Enjoyable Saturday round at the EO Nay course #2 at Brookside playing with my monthly golf group that roams the southland looking for a good time. We found it on a picture perfect day in Pasadena, fiv... Continue »

Enjoyable Saturday round at the EO Nay course #2 at Brookside playing with my monthly golf group that roams the southland looking for a good time. We found it on a picture perfect day in Pasadena, five groups going off at 8am and playing from our customary white tees with this ensemble.

I had only played Brookside #2 twice before this, usually opting for the superior Coiner course on most other visits. I had always felt the holes at at the Nay course felt too repetitive, with the same type of green complexes. The front nine is eight par 4s and a single par 3, so, once again, 'repetitive' becomes the operative word. And of course a par 70 fills one with a greater sense of accomplishment after 18 holes.

All that being said, it was actually a lot more fun than I remember it in the past, probably due to far better ball striking and finding more fairways this time around. It's 'short,' but not easy, as the greens are quite tricky (and many postage stamps), and there are some OB areas that are quite reachable, including the concrete ravine that bisects much of the course. It's a good challenge for sure.

Conditions are quite good right now as well, with green fairways and plenty of nice lies, but of course you're going to find a few thin ones here and there and some GUR areas near the greens. Bunkers were a bit above average, but still not enough people using rakes (nice to have this to complain about again after last year), and the tee boxes were a bit on the shaggy side but all level and manageable.

Greens are very tricky here with lots of strong slopes and tough reads if you're above the hole, or sometimes even worse when pin high but with some distance to cover. Those arcing putts that need enough juice to get to the hole but then run 15 feet past it after you miss can be excruciating. But if you hit good putts, they're going to roll true, you just need to be very accurate when choosing a line.

We had cart service come by 2-3 times which was nice, and the POP was around 4:45, which wasn't too bad as it was likely our slow groups having a good time making that time slow. We rode for the round and the carts have a good GPS system installed now.

Driving range is still a mess so don't plan on getting a quick spot there without having to wait in line a good while. It's much too small for a facility of this size, and the practice putting green had like 4-5 golfers for each hole. It's a bit crazy. I suggest being mentally prepared for a short warmup pre-round at the tee box and take your chances, or get there early and be disappointed.

So yes, Brookside #2 did do a good job of converting me back into a fan after this weekend.