Okay, I'm totally biased here, I grew up a few blocks from here, and have played this course since I was wearing Keds and had trouble with all the snot in my nose. I caddied there at the 1995 Long Bea... Continue »

Okay, I'm totally biased here, I grew up a few blocks from here, and have played this course since I was wearing Keds and had trouble with all the snot in my nose. I caddied there at the 1995 Long Beach match play, and my swing coach started working with me in the back of the driving range that same year. I was in the pro shop during Tiger's first Masters victory. The memories go on and on. If you want a more impartial review, scroll on, but I know every contour, branch, and trick to this track.

All that being said, Skylinks is the best value/quality (certainly not the cheapest, but I'll get to that in a few) in the Long Beach area. After they spent a fortune remodeling it a decade ago, they turned a bland course under the flight path of an airport into a course that was vying for the attention of mini tour events.

I played there this afternoon, booking on GolfZing. If you are going to play an American Golf golf course, do yourself a favor and book through that site, it'll save you a bundle. Their putting green rolls very true, comparable to the greens on the course, but their bunker/chipping areas are not up to snuff. The pro shop is always decently stocked and staffed well. Weekend rounds are going to play incredibly slow, but if you're lucky enough to have some weekday time, it's usually smooth sailing. The tee boxes are pretty decent, the fairways are uncommonly good, every bunker is excellent sand, and if the greenskeeper is having trouble with the ball and chain, you might be in for some brutal pin positions. As with ALL muni courses, no one seems to ever fix their ball marks on the green, but they still roll well, and if you don't know the course, don't expect to get too close to the pin on your approach shots.

If you are a good putter, prefer a fade off the tee, are aggressive off the tee but not so aggressive that you have the big stick out every hole, and want the best beverage cart service around (say hi to my friend Claire, leave her a tip, it'll keep the golf gods happy... you'll need that for hole 11), Skylinks is where you should be tomorrow.