Played at 6:30 am on Sunday. $50 to walk but I got a mask out of it because I forgot mine in the car. They send groups out every 10 minutes and the starter calls over the loudspeaker to let the group know to tee off. Probably a factor but POP was good, at 3:50. A little slower on the back but nothing to complain about. Nothing open at that hour but the range but the service I got was excellent.

The course is in pretty good shape. A little dry, a little toward winter thin, but overall not in bad shape. The tee boxes were the weakest part with some crowning and thin patches of chopped Kikuyu. The greens were the best part. The best they have been this year at the least, quick and rolling well. They looked bumpy but no evidence of it when rolling. One of our players almost putted off the green on the first hole on a downhill putt to the front pin position (15' putt with 20' comebacker) so the speed was there from the start.

Not in any sand and there were no complaints from those that were, although it was evident a greenside bunker on #6 had little cushion seeing a club bounce at the bottom of a swing. Some bare patches in the fairways and the rough was cut down so the course was playing shorter than usual. I generally had good hitting surfaces though.

All in all, a good time on a beautiful morning. I recommend the course and its good if not great conditions.

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.

Played early Sunday, possibly the fourth tee time. Nothing open but the pro shop when we teed off. Quick check in and they were using the loudspeaker to call groups to the tee, so the service was fine. POP was pretty good, right at four hours. The group in front finally sped up on the 14th hole which made the finishing holes nice.

The conditions were decent. I was disappointed because I expect more from ElDo. The greens were really good. No sign of the aeration last month, quite firm and decently fast. They rolled well. The rest of the course did not hold up as well. The rough was cut down and I was on dirt as much as grass when off the fairway. The tee boxes were scruffy generally and crowned on quite a few. The worst was all the bare spots on the fairways, with 10 and 16 being the worst examples that come to mind. ElDo traditionally has thick Kikuyu fairways and seeing big bare spots was surprising. I managed to avoid them probably because I avoided the fairways for the most part.

I like the course and the nice greens made up for a lot. Still recommended even with faults.
I'll be back and hope for more next time.

Played today, Saturday 10/10, before 7:00 am. Pretty tight Covid restrictions still, no chipping or putting green, coffee shop opens at 9:00 am (Covid gets up early?), plexiglass in pro shop, masks in clubhouse area. POP was good, about 4:05. $47 to walk.

The course is in decent shape. Pretty lush fairways with less roll than in prior years. Was not in any bare spots. Rough is a mixed bag and I got mixed results. Sometimes thick, sometimes dirt. I hit more club off the first tee because I have had some bad lies in the rough in the middle of the landing area. Pulled my drive and almost gave up looking before finding it in a thick clump of rough. Oh well.

The greens had been aerated, but only half of them. It was inconsistent on how big of a half. The greens were decently fast on the un-holed portions, not so much on the other sides which are well on their way to be healed but are still soft and slower. I was in several sand traps and they were okay.

Always a good walk, the early overcast skies made a nice cool walk. Got a great photo of Catalina Island behind #10 green, framed by the trees. Nice day on the links.

Played Sunday, 9/6, at 6:50 am. Agree about the funky check-in Covid precautions. One person at a time in the shop which turned out to be two people at a time because they had two people working registers. A lot of people hanging out in front waiting to check in with nothing to do because the putting and chipping areas are still closed. The food truck was open and operating though which was a pleasant surprise that early in the morning. For whatever reason, the halfway house on the course was not open although we went by it before 9:00. Hopefully, considering the expected heat, it opened sometime that day.

We played in less than four hours, waiting on the group in front of us on most shots but a good enough pace to make it not worth complaining. Sad to say there were three open holes behind us at the end so no one else the rest of the morning played that fast. The starter seemed surprised when informed of the gap on our way out.

I was pleasantly surprised with the conditions. In my experience, Harding usually cuts down their rough in the summers. Not so this year. That stuff was thick and lush. I found a few extra balls looking for wayward balls. The fairways were excellent in general. The greens were also nice, running a bit faster than medium. The tee boxes have thick kikuyu so it was harder on par threes to find a thinner spot to put in a tee, otherwise nothing to complain about.

Highly recommended right now.

Played Saturday, 9/5, at around 7:00 am. Went off as a single and joined another single on the third or fourth hole. We finished in 3.5 hours practicing putting and chipping on occasion. Hit a 5some on the last three holes or it would have been faster. I had a later tee time and asked to get out earlier because of the heat. The starter was very accommodating getting me out quickly at an open spot.

First time playing the course and I was impressed with the conditions. Notwithstanding the extreme heat we have had in the later summer, the course was in good to very good condition. It was very wet because of the heat wave so there was no roll. The rough was low enough to find one's ball and high enough to be a factor. I was in one bunker and the sand was a nice compacted hitting surface. It was also groomed. The greens were interesting. Decent speed, medium, and I had to try to read them carefully to determine the break, not always successfully. They were large and challenging.

The course was relatively short, seeming to play shorter than its approximately 6300 yards from the blue tees. They have changed the colors from the scorecard on this site, so the former white is now the blues and there is an orange tee as the back tee. Most tees seemed to me to be elevated as are the greens. I thought that contributed to it seeming to play shorter than the listed yardage, even without much roll in the fairways. It was a forgiving layout also, with mounds on each side of the fairway to catch wayward balls and redirect them somewhat toward the fairway.

Usual LA County covid measures although the putting green and chipping areas were open. The service was slow in the cafe for whatever reason. To go only, through a window at the bar, I waited for a soda before I left but finally went without as the line never moved while I was there.

I look forward to playing it again.

Played Soule Park for the first time on Sunday, 8/30. We were the first group off at 6:20 am so pace of play was not an issue. I believe we played in 3:35 or faster. I left my house late at 4:50 am and was concerned I would not get there on time. Walked into the clubhouse, told the starter who I was, he said great, I was on the tee, and off we went. We could not see our first tee shots but after that it was light enough and everyone found their ball so it was all good.

The only negative was playing the avocado tees with the rest of the group took a lot of the bite out of the course. There was a 100 yard difference between the avocado tees and the next tee back on the #1 handicap number 8. 408 yards versus 310, to a green that would have been really tough to hold with a long iron but was not as difficult with a short iron.

I liked the course. The conditions were good and there were some quirky features to even straightforward holes that kept it interesting. I played with a group in which one guy had course knowledge. That was good because there were times I was not sure where the green was, etc. I liked the short mown areas around the greens that looked like bermuda or bent grass. It was difficult at times for me to pick out where the greens started mainly because quite a few of them are raised slightly, but once again that is a course knowledge thing.

I especially liked the greens. I had quite a few problems with them on the front (20 putts!) and there were some nasty breaks, but nothing unfair in my opinion. They were difficult but fun. All the conditions were top notch. I was only in one bunker and the sand was good. We had trouble finding balls in the rough at times so it was a factor. The fairways were nice.

Overall, I look forward to playing here again. It was pretty crowded when we finished which makes the conditions that much better. It stands up well to the play. I'll be back.

Played Sunday, 8/23, early. Quick check in. No cafe service that I saw nor was the halfway house at the 12th tee open, but they had a bar/beverage stand set up behind the driving range. No putting green or chipping area open but every stall in the driving range was being used as we were finishing. Earlier I heard a loud speaker telling patrons that there was no standing around and waiting or watching, everyone had to be hitting. They were apparently serious because there was a line out front as we were leaving of people waiting to be let in to use the driving range, with a monitor admitting people when space opened up.

The course itself was in pretty good shape. The greens looked nice and rolled well but not what I would call fast. Medium speed. The fairways were good and the rough was a factor. Not overly long but definitely limited hitting out of it. The tee boxes were not level as often as they were so sometimes I had to search for a decent spot.

Pace of play was only okay. The group in front of us was a hole behind after No. 2 and 1.5 holes behind the rest of the way. We finished in 4:15 but we would not have had to wait on every shot and it would have been a half hour faster if we were in front of the group and not behind them. They were also pulling the flag on every hole but 9 and 18 (in front of the clubhouse). Idiots. A lot of bugs out there also on a hot morning made more humid by the water they were putting on the course. No skeeters that I saw so merely annoying.

It was a pretty bare bones experience in terms of amenities but the golf was nice. I can forgive a lot for that. I'll be back.

Played Saturday 7/18 with the GK Cup finals groups, playing with Matt, Wendy and Greg. I have only played here once and did not remember it very well. The staff was efficient and every one I dealt with was pleasant. We sat out on the veranda for the Cup presentation ceremony and it is a nice area for an after round beer. POP turned out to be decent also, a little over 4.5 hours on a Saturday afternoon.

The conditions were a mixed bag. As Matt said, the tee boxes were a lowlight. The greens were a highlight. Good speed and rolled well. They were relatively difficult to read I found. The fairway bunkers ran from dreadful to barely acceptable. I played one as GUR because it was unplayable with no sand and erosion channels through the dirt. The one greenside bunker I was in was in nice shape. I thought the fairways were fine. I did not have a bad lie in the fairway. Rough was more mixed. Anything outside the rough was gone. Jungle with poison oak and rattlesnake signs everywhere.

I had a good time even though I drove the ball poorly after the first six holes, which is a killer here. I am not a fan of the layout, I thought it required some local knowledge, although Matt gave us the benefit of his experience so we had that. The layout verged on quirky. I thought the par threes were fun though. Overall, I expect I will come back and give it another try.

Played early on Saturday, 6/13. Started around 6:30 and played in 4:10, so no complaints. Beautiful morning to walk the course.

I thought the fairways were greener than last time I played here likely because of more watering from the recent heat we have had. Good roll out though. The edges of the course are more back to normal. We were playing the blue stones and it is funny that those are some of the poorer parts of the blue tee boxes. And a couple of the stones are within three feet of the back of the tee boxes which makes no sense to me. The greens were the highlight. They are speeding up and giving the course back an edge. Downhill putts that were left short two weeks ago were sliding five feet past the hole. Fun times.

Slowly the Covid restraints are being relaxed. Recently I saw a couple of guys sitting above the 18th hole chatting and someone was sent out from the pro shop to roust them out. Yesterday there was a foursome eating at an outside table in that same area. One of the doors of the coffee shop said "Dine In Entrance." So, getting some amenities back.

Played on Sunday, June 7. Got out at 6:30 am and finished in 3:45 POP. Hard to believe the 10 minutes between groups makes that big of a difference but it was easily the best pace I have had at Lakewood in many years, including starting a lot earlier than 6:30.

I agree with sngernz' review for the most part. I thought the roll out on drives was pretty good though, more than other courses I have been playing. The greens were maybe medium speed, not nearly as fast as they can get. That said, they looked nice and rolled well. One disagreement is the sand traps. I was in three or four. They looked like they had been raked by the staff that morning with the only footprints of recent origin. So, overall they were in good shape and had plenty of sand.

They are very strict on the Covid-19 standards. They require one to put on a mask to order at the half way house. The lady sitting at the entrance gate to the course made sure those arriving had tee times and she sent several away who were arriving more than 10 minutes prior to their tee time including a couple from our second group who were teeing off at 6:40. I do not understand how the range operates under those circumstances unless it is excepted. Agree with sngernz's frustration that none of the practice facilities other than the range are open (although admittedly I teed off within five minutes of walking on the grounds).

Played early today, Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. We played early, about 6:30 am, and the pace was good at 4:05. Quite crowded out there but still moved along nicely. The coffee shop was closed and it did not look like they were operating. The range was open.

The course was in good shape. Green and lush fairways, some roll still. They were putting some water on it because of the heat. Seemed to excite the bugs, they were out in force, including mosquitoes. I was in one bunker and it was in good shape. The rough was a factor but cut down and we generally had no trouble finding balls. The greens rolled well, but were inconsistent. Most of them were slow side of medium.

Overall, a good experience. Good length, with some fun holes. Recommended.