Got out second up after super twilight (3:00) as a twosome. Tee boxes in general were good, fairways were OK, bunkers adequate, and greens were crappy. Your ball need a suspension system for off-roadi... Continue »

Got out second up after super twilight (3:00) as a twosome. Tee boxes in general were good, fairways were OK, bunkers adequate, and greens were crappy. Your ball need a suspension system for off-roading or it was going to jump and bounce off line. Got done just in time in the fading light. Good for a casual practice round, but nothing more serious than that. But since that's all I was out for, I was cool with that.

Haven't been out here in a good while but was out with a buddy as a twosome yesterday, 8/9, off around 4:30. You'll see a lot of hard, dry, brown areas around the grounds when you play this course, bu... Continue »

Haven't been out here in a good while but was out with a buddy as a twosome yesterday, 8/9, off around 4:30. You'll see a lot of hard, dry, brown areas around the grounds when you play this course, but fortunately, most of that is either in rough, non playing areas, or playing areas you wouldn't typically frequent. The course has always been a tad scruffy around the edges, and fighting the drought doesn't make it easier but, having modest expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the fairways were more firm and fast than others, but they were generally green and in decent shape—certainly quite playable. The exceptions would be the first fairway which, while playable, is a bit thinner through more areas than the rest, and the lead up to the ninth green can make your approach tougher by being thin. Greens were in nice shape running true at a medium pace with no apparent issues, and green-side areas are good for chipping. The third tee box can be problematic, but the rest are fine for finding enough green and flat. Some bunkers have pebble issues more than others, but the sand is good. It's a hilly, interesting layout with some nice mountain views. For the $12.25 twilight, or $7.50 super twilight rates, it's definitely enjoyable enough for a casual round.

Played on a late Friday afternoon. There was a fivesome in front of me and another walking single I was paired off with. Although we did tend to wait, it was only for a minute each hole as the fives... Continue »

Played on a late Friday afternoon. There was a fivesome in front of me and another walking single I was paired off with. Although we did tend to wait, it was only for a minute each hole as the fivesome were hustling pretty well.

I do have warm nostalgic feelings for this course because it was my team's home course for high school. It's never been meticulously maintained, but I was shocked at how poor the playing conditions were. The course was severely dried out, with about half of the fairway on any given hole being dead brown grass. Many of the greens were suffering as well, most notably the par 3-8th hole had some really bad damage on the backside edges. My playing partner told me that the really bad windstorm in the San Gabriel Valley a couple of years ago knocked down dozens of trees on the course (I really noticed this on the uphill par 4-7th hole, where I could plainly see the 2nd hole across the wash, when trees used to block that view). And the current drought conditions in California had really affected the course's ability to water the property.

Overall I just felt sad that this golf course I had grown up on was in such bad shape. Luckily my playing partner was a really fun conversationalist and we had a good time. Shout out to you, Dolan, if you read this. Hopefully this course will get turned around and once again be a nice spot for beginners to get a taste of regulation-sized golf.

Went out Tuesday, 1/7, as a single. The starter let me out a little early for super twilight which now begins at 3:30. Winter conditions throughout: thin, firm, lots of roll on the fairways and little... Continue »

Went out Tuesday, 1/7, as a single. The starter let me out a little early for super twilight which now begins at 3:30. Winter conditions throughout: thin, firm, lots of roll on the fairways and little rough. Tees thin but generally level and adequate except for the par 3 third hole—humped, beat up and uneven, it has needed renovating for a long time. Greens were decent and touch quicker than expected. Bunkers are also OK as far as sand but some of them have quite a few small stones in them. I played through a slow twosome on the fourth hole and never caught the next group, so finished around 5 o'clock on a 1.5-hr pace for nine holes. While generally unremarkable/ragged conditions, still playable with a very casual vibe and some nice views. Not a destination course, but for $7.50 super twilight rate and with modest expectations, well worth the money for a practice round. At the regular rates, not so much.

Went out early Saturday afternoon 11/16 as a two-some. As a local 9-hole course, EC has its charms—casual, local feel, dramatic mountain views, interesting layout and topography—but whether one would ... Continue »

Went out early Saturday afternoon 11/16 as a two-some. As a local 9-hole course, EC has its charms—casual, local feel, dramatic mountain views, interesting layout and topography—but whether one would want to play it now is probably inversely proportional to one's expectations. Tee boxes are mainly level with a couple of exceptions. Around the course are large expanses of dried, hard or even bare areas although mostly where you wouldn't typically be playing the ball. For instance, the first fifty yards or more of the first fairway was hard pan or dirt vs. the rest of the fairway, which was reasonably green where you were likely to actually be playing the ball. Fairways are generally on the tight side with a fair amount of roll. A lot of rough areas are dirt where they are under tree and foliage sections. Other areas adjacent to the fairways and greens had reasonable growth. Missed the bunkers so I can't comment but they are usually adequate here. I noted some minor fungus areas on one of the greens as well as the practice green but the rest seemed to be clean, rolling at a crisp medium speed. Some of the updating and maintenance that the management has been applying to its sister course, Altadena, does not seem evident here. Perhaps (hopefully) they are merely focusing on one at a time. While EC definitely needs a maintenance upgrade and some TLC, it is still interesting and playable even in it's dog-eared state. I was definitely in the mood for a casual round with a buddy, but probably no more than nine. With all the noted reservations about the state of the course, and perhaps because my expectations were modest, I wasn't sorely disappointed by any particular aspect. At the end of the day we had really enjoyed our round, so for us it fit the bill. For the average golfer, maybe I would rate it "practice round" quality.

Played here with my daughter on 8/4. Tee boxes were not so good. One fairway of a par-3 was brown with almost no grass. It was a hot day. The mountain in the backdrop is beautiful. Price is good tho... Continue »

Played here with my daughter on 8/4. Tee boxes were not so good. One fairway of a par-3 was brown with almost no grass. It was a hot day. The mountain in the backdrop is beautiful. Price is good though.

Eaton Canyon Golf Course Review
Pasadena California Golf Course Reviews

Played the course today and as usual it was in terrible shape. Shame on me for continuing to think it would get better. Tee boxes are almost non existent with grass, the fairways are very sparse and... Continue »

Played the course today and as usual it was in terrible shape. Shame on me for continuing to think it would get better. Tee boxes are almost non existent with grass, the fairways are very sparse and the greens were punched and not enough sand was set down so the holes are not covered, putting was out of the question.

I have had enough of this course for quite some time now....

Eaton Canyon Golf Course Review
Pasadena California Golf Course Reviews

I've never been called "mad dog" and have negligible English in my lineage, but there I was teeing off today at Eaton Canyon around 1:00 with the thermometer climbing above 100º. I was invited to join... Continue »

I've never been called "mad dog" and have negligible English in my lineage, but there I was teeing off today at Eaton Canyon around 1:00 with the thermometer climbing above 100º. I was invited to join a two-some on the first tee and, with another single following us off, we congealed into a foursome by the third tee box. The course was otherwise wide open and there was probably no one closer than three holes either way, almost certainly due to the heat. Don't know how long the round was but under those conditions, who cares? Eaton is a hilly regulation 9-holer that includes two par-5s. Nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, what it lackes in polish it makes up for in visual interest and a bit of character. The fairways are generally muni-good with the occasional thinner area. Rough tends to be non-existant in the tree lines although it's good around the greens areas. The one bunker I was in today was a fair test and had plenty of sand. Casual observation was that this seemed to be the norm. Tee boxes varied -- a few were a bit unlevel and chewed up to varying degrees with the third hole being the worst. However, most were level enough and had reasonable coverage. There is a red maintenance alert showing on GK which is probably because the greens were punched sometime recently. That can be downgraded to a fading yellow. The greens still show the punch pattern, and are running the slow side of medium, but they are quite playable over all and reasonably true. Shoud be no sign of anything in a week. The 7th green has some random burned patches but it's the exception. There is a decent grass range, chipping complex with bunker, and a putting green. A good spot to work on stuff, enjoy the view, local ambiance and maybe a beer -- or two if you walk. It's do-able because it's 9, but you'll get your workout.

Played on 6/19 with tee time just before 3 pm as a walk on. It took us around 2 1/4 hours to play 9. Greens were in decent shape with ball marks here and there. Fairways were in ok shape with bare/... Continue »

Played on 6/19 with tee time just before 3 pm as a walk on. It took us around 2 1/4 hours to play 9. Greens were in decent shape with ball marks here and there. Fairways were in ok shape with bare/thin spots here and there. Sand was hard packed. Like playing here to get some practice in. Price is right.