Played Sunday 7/10 at 10:08 with roarksown1 and bwaldera on a beautiful, but a bit toasty, day.
I was pleasantly surprised by the conditions all around. There's always "an expectation" when playing a... Continue »

Played Sunday 7/10 at 10:08 with roarksown1 and bwaldera on a beautiful, but a bit toasty, day.
I was pleasantly surprised by the conditions all around. There's always "an expectation" when playing a muni but Harding beat them all. Fairways were in solid shape, a little patchy in spots but overall very good coverage. Rough was, for the most part, frightening. Thick, deep, lush kikuyu that would eat your shoes. hacking out with a wedge was often the best option. Tee boxes were flat and most were rock hard. Greens were in good shape. Limited divot damage but a bit inconsistent on the roll (late in the day Poa, not a shock). Really impressed for my first time here and great weekend value walking with a POP of a little under 4.5 hours.

Wow, they have really turned this course around. The $52ish dollar rate makes this place a steal. I played Sunday morning at 9am. POP was great at 4.5 hours. The tee boxes were mostly very good, f... Continue »

Wow, they have really turned this course around. The $52ish dollar rate makes this place a steal. I played Sunday morning at 9am. POP was great at 4.5 hours. The tee boxes were mostly very good, flat, some divot damage. Where this course is shining is the fairways and rough. The fairways are green and with great coverage. You'll find the occasional unmarked GIR or random bad lie but overall really good and easy to take divots from. The rough is seriously penalizing with length anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5+ inches. I was in there a few times and it will take a stroke from you (not to mention your ball will be lost if not careful). Greens were reasonable running medium and fairly pure. Get out there and play this track.

Played Harding on Sun (7/10/16) in our GK Cup match and the conditions and POP were all quite good on a hot Sunday afternoon. Price was $42 + $7 for a push cart.

Fairways, despite the traffic and ... Continue »

Played Harding on Sun (7/10/16) in our GK Cup match and the conditions and POP were all quite good on a hot Sunday afternoon. Price was $42 + $7 for a push cart.

Fairways, despite the traffic and dry conditions, look very good right now. The lies were almost always good with very few exceptions. The rough is very thick right now and should be avoided if at all possible - shocking. But it can be difficult to find your ball that tall so keep a good eye on any wayward shots.

The greens were also in quite nice shape with only a few exceptions. Not too many ballmarks and some tricky slopes to deal with along the way. Not particularly fast but certainly far from slow. The tee boxes could use some attention as a few were particularly beat up and hard to get tees into the ground.

The only sand encountered didn't look like much, but actually played quite well. Much more ample than it looked from the surface.

No cart service but there is a great snack shop near the 8th green. And POP was actually great at just over 4 hours - was expecting a lot worse, but in truth we didn't wait on too many holes and when we did it was tolerable.

Layout is predominantly flat with the exception of holes 1 and 18, but I find in interesting enough to keep coming back every few months.

Played Harding for the first time in several months on Sunday morning. Couldn't get on Wilson of course but I honestly don't think it's that much better than Harding anyway. If Wilson was busy then ... Continue »

Played Harding for the first time in several months on Sunday morning. Couldn't get on Wilson of course but I honestly don't think it's that much better than Harding anyway. If Wilson was busy then the exact opposite was at Harding. I generally avoid these courses due to their slow play but today, starting at prime time, we blew through the course in about 3:45 - lightening speed for a weekend morning in Griffith Park.

Tee boxes we generally fair. Some crowning, some bad areas but always able to find a decent place to tee from.

The course itself is quite green right now. Fairways were mowed short. Generally good coverage. Bad spots here and there with an occasional really bad lie but for the most part good and certainly playable.

The rough is seriously thick right now. There are plenty of bare spots and hard pad but a lot of the rough is about 2.5inches tall and THICK. Haven't seen it this meaty. If you sail a shot under the trees not only will you be penalized by the trees you'll also be searching for your ball as it sits far below the top of the grass.

The worst part of the course right is the greens. Slow...(normal) but quite bumpy. I know they aerated about a month ago but they are pretty nasty. Several putts missed because of weird bounces.

Due to the great POP I may come back here more often. I think I payed like $51 riding. Good deal.

Got excused from jury duty early in downtown LA so met up with a buddy short notice to play Wilson, however when we got there, it was packed and we weren't going to get on in time to finish. So with... Continue »

Got excused from jury duty early in downtown LA so met up with a buddy short notice to play Wilson, however when we got there, it was packed and we weren't going to get on in time to finish. So with Harding recently aerated and only $20 with a cart due to that fact (and knowing it was generally wide open), we decided to simply put in a practice round, but our competitiveness kicked in anyway, so it was good fun (I ended up winning by a stroke with a birdie on 18). Clearly, the greens were a sandy disaster, but it was fun nonetheless to try and gauge necessary speeds as each green differed. Not sure how but still managed a 1.67 avg over the 18 holes, so that was weird. But yeah, gonna take a few weeks and way too soon for me to judge how they're going to look/play. Tee boxes were also aerated/punched and in some rough shape, but nothing that should affect your swing too much with a tee, but footing was sometimes peculiar with a few large chunks underfoot. Everything in between was pretty good. Fairways were well covered - not lush, but not a lot of thin lies. Rough was cut pretty high and definitely required some thought to which club to use. And I was only in one bunker and it was in much better shape than my skulled shot to get out of it. POP was of course great as we cruised in just under 4 hours, never pushed after the first two holes or so, and never waited once. That helped offset conditions. So despite the conditions under maintenance, still had a fun round knowing what we were gonna get. But yeah, it'll be a while before greens and tee boxes back to optimal. For $20 though it was some good chances to hit the ball.

Gratefully the rain stopped overnight and the course drained really well. There was no water standing on the course at all. The greens are always the highlight of this course and today was no exceptio... Continue »

Gratefully the rain stopped overnight and the course drained really well. There was no water standing on the course at all. The greens are always the highlight of this course and today was no exception. The greens are small and well protected by traps and mounds. The severe slopes make it critical to stay bellow the hole. The tees are a bit thin from the drought but are coming back with our recent rains. The fairways and tees still show some visible signs of punching but the tees are level and show minimal divot damage. The fairways looked like the had not been cut in a few days (likely due to the rain) and so had dome tufts of green giving some uneven lies. The rough was hit or miss for coverage with most of the course being covered with dormant/dry grass with occasional bit of green growth. There were quite a few areas marked off as ground under repair as they were being seeded.

I was in a few traps today and as expected they were firm and a bit damp but full of sand a very playable (with decent technique).

The greens have 2 big points. First they were fast and cut. The rolled true and were, as always, lethal from above the hole. There was some pitch mark damage but only a little and nothing that severely affected play. Next the pin placements were illegal. The one that come to mind is 18 which was 3' from the edge and in the top 1/4 of a severe slope. 3 players in the group made their putts by going past the hole on the high side and having the ball come back in from above the hole. The 4th player had 1 20' sidehill putt which missed and rolled 10-12' down the hill. then 2 putts in a row missed 1" low and 2" past the hole only to roll back the exact same spot the ball had started. Finally he made the putt but this was ridiculous. I can't think of a worse way to slow down a weekend Griffith park round.

Over all a great course with some really tough green complexes and tight driving holes. Lots of fun and well worth the price especially if you get a 4:30 round like we did in a tournament (after teeing off 20 min late).

A year after my last visit, it was time to head back up to Griffith Park to visit Harding GC. Called that morning for a tee time and was hoping to get on Wilson (not that I find it much better or wors... Continue »

A year after my last visit, it was time to head back up to Griffith Park to visit Harding GC. Called that morning for a tee time and was hoping to get on Wilson (not that I find it much better or worse, just have only played it one single time as opposed to 3-4 now Harding), but got a two-spot at 11:36am. Played the blues (they had black tees too, but not on any apps) and got off to a late start with two other guys, probably teeing off just before 12.

Course conditions are good ... enough. The greens, recently aerated, have healed pretty well, but some of the later holes were still showing signs of this more than the front 9. However they were in pretty solid shape overall, holding shots well and providing consistent roll, although the amount of slope on Harding greens is underrepresented - they're tough.

Fairways had a few dried out areas, but par for the course in LA Munis currently. Only a very few bad lies to contend with, so mostly just fine. The rough is consistent and on the border of penal and no biggie. Tee boxes? Not the best. A lot of uneven spots, roughed up, and a few on the back 9 still very dry and showing major signs of aeration (is that weird for tee boxes?). Sand played fluffier than it looks - act accordingly.

Fun layout, good variety of holes - I'm a Harding fan. The snack shop at the 8th hole is one of the better ones you'll find in LA. Didn't see a cart girl or marshall all day, but we expected a long round and more or less got one. Finished as the sun was behind the mountains behind the zoo, so the POP was a good five plus hours. Basically, if you can't find a parking space and have to make up your own in the ample-sized lot, you're going to be there a while.

Which, if it's a fun place like Harding (and you're having a really good round), is not a terrible thing.

I used to play Harding/Wilson a lot when I lived in LA, but since moving the OC, don't get up there too often. Decided to give it a shot Monday. Thanks for Marcos, was first off as a single on Harding... Continue »

I used to play Harding/Wilson a lot when I lived in LA, but since moving the OC, don't get up there too often. Decided to give it a shot Monday. Thanks for Marcos, was first off as a single on Harding. Noticed they now have black tees for both Wilson and Harding. I just played from the "old" tee boxes I was used too, so it was kind of a mix.

Greens, while not fully healed from the aeration, rolled fairly well, and were quicker than they looked. Fairways were also in decent shape. I was in several bunkers and for the most part, the sand, while not raked, were just fine. (I seldom have raked bunkers when I get off first, as I am generally ahead of maintenance, so I try not to be critical of the bunkers if unraked) It was busy, but gain, thanks to Marcos, got out and was back in the car well before 8:30am.

Played early today to beat the heat. Still plenty hot by the time we finished. I went there to walk on because there are two courses and it usually is dependable in getting singles out if one is not... Continue »

Played early today to beat the heat. Still plenty hot by the time we finished. I went there to walk on because there are two courses and it usually is dependable in getting singles out if one is not particular about which course to play. Got out a little before 7:00($40 to walk), after waiting about 20 minutes, and played in about 3:30. Just outstanding pace of play. Course was in better than expected shape. I did not encounter any bare spots in the fairways, although I did not encounter the fairway much so take the report for what it is worth. The rough was uniformly lush. It was quite thick in spots.

The greens were great. Pretty good speed for early in the morning. They were putting quite a bit of water on them because of the heat and they definitely were soft. I hit the green with a four iron on the par three 13 and the ball stuck in its divot. The starter confirmed to me that they are aerating on Tuesday.

I like the layout, service and overall conditions. I will definitely keep the course in my rotation.