A little So Bay golf course roulette today ended with 18 at Alondra. Walked the blues and was paired with a nice 3some of older gals. I was concerned about reported aeration but figured it wasn't goi... Continue »

A little So Bay golf course roulette today ended with 18 at Alondra. Walked the blues and was paired with a nice 3some of older gals. I was concerned about reported aeration but figured it wasn't going to be any better anywhere else with it going on, so I bit the bullet. Many of the greens have of course a crazy amount of sand on them but no obvious pattern as to which (17 has the highest concentration of it). But overall the greens are poor except for a few that were in decent shape. The fairways are thin with many dry areas - enjoy the roll. Sand traps were just okay after the morning dew wore off, but heavy and hard-packed. The rough is of varying length and there's plenty of clutter around like leaves, twigs and branches. Can be hard to see your ball so track it well. The tee boxes are well beat up and you have to work hard to find the level spot. POP wasn't too bad - a 4.5-5 hour round is anticipated here. Sadly no cart girl to be seen all day, but there's a good number of water fountains. I'm probably being overly critical of Alondra knowing maintenance is being done, but that's just the current state of things. Sure it will be better soon. $38.50 to walk - cash only.

Played Alondra on Saturday as a single at 11:50am. Paired up with another single and finished in about 4 1/2 hours - not too bad for a Sat afternoon.

I've seen Alondra in better condition. Fairway... Continue »

Played Alondra on Saturday as a single at 11:50am. Paired up with another single and finished in about 4 1/2 hours - not too bad for a Sat afternoon.

I've seen Alondra in better condition. Fairways are quite dried out and it's very common to have a bad lie at least once on just about every hole, but it's not dirt. Rough is a hodge-podge of thick grass, debris and dirt & sticks - not ideal. Sand is pretty thin and could use a refresher.

The greens of course are the most important, and some are actually in pretty good shape, while others are not - you just don't know what you're gonna get. Still, Alondra remains a decent option for So Bay golf if you just want to hop on at any given point in a weekend. Usually clears up just after 11 and you can get around pretty easily if you beat the crowds that come after noon.

I play here a lot. Can be hit or miss- all depends on the condition of the greens and pace of play. Played in 4 hrs on a Wed. That's crazy fast here. Greens however were really slow, bumpy, and sof... Continue »

I play here a lot. Can be hit or miss- all depends on the condition of the greens and pace of play. Played in 4 hrs on a Wed. That's crazy fast here. Greens however were really slow, bumpy, and soft. They top-dressed last week so maybe after another few days they mow and roll and we'll be good to go. New sand in bunkers is overly soft. Everything plugs.

Played early Thursday Morning. I found the greens in fairly good shape not bumpy at all. I believe the later you play it is more likely that you will encounter a lack of smoothness on the Po Ana back ... Continue »

Played early Thursday Morning. I found the greens in fairly good shape not bumpy at all. I believe the later you play it is more likely that you will encounter a lack of smoothness on the Po Ana back 9 greens. it s just the nature of the beast. The fairways and rough were quite acceptable considering we are in the middle of an extreme drought. Customer service was excellent and the value quite good.

Played Saturday with another avid golfer. Boy could he hit a mile. Ken if you're reading this, that drive from 11 and onto the green; amazing shot man!

Greens are bumpy and slow. Hard to get a... Continue »

Played Saturday with another avid golfer. Boy could he hit a mile. Ken if you're reading this, that drive from 11 and onto the green; amazing shot man!

Greens are bumpy and slow. Hard to get a line when you have to consider the ball will bounce and slow down almost immediately on it's way to the hole. Fairways are OK, thin and playable. Rough cut to same height as fairways so not a problem. Bunkers, good GOD people, RAKE your mess. If it's one thing more it's someone how does not rake their bunker. It's like a virus that spreads. If you don't clean up after yourself, how do you expect others to follow through and clean up after themselves. Maintenance staff should rake the bunkers in the morning PLEASE! A lot of the mess was more than a day old.

Pace of play was fast for this flat uneventful course. Still it could be so much better if the details were a bit more polished. Still it's golf, pace of play was quick.

The thing is I wouldn't run to play here. It's more my backup to that backup. Enjoy.

Played Sunday this week. Greens are still bumpy in the afternoon mostly due to the type of fescue. Slow and bumpy was the typical roll on the greens. Fairways cut to same height as rough so rough w... Continue »

Played Sunday this week. Greens are still bumpy in the afternoon mostly due to the type of fescue. Slow and bumpy was the typical roll on the greens. Fairways cut to same height as rough so rough was no problem. Some thin lies but that is to be expected. They use reclaimed water here so you would expect it to be greener but that is due to the type of grass and time of year. Sand in bunkers OK, the grainy type of sand. Tee boxes are flatish and playable. Great course to play for me because it's close -- really close to my home. Hard to get a tee time today because course was busy for some reason. No large tournaments just loads of people playing. Mileage will vary but it's an OK course for you to spray the ball. No trouble left or right just the occasional slow group to grind play to a halt. Could have finished earlier than the 4 1/2 hours it took to play but one group 2 holes ahead was super slow. They typically played at least a hole and a half slower; grinding a play to a halt when we did catch up to them (about the third hole). Play here again? Well the facilities are improving and you have to be a monumental idiot to mess up playing conditions this time of the year. They have a range, decent sized practice area and greens. And it's golf. You take the facility for what it is and just play. Just one note: Folks FIX YOUR DIVOTS. I ain't your momma. You shouldn't have to be told but do your part as stewards of the golf course. Show a little love to the golf courses you play. So play here again? Sure. It's golf and it's an easy course.

Must admit, my review will be a bit biased as I had two milestone moments on the course today after two and a half years of playing this crazy game. First, I got my first-ever hole in one on the par 3... Continue »

Must admit, my review will be a bit biased as I had two milestone moments on the course today after two and a half years of playing this crazy game. First, I got my first-ever hole in one on the par 3 4th - a perfect 9 iron to 145 yards. But more importantly, I finally went sub 90 on a regulation course - shot an 85. Nothing over a 6 all day - I value that consistency over 18 more than one lucky shot!

Course itself was in better condition than usual after the rains. Fairways had pretty good coverage, the rough was workable, and the tee boxes were fine. Complaints? The greens for the most part were good, but a handful had a fresh layer of sand on them which was odd, as there was no order to it. The traps were poor - hardpan, barely any sand.

Was a great day for golf - overcast skies all morning, but warm, so no sun beating down, but ball traveling well. Finished in 4 hours and barely ever waited - today was Sunday, right? And of course I bought the other guys drinks at the turn and treated myself to a delicious hot dog to celebrate the event.

Best day ever on the course in terms of performance ... now I have to accept fact it'll probably be a while before it happens again!

Played super twilight yesterday with a buddy and got out at 445pm but still managed to finish 18 holes, albeit it was pretty much dark coming up 18. Here's the skinny:

Tee boxes are very playable
... Continue »

Played super twilight yesterday with a buddy and got out at 445pm but still managed to finish 18 holes, albeit it was pretty much dark coming up 18. Here's the skinny:

Tee boxes are very playable
Fairways are very playable with a lot of run and firm areas
Rough is a mixed bag of shaggy club grabbing and areas of hard pan
Sand traps are AWFUL with a thin layer of backyard dirt over borderline concrete
Greens are in the best shape I have maybe ever seen them at Alondra. They're rolling true-er than usual, faster than usual (medium slow instead of just slow), and they look great (not like shag carpet).

I commend the staff on the shape they currently have the course considering the water climate.

Played today, teeing off at about 2:25 pm. $38.50 to walk (did the County courses go up?) a half hour before twilight. Played solo for 10 holes, playing through one group, doing the front in less th... Continue »

Played today, teeing off at about 2:25 pm. $38.50 to walk (did the County courses go up?) a half hour before twilight. Played solo for 10 holes, playing through one group, doing the front in less than 1.5 hours. Bizarrely, there were three twosomes backed up at that point. I joined one and we picked up a 4th on 14. Ended up playing 18 in about 3 hours 40 minutes.

Extremely windy in this round. Combined with the firm dry fairways, it made for some ridiculously far drives. The fairways were generally dry with some tight lies. I was in one sand trap but they looked like a mixed bag; I saw one on the 2nd hole that looked like dirt with erosion gulleys but the one I was in was okay. The rough was virtually nonexistent.

The greens were in relatively good condition. Generally true if slow. I did not see late afternoon footprints and Poa flowering as I expect here at the time I played. They were slower than I like but better than I anticipated.

I play the course because it is close to where I live. It is not my preference in courses but it exceeded my expectations today. The present greenskeeper is doing a good job.