Looking for a weekend tee time late in the week I grabbed a single spot at Woodley for 3:50 on Saturday the 14th. Just wanted to get out and accepted ... » More

Looking for a weekend tee time late in the week I grabbed a single spot at Woodley for 3:50 on Saturday the 14th. Just wanted to get out and accepted that 18 might not be in that time frame but, somewhat surprisingly, our foursome did 18 in just about four hours. Conditions were actually pretty good all around. Playing from the whites, teeing grounds were level and coverage was fine. The fairways were on the firm side, also with pretty good coverage and fair rollout. I don't recall being in the fairway at any point and having a lie issue. Rough was pretty consistently playable so between the wide fairways and forgiving rough, the opportunity to have a good round was expanded. I don't think anyone in our group visited a bunker, so no intel there. The greens were good, clean, minimally marked and looking like they should run medium but were a bit quicker than that. Green-adjacent was pretty good for chipping and pitching.

I was the only one dumb enough to walk and it was over 90º when we started but it was subsiding at that time of day as we progressed to sunset. The pace on the front nine was pretty much unimpeded. The Back nine was relatively more congested but not by much, and the 4-hour final time was a pleasant surprise for all of us. I don't go out of my way to play here — much less than once a year typically — but I was in the mood to play someplace with legitimate length that would allow more margin for error to build up some confidence. Oh, and there was tee time available — duh. Woodley didn't disappoint. Shot my best score in at least couple of years. The guys I played with were pleasant company and pretty good players as a group. As the sun and temps went down, the full moon came up to complement an orange sunset so it was a really nice finish to a good round. Open, predominantly flat and good for walking, the expansiveness may not have the more classic visual interest of a contoured course, but there is an interesting, more spare aesthetic to it that I enjoyed as a change of pace. Recommended.
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Played Friday 5/6 as a two-some joined by a single, teeing off @ 3:40. Not going to get too detailed. The course is in nice overall shape and they gen... » More

Played Friday 5/6 as a two-some joined by a single, teeing off @ 3:40. Not going to get too detailed. The course is in nice overall shape and they generally keep it clean. The greens are in nice shape, running medium fast which seemed slower initially because the greens here more often are on the quick and tricky side. The main anomaly to the normal conditions to be aware of is that they are rebuilding the tee boxes for holes 7, 8 and 11 — all par threes. On 7 the temp tee box is to the side of the regular location and so the distance is comparable. On the other two holes temp tees are pushed forward. And they aren't doing it halfway. In each case they have graded the full teeing area and laid down sand. You can see that the finished products will be very level and expansive as to providing room to move the markers around. They should be very nice but a while before playable. No seed or sod on them yet.

Service here is always personable and efficient, pace was a little over four hours and our timing was very good as far as daylight and getting 18 holes in. An esoteric point, but when playing this course late in the day, if you have enough light to get halfway through the 17th hole, the lights from the range will provide enough illumination to finish up through 18. We didn't need it, but nice to know when squeezing in that round later in the day with crowded tee sheets all over. A shorter course, but highly recommended for what it is. Enjoyed the round and the single was good company who fit right in with us.
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Took a friend passing through town out to Roosevelt for on Tuesday 3/22, joining a single and another two-some. Really very nice conditions for what i... » More

Took a friend passing through town out to Roosevelt for on Tuesday 3/22, joining a single and another two-some. Really very nice conditions for what it is. The teeing grounds are generally pretty level with good coverage and they've done sod work on a number of them to make them rather lush right now. Nice to see the work and results. Fairways here are a little tighter than usual given it is winter, but still good coverage and I find it more complete and relatively thicker than many places I play. Rough really varies from a little longer than the fairway and playable if you get an up lie, to some serious underbrush in spots and pine needles if you go a little further astray. The bunkers had some stray dips and footprints and could use grooming, but there was more clean space and the sand quality is good. Short game areas varied from light rough to tight lies. The greens were nice — a pretty clean, healthy surface with minimal ball marks, running medium quick.

A touch on the warm side it was a very nice day to be out there. With the exception of the usual backup on #6, in this case two groups worth, the general pace was pretty good. The group was pleasant, I pointed out the iconic LA features to my buddy and everybody expressed appreciation for the course. A few weeks left before they punch the greens, the place is a cool little gem and I recommend checking it out.
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I have points to use up on my LA City card and grabbed an 11:55 start on Friday 3/18 as single joining a two-some and another single, all walking. I d... » More

I have points to use up on my LA City card and grabbed an 11:55 start on Friday 3/18 as single joining a two-some and another single, all walking. I don't recall any issues finding a suitable spot to peg it in the teeing areas — mostly covered and level or close enough to it. The fairways are a mashup of grasses that grow at varying rates, so the closer to having been mowed the more consistent the surface. On the day a cut was probably due and a little lumpy. That said, mixed or not, it was generally covered, wintery firm with a fair amount of rollout. The rough was not particularly thick or that much different from the fairways and usually not at all penalizing. The run-ups to the green generally made for tight pitching lies while around the greens it was just a little more forgiving. I was in a couple of bunkers where the sand leans more towards heavy than fluffy, but otherwise fair, reasonably clean and playable. I personally did not see any I would describe as dirt or close to it as previously reported, but maybe I missed those. The greens were firm enough to leave minimal pitch marks, running mostly true at a decent medium quick pace that overall wasn't as brisk as the practice green.

It was a good day to play — clear, warmer than usual with no impacting wind. It's flat and a good course to walk. Pace was very good at right around four hours on a busy public course. Almost surprising, really. All the guys in the group were friendly and, except for me, young and hit the ball far if not always straight. It was also a nice surprise that I could use my points for the range balls, so I was nothing out of pocket on the day. It's muni golf, not in peak condition but more than acceptable and I recommend it as such.
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I played Altadena last Friday with a buddy. It was maybe the second time I've played there in recent months, prior to which I had stayed away for well... » More

I played Altadena last Friday with a buddy. It was maybe the second time I've played there in recent months, prior to which I had stayed away for well over a year — a testament to my disenchantment given how convenient it is to me for casual rounds. What follows here is rendered moot by the fact they heavily punched and sanded the greens since Friday, but seeing how severe my most "recent" review was and not having posted the last couple of times out, I needed to do at least a quick update. Of note is the current absence of driving range access. A wind storm a few months back took down about six poles on the right side and it has been closed ever since, but I knew that when I booked the tee time. Overall the course itself has recovered from the desperate and partially bare dog track that sent me away. It has its usual stretches of thin and bare, usually extending out immediately in front of teeing areas, but the fairways are mostly green and playable. The greens were decent, firm and on the quick side with some bare patches only on the edges of the par-3 8th. Missed the bunkers entirely. Based on the review thread, I seem to be about the only GKer who ever plays the place but, for what its worth and once the greens recover, it is now good as a practice track at twilight rates which is usually the standard it maintains. I needed to find someplace on short notice and it was one of the few places that had tee times available, so as Carl would say, it's got dat going for it.

The length and layout made it a perfect walking course for nine holes for my buddy, and with no big expectations, it worked out well for us.
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