I played the back-nine on Brookside #1 this morning, so this review is specific to the back. A heads up that as I was checking in, the guy at the pro shop was mentioning to another customer that they ... Continue »

I played the back-nine on Brookside #1 this morning, so this review is specific to the back. A heads up that as I was checking in, the guy at the pro shop was mentioning to another customer that they are going to punch/sand the greens on Tuesday/Wednesday in 2 weeks so that would be 3/29-3/30. I didn't catch specifically whether he was talking about course #1, but since I believe they punched #2 a couple weeks back, I have to assume he meant #1. Today, the course was in really great shape. The fairways are very green and lush unlike most public courses right now in SoCal. The greens were pretty much immaculate aside from the usual ball marks, etc. and they are running with really good speed and holding lines super well. Rough was fairly long, lush and penal. Not much to complain about with the tee boxes nor the bunkers. The back-nine took maybe 1 hour and 50 minutes, and we teed off as the second group at 6:50.

I went to Brookside with the intention of playing the #2 course, but was fortunate enough to be able to get out on the "big" course. I've always preferred the #1 course, even though there are several... Continue »

I went to Brookside with the intention of playing the #2 course, but was fortunate enough to be able to get out on the "big" course. I've always preferred the #1 course, even though there are several par 4 holes which are just too much for me to handle now.

I was impressed with the overall condition of the course, particularly the greens. I like fast greens, so it was nice to play some greens with speed. Fairways had good coverage. Not in any bunkers, but they looked "thin".

Out early so pace was not an issue. The senior rate makes this place a real bargain. With so many gold courses having raised their prices, it is refreshing to play somewhere that is not trying to take advantage of the Covid situation. Highly recommend !

It was a friend's birthday this weekend so we snagged a nice late foursome at Brookside #1 and ended up canceling the less interesting Woodley Lakes at the last minute. It was a wise choice.

I'm s... Continue »

It was a friend's birthday this weekend so we snagged a nice late foursome at Brookside #1 and ended up canceling the less interesting Woodley Lakes at the last minute. It was a wise choice.

I'm still not a fan of Brookside #1 switching the nines on us like they did sometime this past year, but the course is no less fun or interesting because of it. I think I just liked the flow of it better the old way, and the first hole now requires a long shot over that concrete ravine that bisects the course instead of the rather benign old first hole (now #10) that let's you work your way into it slowly.

Very nice course conditions all around here right now with the greens running super quick, having very nice coverage and rolling true all day. I had a very difficult time keeping the speeds right and suffered a few too many 3-putts, but blame that on me and not the course.

Fairways are in good shape right now and the rough in spots in brutal thick, but mostly playable if you're not too far into the sticks. There were a lot of bunkers that were pretty thin and even some with standing water in them, but I only had to play out of one all morning and left it a half foot from the hole for a tap-in so I'm not complaining. Tee boxes were a little bit thin on some of the holes, but always manageable.

Cart service was great and came around numerous times, and there's a great little BBQ area near the first tee box that serves up some tasty brats. We also had some drinks and other apps outside the now-open diner, so that was nice to have back. Don't recall exactly what the greens fee was but included the very basic carts with the exception of the serviceable GPS they have attached to them.

We played from the blue tees and it's all a high-handicapper like myself can handle at 6700 yards and no shortage of very long par 4s throughout the day. You've got some narrow landing areas to deal with and some vital distance calls, but there are some gettable holes here as well. It's just a really fun track and it will keep you entertained all day long.

Played here mid day Saturday Memorial day weekend. POP was 4:30 with waiting on only a couple of holes. Being a threshold that played ready golf may have contributed to the waiting. Hope they keep th... Continue »

Played here mid day Saturday Memorial day weekend. POP was 4:30 with waiting on only a couple of holes. Being a threshold that played ready golf may have contributed to the waiting. Hope they keep the 10 minute tee times post covid restrictions.

Course is in decent shape. Green most places. Less swamped areas than a few weeks ago on course 2. They don't seem to care what kind of grass grows where as long as the course is generally green. Rough seemed recently mown so I didn't lose any balls in the rough as I've done here a few times.

Could always find a flat place to tee off. Noticed the tee off areas were generally the whole tee box from side to side. Greens were in good shape. Rolling pretty flat even though you could see the punching marks still, they did not affect puts. The greens here are maybe not the most complex but are very tough. They don't really have tiers, just generally slanted back to the fairway. 2 putting is a win on most holes. I wasn't in any sand traps but they looked generally ok. I would expect them to play well if my course 2 existing is any indication. They are on the smaller side.

Course 1 fits my have better than 2. There are some long par 4s and tough 5s. Generally tight fairways so you need to hit straight. Bail out fairway areas on resort courses will wind up in the dirt behind a tree, on the street or the water channel.

I do like the vibe out here. They seem to have lessons for kids all day long on the weekends at least. Lots of learning and those who have graduated from lessons. The only downside is the driving range can get to capacity quick. Lucky for me today, the helpful Honda people were giving 30 minutes of free balls on the range. Felt like there was a women of not two in every foursome. The people playing definitely reflect LA.

Generally a good day on a decent course.

Managed to snag an 8am tee time at Brookside this morning and played with three friends, one of which had been out of the game for a while, so we opted to play the white tees, which, if you know Brook... Continue »

Managed to snag an 8am tee time at Brookside this morning and played with three friends, one of which had been out of the game for a while, so we opted to play the white tees, which, if you know Brookside #1, is still more than enough challenge. It was a cold morning but the range was bristling as a long line waited to warm up.

Once we started, I was miffed to find out that they had reversed the nines here. Having last played here in 2019, I must have not gotten the memo, so that was a bit of an adjustment. I'm not sure I prefer the current routing compared to the old one, but I can also admit that I have no concrete explanation for feeling that way. Nostalgia maybe?

As for the course itself, tremendous greens, with the only blemish on them being from too many weekend hackers unwilling to fix ball marks. Apart from that, they' very fast, very true and incredibly difficult to master. Green complexes here offer some tricky pin positions and today was no exception. Also, only very well-placed approaches managed to stay on the greens.

Fairways were in good, but not great shape. I'm not a fan of the rough between the trees where you will find a great many dry patches and simple dirt to work from, and it's frustrating at times to watch great shots just roll off the green and into some junk right off the cart paths since a lot of the holes are pretty tight. But hey, whose fault is it being there?
Bunker that I was in played fine, not super fluffy but an actual sand shot possible, unlike other places where chips are necessary. And tee boxes were in good shape - flat and mostly well covered.

Brookside is one of the more stringent Covid regulations courses I've played in a while, so be prepared for that. They also did not have any food services available in the morning, but when we finished up after around 5.5 hours, there was a BBQ and beverage stand available with some nice selections. Oh yeah, the POP stunk. Super crowded and we waited on just about every shot, but once the cold faded into a nice summer-esque day, no one cared all that much. It was an amazing winter day that we SoCal residents should never take for granted.

Played the LONG #1 course in an SCGA qualifier on Thursday, 9/10/20, teeing off at 820am and playing in just over 4.5 hr. Which was pretty torturous, as all the fires made the air brown and smoky, and... Continue »

Played the LONG #1 course in an SCGA qualifier on Thursday, 9/10/20, teeing off at 820am and playing in just over 4.5 hr. Which was pretty torturous, as all the fires made the air brown and smoky, and we had NO wind and high humidity, making the round very uncomfortable. After the high heat of the past couple weeks, the course (yes, all that lovely kikuyu!) was very wet from early watering, and for some reason SCGA set us up on the Blue tees (6,711/72.5/129), making the long day even longer. Greens were the best part of the course. They were fairly firm but held good shots, had good coverage and rolled smoothly at medium+ speed. We saw scattered old ballmarks on each hole but it was manageable. Greens on the back nine are a little sloppier than on the front, and a couple of pin placements yesterday were on the edge of the precipice – my downhill putt on #10, struck with appropriate speed for what we saw on the front nine, rolled past the hole and continued off the front of the green 30 feet away! Fortunately this was the exception and not the rule! [Please HOLD the comments on my putting!] Fairway coverage was variable throughout the course – you could get lush/spongy kikuyu, tight/firm kikuyu, thin/patchy lies, or bare spots. Rough was similar in the variability encountered, but was much more likely to be on the thin/bare side. And farther from the fairway you were in loose dirt. Tees were generally OK but were set up pretty narrow, so cleat damage built up fairly quickly, and frequently were pushed to the side of the tee box, where bordering trees could intrude (go, American Golf!!). Sand was barely adequate – a very thin layer over wet, packed base. It helps that SCGA lets you play lift and place within one club in competitions, but you still have the thin sand problem. I hadn’t played #1 in 20+ years, so I was happy to see a TFM GPS unit on the good-quality cart. COVID measures in place – don’t touch the flag, no rakes, masks in the clubhouse, and putting green closed. But the range was open. As opposed to the courteous staff at Arrowood a few days ago, staff here just keeps working/driving while you are hitting. Recommended, but play the correct tees, and wait for the fire residue to clear out.

Played Koiner this weekend for a special event.

Tee off at 740 am.

Always different for me because the 9's were flipped. Sometimes, you'll even have memories of the old pond that was on the ne... Continue »

Played Koiner this weekend for a special event.

Tee off at 740 am.

Always different for me because the 9's were flipped. Sometimes, you'll even have memories of the old pond that was on the new 9.

POP was whatever as we were playing an event so it didn't really matter. Although we slithered our way through in a little over 4 hours.

Even though that course is treated like garbage by American Golf as they'd rather have people doing donuts in the fairway after a Metallica concert, not having events at the bowl for sure is helping the course quality.

Tee Boxes were good, traps were good and the rough was proper. The greens were
really good and stayed rolly through the day.

Koiner is a demanding course that requires attention but there are some fantastic holes
on the course and while it can be a little spendy at times, the course was for sure in playable
condition for the money.

Brookside just opened up on 5/8 so our regular group got two early times on Sunday to accommodate 8 of us – 7:01 and 7:11. It had been 8 weeks since I last played and was a bit reluctant to do so but ... Continue »

Brookside just opened up on 5/8 so our regular group got two early times on Sunday to accommodate 8 of us – 7:01 and 7:11. It had been 8 weeks since I last played and was a bit reluctant to do so but everyone was so gung ho to play, I decided to give it a go. As Abbacat indicated in her review of course #2, covid 19 precautions are well in place. Masks are required for common areas/when you pay but not when on the course. We walked and kept our masks on anyway. If you don’t have a mask, you can buy one there for a $1.00. Credit card only for green fees. Range is open however but the practice putting green is not. POP was just under 4 hours. Course conditions were good but I guess was expecting more. There were a lot of browned out areas and areas that were green were really thick. Not much roll out with this thick kikuyu. Rough wasn’t too thick, about like it always is. Bunkers were in good shape. No rakes so tried my best to smooth them over with my feet. The greens were in good shape. Smooth but just not running very fast. Medium speed at best. Not a lot of ball marks which was expected and nice to see. IMO, Brookside #1 is still a beast and will play a lot longer when the kikuyu is thick and not cut. I’ll give it a thumbs up however and for $44 on weekends to walk, it’s definitely worth the play.

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. Go... Continue »

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.