Good first day of the year out at Alondra today. Was expecting crowds and soggy mud patches everywhere, but turned out to be a very nice round in all aspects. The crowds for some reason totally stayed... Continue »

Good first day of the year out at Alondra today. Was expecting crowds and soggy mud patches everywhere, but turned out to be a very nice round in all aspects. The crowds for some reason totally stayed away on what turned out to be a pretty nice day to play golf, and the conditions were far better than anticipated after the rains. The greens are in very nice shape all around for Alondra, maybe the best I have ever seen them. They're not particularly fast, but roll true and held shots well. Not even too many ball marks or bumps on the surfaces, so kudos to them for that. And consistent as well - something rare at Alondra from green to green most of the year. Evidence of a nice putting surface? 25 putts today total. The fairways looked pretty good after the recent rains, and sure, there are some bare spots and some standing water, but the crew did a very nice job of marking off many of the GUR areas and the course was draining pretty nicely overall. The rough was dried out in a lot of areas, but easy to hit from and not a major obstacle. Worst part? The sandtraps and tee boxes. Traps were not only inundated with lots of water, but were very thin around the entire course. And the tee boxes just need some flattening out and general TLC. Nothing too awful, but if one must nitpick. POP was a very dreamy four hours even - rather unheard of on a holiday Sunday at this heavy traffic track. We never waited on a single hole, nor were we pushed at all outside of a single we let pass at the 4th hole. Remember - cash only at Alondra as well - they should probably get into the 21st century and get a credit card machine. So overall, one of the better rounds at Alondra over the years. It'll likely never be a pristine course, but it does present challenges with its length and a golfer's ability to deal with not always ideal conditions. But go enjoy the best greens you may experience here for quite a while.

Played Alondra on 12/23 with some buddies from work. The rains from last Wed left the course with many puddles of water but that was expected with the downpour we had.

Got to the course and it was... Continue »

Played Alondra on 12/23 with some buddies from work. The rains from last Wed left the course with many puddles of water but that was expected with the downpour we had.

Got to the course and it was pretty empty, surpisingly. Tee time was 9:30 and we got right out. We played lift clean and place as it seemed every drive left the ball full of mud.

Never been a big fan of Alondra but the course was in good condition and the pace of play was excellent.

Tee boxes were for the most part level and not to beat up.

Fairways in good shape, there are a couple of holes (13 comes to mind) where the fairway is always really thin

Greens were slow and bumpy but played acceptably considering the rain.

The most important part was that I was able to get out with some friends and had a great time out there.

Buddy wanted to play local today so we got a late 11:50 tee time at Alondra, but we joined a single and went out a bit early. Was very nice POP for a Saturday, coming in just over 4.5 hours. That was ... Continue »

Buddy wanted to play local today so we got a late 11:50 tee time at Alondra, but we joined a single and went out a bit early. Was very nice POP for a Saturday, coming in just over 4.5 hours. That was about the best part of the day.

Fairways are in poor shape generally, although you can find some decent grass in prime spots, however you can also expect to find dry areas of dirt, plenty of GUR, and a hodge-podge of weeds and dead grass. The rough is also a mixed bag and often a little better to hit out of than the thin fairways.

Tee boxes not great but playable - not too much to worry about there. At least they're level. And the bunkers are thin and in need of some attention. The greens are (as usual at Alondra) varied in quality from hole to hole. I was surprised by the speed and nice shape of the first few holes, but then the course showed its true nature and we found some awfully patchy greens with plenty of sanded in areas and large cuts of something or other that made putts bounce around in various directions.

Not sure if course conditions also attributed to me playing a quite lousy round, but I'm sure it did not help. Take for example, the 13th hole. After hitting a straight drive left center of fairway to about 115 from the pin, found it in an unmarked patch of dirt right in the fairway. That's always a bit disheartening.

It's Alondra. It's never going to be pristine but it does get the job done. I do enjoy the layout here either way and since it's the home of my only hole-in-one I will always keep coming back. And for the $30 greens fee, it was still worth it today.

Played 9 holes yesterday with dwindling light.

Greens on front 9 ranged from patchy looking to green/smoothish. A firm putting stroke kept the ball on line longer with a bumpiness as the ball sl... Continue »

Played 9 holes yesterday with dwindling light.

Greens on front 9 ranged from patchy looking to green/smoothish. A firm putting stroke kept the ball on line longer with a bumpiness as the ball slowed and moved closer to the hole. Overall surprised that even some of the patchy greens rolled pretty well with slow/medium speed. At least the greens were consistent from hole to hole.

Fairways still various lies from thin to relatively decent lies. Rough the same thing. It;s your basic mixed bag. Bunkers had hard packed sand and easy to hit from. Tee were all flat and lush.

Pace of play was phenomenal for a Saturday afternoon. No on in front and no one behind for at least a full hole in either direction. Finished 9 in under 1 1/2 hours with a tee time around 4pm. Had enough light to try to finish but due to personal time constraints finished with loads of light.

Surprised at conditions. Figured fairways would have good coverage but did not. Greens looked patchy but for the most part ran true with minor adjustments to putting stroke.

Played yesterday. Greens in much better shape than I remember. Still slow but held their line with a firm stroke. Some of the greens have a little thatch but you can deal with it. Fairways is mix of... Continue »

Played yesterday. Greens in much better shape than I remember. Still slow but held their line with a firm stroke. Some of the greens have a little thatch but you can deal with it. Fairways is mix of thin lies, decent coverage and bare.... dirt. Same applies to rough which is cut to the same height as the fairways. Noticed though areas not around the fairways like the spaces between the tee boxes and previous greens had thick grass or very muddy. Sand in bunkers are firm so knowing what club to use is key. Tee boxes were relatively flat.

This course continues to be the wettest dry course I know of. Play here again? So long as I see improvement which I have. It's golf. It's no frills public golf and for $30 walking during the week it's acceptable.

Pace of play an abysmal 5+ hours. I don't mind it much but as I was finishing 17 I realized that if only the pace of play was 4 hours I wouldn't feel as tired as I was on 18.

This is tempting to play only because it's close to my home. I played last week to meet some friends and had fun, but the poor conditions, bumpy greens, and boring layout make it a below average exper... Continue »

This is tempting to play only because it's close to my home. I played last week to meet some friends and had fun, but the poor conditions, bumpy greens, and boring layout make it a below average experience, not to mention 5 3/4 hour rounds on weekday afternoons. My novice golf friends don't mind playing here because it's open, convenient, and inexpensive. For the more experienced the afternoons are good wind practice, but I have few other positives about this course.

Every time I play here I wonder, why would I do that to myself? Conditions have not improved. In fact was thinking this is the wettest, dry course I have played in quite a while. I realize we are n... Continue »

Every time I play here I wonder, why would I do that to myself? Conditions have not improved. In fact was thinking this is the wettest, dry course I have played in quite a while. I realize we are not exactly in extreme drought conditions but water waste is water waste. I mean the run off channels are spotted with water. There are damaged sprinklers with marks/flags but the ground around them is completely soaked. Other areas are just hard baked clay and water won't stick to that surface unless you soak the ground.

I bet you if they managed to fix part of their irrigation problem they would be saving a few thousand in water bills. Heck even figuring out what areas are being watered improperly would go a long way to fixing their issues in a matter of weeks.

Course may not like my review but honestly there is better pickings not less than 5 miles away.

Fairways = thin lies. It was a joke after a while.
Rough = mix of thin lies and decent coverage and bare ... dirt. I started aiming for the sides of the fairway in the hopes of getting some decent lies for my approach shots.
Bunkers = not sand, more like muddy dirt. I suppose they water the bunkers to keep the sand in the bunkers since if they get drier the wind from the afternoon would blow out any decent sand they had left in them.
Greens = ok. They rolled ok. for the most part they kept their line. Just had to hit it hard enough on these really slow, slow greens.

Overall, at $13 for twilight walking, ok for just knocking the rock around. Any more than that... I always feel a pained twinge in my pocketbook. Paying more.... not worth it.

Better luck finding a course that at least has better conditioning in the South Bay.

Played Alondra on Sunday and the course has seen better days. You can justify the $40 (+5 for push cart) when it's in better than mediocre condition, but that's not the case currently. However, I will... Continue »

Played Alondra on Sunday and the course has seen better days. You can justify the $40 (+5 for push cart) when it's in better than mediocre condition, but that's not the case currently. However, I will say that the gentlemen in the pro shop were very cool and accommodating and it was nice that the course was pretty wide open for a Sunday afternoon. Holiday weekend?

It sometimes seems as if there are 2-3 different groundskeepers working different parts of Alondra at a time - that's how much conditions can vary from one group of holes to the next. The greens are so varied that it's impossible to really get a handle on them right now, other than many flagged off areas of damage, bumps galore, and not much speed to them with all the bumps going down.

The fairways have some decent cover, but there are far too many burned out, thin lies out there, and there were even some holes with standing water (#7 comes to mind) that just doesn't make any sense. I suppose there is some good in seeing your ball roll for days on a dried out fairway, but it's not ideal.

The tee boxes were also a bit rough, not very level and in some need of watering, but those are usually the least of any golf course's problems. The rough was okay actually, but of course there are plenty of bad areas to find yourself in if having a wayward round. And the sand? Well, not great, but playable. Found myself in a few bunkers but not too much trouble there.

Still managed to shoot a decent score though thanks to the soft greens being very receptive to shots from all angles, but of course I'd rather see this place just back to above mediocre to justify coming back anytime soon. The layout, while flat, is actually okay, but conditions need to be better. Don't expect much if booking here in the near future, but always keep checking back to see when things improve.

Played yesterday 9 holes, front 9.

Greens rolling slow a little bit bumpy and somewhat true. They verticut the greens recently so I suspect the bumpiness should go away soon.

Fairways mix of ... Continue »

Played yesterday 9 holes, front 9.

Greens rolling slow a little bit bumpy and somewhat true. They verticut the greens recently so I suspect the bumpiness should go away soon.

Fairways mix of thin and lush lies. Same with Rough as most of the rough is cut to the same height as the fairway. Some bare spots under trees that line fairways. Bunkers in OK shape. Would characterize sand as grainy. Pace of play was OK we were a twosome sandwiched between a fivesome and a foursome. Fivesome was walking. Played at a leisurely pace that was still faster than group behind.

Greens are in decent shape I would say. Should get better after healing. Pace of play decent considering it's a good walking course.

Play here again? I have to.... It's literally around the corner from me :D