Played this morning (Thurs) at 8:20 for the first time here in about 6 years. I forgot how nice the clubhouse is -- the overall feeling you get when you walk up to the pro shop is like a resort course, not a muni. Range mats are in very good shape so it's nice to warm up before the round and work up some confidence. Very friendly and fast check-in. Conditions overall were pretty good -- the greens were the highlight, very smooth and rolling nicely, maybe slightly on the slow side. The fairways are very firm, mostly brownish or pale green, some bare spots but most lies were decent enough. Having not played here for such a long time, I forgot the layout of the holes, and I was struck by how challenging the sight-lines are for many shots. Particularly the tee shots always felt tight, and the humps in the fairways obstruct your view of the landing areas that would be prime. So a lot of times you're hitting and hoping you end up ok. On #9, we really didn't realize there was water in play from the tee shot, which might have been a good thing in the end. Overall I'd recommend the course.

Played Friday 2/11 at 11:10 am. Course is in decent shape overall. The greens were rolling fine -- maybe slightly on the shaggy side, so the grain was having a significant effect depending on direction of the putt. But that is pretty much how the greens on the course are. Some bare spots in fairway, but not hard to find a good spot if you don't mind playing lift and place. Pace was kinda slow for a Friday mid-day (non twilight) start time, but it mostly just FELT slow because we were a 3some stuck behind a 5some. In actuality, we walked off the 18th at 3:15, so it was just barely over 4 hours. Overall, I recommend it right now especially if you can get an early morning time.

Played Saturday 2/12 in the first group of the morning (6:30). Great weather and great pace. Course is in decent shape overall. Fairways were a little hit and miss, but the greens were mostly very good. I noticed the grass just in front of the green on hole #1 was pretty chewed up which is odd, but can't remember any other obviously bad spots.

Played Balboa on Monday Oct 11 at 7:20. Hadn't been to this course since they reopened the pro shop and the starter moved into the shop. So it's been a few months for me.

Course is playing great right now. The greens especially were nice and smooth, and rolled very true. Fairways were pretty good -- I hit into a few bare spots but I usually just take relief and reward myself for good tee shots if I find a bad lie. Our pace was very good -- just under 4 hours.

Definitely recommend playing here right now.

Played on Saturday 8/21 at 6:05 tee time. I was a single and paired up with 2 other singles, so we went out as a 3some. I really like how the starter calls up each group to the tee box and in a timely manner. Cuts down on the confusion of who's teeing off when, especially when it's dark and early in the morning.

Course conditions were mostly pretty good. I've not had great experiences with the conditions at Santa Anita in the past. Sometimes the fairway grass has been too shaggy, sometimes the greens are not cut well. So this is probably the best I've seen it. But by the "best", I would rate it as being on-par with how the LA City courses usually play (which I prefer and IMO are usually between 6-8 out of 10 on most days). So on Saturday, the course had mostly decent lies and green/light brown grass in the fairways, cut to appropriate length. Some bald spots in the rough as to be expected, but mostly generous/favorable lies in the rough.

The greens at this course are interesting in that they are one of the few that I play in Los Angeles that have obvious grain, and the grain will have a big influence on speed and direction of putts. Once you get the hang of it, it actually makes putting somewhat straightforward if you pay attention. I haven't seen too many reviews of this course mention that, but hope this helps others out there. The conditions on the greens were mostly very good, with a few exceptions. On one of the par-3 holes in particular, the green was pretty bare in terms of grass and there were spots where it was 30% dirt to 70% grass. Speed was hard to judge in those spots. Most of the greens were in good shape though.

We played the blue tees, and it was interesting to see how they placed the tees on this day. Every hole played at least its full yardage according to the blue markers (which is pretty rare), and on several holes, the blue tees were behind the blue markers by some 20-30 yards. The par-4 Hole #16 was playing 15 yards behind the marker, which made that one over 450 yards. The par-4 #17 which is normally a sub-300 yarder was playing 30 yards behind the marker. Not complaining -- it was cool to tee off from some unusual spots and play the course at its "tips". I believe there was a mens club tournament the following day, so perhaps they were getting the tees set up a day early.

Pace of play was good. Walked off the course at 9:45 so about 3:40 round. As a 3some we were actually a bit slow -- the group of 4 behind us caught up to us on a few holes and I was a little anxious we were holding them up a bit honestly. But playing with strangers, I didn't want to nag my group too much about playing slow.

Santa Anita is normally a course I avoid, which is a shame since I live very close by. But the course is in better shape than I've played it before, and I would not hesitate to play it again if it stays this good.

Played yesterday Sat May 29, and I was a little surprised to see the greens are still recovering from punching and sanding earlier in the month. Definitely playable but greens are taking a little longer to recover than the other LA city courses (I played Harding 2.5 weeks after their maintenance, and greens were close to perfect condition). Greens here were rolling pretty slow, sand was visible just beneath the surface, and putts were rolling inconsistently unless struck very hard. The greens were very receptive to approach shots with very little release due to the sand. Fairways were immaculate, the rough is pretty penal in certain spots. This course is one of my favorites in LA, and I imagine it will be back in good shape in another couple weeks.

Played early on Saturday morning (6/6), and was happy to get on so quickly as a single without a reservation. The staff are super-friendly, and seem genuinely interested in making sure their players have an enjoyable round. First time I've played this course, but conditions were really nice (esp. for the $$). Greens were on the slow side, but rolled true. Fairways and tee boxes were good. A lot of interesting holes, very hilly. Will definitely play here again.

Played on saturday morning (4/18), and greens are a little bumpy after recovering from aeration, but on the whole, pretty good conditions. Definitely playable and will probably get even better as more days go by.

great conditions recently at griffith park. tee boxes, fairways and especially the greens are playing really nicely for a course that is so busy. got out early last saturday (6:42a) and finished in 4 hours. most difficult part were some of the pin placements on severely sloped areas of the greens, so local knowledge of where to place your approach shots is helpful.