopenings started that was not full of golfers. POP was excellent as a result. We played in four hours and the group on the 10th tee when we were finishing said they had played the front in two hours.

Standard Covid-19 restrictions with the addition of County monitors riding around the course observing whether social distancing was maintained. I did not see any breaches myself and I did not see the monitors interacting with golfers. They just loomed in the background. Note, the driving range was not open nor was the coffee shop open for any purpose. I heard the beverage cart was out on the course the day before but we had not seen it by the time we finished about 10:15.

The course was much lusher than I have seen it. It was actually a tough walk because of it. Walking up the hill to the 13th green felt like I was pushing a snow plow instead of a push cart. Great hitting surface in the fairway but not much roll, so the course played longer than usual. There were also some very thick native growth, British Open style, such as right on #1, and left on #6. Rough was generally up. I found 3 balls in the regular rough.

The greens looked great, were firm, but putted slower than usual. While they had okay speed, balls were left above holes on downhill putts much more than normal. The sand traps were okay.

Overall, a good day on the links. Always enjoy it here and it is still great to just get out of the house and enjoy golf again.

Played the Blue tees today with a 7:00 am start. No amenities that I saw. Barricades and barriers, basically pay and get out on the course. The range was open though. Played as a single walking (no carts for anyone), two groups let me through on the front nine, ended up finishing in 3:15. At almost 6900 yards, heavy dew when I started in dissipating fog, it seemed to play long. Not hitting many fairways probably contributed to that feeling.

The fairways were on the shaggy side of lush but a good hitting surface. The rough was cut down but still a factor. I did not notice it anywhere else, but it looked like there was a first cut and a second cut on #14. That was the only area where I had trouble finding my ball.
The sand traps were not very good. The sand was fairly wet and not level. They had not been raked, nor were rakes available, so it was the luck of the draw when landing in them. I was in one footprint but otherwise lucky. The greens looked slower than they were. Maybe they were inconsistent, but I thought they slowed down as the morning progressed. Slow side of medium. They rolled pretty well though. No complaints. They had little surveyor flags in the cups so one could see them, for the most part, in a range finder. I had trouble all day locking in on distance though.

This was only the second or third time I have played this course, always with a cart before. It is not the easiest walk especially the trek up from 14 to 15, then 15 to 16. You go from the lowest part of the course to the highest point, down through a drainage area then straight up with a short par three on the flat about 2/3 of the way up to break the climb. Nice view at the top while resting for a minute (or two).

Played Friday, 4/24, in the morning. They had it set up for limited interaction with staff, there was a table blocking the door to the trailer club house, just lay your credit card in the tray and wait for the okay to play. There was no one waiting when we arrived but when we made the turn I could see a line at the clubhouse. That said, everyone was pleasant and targeted to get people on the course. The putting and chipping green were closed but the driving range was open. There was someone in the parking lot announcing the conditions. Great service.

The usual pandemic measures were in place, including lines sprayed six feet apart next to the white tee boxes. We played the blues but social distancing was practiced. Thankfully, no masks required considering we were outdoors.

The course was in excellent shape. Nice fairway and pretty thick rough (lost a ball in the grass on 16). The native areas were pretty darn thick but I was able to play out of it when I found my ball (once having to go out backwards - don't ask). Several balls were lost by playing partners though. The sand was okay the two bunkers I was in. The greens were the highlight. Fast side of medium, smooth and fun. Fairly firm also.

The tough part of the round was no flags. They had holes with an insert about one inch deep. If they had painted the holes we might have been able to see them on approaches. As it was, we had to stand on the greens at times to find the holes. Pretty amazing considering we had pin sheets showing the area, 1-4, the hole was in. I liked the inserts though because putts were able to fall in on a good putt, something that would not be able to happen if they had reverse cups as some courses have.

We played in 4.5 hours. We were not slowed by the group in front after about 6 holes and the group behind rarely, if ever, had to wait after than time. Looking back on it, the relatively slow pace of play was likely because we were looking for balls in the deep rough, sometimes a couple or three on a hole. We did not spend a huge amount of time on it each time, but it added up. Overall, a fantastic time had by all.

Played today, Saturday March 21, in the morning. Numerous Covid-19 measures including tape on ground six feet apart at starter's window for social distancing, no flags on putting green, card reader outside starter window with statement that is preferred rather than cash, sign outside saying anyone feeling ill is prohibited from entering, no flag pulling statement, no rakes in the bunkers, and they put rubber tube inserts into the holes while we were playing that were about half the height of the hole so the ball sat up when it went in and was easily retrievable without touching the flag. The place was packed. I got on as a single and played with three good guys - no hand shaking and everyone appropriately distanced on the course. 4:15 pace of play which was good considering the time.

The fairways were pretty good with the recent rain. They were mowed and gave a good lie. The rough is up and we had to look several times to find balls. The bunkers had been raked by the staff. The greens were pretty good. A little inconsistent and occasional bumps but over all they rolled well and at a decent medium speed or better.

A good time in difficult circumstances. I appreciate LA City golf for its efforts.

Played Saturday, March 14. Course was decently crowded considering the coronavirus situation. Three people on the waiting list and full groups that I saw. Fully staffed with friendly people.

The course drains well so there were no issues with casual water or even overly saturated ground. It rained off and on much of the round but it was a light drizzle that did not affect conditions. The course had not been mowed a a couple of days it looked like, so it was shaggier than usual. The greens looked good but they were slower, slow side of medium, and bumpy for whatever reason. The rough was up especially in the wilder portions. I found a couple of balls looking for playing partner's balls. The sand was good in the few bunkers I was in. The tee boxes were a mixed bag. Level but some were chewed up and one I had to stand on my tee to get it in.

Overall, a good experience considering the series of storms we have had.

Played Sunday in the Men's Club tourney. Gorgeous morning with views that included a glimpse of the Channel Islands in the Ventura/SB area. The views of Malibu and Catalina were crystal clear. Cool Santa Ana wind at the start that calmed down in the mid-morning.

The course is playing firm and fast. Pretty dry overall but with decent grass cover and they have been able to maintain some areas that they seeded last year to make the course look better. And catch some wayward shots like left on #2. That said, there are many dirt areas between holes, such as between 6 and 7, and several areas on the back nine. Generally good conditions though.

The greens were outstanding and very quick. There were some tough pin positions. We had a couple of balls roll back from the back right pin position on #4, including one player whose ball went two feet past the hole then rolled back about 15 feet or more. Wind aided but showing the speed of the greens. They rolled great though.

Nice coffee shop with plenty of TVs to watch the games. The servers are great also.

Recommend right now, just know going in that it is not going to be a fast round.

Played in a tourney Sunday, 1/12. The course has received several reviews recently but thought I would throw in my two cents. Overall, it was very favorable. The place was packed with a shotgun start on the North Course, so getting service afterwards in the restaurant was difficult. The waitresses were trying and were courteous, there were just a lot of people.

The greens blew me away. Fastest I have seen them in years. They were also quite firm, which is unusual in my experience here the last few years. There were some wicked pin positions, especially the 5th hole where one guy in our group lipped out and rolled eight feet down to where my and our other playing partner's balls had ended up when we just missed putts. He ended up three putting after hitting his sand shot to six feet. The rum bottle appeared at the next tee.

The rough was lousy. I was in it all day and usually sitting on dirt between clumps of grass. The fairways were decent from what little I saw of them. There was enough sand in the bunkers I was in but barely. So the course had some blemishes but overall very playable and a fun layout.

Pace of play was okay at a little under the expected 5 hours. Sunday tournament pace.

I'll be back.

Late review. Snuck out for an afternoon round at Alondra last Saturday. For my semi-annual visit, I walked on at 1:00, joined on 10 two twosomes that had earlier paired up and was able to finish just as it was getting dark. Pretty good pace of play for a weekend round.

The course was in decent shape. Some bare spots, definitely thin winter conditions overall in the fairways. There were some muddy spots but nothing really bad considering the course traditionally drains poorly. The rough was hit and miss. Generally cut down but I was in some gnarly spots as well, left on 15 and on the backside of the green on 17. The bunkers were playable. The greens were interesting. I asked someone making the turn about them and he said they were good and surprisingly quick. I found them to be medium speed but also looking like they may be developing some fungus problem. I was chipping for practice on the 8th green and the ball was hopping all over the place. That said, they rolled pretty well on putts considering the time of day.

Overall, the course exceeded my expectations which admittedly were not high. For $23.75 walking, it was a good deal.

Played in a tournament here on Sunday, 12/1. The service here is generally good and this visit was no exception. No complaints about the staff. I was surprised that the tournament went off on time at 9:00 am (maybe a few minutes early) and finished in 4.5 hours. Nice! Fastest weekend tourney time I have had here.

The coruse itself was in okay condition. The greens were shaggy, a little bumpy, and slow. I attribute it to the rain. There were still some signs of aeration on some of the greens, and the root structure seemed really shallow when fixing ball marks, so that might have been a factor also. In any event, what was a strength in the past was a glaring weakness on this visit.

The rain and cold temperatures have the course in winter conditions. Pretty tight lies on the fairways and cut/nonexistent rough with some bare spots. There were some spots with higher grass but those generally looked like soft spots they were avoiding mowing until the rain stops. The tee boxes were okay. Not always level or lush, I had no problem finding an adequate spot to put the tee. I would note that hole numbers 4 and 14 were cart path only. Four was not bad but fourteen had some soft spots near the cart path that had some cart damage already.

The course is playable but will not be my first option for a while.

Played early Sunday, 11/24. Great pace of play, a little under 4 hours. Pleasant group whose 4th apparently did not get the memo.

The course was nice. The rough was cut down so the ball was running off to the side more than usual. I had good lies when in the fairway, some bare lies in the rough. The course was drier than usual in the early morning so there were some drives with good run out. No complaints about the greens. Medium speed but the ball rolled well.

At $60.50 to ride, it is a good weekend spot, if you get out early.

Played in a tourney on Sunday, November 3. We were started late. The front took easily over 2.5 hours but we ended up with a POP of less than 5 hours. So it definitely sped up on the back nine. Good customer service from the starter, okay service at the walk-up counter in the coffee shop.

I have not played Brookside the day after a UCLA football game. Maybe because of UCLA's dismal attendance this year, the course did not show much sign of being used as a parking lot the previous day. They were still removing port o potties and some other equipment but that was the only sign I saw of the event. Despite that, the course was in okay but not what I would consider good condition.

I was in quite a few bare spots in the fairway. Possibly because I could not hit an iron straight I was in the greenside rough quite a bit and there was plenty of hard pan there also. The sand traps were the worst conditions. I was in one that might have been a fairway bunker and might have been greenside (maybe 15 yards from the green) that had no sand. I could see the liner material poking out of that and a greenside bunker I was in. Just not good sand coverage.

The greens were excellent. Rolling with good quickness and smoothly. Generally greenside rough near the green was pretty thick. I was in one area that looked like it was sod that had been put in a couple of months before that had good coverage.

So, it was a mixed bag. It is a good test of your golf game (although the white tees we played took some of the teeth out of the course). There are some fun holes. I have seen the conditions better though.