I live in Arcadia and play Santa Anita often. I played 4/15. Conditions this spring are much better than they were last fall - hopefully this year they have the means to keep it going strong year-round. Greens are never fast and the course gets a lot of wear, but it has good character and an interesting history.

The layout is sneakily challenging. It presents at first as a flat course, but there are lots of undulations - some rather dramatic, such as in front of the 6th green, and across the 9th fairway. These make for uphill and downhill lies, so it’s a great place to come practice those. The staff are great, in my experience, and the ambience is really comfortable - the surroundings (the park, tennis courts and Arcadia High School) make for a nice atmosphere.

As for pace of play, I almost always come at twilight times, sometimes playing less than 18 holes and running up against sunset. At these hours, there are very few pace issues, and I can usually walk the front nine in less than two hours.