Thanks and much appreciation to Johnny GK was able to save on green fees with cart using GK Coupon at Debell. POP was 3:50. Aeration has begun on holes 5 & 6. All tees in need of being rebuilt and l... Continue »

Thanks and much appreciation to Johnny GK was able to save on green fees with cart using GK Coupon at Debell. POP was 3:50. Aeration has begun on holes 5 & 6. All tees in need of being rebuilt and leveled regardless of slope. Green side bunkers need more sand. Fairways inside 150 yards in need of maintenance too many bare areas. Otherwise the Debell is still one of the best L.A. Area courses.

Played a Saturday round at De Bell this weekend with a 1:30 tee time from the blues for $33 with a cart, which is more or less a steal, despite everyone's love-hate relationship with De Bell. On this ... Continue »

Played a Saturday round at De Bell this weekend with a 1:30 tee time from the blues for $33 with a cart, which is more or less a steal, despite everyone's love-hate relationship with De Bell. On this particular Saturday, with the exception of the POP, it was definitely a bit more of the former than the latter.

Past experience taught me to bring a lot of balls and minimal expectations, but strangely (and happily) I only used one ball all day, had zero penalties and kept it double bogey or under all day - a rarity in the Burbank vicinity.

De Bell, if you've never played it, is a bizarre mix of holes, but made up for with great views, wild animals galore (saw dozens of deer) and a good price point for what you're getting. The current conditions are pretty favorable overall, meaning there's enough green in the fairways to make you believe you're playing golf, but there are some seriously harsh rough conditions for any and all wayward shots.

The greens are in decent condition right now, but a little spongy and far too many ball marks and other imperfections to garner a high rating. But they are also some of the most challenging, if not unfair, greens in the city of LA. So many small postage stamp greens with severe slopes and the pin placements there to match. Some crazy tiers and the absolute terror of putting knowing your ball may slowly crawl down into the abyss with the slightest of extra touch. It's agonizing.

Other than that though, it's a shot-maker's course with weird quirks. Short par 4s, long par 3s, bipolar par 5s ... it's golf. It's fun, but it's puzzling. Luckily though they don't skin you on price. Oh yeah, POP was terrible - almost five plus hours and too many slow groups with all the hard work on the greens. Sand looked okay from what I saw - not pristine, but playable. And the tee boxes are right chewed up, but you'll find a spot.

In the end though, and probably only because it was the first time I ever felt like I somewhat 'tamed the beast,' it was a good day out and if you want to try something unique and challenging, go to De Bell. It's not long, but it'll test a short temper.

Played 10-9-16 first out walking as a threesome in a little under 3 hours, paying $27. Tee boxes were in okay shape with some being a little thin. Fairways were in better shape than last time I played... Continue »

Played 10-9-16 first out walking as a threesome in a little under 3 hours, paying $27. Tee boxes were in okay shape with some being a little thin. Fairways were in better shape than last time I played here, a lot of bare areas just off the tee boxes but the landing areas are mostly lush with good lies and some thin areas. Rough is still hit and miss with thick kikuya to some bare spots. Bunkers looked to be in good shape and well groomed. Greens were in nice shape rolling smooth with medium/fast pace and holding shots very nice. Overall course is definitely in better shape than last time I played.

Debell Golf Club is a real gem and always fun and challenging to play. Played a club tournament and despite this year's drought the conditions are amazing except for 1) uneven tee boxes, 2) sandless ... Continue »

Debell Golf Club is a real gem and always fun and challenging to play. Played a club tournament and despite this year's drought the conditions are amazing except for 1) uneven tee boxes, 2) sandless bunkers, 3) limited practice facilities, and 4) golf carts that lose power on occassion with a full battery.

Played today on their $30 after 9 deal. POP was right on 4 hours. Fairways are suffering with a lot of dead/yellow areas, or perhaps they have recently thatched some areas? In any event, it does affec... Continue »

Played today on their $30 after 9 deal. POP was right on 4 hours. Fairways are suffering with a lot of dead/yellow areas, or perhaps they have recently thatched some areas? In any event, it does affect the lies if you land there. Tee boxes are fine (except # 18 closed today), bunkers were fairly good (other than the unraked areas by careless golfers), not a lot of rough but then you do have to guard against the many out of bounds along the fairways and the greens were great. Customer service excellent at all levels. Always enjoy playing this course.

Played 8-29-16 early morning as a threesome finishing in 2 hours 50 minutes. $22 to walk using the canyon club discount. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some of the short par fours and three p... Continue »

Played 8-29-16 early morning as a threesome finishing in 2 hours 50 minutes. $22 to walk using the canyon club discount. Tee boxes were okay, a little thin with some of the short par fours and three pars having some divot damage. Fairways were you found grass were in nice shape but there are a lot of bare spots and thin areas. Rough is in about the same condition as the fairways, some nice thick areas and a lot of bare spots. Was in one bunker that was a little thin and had small pebbles in it. Greens were in good shape for the most part, rolling medium/fast and smooth with a few bare areas along the edges on some of them. They are in the process of leveling the 18 tee box so they have the stones down in front of the box in the rough. Customer service is always great here. Fun short course for an early morning round.

Not having been there for a while, I felt I was overdue to be abused by a "short" course that punches above its weight and went over to DeBell yesterday, 7.14, at around 4pm. I was grouped with three... Continue »

Not having been there for a while, I felt I was overdue to be abused by a "short" course that punches above its weight and went over to DeBell yesterday, 7.14, at around 4pm. I was grouped with threesome of young guys — they in carts, me walking and carrying. I was expecting to pay $22 and got a non-resident senior rate of $11! There was a bit of a lineup at the first tee and I'm guessing we finally teed off sometime around 4:30. Rgm2525 posted a review a week ago which is still accurate and I recommend it. As has been previously observed, fairways were almost a 50/50 proposition between where it was green and other, less verdant shades. Nice lies where it is green, playable in much of the rest, and some areas that were down to dirt. Either I adapted, got a little lucky, or both, but I didn't have many problematic shots from the fairways, although they were out there to be had. The tee boxes here aren't pristine, but I'm hard pressed to remember one that wasn't reasonably close to level or better. Several have been improved in recent years so they are better, at least historically, than they were (#3 comes to mind.) Coverage varied but I was always able to find an appropriate spot, even on the par threes. The grass around the green complexes averaged better and more consistent than the fairways, and the greens themselves were pretty good at a medium quick speed. I was in two bunkers, one a bit damp and so less soft than the other, but they were good enough — especially the dry one. After the initial delay, it moved slowly but pretty steadily, with subsequent delays being fairly brief. Passing the group ahead of us on the tenth tee opened it up for us a bit and we got around in something like 4 hours — finishing just before dusk. After the wait on the first tee and the deliberate pace, it was a pleasant surprise to me that we actually got around that quickly and got the full 18 in. I don't play here often, so it's a change of pace course for me and I enjoy the unique challenges it presents. As such, if I knew what the current conditions were ahead of time, I still would have elected to play. Don't know if it would be my choice for weekend rates, though. I enjoyed the round and, where I didn't score well, I usually couldn't lay the blame on course conditions. Some good, some scruffy, generally serviceable, and always challenging. Oh, small herd of deer meandering about and, especially in the late afternoon, some beautiful views.

Played 7-3-16 early morning with Lotrgolfer48 and Kviser walking in a little under 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in okay shape and a little unlevel with some divot damage on short par fours . Fairways w... Continue »

Played 7-3-16 early morning with Lotrgolfer48 and Kviser walking in a little under 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in okay shape and a little unlevel with some divot damage on short par fours . Fairways were good and bad with some nice lush areas, to bare dirt spots. Rough was a mix between nice lush Kikuyu and bare dirt areas. Found one bunker that was a little thin and had small pebbles in it. Greens were in nice shape rolling medium speed and holding shots real nice. Course has been in better shape but for $27 to walk on a weekend its still worth it.

Played at 6:08 on 7/3 with kviser and rgm2525
Conditions are a hodgepodge and typical muni-level for the most part. Tee boxes were mostly unlevel, none extreme though, and most had plenty of divot da... Continue »

Played at 6:08 on 7/3 with kviser and rgm2525
Conditions are a hodgepodge and typical muni-level for the most part. Tee boxes were mostly unlevel, none extreme though, and most had plenty of divot damage. Fairways were 50/50 between great, closely mowed kikuyu and brown patchiness. Very hit and miss on what you would get. Rough was much the same with really solid, lush kikuyu and thin patches right next to those. Can't comment on how the bunkers played but most looked solid enough. Greens were probably the best part of the course right now, running medium to medium fast but with some inconsistency. When putts lost speed they definitely started to bobble a bit. POP was a nice 3:20 this morning and we weren't pushed nor did we catch those in front of us.