Played 4-26-15 late morning walking joining a twosome in 4 hours. Tee boxes in good shape, level with a little divot damage from so much iron play. Fairways and rough are both a little thin with a few... Continue »

Played 4-26-15 late morning walking joining a twosome in 4 hours. Tee boxes in good shape, level with a little divot damage from so much iron play. Fairways and rough are both a little thin with a few minor bare spots. Sand traps had nice firm sand. Greens are still healing a little from being punched, but rolled pretty good with medium speed.

Been playing here over 10 years. Good overall conditions. Greens best part. Easy golf course = many beginners POP can be issue sometimes.

Been playing here over 10 years. Good overall conditions. Greens best part. Easy golf course = many beginners POP can be issue sometimes.

First thing we noticed was marshalls patrolling the course. That was the 1st time ever since playing here that we have seen marshalls, not 1 but 2! Talked to both and they said they are actively try... Continue »

First thing we noticed was marshalls patrolling the course. That was the 1st time ever since playing here that we have seen marshalls, not 1 but 2! Talked to both and they said they are actively trying to keep the pace at 4 hours in the morning and a bit more lax at around 4 1/2 to 5 hours in the afternoon. We used vouchers for our rounds at $25 per person. Finished around 4 hours 45 mins which is pretty dang good for debell Sunday PM play.

Greens were firm and fast. It was fun to putt in these conditions as downhill putts will past the green if not careful.

Fairways firm but playable.

bunkers seem to be well stocked although I didn't get to test them.

Overall a fun day and with the improved POP, definitely encouraged to come back.

Good job (DeBell) in hearing us and doing something to improve player experience.

Went out today, 2/26 a bit after 12 and finished in 4.25 hrs on a $25 special off their booking site (included cart.) I was paired up with an out-of-towner who was good company and I was able to impar... Continue »

Went out today, 2/26 a bit after 12 and finished in 4.25 hrs on a $25 special off their booking site (included cart.) I was paired up with an out-of-towner who was good company and I was able to impart local knowledge to him. Since there is little to add, I'm referring you all back to rgm2525's report preceding mine. The outstanding difference is his description of the greens as medium speed. Today they were quick, and with the slope on some of those greens they could be treacherous. I had one gentle putt from above the 4th hole trundle right off the front of the green. A challenging little course that is not to be underestimated and can punish you severely for getting out of position. Thought I would do better today than last time, but came home with teeth marks on my butt again.

Played 2-13-15 with Nickesquire early morning walking in a little under 4 hours for $20 using there players card. Course is in good winter conditions. Tee boxes are improving, mostly level and semi- l... Continue »

Played 2-13-15 with Nickesquire early morning walking in a little under 4 hours for $20 using there players card. Course is in good winter conditions. Tee boxes are improving, mostly level and semi- lush even with all the iron play they get. Fairways are a little thin but still offer descent lies. Rough is cut down short, not much longer then fairways. Greens were in real nice shape rolling smooth with medium speed. For me this is a fun short course to play, that makes you move the ball both ways in order to score well here. Guys in the pro shop very friendly.

Walked the blues (5608/68.9/122) in 4 hours with RGM2525, his dad and Clint for $20. The customer service was excellent, they got out out as the 1st group of the day. 1st time playing here, interest... Continue »

Walked the blues (5608/68.9/122) in 4 hours with RGM2525, his dad and Clint for $20. The customer service was excellent, they got out out as the 1st group of the day. 1st time playing here, interesting experience. I suspect there are few golfers that would have neutral opinions about the De Bell layout... they will either think it is a short, fun course with character or a funky, quirky layout where they ruined a perfectly good mountain by trying to carve out a golf course in a very limited, hilly area. Either way, it is far from an easy course, the slope rating is too low in my opinion. Longest 5608 yard course I have ever played because depending on the hole, you may be hitting a short iron, a middle iron, a long iron and only occasionally a driver off the tee on par 4's. Even some par 5's I was hitting long irons off the tee because of the tightness and length. You have to be able to accurately curve balls 30-40 yards in both directions to be able to play longer clubs on many of these tee shots. Side note, it was a treat watching Ron manage this golf course. The drivers he hit with 30 yards of slice or 30 yards of hook to bend them around trees and hit fairways not much wider than a U.S. Open course in many cases was a thing of beauty. The layout is tight and very hilly. De Bell is an older course that has never been updated from the days when 230 yard drives were considered long. And it likely never will due to space constraints. The holes are constantly up down, the course is carved out of a mountain with tremendous views of Burbank, Glendale and downtown L.A. There are many blind shots, even a par 3 where you can not see the green or the flag hidden over a hill. It would take several rounds to get a feel for this course. Where to aim and how much club to hit off different tees because of fairways that are often severely up/down hills that then slope to sidehill lies. The greens are very small and also VERY severely sloped on numerous holes. 2 members of our group had a total of 5 putts that they putted 40 ft. up a hill... only to have their ball roll back almost to their feet on 1 hole. With that said, the greens were definitely the best part of the course, medium fast and they putted relatively smooth. Very few straight putts, be ready to aim outside the hole to way outside the hole on even shorter putts. The kikuyu aprons and the rough close to the greens are treacherous even though they are not that high. The fairways and rough were thin overall. Miss the already narrow fairways by more than a few yards and there is a generous amount of OB, red stakes and barranca waiting to add penalty strokes to your score. Accuracy is definitely a premium even though there is no water on the course. The sand traps were average. The tees were a mixed bag. Probably because it is a shorter course, many more tees were chewed up with divots that you would expect on par 4's and even par 5's. Local knowledge on numerous greens, where to aim and how much club to hit off numerous tees is essential to playing well here. I played poorly but would like to come back and play here again after having seen the course.

Got out at DeBell around noon today (Sat) with my buddy on a Groupon—$49 for two with cart. Great deal for a weekend round. Paired with another twosome, it was about a 5 hour round which was expected.... Continue »

Got out at DeBell around noon today (Sat) with my buddy on a Groupon—$49 for two with cart. Great deal for a weekend round. Paired with another twosome, it was about a 5 hour round which was expected. Misting rain at times never stayed long or hard enough to really disrupt the conditions or drive us off the course—things a bit damp overall by the end. Some tee boxes a little off level, but most decent enough. Fairways winter thin but generally more than adequate, with the occasional thin spot. Bunkers I visited were also decent—not too soft but adequate to stage an escape. Rough is a mixed bag from wood chips to grass to undergrowth. The greens were tough and quick. Sometimes very difficult to stop your ball if you missed when putting from above the hole—a lot of slant and slope in general factor in. I think this place will give you as much challenge as you can expect from a shorter course. If your swing is off, as mine was today, it will beat you up a little bit and can really punish you for getting out of position. Very much target golf. I got abused today, but i appreciate the challenge. I don't come here too often, but I'll be back… dammit.

Fairways a bit shaggy. Greens were small and challenging. Watch out for 3-putts. A lot of blind shots. Lots of doglegs around the hills. Not too many level lies. Marshall was out there which is nic... Continue »

Fairways a bit shaggy. Greens were small and challenging. Watch out for 3-putts. A lot of blind shots. Lots of doglegs around the hills. Not too many level lies. Marshall was out there which is nice, but needs to be more on top of who he tells to speed up! Would be great views if it was a clear day. Even though a short course you will have to think your way around this course and you will use all the clubs in your bag. Narrow fairways and some small greens will make it a challenge

Winter conditions. Also, still soggy in spots, especially in the lower elevation front nine.

Fairways and rough are a mixed bag with some good lies, some not.

Greens were nice for a muni with g... Continue »

Winter conditions. Also, still soggy in spots, especially in the lower elevation front nine.

Fairways and rough are a mixed bag with some good lies, some not.

Greens were nice for a muni with great coverage, good consistent speed and only minimal bobbles. Medium soft and held well struck approaches.

Sand is the best conditioned area (how often do you get to say that at your local muni!?) Well groomed and conditioned with an ample layer - ten out of ten.

Tees are always beat up here with the amount of play it gets, but today they were even more gnarly than usual with tons of divots and the usual ones which are severely crowned.

Overall good golf for the 38 I paid Sunday prime time.