Played Sunday, 1/31, at 7:00 am. Crisp morning that evolved into a decent, sunlit day. Still checking in people through the back window in the pro shop but the restaurant is open early which was app... Continue »

Played Sunday, 1/31, at 7:00 am. Crisp morning that evolved into a decent, sunlit day. Still checking in people through the back window in the pro shop but the restaurant is open early which was appreciated.

I have not played here in a while and I was pleased with the conditions. Even though we had rain recently, the fairways were mowed with little residual moisture. The fairways were tight winter lies though. The rough was cut down and not much of a factor. The sand was in good shape. The greens were much improved from my last time here. Slower in the morning quickening as the round progressed. I had a four foot downhill putt on the par 3 16th that I barely tapped and it slid 3 feet past the hole.

Pace of play was also nice. Two hours at the turn, four hours total. We had to wait most holes being a 3 following a 4, but nothing too bad. Overall a nice morning.

Teed off at Rec on Sunday, 11/8, at 730am about 10 min late but didn't wait on a shot all day. The pace was under 3:45! The wind was howling all morning and made the round very challenging. The condit... Continue »

Teed off at Rec on Sunday, 11/8, at 730am about 10 min late but didn't wait on a shot all day. The pace was under 3:45! The wind was howling all morning and made the round very challenging. The conditions are just okay with everything from the tee boxes to the greens needing a little bit of TLC. I always enjoy Rec as the layout is challenging enough to keep you on your toes but not a extremely difficult track. Hopefully, they'll get some rain this season and the course will improve the conditions. $43 to walk with a resident card isn't a bad deal but it's $58 without.

When I lived in Westchester I played Rec quite a bit, but since moving to Orange County, not so much anymore. While it may not be the best of the Long Beach courses, I've always liked Rec the best, a... Continue »

When I lived in Westchester I played Rec quite a bit, but since moving to Orange County, not so much anymore. While it may not be the best of the Long Beach courses, I've always liked Rec the best, and the most fun to play.

Course conditions were decent, but not nearly as good as in times past. The greens here had always been very good and reasonable quick, but not so now. Too slow for my taste. Most of the fairways are OK, with some bare spots here and there. Only in one bunker, very thin sand, unraked.

The cost of the Long Beach courses has risen too much recently, so maybe that's why it was not as busy as expected. Pace of play under 4 hours, which for this place is pretty good. Fun day on a fun course on a perfect fall weather day.

Played around 7:00 am on Saturday, 10/31. Pretty crowded. Check in through back window facing the first tee. The coffee shop was open (for outdoor dining) before 7:00 which was nice to see. No put... Continue »

Played around 7:00 am on Saturday, 10/31. Pretty crowded. Check in through back window facing the first tee. The coffee shop was open (for outdoor dining) before 7:00 which was nice to see. No putting green or chipping area but range was open.

The course was in decent shape. I was in several spots of dirt/mud in the rough and a couple of bare spots in the fairways but overall pretty good. The sand traps had not been raked but I was in one and it was a good lie albeit without an abundance of sand. A couple of the tee boxes had little to no grass. The greens were in good condition. They were running medium slow but rolled well. They were quite firm considering they were 6 weeks post aeration. Several of the greens had been newly aerated around the edges, notably number 1. Those areas were soft and shaggy, making it a challenge to putt from off the green.

Overall, in decent condition.

Teed off at 6:50 Monday and finished in 3:45. The greens will be aerated starting 9/15. The greens were in good condition rolling with medium speed. The fairways had good coverage and did not roll out... Continue »

Teed off at 6:50 Monday and finished in 3:45. The greens will be aerated starting 9/15. The greens were in good condition rolling with medium speed. The fairways had good coverage and did not roll out much. The rough was mostly at a playable height with some very thick spots while other areas were a bit patchy. The bunkers were groomed but the sand was a bit compacted. The tee boxes were mostly fair due to mild unlevelness and the par 3 tee boxes were chewed up. I wish courses would sanitize sand bottles and put them back on the carts. Overall all the course was in decent muni condition.

The driving range is open. The chipping and putting greens are closed. Single rider carts. Check-in was outside of the pro shop adjacent to number 1 tee box. The staff was friendly.

Played Big Rec for the first time with some old friends on 5/20. We had two times tee times - 7:00 and 7:10. Check in was very well organized and the starter was using the microphone to announce who... Continue »

Played Big Rec for the first time with some old friends on 5/20. We had two times tee times - 7:00 and 7:10. Check in was very well organized and the starter was using the microphone to announce who is on the tee and who was up next. I like that. Masks were required around the club house area and on the course. I wore mine but noticed many not wearing them out there. I was the only one walking in our group but we still finished in about 3.5 hours. Very little waiting. Fairways are heavy Kikuyu so not a lot of roll out. The rough was not thick but if you hit in there, it didn’t go very far. Bunkers were like concrete, many just unplayable. That seems to be a consistent theme of a lot of courses since they’ve recently opened. Tee boxes could have been cut down a bit but overall ok. The greens were in good shape. Not fast but rolled out well. Never could figure out the breaks. I found Big Rec a fun course to play as it has a park like setting with generous fairways so I wouldn’t call it difficult. Some slight elevation changes particularly on the back but nothing severe. Thoroughly enjoyed playing here and look forward to another opportunity to come back.

Went out this morning around 6:15am. A twosome went out right before us and after the first hole, never saw them again. A walking threesome came after us and we never saw them after two holes. We f... Continue »

Went out this morning around 6:15am. A twosome went out right before us and after the first hole, never saw them again. A walking threesome came after us and we never saw them after two holes. We finished in 3 1/2 hours. One thing about everyone having their own cart, after tee shots you can go directly to your ball or help out a partner trying to find an errand shot. The tee boxes needed a little work. The fairways pretty good with occasional brown patches. The greens were nice, just on the slow side. The bunkers are flattened wet then packed dirt/sand. Rec is run by American Golf I believe. It’s conditions I would say are like typical city course conditions. Anytime you can play a non waiting round with your friends is a great thing.

Played Long Beach Rec on 1/3. It's one of my favorite Long Beach courses, not too hard to get around the course but the greens can get you and they did for most of our group that morning.

I enjoy ... Continue »

Played Long Beach Rec on 1/3. It's one of my favorite Long Beach courses, not too hard to get around the course but the greens can get you and they did for most of our group that morning.

I enjoy the layout of the course but like I said it's not too difficult to get around the course. this particular day, the green were fast and it ate up most of the players (we had 9 out there)

Not much rough to speak of, the tee boxes were in good condition. I wasn't in the sand at all so I can't speak to that.

I play this course a few times a year and it never lets me down. Always a good time!

Played in a tournament here on Sunday, 12/1. The service here is generally good and this visit was no exception. No complaints about the staff. I was surprised that the tournament went off on time ... Continue »

Played in a tournament here on Sunday, 12/1. The service here is generally good and this visit was no exception. No complaints about the staff. I was surprised that the tournament went off on time at 9:00 am (maybe a few minutes early) and finished in 4.5 hours. Nice! Fastest weekend tourney time I have had here.

The coruse itself was in okay condition. The greens were shaggy, a little bumpy, and slow. I attribute it to the rain. There were still some signs of aeration on some of the greens, and the root structure seemed really shallow when fixing ball marks, so that might have been a factor also. In any event, what was a strength in the past was a glaring weakness on this visit.

The rain and cold temperatures have the course in winter conditions. Pretty tight lies on the fairways and cut/nonexistent rough with some bare spots. There were some spots with higher grass but those generally looked like soft spots they were avoiding mowing until the rain stops. The tee boxes were okay. Not always level or lush, I had no problem finding an adequate spot to put the tee. I would note that hole numbers 4 and 14 were cart path only. Four was not bad but fourteen had some soft spots near the cart path that had some cart damage already.

The course is playable but will not be my first option for a while.