This is late and mostly brief. Got out last Friday at 2:00 as a threesome plus a single joining us. In a nutshell, the rain has had its effect and the... » More

This is late and mostly brief. Got out last Friday at 2:00 as a threesome plus a single joining us. In a nutshell, the rain has had its effect and the overall conditions keep improving. Any thin or bare spots (usually off in side spots) are now the anomaly. It is hard to find a bare/thin spot on the fairways, which are green with good lies and no brown patches. My last review was pretty recent and not much else has changed. Greens are running a nice medium quick with a firm surface. They are good but not pristine and you'll get a muni bump in the tracking of your ball at some point in the round, but that is part of muni golf. I was lag putting very well on the surface. Definitely recommended.

The nonsense part: With the starting time, we thought we'd get at least 15 holes in but the pace was definitely slow. One of our threesome had to leave at the turn, another at the end of the 13th, around 5:45 sunset, leaving me and the single Matt, an ex-pat Brit and good golfer, to soldier on into the dusk. Starting the 14th was a no brainer with the promise to finish 15 in the last usable light. After 15, it was pretty dusky but Matt said we have to walk that way anyway, so we pressed on through 16, barely tracking the initial direction of our drives. After 16, I said "3/4 moon and range lights, let's finish 17", which we did with little ability to track much. You had to be within 20' to even see your ball sitting on the green. After 17, Matt was ready to quit, but I said no, no, this is a Caddyshack moment — play until you can't find your ball. I never found my tee shot on the 18th, but we found Matt's, who put his second shot next to the green and got up and down for the par. I played 14 — 17 one-over with two of three pars basically in the dark. It's a sickness, but really fun.
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Apologies in advance for the brevity. Played Friday 2/11 teeing off at 1:30 as single joining a three-some. For this time of year the overall conditio... » More

Apologies in advance for the brevity. Played Friday 2/11 teeing off at 1:30 as single joining a three-some. For this time of year the overall conditions are pretty solid and better than some as munis go. A fair amount of rollout in the fairways, bunkers were generally groomed and a little on the firm side, the greens were quick and reasonably clean. The group I was in were a bit slow and hindered the pace of those behind us, but we got around in under 4.5 hrs and enough dusk at the end for us and a couple of following groups to finish.

I played like goose poop (there was a little of that along with the geese), but I'd happily play it again.
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Got out with a buddy Friday, 1/27, with a 1:46 start. In my previous review I said I would stay away until we got some rain and a little recovery time... » More

Got out with a buddy Friday, 1/27, with a 1:46 start. In my previous review I said I would stay away until we got some rain and a little recovery time, and such was the case. Overall, I'd say SA is far from prime, but fair with a reasonable level of playability. Playing the whites, I recall no issues with teeing grounds, which is a good sign. They have varying degrees of tight coverage but are generally pretty level. The fairways are greened up some with a mix of thinner and lusher lies and running on the firm side. There are some hard exposed dirt areas but usually in non relevant areas like near teeing grounds or off to the side. In the fairway proper you typically had a decent to good lie. Rough varies here from nicely playable to hardpan and I found myself playing off pine needles on two occasions. Short game from the fairway fronting the greens was tight but better around the green. I was in a couple of bunkers and the sand was OK, softer than I would expect. The greens are worth special mention and description. It is not unusual that the greens here can be reported on the sluggish side but on the day they were quick — about as quick as you can expect to find here and consistent with the practice green, so pay attention there. They were firm and looked it with a tight, spare surface that was a little unsightly but performed well. There were numerous light, unfixed ball marks that needed attention, but after fixing any in my path, I found the ball tracked well. Bottom line, I really enjoyed the speed and challenge of the greens.

We knew with a 1:46 start finishing 18 holes was not in the cards, but we got through 13 and then the 18th was conveniently open for us to shortcut home for a total of 14 holes. Bottom line you are dealing with the expected, slightly spare, mid-winter conditions of SoCal golf, but it is a good layout and with reasonable expectations, I think the course is now worth playing.
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When checking a few days ago, I was surprised to find a fair amount of short-notice availability for Saturday 12/31 in the LA City systems and booked ... » More

When checking a few days ago, I was surprised to find a fair amount of short-notice availability for Saturday 12/31 in the LA City systems and booked Encino. Then I checked the weather report and understood why I was able to do that. I don't typically play in the rain but, having the appropriate gear, decided to "go Irish" and take the challenge for a change. As it turned out, the conditions were wet from the previous night's rains but surprising little precipitation for most of my round.

The course is playable but in mid-winter form. Probably because of the wet, on most tees the black, blue and white were set together around the white monuments. The teeing grounds themselves were consistently level with coverage and provided a good start. Fairways were a chaotic patchwork of mixed grasses on the tighter side, occasionally thin/bare and with sticky/muddy patches distributed around. More than once I moved a ball in the fairway to get some grass under it, but mostly it played OK. Runout was reasonable for the conditions but clubbing up was the rule of the day. Rough was a little longer than the fairway but not much of a factor. I was in one bunker and rather than firm and soggy, it was damp but surprisingly fluffy. Short game from the fairway in front of the greens was tricky as the lies were tight and sticky, but surrounding the green usually gave you a better lie for chipping. The greens were the highlight — pretty clean, running true at a fairly quick medium pace. No apparent slowing from the dampness.

There were golfers out but it was understandably spare, and it seemed like most of them started earlier. I was on my own and in my vicinity there was only a two-some in front of me and a single a few holes back. Pace was just about four hours. There were a few times over the course of the round it started to lightly mist and I donned my rain jacket, but it would end within a half hole and the jacket would come off. It really only started to rain to any real effect at the start of the 18th through finish, so I lucked out as to my timing and exceeded any expectations I had as to avoiding the wet. Would I recommend it? Probably not, even as I wouldn't steer anyone away from it. As long as you know before you go. Did I enjoy it as the golf slut that I am closing out 2022? Heck yeah.
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