Played Sunday 5/2 scheduled as a foursome for 9:56 but got off 20 minutes or so later due to a generally stacked, but orderly, first tee. We were a little behind by end of the day, but it was about fi... Continue »

Played Sunday 5/2 scheduled as a foursome for 9:56 but got off 20 minutes or so later due to a generally stacked, but orderly, first tee. We were a little behind by end of the day, but it was about five hours on a busy course. Not too bad and probably expected on a nice Sunday. In light of a couple of recent reviews, main thing to mention here is the greens, as this is the first review after punching. They probably need another week before most visual indications of aeration are gone, but I thought they putted better than they looked. They rolled true enough, with no surprise changes of direction, and at a nice quick pace. That's quick, not touchy or scary fast, but a step above medium. Personally, it's a speed I like. I recall all tee boxes as being pretty level with most adequate or better in coverage, while a couple were a little sparse or beaten up due to the optimum teeing position being from a specific location. Bare spots could be found on some fairways, but limited and most fairways were well covered but firm with a good bit of rollout. Course is built on a small footprint so I think some of its defense is the narrowness of many of the fairways. Missed most bunkers but they looked good. I was in one fairway bunker and the ball sat up on slightly firm sand. The rough generally offered you a good recovery opportunity. Overall, a flat course, good for walking, mounding has been implemented throughout (mainly parallel to fairways) to create visual and sometimes strategic interest. The non-resident price bump makes it a little pricey for what it is on the weekends, but if you are flexible about when you can get by here, like a weekday, it can be a good deal. If you are used to playing weekends and the accompanying rates, it may faze you less. It also has a nice clubhouse and bar. I'm not here often, but I had an enjoyable day of it and will eventually be back.

A recent post asking about Rio Hondo and dconnelly's positive reviews brought me out to Downey this Friday morning. I put my name on the waiting list at 6:20 and was on the first tee at 6:45, paid $3... Continue »

A recent post asking about Rio Hondo and dconnelly's positive reviews brought me out to Downey this Friday morning. I put my name on the waiting list at 6:20 and was on the first tee at 6:45, paid $39 walking. Starter Steve doing a fine job behind the counter, he knew every guy that walked in the Pro shop so there are a lot of regulars who play there, and that's who he hooked me up with: 3 super nice retired guys. Conditions at Hondo are overall very good to excellent, I was very impressed. Greens are tight Poa ready to be punched (4/13), they rolled quick and true. Fairways are coming-out-of-dormancy Bermuda so you have to get ball first, rough very playable but the ball can settle which poses a challenge. Bunkers excellent. We got around in 4 hrs but it should have been a half hour faster ... the group ahead of us was two behind on the back side. Not a bad thing to say about this course right now, just a few tee boxes needing work and some thin areas in the fairways to avoid is all. Okay, so there are some rough edges here and there, and several parallel fairways (you hear FORE! a lot), but otherwise it's kinda got a country club-ish feel. Grass is mostly green and full, and there's some nice landscaping throughout the course. The Maintenance team deserves some kudos. One more complaint and, again, it is a minor one: a layout flaw I'm not crazy about at Hondo are the back-to-back par 5's and par 3's on the front. It seems that could have been avoided during design, but oh well. The positives clearly out weigh the negatives. So, as DC sez, highly recommended ... until 4/13.

Played here again this morning at 7:45 in an SCGA qualifier - POP great on the front but ground to a halt on the back as we ran into the late teeoff times of the split field - overall 4.5+. Perfect we... Continue »

Played here again this morning at 7:45 in an SCGA qualifier - POP great on the front but ground to a halt on the back as we ran into the late teeoff times of the split field - overall 4.5+. Perfect weather - warm, clear, and no wind, course was just laying there to be had. Greens a little too firm and got really quick as they dried out. Fairway lies were 90% good, rough was cut short and very playable. Wasn't in the sand but it looked good and playing partners didn't have complaints. Still some tees that need leveling, and par 3 tees still very torn up. Staff had the whole course looking great, coot damage was minimal, saw the cart girl a couple times. Highly recommended right now.

Played on a perfect weather day at 11AM on Wednesday, 3/4/15, that GKer stickboy booked as a Golfnow Hot Deal, so $35 fee was great. Sunny, warm, and wind didn’t ever affect any shots. Joined by GKers... Continue »

Played on a perfect weather day at 11AM on Wednesday, 3/4/15, that GKer stickboy booked as a Golfnow Hot Deal, so $35 fee was great. Sunny, warm, and wind didn’t ever affect any shots. Joined by GKers Nickesquire and walnutgolf (the latter’s first time here) and had an enjoyable round. Never saw anyone in front of us and managed to stay ahead of the hard-charging group behind to finish in 4+ hours. I was reminded why I don’t play here often – traffic coming up the 5 was heavy and there’s a lot of construction. Going home was also busy but not as bad as I thought it might be.

Course is in overall pretty good shape. Greens are firm and tight, holding only high shots, and rolling well at medium-fast speed. We saw the usual unhappy number of old and new ballmarks waiting for repair. Pins on several greens were in difficult locations, especially front pins behind bunkers. In general, I think the greens are slopy and tend to break more than you read, especially to the southwest.

Lies in the fairways were about 50/50 as to whether the ball sat down – grass is thin and dormant and patchy. All fairways had areas where a lot of divot damage was unrepaired. Rough is cut low and generally benign, and lies can be better than in the fairway. Traps have generally good coverage, but only a thin playable layer over a packed damp base, making it very difficult to get the wedge under without bouncing into the ball. And the usual number of unraked footprints, slashes, etc. Tees could use quite a bit of work – many are pretty torn up, and many also have uneven or sloping surfaces, and not just the par 3s.

Staff was friendly, saw the cart girl several times. No bag service at either end, just lug your own. Recommended.

1st time playing here since the 1980's, before the course was redesigned. Played the Blues (6370/70.7/124) with GKers Stickboy, Dconnally and Walnutgolf in 4h, 15m on a Golf Now Hot Deal for $37.49 in... Continue »

1st time playing here since the 1980's, before the course was redesigned. Played the Blues (6370/70.7/124) with GKers Stickboy, Dconnally and Walnutgolf in 4h, 15m on a Golf Now Hot Deal for $37.49 including a cart. The weather was beautiful, perfect for golf, low 70's with little wind. I really liked the new layout, the course is nicer than I remembered. Good mix of shorter, medium and longer holes. Some water, some tightness, but the layout is very fair overall. The greens putted medium speed, were smooth and held most approach shots well. The green speeds were consistent from green to green. I saw the lines relatively well on these greens. Ringworld's review from yesterday stated it perfectly on the speed. After I got the speed down. I had a relatively good putting day. Didn't make many putts, but had many good lags from 40+'. Both the fairways and the rough were decent. Semi dormant, winter thin conditions, occasionally lush. They were still dryer than expected after the recent rains. The tees were OK, decently maintained. Occasionally lush, usually winter thin. The sand traps looked good but several need more sand. Our group had several sand shots where our club bounced and thinned the ball instead of blasting it out. However, in fairness, the traps were hit and miss. There were also several really nice sand saves in our group today. The customer service was excellent. The tee times were on schedule, the cart gal came around several times and they have a nice snack stand on the turn. I would definitely play here again, and would play here often if I lived closer.

Greens are in great shape. They roll true; just a little slow for my taste but once I zeroed in on the pace, it was smooth sailing. Fairways look dormant (brownish) but very playable. Rough is thic... Continue »

Greens are in great shape. They roll true; just a little slow for my taste but once I zeroed in on the pace, it was smooth sailing. Fairways look dormant (brownish) but very playable. Rough is thick in places and can prove to be punishing. Sand in bunkers are well stocked.

Pace of play today was under 4 hours considering two more joined our group at hole 5. Wind was factor but fun to play at this time of day. Started after 1pm and was done before 4. Group was slow at first but once we picked the two additional golfers we managed to pace ourselves well.

Overall I liked the current conditions of Rio Hondo. And at $26 (includes cart) it's a definite deal. Admittedly a few of the holes were a little gimmicky but it's still golf and Rio's conditions are perhaps the best I have seen since the last time I played here.

First time playing this course today 2/8. We started on time. Took us around 5 hours to play 18 on a weekend. Course is pretty flat. You can easily walk this course. Water comes into play on about... Continue »

First time playing this course today 2/8. We started on time. Took us around 5 hours to play 18 on a weekend. Course is pretty flat. You can easily walk this course. Water comes into play on about 6 or 7 holes. Interesting layout.

Fairways were about average for this time of year. Grass was a little dormant in the fairways. They were very lush in spots and bare in other spots. It's still decent to play on. Sand in bunkers were very good. Greens were in good condition. Tho' there were lots of unrepaired ball marks on the greens. There is a driving range here with a couple of levels to use. The clubhouse here is very nice to hang out after a round.

Hello fellow golfers. Played here Mon the 5th. Haven't played here in 8 yrs. Not much has changed. Tee boxes were kinda dry and patchy. Fairways were the same. I guess they call it dormant for this ti... Continue »

Hello fellow golfers. Played here Mon the 5th. Haven't played here in 8 yrs. Not much has changed. Tee boxes were kinda dry and patchy. Fairways were the same. I guess they call it dormant for this time of year. They were still dry and hard to find a good lie. Greens were rolling pretty good with a few ball marks but you find that everywhere. Pace of play was decent. I was only in 1 bunker, the 17th, and the sand was pretty good if people would rake it. I probably won't be back until it's greener. Enjoy.

Always enjoy playing this course ! While the fairways/rough are dormant, overall they are in remarkably good condition considering the recent cold wave. Yes, there are areas where you'll get some "t... Continue »

Always enjoy playing this course ! While the fairways/rough are dormant, overall they are in remarkably good condition considering the recent cold wave. Yes, there are areas where you'll get some "tight lies" but that's just part of the challenge and what you expect during the winter months. Off early so pace not an issue.

Staff is always pleasant and accommodating. I try to play here at least once a year, so I guess I'm good for 2015 (LOL)