Played this AM. Wanted to walk and this fit the bill. Found the ball washers back in place. Rakes in the traps. Benches on the tees. Thought I was in the wrong place at first. Nice to have that feelin... Continue »

Played this AM. Wanted to walk and this fit the bill. Found the ball washers back in place. Rakes in the traps. Benches on the tees. Thought I was in the wrong place at first. Nice to have that feeling of a "real" course again. Easy fast check in (thanks Mathew and Ted). Course is in really nice shape. Tee boxes just fine. Fairways green with good coverage and decent roll out. Rough was a little higher than usual but playable. Traps were all clean and players are using the rakes after playing out of them (thank you). Greens have all healed and had no issues with chipping or putting and they had decent speed to them. Only area of the club not open was the restaurant. Only outdoor food set up at present. Range open. Chipping areas open. Putting green open. Masks required only when interfacing with staff.

Spent a somewhat drizzly Sunday morning at Alhambra this week with two friends and a 9:40am tee time. Warmed up next to an absolute whacko on the driving range - don't do drugs, kids. But I digress ..... Continue »

Spent a somewhat drizzly Sunday morning at Alhambra this week with two friends and a 9:40am tee time. Warmed up next to an absolute whacko on the driving range - don't do drugs, kids. But I digress ...

We played from the blue tees which was disappointing as this is a very short course already so was hoping to at least play from the blacks. But while you will have many opportunities to reach greens on par 4s and lots of wedges in on the shots after you do hit driver, there are still the perils of golf in play here and a few hazards here and there in the form of water, trees and bunkers that can mess up your scorecard.

They always take very nice care of this course and today was no exception. The only really, truly poor aspect of the course were the tee boxes. They were not mowed down at all so you really had to search for a reasonable and flat cut. Easy fix, and I'm sure they will do that soon.

Other than that, the greens only showing the faintest hint still of recent aeration, but not much better than medium speeds right now. Holding shots just fine and fairly true rolls. Fairways were in good shape in most areas, as was the rough, and the only bunker I was in was playable, but not optimal. A bit thin but the rain may have contributed to that.

I make it a point to play this course at least once or twice a year as it's one of the few I can just try and enjoy myself playing instead of being so concerned about the score. The low rating and slope here mean you better be at least in the 70s or this isn't helping bring your handicap down - if you're into that sort of thing.

Have a good time and check it out. Always a cheerful round at Alhambra.

Always fun to play this course. Greens still not totally recovered, but not too bad. A bit slow for my taste. Another week and they should be fine. Otherwise, the course is very playable, except t... Continue »

Always fun to play this course. Greens still not totally recovered, but not too bad. A bit slow for my taste. Another week and they should be fine. Otherwise, the course is very playable, except the bunkers need attention. Not a ton to add to the prior review. I agree that conditions are better with the new management team. Nice to see they are making the effort !

Invited to play this AM. I was only charged $28 to walk and POP was 3.5. Glad I accepted. They just punched May 3/4 but the greens are cleaned and healing nicely. While the greens were slow they were ... Continue »

Invited to play this AM. I was only charged $28 to walk and POP was 3.5. Glad I accepted. They just punched May 3/4 but the greens are cleaned and healing nicely. While the greens were slow they were not all that bad like they are sometimes after punching. Should be great in another week? Great check in (thanks Mathew) and quick check in with starter (thanks Anna). No tee box issues. Was in one bunker and they need work and rakes. Fairways all had good coverage and decent roll. Very little rough and what is there is playable. Nice Sunday round of golf. As I have said before. This course is way better since new management. First Billy Casper. Now Troon golf. Hope the rates stay competitive.

Played early, before the heat kicked in... The course is in very good condition, some heavy water spots, but not too bad. At least they are watering. The tee boxes are firm and flat, not too much divo... Continue »

Played early, before the heat kicked in... The course is in very good condition, some heavy water spots, but not too bad. At least they are watering. The tee boxes are firm and flat, not too much divot damage. The fairways are nicely mowed, keeping it short and playable. The rough had some deeper conditions over 2", but most was cut low enough yplay through. Bunkers where hard packed and looked tough to get out of... I did not land any! The greens are rolling smooth and tru, med-fast. The short but challenging play are the elevated greens, when getting good drives, because of the undulating course. I play again.

Wanted somewhere relatively simple to test out my game after spraining my ankle badly a few weeks ago at Rustic Canyon, and I’d recently driven by this place, so when a TeeOff.com “Deal” time popped u... Continue »

Wanted somewhere relatively simple to test out my game after spraining my ankle badly a few weeks ago at Rustic Canyon, and I’d recently driven by this place, so when a TeeOff.com “Deal” time popped up for 1:40 Saturday, I jumped on it. Arrived around 1:00 yesterday – super-friendly staff steered me in the right direction. You check in at what looks like a little booth just for the driving range, but it’s actually the first step in checking in to play golf, too. Then you walk over to the clubhouse where they get your cart and they get you started. Practice green was open. Outdoor snack bar was open. Single rider carts. I was paired with another single and we were sandwiched between foursomes. Despite lots of waiting, pace was pretty good. At the turn, the group in front of us waved us through, so the back nine was even quicker than the front. Total POP around 4:00.

Course conditions are quite good! Greens are definitely the highlight. There were lots of unfixed ball marks (I probably fixed 3-5 around my ball on every green), but I don’t hold that against the actual condition of the greens. Greens ran smooth, medium-fast and were pretty soft, accepting full shots really well. Downhillers could really get away from you quickly, and there are some really good subtle contours at play here. (I swear my first putt on No. 10 broke uphill. Somewhat deceiving in spots.) Originally scheduled for aeration tomorrow, looked like they pushed it back a week. Get ‘em while you can. Fairways had good coverage. I wouldn’t say they were lush, but I don’t recall any poor lies. Rough was decent, nothing too penal. Blue tee boxes (black weren’t out) were mostly good but one or two were sanded. I wasn’t in any bunkers. They looked good but the one my playing partner was in was very thin sand above a very hard base.

The only thing this course really lacks is length. At par 71 and maxing out at 5466 yards, there are lots of short par 4s and 5s, allowing for abundant birdie chances. It’s somewhat tight in spots with tree-lined fairways. The back nine is a little more interesting than the front with some nice elevation changes. I’d call this course a confidence booster but you’ve gotta go really low if you want to improve your handicap because the course rating is very low due to the short length. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Troon managed, city-owned municipal course like this, but like I said earlier, the employees I encountered were all really great. I’d play here again for sure.

Joined a friend for a late afternoon round. Slow going for first 9 holes but two groups of 4 left after 9 and we breezed on home. Weather was perfect for golf. Found all the tee boxes in fine shape. N... Continue »

Joined a friend for a late afternoon round. Slow going for first 9 holes but two groups of 4 left after 9 and we breezed on home. Weather was perfect for golf. Found all the tee boxes in fine shape. No rough to speak of to be a bother. Traps were not playable at this time of day. Fairways are green with good coverage, roll and lies. Greens were in good shape, even with the late afternoon poa growing in. Easy quick check in both in payment and starter. They had an outside snack bar set up also. While I enjoy playing early I also enjoy a late afternoon round when the opportunity avails itself. Courses are usually totally different in AM vs PM so it makes one play some different shots that hopefully come in handy at some later date.

Family visiting for Easter. Took my daughter and granddaughter out to play. My daughter was a very good golfer in her teens/twenties and wants to get back to it now that her daughter wants to play. Ha... Continue »

Family visiting for Easter. Took my daughter and granddaughter out to play. My daughter was a very good golfer in her teens/twenties and wants to get back to it now that her daughter wants to play. Have to say it was one of the most enjoyable days of golf for me in all my years of playing. Course is a good course for juniors as well as for all golfers. It is in very good condition. The maintenance crew is ten times better than the old one. Tees just fine no issues. Bunkers can be played from (your call) but you might as well take the ball out as the sand is very very compacted. No rough to really deal with. Fairways are green and have good lies and good roll. Greens are in very nice shape when it comes to holding shots. chipping/putting and they have good speed. Pretty much devoid of divots and old divot marks as well. Excellent customer service at check in and with starter. Driving range open. Putting green open. Snack bar set up outside of pro shop. Masks around all areas of range, putting green, starter, cart pick up still required. Not on the course.

Invited to play a mid AM round today. We ended up playing in 4 H 15 min though for some reason it seemed longer? Not much change since Friday. But it was apparent today that the greens had not been mo... Continue »

Invited to play a mid AM round today. We ended up playing in 4 H 15 min though for some reason it seemed longer? Not much change since Friday. But it was apparent today that the greens had not been mowed as they were slow all round. Customer service great at check in. Not so good from other employees though (must be Monday blues). No frills course that gets the job done IMO.