Played Santa Anita for the first time in a while this past week and was very pleasantly surprised with the vast majority of the conditions, while the POP left a lot to be desired.

Three friends an... Continue »

Played Santa Anita for the first time in a while this past week and was very pleasantly surprised with the vast majority of the conditions, while the POP left a lot to be desired.

Three friends and I set off with a 10am tee time from the blue tees and found a course with fairways in much better shape than previous visits this time of year, and fast, clean greens that were in really nice shape overall despite the heavy play. The tee boxes are a little thin in areas but flat and level, while the bunkers could use another layer or two of sand as they're playable but a little too much on the thin side.

POP was a serious issue as we had sometimes up to four groups on a hole and the waiting on the par 3s was often excruciating. A marshal came over on the 4th hole asking everyone to wave up the next group, but this was quickly abandoned by all for holes 8, 12 and 15. Ultimately the round took just over five hours which is disappointing.

Was it worth it though? Absolutely. We played a classic old layout in mostly good conditions for just under $40 walking. That's an absolute steal and this course really does challenge you despite its 'flat' reputation. It's anything but once you're in the fairways with some very significant hills and mounding that can make an ordinary shot quite challenging. To this day this course continues to always have my number as I've not once ever broken 90 here. It makes no sense! Alas, we keep trying ...

I live in Arcadia and play Santa Anita often. I played 4/15. Conditions this spring are much better than they were last fall - hopefully this year they have the means to keep it going strong year-roun... Continue »

I live in Arcadia and play Santa Anita often. I played 4/15. Conditions this spring are much better than they were last fall - hopefully this year they have the means to keep it going strong year-round. Greens are never fast and the course gets a lot of wear, but it has good character and an interesting history.

The layout is sneakily challenging. It presents at first as a flat course, but there are lots of undulations - some rather dramatic, such as in front of the 6th green, and across the 9th fairway. These make for uphill and downhill lies, so it’s a great place to come practice those. The staff are great, in my experience, and the ambience is really comfortable - the surroundings (the park, tennis courts and Arcadia High School) make for a nice atmosphere.

As for pace of play, I almost always come at twilight times, sometimes playing less than 18 holes and running up against sunset. At these hours, there are very few pace issues, and I can usually walk the front nine in less than two hours.

Out as a single joining a two-some for 1:22 start on Friday, 4/12. Not disputing 24hourgolf's recent review but we had slightly different experiences. In this case he is the earlier morning guy while... Continue »

Out as a single joining a two-some for 1:22 start on Friday, 4/12. Not disputing 24hourgolf's recent review but we had slightly different experiences. In this case he is the earlier morning guy while I'm early afternoon. As to overall conditions, the course is in pretty good shape. Playing the whites, the teeing grounds were level and covered with the par threes a bit more worked, which is to be expected. Fairways are green and in good shape and the rough mostly green and playable. The bunkers were on the firm side, with the ball tending to perch, not leaving much depth to footprints, but with enough give to be fair play. Areas surrounding greens were mostly good for short game although the fairway lies close to the green were frequently tight for chipping. The greens were pretty clean and short on pitch marks, running on the quick side. I've seen them a little faster but overall they are as good as it gets here. The service was friendly and they made the effort to avoid having me go out as a random single when a scheduled threesome didn't show up. I snagged some leftover balls on the range for an abbreviated warm up and it's not uncommon to find some left as players advance to the first tee. Worth checking before buying a bucket. Where I tend to corroborate 24hourgolf is on pace. It was something around five hours but that is a number that can feel a little quicker if the pace is sluggish but consistent. On the day it was more impactful because of the erratic nature of it. For example, get through the first three holes with no issue and then a three group pause at the par-3 fourth. Better pace after that until another pile up on the par-3 eighth. Same for the par-3 12th. Too much opportunity to sit and get stiff but we're talking about Friday afternoon. I usually find the pace here better distributed and get around in about 4.75 for less. So know what you might be in for, but I enjoy the course and still recommend it, especially as to current conditions.

Played today and I doubt I will be going back. They are really enforcing the 7-9 AM no Sr rate and they are allowing too many 5 somesomes of Seniors who walk from opening to 7 AM. We had an 8AM time a... Continue »

Played today and I doubt I will be going back. They are really enforcing the 7-9 AM no Sr rate and they are allowing too many 5 somesomes of Seniors who walk from opening to 7 AM. We had an 8AM time and it took almost 5 hours to play. To many of the seniors IMO are playing from the back tees on a course that they should be playing the whites and maybe even the reds. And then stopping after 9 and getting food/beverage and slowing things up even further. I certainly understand walking but abhor 5 somesomes walking. And to make matters worse there is no marshal on the course. 4 or 4.5 hours should be reasonable early AM but it seems we have a culture of golfers today, unlike years ago who could give a you know what about anyone else. Course is playable from tee to green but not at the pace one is facing. I would just say play this course at your own peril and if you can get the first or second tee time you are in good shape. This one will not be on my courses to play in the future. I also did not like the customer service in the pro shop either. Seemed like he was doing you a favor by letting you play? This has to be one of the worse LA County run courses.

Got an early tee time today 6:40 after some heavy rains so that's why the bunkers were rated a little bit low, lots of water still in them. Haven't played here in probably 10 years, fairways are very ... Continue »

Got an early tee time today 6:40 after some heavy rains so that's why the bunkers were rated a little bit low, lots of water still in them. Haven't played here in probably 10 years, fairways are very lush very undulated, great history to this course. I doubt many people will have heard of the architect and let alone why he named the holes the names he named them for instance the first hole is named Thomas! Bermuda greens were awesome semi soft held every shot super wet all day though very fun it must do!!

Played today teeing off at 11:30 and reached # 9 at 2PM. Left the course at 3:15 on # 13. Disgustingly slow golfers with no manners in front of us. Upon reaching # 4 there were 5 on the green and a 4 ... Continue »

Played today teeing off at 11:30 and reached # 9 at 2PM. Left the course at 3:15 on # 13. Disgustingly slow golfers with no manners in front of us. Upon reaching # 4 there were 5 on the green and a 4 and a 5 waiting. I asked the 4 if they had been called up by the group in front. "Nope and we are not calling anyone up because we just have to wait on the 5 in front of us." This being a family friendly site I won't state what I said but it was epic. But I did call the clubhouse and tell the pro shop that my life had been threatened and I needed 911 ASAP. Of course the guy went nuts and when he calmed down I asked him to send out a marshal. To my surprise no marshal working. Same type of backlog on # 8. When I got to 9 I went to the pro shop I demanded that the 4 drunks be removed from the course. He went to speak to them and of course they were beligerent (which I expected) and he did remove them from the course. One would think this would have moved things along? Wrong. For some reason
S A likes to send out walking 5's. So this course will not be played unless I tee of at daylight in the future. There are just too many bad golfers with no golfing etiquette playing this game these days during midday hours IMO. Now to course conditions? Not good. Tee boxes are just OK. Fairways really don't provide good lies and the greens are slow, dry and ugly. Surprisingly the bunkers were good. Go figure. IMO this course has gone down hill and I don't know why? I think customer service is very good and can only imagine what they go through on a daily basis.

Super quick: Played Friday 12/8 as a single joining a threesome, teeing off around 12:00. Course is in overall good condition and recommended. Occasional discernible areas symptomatic of Winter where ... Continue »

Super quick: Played Friday 12/8 as a single joining a threesome, teeing off around 12:00. Course is in overall good condition and recommended. Occasional discernible areas symptomatic of Winter where the grass is a bit thinner and exposing earth, but limited and not pervasive. Mostly perfectly good lies. Greens ran medium which seemed a little sluggish because the practice greens were faster. Played the blues and they were generally set deep in the box. Beautiful day and about a 4.5 hr pace. Good times.

In the area yesterday afternoon. Took a chance to play and got right out. Good customer service in the shop. Tee boxes are good but could use leveling on some and move the markers please. Fairways goo... Continue »

In the area yesterday afternoon. Took a chance to play and got right out. Good customer service in the shop. Tee boxes are good but could use leveling on some and move the markers please. Fairways good coverage on all with good lies and good roll out. Bunkers all playable but not raked really well late in the day. Greens all looked great but putted SLOW and never changed all round. They released shots very well otherwise. They could use a marshal in the PM. Many slow players and I was lucky to play in under five hours. I think it could have been worse but we continually spoke to the group in front of us to stay up with the group in front of them and they did. Recommended but I hope the greens are a little faster for those who play.

Played out at Santa Anita with my monthly group this past weekend and was really happy to see this classic course so lush and vibrant. Our group always plays from the white tees and we had a 9am first... Continue »

Played out at Santa Anita with my monthly group this past weekend and was really happy to see this classic course so lush and vibrant. Our group always plays from the white tees and we had a 9am first tee time with three groups going out and riding. I don't think I've ever seen better coverage at Santa Anita than right now (be advised they are aerating this week so only nine holes at a time will be open for the next week or two) and it really makes the course play so much better. Usually I will always find thin lies here throughout but not right now. It's green, lush and a pleasure to hit from. The rough is also pretty thick and penal. I did not end up in any bunkers all day so I can't speak to their quality, but they looked to be in pretty decent shape and I heard no complaints from any of my playing partners. Most of the tee boxes were level and in good shape, but a few of them were a bit overgrown and unruly. When it comes to the greens, here's where we'll have the only considerable gripes to mention. While the early greens on the course were in nice shape, rolling pretty quick and true, and holding shots well, we later found many of the greens with some dark spots on them that really took away from their quality. These particular greens were not rolling as well and it almost seemed like dirt streaks between the grass. It's hard to explain but it was disappointing, especially because the rest of the course was in such nice shape. Hopefully these issues have something to do with the upcoming aeration and the problems will be solved in a matter of weeks. I have faith in the grounds crew that they will notice the scars on the greens and make efforts to fix them. If they do, then Santa Anita is a very good option right now with a terrific and classic layout, some great views of the mountains, and a rich history that will make your round one to remember.