Played Sat 11/16/13 9:37am $49 w/ cart. POP 4:35

Played Santa Anita as a twosome on Saturday and once again, couldn't have had a better time. If you appreciate what the architect of this course was doing, this is the best public layout in LA. Not a drop of water on it and the piece of property looks totally flat from above, except there isn't a flat lie on the whole course unless you know exactly where to hit it. Type of place where every time you play it you like it more. Anyone can put three man made ponds on a hole and make it hard. It takes true inspiration to do what this guy did. At 6400 yards, you can hit driver on every hole and not worry about losing balls OB but it's not the smart play about half the time. The 14th hole is a prime example. 310 yards. Wide open, but if you hit driver you're leaving a super awkward pitch to the green. Much better to hit your 190 yard club and have a full shot in.

And for this time of year it's in really good shape. Greens were medium speed but rolled true and there where very minimal pitch marks. The traps here are easily the best in LA County. Fairways have typical Fall/Winter wear. Some small problems for sure, but mostly due to the mounding and where water funnels. Tee boxes seem like they're moved around often enough to avoid major damage but the par threes had some minimal wear.

Couldn't recommend it any higher.

Played Simi Hills at 8:52 Saturday morning 11/9/13. $55 rate incl cart. POP was 4:05 (shocking for a Saturday morning primetime). Never waited more than a minute to hit a shot.

The greens were almost perfect. Very quick for LA Muni standards. No problems with them all day. And I actually saw a marshall driving around three different times and he passed the time raking traps. It showed. Bunkers were very good. I was in three.

The negatives were clearly related to the season. Some serious brown spots around the fairways. And many of the green spots were wet from overwatering. That said, after a couple holes, we all decided to play preferred lies and never worried about it again. Flew around and enjoyed it.

If you're a mid handicapper, this place isn't "easy" because you need to be on the correct side of the green to make birdies, but if you have it that day you'll put up a score. Kind of like Knollwood in terms of good breaks from hills wooded areas that funnel balls back in play.

Met a few friends at Hidden Valley for a 12:50 tee time today. $50 w/ golf now deal. Pace of play was about 4:45 and that sat a little long for me considering the course plays 6300 from the Blue Tees. For some reason there was a twosome out before us that was playing between two foursomes. I just don't understand that, especially on a weekend before 2pm. I know golf courses aren't refusing anyone's money these days but all it does is slow people down. No way the round at that place should have taken longer than 4:15.

Regardless, I had never played it before. It's a FUNKY place. If you go, try to play it with someone that has before. Knowing which lines to take off the tee is a huge element of that course. The greens also break quite a bit more than they appear and the putting green was 0 indication of how the actual greens putt. I feel like being a regular here would be a major advantage.

CONDITIONS
Tees: 7/10 (always able to find a flat place)
Fairways 6/10 (a few burnt areas but always playable)
Rough 8/10 (very lush - unfortunately - if you find it)
Sand 6/10 (a little think in places but always playable)
Greens 7/10 (a few pitchmarks but putted smooth)

FOR THE MONEY
5/10 - I can find these conditions closer to home in LA and POP will be roughly the same. But I did enjoy some of the holes. The Par 3's are all downhill and with a consistent 15 MPH wind that you'll always get in these kind of places it makes club selection tough. Flustered me a bit.

Went off as a foursome at 2:00 today and POP was about 4:15. I think we only waited on 2-3 holes. I had heard a lot about this place and I haven't quite collected all thoughts on it yet. I probably need to play it again. We played from the tips and I only hit three drivers. That was strange. I can get it out there but I'm not a bomber. 3 wood was long enough and in play all day. The look of this place seems like it's really tight but there's actually quite a bit of room off the tee. It's really a second shot golf course. The wind was up for most of the day so the holes into the wind were daunting. You'll really need to be able to hit stingers and long iron punches here if it's blowing hard. On the holes with the wind the ball goes forever. I almost made hole in one on #10 with a 5 iron (231yd) and I usually hit 5 about 190. Wind was pretty nuts. Tee boxes were lush although slightly long. Fairways and greens were immaculate. Greens had a few ball-marks but I fixed most of them. Speeds were probably about 10 but not lightning- very puttable. I think my favorite thing about the place was the par 5's. Every one was reachable with a good tee shot but they get tighter toward the green. You have to think your way through them. The Par 3's are wild. From the tips three out of four are 220+. If you play this course, PLEASE play the appropriate tee box or you'll be hitting provisionals all day. Final note is that it's gorgeous. Great views and the staff was very nice.

Played Santa Anita for the first time today after living in LA for 10 years. WOW, I feel like a moron. I should have been playing 8-10 rounds a year there. The only cons were the fivesomes which create the usual Pace of Play issues but everything else was a big pro. It's in phenomenal shape - especially the bunkers. They're manicured like at a private club. Greens all rolled true. I've played Harding, DeBell and Robinson Ranch in the last two months and they're beat to crap. Santa Anita was lush, firm and in nearly perfect condition. Every tee box was level. The practice range was mats only today but it looks like they're grass about half the time. I can't say enough about the design. Probably only second Rancho Park in the LA area as far as public tracks go. There are no hills and yet there are no flat lies. Every hole has marvelous undulation. The two finishing holes are brilliant. I live in Burbank and can't imagine why I'd ever play Griffith Park again. For less money I'll play SAGC every time.

Played Tierra Rejada as a single at 6:15 this morning. I was the second guy in the parking lot and went right off as a single. Was done by 8:45 and only ran into a threesome on 14 that was playing the back nine only. They let me through on 15 (is there anything better than going through a three or foursome as a single and hammering a drive right down the middle?).

Can't say enough about the shape that the course is in. The bunkers were all very consistent - I was in 5 different ones. Fairways were perfect. There were 2-3 tee boxes that were just slightly uneven but there were flat areas that you could find. Greens were rolling perfect.

Last time I played Tierra I didn't have it on the tee box and struggled mightily. Today I was striping them and scored pretty well. You really have to think your way around this place. i think I only hit 6 drivers. The trick here is to survive the front and score on the back. They just installed a new plaque to Ronald Reagan on the 11th tee and did a nice on it. Great view of the Library from the 11th tee.

Tierra Rejada Golf Club Review
Moorpark California Golf Course Reviews

Most of our buddies had commitments this weekend so two of us went of at 3:30pm over at Woodley Lakes just to get a round in. I wouldn't have thought there would be this much to say about the place.

I've played it before but for those that haven't, know this; you can hit it absolutely ANYWHERE off the tee and still be somewhat in play. In New England, we'd call this course a cow pasture. And while that certainly hurts the challenge a bit, the holes are freaking long. There's no Par 3 under 160 and at least 5 par 4's are over 400 yards (No's 9-10 are 450). So while you can hit a huge hook/slice off the tee and still have a clear shot, it'll be with a very long club. The Par 5's are all doglegs and you actually have to position your drive somewhat well to reach in two. If you can hit it long and straight off the tee, you should score very well here.

I'm of the opinion that if you want to play Wilson/Harding/Rancho in Los Angeles, you should have to prove that you can break 100 at Woodley/Hansen first. Some of the hackers at the "good" city courses in town make the 6 hour rounds there unbearable. At Woodley, we went off at 3:30 on Saturday(!) and finished at 7:45. The tee boxes were a little shaggy/weed infested but totally playable. Fairways were a LOT greener than our round at Lost Canyons last weekend and the greens rolled true but didn't have much break in them.

For a City Twilight rate, we had a great time and have no complaints about pace of play or bang for the buck whatsoever. If you're in need of a last minute round in LA, give it a whirl.

Woodley Lakes Golf Course Review
Los Angeles California Golf Course Reviews

Played The Valley Saturday 6/23. As a regular at the LA Muni courses, I'll say that it was amazing to basically not see another golfer out there on a weekend. Once our foursome made the turn, we never saw anyone in front of or behind us. Went off at a 3:24 tee time but they got us out about 20 minutes early. Played in under 4 hours. For a $50 GolfNow deal, you really can't beat it. For your fee, your cart and warm up fees are included.

I've played here twice before - both in the winter. When you play there in that part of the year, the rough is dormant. In the summer I was surprised that the rough was so thin and inconsistent. Not that I need ankle high rough, but with the fairways almost always kicking balls into the rough, you really need that good second cut to keep your ball out of the desert. I lost my share of balls as a result.

The course is really fun overall. No two holes go in the same direction and you really need to plot out the holes from the tee shot onward. You only really need driver on 4-5 holes from the blues (probably 5-6 from the blacks). I suppose you could hit 10-12 drivers but you're bringing a lot more peril into play to have Sand Wedges into greens instead of 9 irons.

Had a great experience overall. Tee boxes mostly in great shape. Fairways are spectacular and the greens rolled true. The rough was my only hangup. We're probably playing the Mountain next weekend.

Robinson Ranch Golf Club Review
Santa Clarita California Golf Course Reviews

Robinson Ranch was holding a 10 Year Anniversary special today. $45 to play with all amenities (including lunch). Had a great time. Place was in great shape for the winter. Everything was really firm and the "rough" was non-existant because the Bermuda is dormant right now. Greens were rolling extremely well. Every putt seemed to roll true. The place was crowded thanks to the cheap rate, but we still played in four and a half hours. Staff is always courteous and you're met at your car by someone with a cart. I highly recommend the Robinson Ranch experience. Get a deal on golfnow.com so you don't have to pay rack rates ($112).

Played Griffith Park (Harding) 4 days ago. I have to say, I'm not sure why people play Wilson when Harding is 95% as challenging and the pace of play is almost always 45 minutes faster. We played on a normal weekday and teed off at 11am. We were in the car driving home at 4.

The place was in pretty good shape with the exception of ground under repair on 3-4 holes, but it never effected play. The strongest points of the day were the design of the holes. Some are wide open and some really need to be thought through. Biggest disappointment was the inconsistency of the sand traps - could never tell how the ball was going to react because some were bare and some were filled.

The range at Griffith leaves a lot to be desired, but for the green fees what can you expect? If you have to play an LA City course, I most definitely recommend Harding. Rancho Park and Wilson are better golf courses (Wilson not by much), but both are unplayable in less than five and a half hours and more likely six.

My handicap is an 11 and I shot 82. I thought that was very fair.

Played Hansen Dam on Saturday afternoon. It was your typical five hour plus round at a LA Muni. The only reason to write this review is to talk about the greens. They were aerated 3-4 weeks ago and are definitely not back. I've never seen a ball hop so much when hit with a firm stroke. My foursome probably missed 4-5 birdie putts between us by leaving putts an inch short due to the ball hopping so many times on the way to the hole. The rest of the course was in pretty good shape. Fairways were particularly good. Didn't find the sand. Shot 80 (I'm an 11) that could have been 1-2 shots better with true greens. Will give it a couple months before playing it again.

Played DeBell yesterday at noon. The greens are almost back after the aeration. They're rolling much more true than 2 weeks ago but the speed is not close to being back yet. We had played there the weekend of the Burbank City Championship and they were lightning. Probably rolling half that speed now.

I went out as a single hoping to catch someone and join up. I caught a twosome on the 5th hole and they never asked me to join them. I proceeded to catch them on every teebox for the rest of the round. When I made the turn I asked the Marshall if he could do something. He said he knows there are four twosomes playing in a row and there's nowhere for me to go...and he said he was leaving for the day. Needless to say, what was a fun and good scoring round turned sour very fast as I was waiting on every shot.

If you're going to play DeBell, understand that there are infrequent golfers that play there because it's so cheap.

In terms of the course, I only hit driver on 1, 10, 11, 18. Those are the only holes where it's any real benefit. I birdied two par 5's hitting hybrids off the tee. You should be able to finish at DeBell in a shade over four hours...maybe 4:45 on the weekend.