De Bell is a great course for the money. I never shoot my best here, but I never regret playing here either. I walked on Sun. for $25. They've really got the course in great shape. It's not quite as challenging as some of the other LA muni courses, but it is by far in the best condition. I highly recommend this course to players of all levels...play smart!

For reference, that 8" rough was located on the left side of the fairway on the 11th hole on Monday at 9:35AM. And you can put on the skirts, just as well as you can put on the greens currently...just expect a bumpy ride. Please don't get me wrong, this is the BEST value in the area by far. I just hope the course comes back around sometime soon.

I really hated to rate this course so low because I truly love the layout, but it was really in horrible condition today. I understand that they had to aerate the greens and tee boxes, but the course today was a shadow of its former self. Not only were several of the par 3 tees temporary, they were moved up to just over 100 yds on all 3. The greens were bumpy because they were recently aerated, but they were also REALLY hairy. In fact, it didn't look like they'd been cut. The grass in the fairways on the back was also not cut. It was impossible to hit the ball without catching some grass first. The sand, and especially the fairway/waste bunkers had large (2" round) rocks in them. I typically play the ball where it lay, but I would have to replace an iron after hitting one of those rocks. I also didn't understand why they didn't try to squeegie the greens for the early morning rounds. There was a thick fog today keeping the entire course wet until noon. When a put was hit, water would spin off th ball. Between the aeration and the water, the greens were simply ridiculous. I've been to lost canyons in the early AM when there was still dew on the fairways, but the greeens were squeegied. But then again, why squeegie if you're not even going to cut them?!? I like challenging rough, and they had it today. Long, long, long...sometimes as much as 8". At noon, on the second nine, the sun came out and Rustic's trademark "links" style greens began to dry out and become playable. Unfortunately, there were literally hundreds of ball marks on the large skirts so "links" style playing (ie, off the green putting or low runners) were out of the question. To top it all off, as my group was walking to the temporary tee on the second par 5 on the front, one of the maintenance men was working on the tee boxes and sprayed my entire foursome with dirt, rocks, grass, etc.... He didn't even stop and he saw us coming up the path. I covered my head, then looked back as I passed him. The pro was on the tee box with his hands on his head as if he was thinking "what the hell are you doing???" However, he never came up and apologized or anything. There aren't that many ways a golf course can be held liable for on course injuries since it's play at your own risk. But negligent maintenance men will put them on the hook for any injuries caused. Overall, I still love Rustic. I was there the first month it opened to the public when it was still run out of a trailor. I just pray, please, please, please take care of this course and do let it go to hell.

DD

This is just one of LA's muni's, but there are many others that are much better. For instance Rancho and the Griffith Park courses blow this away. I played here because I'd heard a lot of hype, but I was definately dissapointed. Bottom line, if your're gong to play the 5-6 hour round at a LA muni, you might as well play on a good course.

I played this course with a RedDot 2 for one coupon on a Sunday. The normal fee was about $80. It was extremely hot, and they had sprinklers going (in play) on a lot of holes. The greens were nice, but there were way too many ball marks. My biggest complaint would be the bunkers. The waste bunkers were like assphalt, and the traps were very compacted. Overall, it was a good layout, but the condition was sad. I can see how this may have been a contender a while back, but they've let it slide a lot.

Best muni in the valley! I've played all the $21 courses in LA, and Knollwood is the best. I had an 8AM tee-time and they got my two-some out at 7:45AM. The greens were in great shape and were med-fast. If I wanted to complain, I would complain about the dry spots in the fairway and rough. However, this course has more dynamic than any other in its price range by far. Additionally, there was wind which made up for the 6,300yd "short" course. I often had to add 2 clubs when hitting into the wind. Overall, it is a fun and challenging track that requires distance, accuracy, and a variety of shots to score well.