First time back out at Santa Anita in two years this past weekend and got treated to the course in pretty darn good shape. Normally you can find some really thin grass at this course, but it performed much better on this latest visit.

It was of course very hot out so my buddy and I rode, playing from the blue tees and the greens fee was around $60 - more than fair. We... » More

First time back out at Santa Anita in two years this past weekend and got treated to the course in pretty darn good shape. Normally you can find some really thin grass at this course, but it performed much better on this latest visit.

It was of course very hot out so my buddy and I rode, playing from the blue tees and the greens fee was around $60 - more than fair. We were paired with a fun father and son combo with a 12:20 tee time and off we went. The layout is classic parkland LA, with side by side holes, big trees but a unique twist with so many uneven lies on many of the holes.

Greens were in really decent shape and rolled nicely all afternoon - definitely the highlight of the round. Fairways have good coverage mostly all around, although of course you will find some thin areas. Rough was thick but playable, while the bunkers were the most disappointing. There is a nominal layer of sand in most of them, but where the bunkers bottom out, there's really nothing between your club and the ground underneath. Tee boxes were mostly okay but can always use some work.

POP was not so good but really only got slow on the par 3s, especially holes 8 and 12. For some reason everything backs up here good and solid, mostly because these are both very long par 3s that may require a little extra work from most golfers. There was no cart service either which is always disappointing as you must wait to go to the snack bar at the turn.

All in all though it was a good day out at Santa Anita and when it's in good shape like this time around, it's worth the drive up there.
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Played 3/14/26 2:15 POP 4:20. Course was in over all good to very good condition except for the traps and some tee box's. Fairways were green with good coverage, Rough was full but did not cause any real issues. Greens were great. Well struct shots stopped, others ran out. Ran at would say a medium pace. Greens are small and many have tough slopes which is the courses main de... » More

Played 3/14/26 2:15 POP 4:20. Course was in over all good to very good condition except for the traps and some tee box's. Fairways were green with good coverage, Rough was full but did not cause any real issues. Greens were great. Well struct shots stopped, others ran out. Ran at would say a medium pace. Greens are small and many have tough slopes which is the courses main defense. Was in two traps and both were very firm. The rest looked to be the same. Course layout is typical Muni with a couple of interesting twists. Not too difficult if your putting is on. A great course for an easy round with friends or beginners.
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Been playing here 30 years and bought a house here 23 years ago. When the course first opened it hosted an LPGA tourney and it was CPO for the first 3 years. Immaculate conditions and never a blade of grass out of place. It was a shortish (6700 from the tips) scenic Arnold Palmer design with beautiful bunkers, barrancas, elevation changes, and fast tricky greens. I would put it... » More

Been playing here 30 years and bought a house here 23 years ago. When the course first opened it hosted an LPGA tourney and it was CPO for the first 3 years. Immaculate conditions and never a blade of grass out of place. It was a shortish (6700 from the tips) scenic Arnold Palmer design with beautiful bunkers, barrancas, elevation changes, and fast tricky greens. I would put it up against most public (and a lot of private) courses that I have played.

Fast forward thru the years, many owners and many changes. Several different golf management companies have come and gone, and Troon has run the place for at least 7 years. Staff has always been friendly and efficient.

Bunkers and tee boxes we atrocious for many years. Since I didn't want to smear my home course, I never posted a review. I used to play at least 100 rounds here per year. Since I'm trying to reach 1000 courses it's more like 12 times a year. If you made it this far into the review here goes.

Played Thursday and the course is in excellent shape. The rains have grown in the persistent dead spots in the fairways (no fairway aeration for at least 15years). They were a little long, but the ball rolled and sat up beautifully, (course was designed to play firm and fast). Tee boxes have decent coverage but could use a leveling.

The greens, always the best and most consistent part of the course, were smooth, fast, and spicy. No tap-ins, every miss was a 3-4ft comebacker. Greens this good this time of year always seem to get punched, so they are scheduled to be punched 3/23.

If you have played Palmer courses, you know how spectacular his bunkers can be, a few years ago they removed probably 40-50 bunkers that they weren't maintaining and tried to fix the 25 or so they left. It took a long while for many of those areas to grow in. With the recent rains I didn't notice those areas to be as scruffy. I mostly avoid those as the bad bunkers have trained me well. The sand traps that remain are still thin but playable.

This course really has everything, some courses you can lose a ball on every hole, this course you could potentially lose a ball on every shot! But it never plays unfair. Blue tees are 6,200ish and defend me from breaking 80 more often than I would like. I rarely play the white tees (never seem to play any better) but they are 5,800 and really change a lot of the angles and make it more of a target golf course.

I don't think they maintain a lot of the original black tees, but they are some of the most scenic parts of the course, even if you don't play them, you should check out 6,9,10,13,16,17 just for the views. 13 is a par 3 homage to the 12th at Augusta and the trek up the steps takes you to the highest point on the course. The hole was quite spectacular back in the day, with its intricate bunkering, as was the cloverleaf bunkers down the entire fairway of 14.

Wind is always a factor out here; I like to whip around after 4:00 so it can really howl. In the afternoon I fix tons of ball marks, but the greens don't exhibit any visible scarring, so kudos to the maintenance staff for getting them in the morning. This course made me the golfer I am today, straight hitter, not very long, good short game terrible sand player. Most of that is what you need to play well out here.

So, while the course will never be what it once was (alas we all can say the same)
It is still a great layout and perplexing fun, now it is in very good shape and well worth checking out.
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Being closer to Sacramento gives me a chance to play more golf with my grandaughter. Today we played here at 3 PM and paid $18 for me and $5 for her to walk 18.

Having never played here before I found out why so many people in the area really like this course. Great place to take your children/grandchildren who want to learn and improve their golf game. And a great walk... » More

Being closer to Sacramento gives me a chance to play more golf with my grandaughter. Today we played here at 3 PM and paid $18 for me and $5 for her to walk 18.

Having never played here before I found out why so many people in the area really like this course. Great place to take your children/grandchildren who want to learn and improve their golf game. And a great walking course.

The course is 5000 yards from the tips and 4500 from the white/red tees. 6 Par 3's of various lengths, 1 Par 5 and 11 Par 4's of various lengths.

Don't let the length fool you. Numerous water hazards, 1 island green, 1/2" rough and out of bounds on the left side of almost every hole. Oh and did I mention the trees.

At present time the course is in great shape.

Tee boxes were all level and playable.

Fairways are clean and provide good lies and excellent rollout. And many are tree lined adding to the need to stay in the fairway.

Greens were in nice shape. Again I found many to be higher than the fairway unlike S CA were things are much flatter. But they held shots, chipped and putted just fine all round. And not very large

Rough was about 1/2" and fairly playable in advancing your ball but still tough enough to impact your distance.

Traps had adequate sand and were very playable.

Excellent customer service in the shop. Nice driving range and nice snack bar.

POP was a little slow (4.5) but that's to be expected on a course that has excellent rates on weekend and most likely a variety of players with different golf skills.

But it is a course I would recommend to anyone who is in the area for an enjoyable round of golf. Right off Hwy 113 and exit 29.
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Played here on 3/13 on a pretty hot day teeing off at 12:30. Greens are immaculate. I belong to a private club in Sonoma County and the greens were very much at private course speeds and conditioning. Kudos, probably the best I’ve ever seen them. I lived in SD county over 20 years so I’ve played here a good amount.

The rest of the course was excellent as well. Good fa... » More

Played here on 3/13 on a pretty hot day teeing off at 12:30. Greens are immaculate. I belong to a private club in Sonoma County and the greens were very much at private course speeds and conditioning. Kudos, probably the best I’ve ever seen them. I lived in SD county over 20 years so I’ve played here a good amount.

The rest of the course was excellent as well. Good fairway coverage, rough was light but around the greens your lie could be dicey.

Overall, better than I could imagine for any public track in SD county that gets a good amount of play.
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