Had a 7:10 tee time today and got out right on time. I played as a single until #9 when I caught a twosome.
Tee boxes are just ok with many having a lot of divot damage. Overall the course is a bit ... Continue »

Had a 7:10 tee time today and got out right on time. I played as a single until #9 when I caught a twosome.
Tee boxes are just ok with many having a lot of divot damage. Overall the course is a bit on the dry side so some fairways had decent coverage but some were thin-hard and had bare spots.
The rough is not much different than the fairways just with more bare areas.
I was in a couple of bunkers and they had ample dark brown sand but are still without rakes.
The greens were the best part of the course with good surfaces to put from but on the slow side.
The third hole is still a par three but it has been moved a little to the west and is shorter. The whole east side of that area has had the trees cut down and is being cut away to make room for the road work.
The pro shop said that per Cal Trans the course will close in july for about a year and a half and be completely redesigned. The time frame could change depending on how well the work goes. They did not know who was doing the redesign work. Maybe Johnny can find out???
The course looks like it is not being maintained very well and I expect it will continue to go downhill until the closure.

I actually had no intention of playing golf today, but received a call last evening asking if I would fill in for one of the players. I thought, why not, my LA County senior discount card is about to... Continue »

I actually had no intention of playing golf today, but received a call last evening asking if I would fill in for one of the players. I thought, why not, my LA County senior discount card is about to expire and decided that for about $20, go for it.

I have never been a huge fan of Diamond Bar. It's a decent course, just not very exciting. Conditions were consistent with the prior review. Fairways/rough very sparse. Greens were far and away the highlight of the course. I guess I expected them to be faster, but maybe because I found myself below the cup, didn't seem all that quick.

I have to admit that the freeway noise seems worse than I remember. Still it was nice to get out unexpectedly.

Played a GK Cup team match at Diamond Bar and was looking forward to checking it out for the first time ever. The layout is pretty straightforward with a few quirky holes to add some spice, but it's a... Continue »

Played a GK Cup team match at Diamond Bar and was looking forward to checking it out for the first time ever. The layout is pretty straightforward with a few quirky holes to add some spice, but it's a decent test of golf, made more challenging by the less than ideal conditions. Each player who paid for a cart had to take their own as there are no shared carts at this time, but they are quite dated and certainly no frills. The driving range was closed at the time we played but looked pretty non-maintained, and the putting green practice area was also sealed off. Snack bar closed and only a few snacks to purchase at the starter's booth. Fairways and rough both very thin and in need of maintenance, or watering, or something. Lies were thin all day and required very solid ball striking to get just rewards. Visually the course is not great, and it's quite loud when you're either at greens or tee boxes very close to the 60 freeway. Not sure I've ever played a course so loud before. I was only in one bunker and it was just okay, while the tee boxes were a mixed bag but mostly flat and level, however nothing to write home about in terms of coverage. What about the greens? Sneaky fast. Like really fast. And there are some severe slopes on these greens so staying below the hole is quite vital. Greens really were the saving grace though as they had good coverage, didn't necessarily look fantastic, but played fast and straight. Even held shots well, too. Needless to say I was a little underwhelmed by Diamond Bar but would go back in a pinch if I heard that conditions had improved. The layout is interesting enough to come back again, although I didn't care much for the par 3 9th hole - pretty much a small green atop a volcano while hitting over a lake. But the rest was fine and 18 is a very strong closing hole.

A little late with this review as I played DB on 10/14 with a 7:50 tee time for 4 of us. We checked in a little early with the young man behind the counter who was not exactly the most customer frien... Continue »

A little late with this review as I played DB on 10/14 with a 7:50 tee time for 4 of us. We checked in a little early with the young man behind the counter who was not exactly the most customer friendly guy in the world. Get this kid in a customer service class soon please. He could use it. We kept asking him when we will go off and would he call us to the tee. He said only when all have checked in. Well, we all checked in but we kept having to come in and find out when we could go to the tee. Hate that and fortunately it wasn’t too crowded. Anyway, we got off about 20 minutes late. Oh well.

Fairways were in pretty good shape even though it is cut down kikuyu. Still pretty lush and in the fairway, we got good lies for the most part. The rough wasn’t as nice. Pretty bad lies on hard pan and weeds. Bunkers were not as bad as they looked. Damp but playable even though many were not raked. Tee boxes are under repair or something as they have been raked over.

The greens were in pretty good condition. Not real fast unless you’re putting downhill.

I really enjoy the lay out here. Pretty challenging playing to around 6,800 yards from the blues but the freeway noise is brutal. Can’t even carry a conversation with anyone. I knew that already but it was particularly loud on this day with the heavy traffic. Noticed that they are opening a new hole. #3, a par 3 is being replaced with a different par 3 just off to the side of the original one. Not open just yet but it looks real nice. I’m not rushing back to play here anytime soon. A nice change of pace but playing it every couple of years or so is just about right.

Post shutdown Diamond Bar is completely "fine". Greens fine - medium speed with extra grab on them. Fairways fine - some thirsty areas on almost every hole. Rough - punishing in general with some s... Continue »

Post shutdown Diamond Bar is completely "fine". Greens fine - medium speed with extra grab on them. Fairways fine - some thirsty areas on almost every hole. Rough - punishing in general with some scruffy areas that can really make your ball hard to even find. Bunkers - maybe not so fine - unloved. Packed wet sand the with footprints and stuff. Tee boxes - fine.

Was hoping for better but not expecting it. Forgot what a challenge the layout can be and conditions only made it more so.

Rode the Blues (6801/72.0/125) in 4H, 20M mid day. Paired up with DK & Eric, excellent guys to play with! Mid 60's, calm and overcast weather. Suprisingly good, fun to play layout with multiple hole... Continue »

Rode the Blues (6801/72.0/125) in 4H, 20M mid day. Paired up with DK & Eric, excellent guys to play with! Mid 60's, calm and overcast weather. Suprisingly good, fun to play layout with multiple holes that turn both ways. Rough around the edges typical LA County muni conditions. Tees were poor. Mostly level but thin, about 3/4 grass and 1/4 dirt/seed. Fairways were mediocre. Winter thin with hardpan areas and alot of unfixed divots. Made for some long drives. Rough was a mixture of grasses, winter thin but mowed well. Traps were mediocre. 2 were okay, 1 thin with dark brown dirt/sand. Raked by the maintanence crew in the morning. However, seemingly a high % of the players that regularly play LA County courses think the rakes they put beside the bunkers are for someone else to use? Poa greens were very good bordering on excellent. Quick overall, downright fast on downhillers and smooth for poa. They were moist, you could leave large ball marks and back up irons on these greens. Very basic carts do not have GPS or ports for electronics. No cart person. Busy range hitting off mats and it was busy at check-in. I would occasionally play here if I lived in the area. For the fun William F. Bell layout and very good greens I would tend to overlook the mediocre tee to fringe playing conditions.

Played Diamond Bar with my monthly club at 9am on Saturday, 9/14/19, on a very hot day with not enough wind to cool things down very much. My first round in 2 months, with my ongoing knee problems, ma... Continue »

Played Diamond Bar with my monthly club at 9am on Saturday, 9/14/19, on a very hot day with not enough wind to cool things down very much. My first round in 2 months, with my ongoing knee problems, made for a hot, slow 5.5- hour slog that was pretty standard for this course on a weekend morning. We got a little break on the front nine with plenty of shade scattered by the large trees, but the back nine is more open and that’s when we got the brunt of the day’s heat.

Conditions were the same as when my club played here last September – decent greens that were receptive all day (getting plenty of water!) and rolled at consistent speed but many old ballmarks, chancey fairways ranging from good to bare, challenging rough around the greens and really juicy stuff farther out, thin but playable sand, and many tees sloping to the back of a right-handed golfer.

We were sent out on time to join the slow queue. Our cart locked up on #7 but the shop sent out a replacement quickly. Saw the cart girl a couple times but the snack bar at #10 tee was closed again. Adequate water available. Not great, not terrible. OK for a casual round, with notations above.

I'd not played Diamond Bar for a few years, so decided to take advantage of the senior card rate of $16.50. My concerns were how long it might take. We had a 7am tee time, so after paying walked out... Continue »

I'd not played Diamond Bar for a few years, so decided to take advantage of the senior card rate of $16.50. My concerns were how long it might take. We had a 7am tee time, so after paying walked out and looked at the long line of carts waiting to tee off. I thought that it would be a nightmare, like five hours or so. but to my delight we actually teed off 10 minutes prior to out time and finished in 3 hours 45 minutes. Very impressed and surprised!

The greens were much better than I expected. Rolled true, smooth and were reasonably quick. Best part of the course. Fairways, bunkers both good. A little less so for the rough and tee boxes.

Let me say than when 5+ years pass from the last time you play a course, it's incredible how much longer the course played. (Couldn't be because I'm in my 70's now ! ) Despite my age, I'm no smarter, because I played the "tips" at 6800 yards with damp fairways. Truth is, too many holes were a struggle to hit in regulation. Five years don't mean a lot when you're young, but once you get "old" those 5 years are night & day different. But I know me, and if I'm still alive and golfing in five more years, I'll make the same mistake.

Played the “all-kikuyu all-the-time” Diamond Bar GC with my monthly club on Saturday, 9/15/18, at 10am. The day was clear and hot with not too much wind until late in the round, so the 3-hr front nine... Continue »

Played the “all-kikuyu all-the-time” Diamond Bar GC with my monthly club on Saturday, 9/15/18, at 10am. The day was clear and hot with not too much wind until late in the round, so the 3-hr front nine, and total 5.5-hr round, were especially hot and wearying. We waited on every shot all day. The drill sergeant starter made sure we got out right on time so we could immediately join the waiting queue.

Conditioning was LA County casual. Greens were the “best” part of the course, mostly firm with good coverage, rolling at medium-fast speed. We saw some bumpiness throughout the round, and all greens had many old and new ballmarks. Fairways ran the gamut from soaking wet areas to lush and good to thin and hard to bare. Rough was the same way, with the added challenge of dry/clumpy/ball sits down. Throughout the course any lie in fairway or rough was a crapshoot regarding what you would get. Sand was generally thin and firm. Trees were mostly flat bit looked pretty ragged.

The course uses a Red-White-Blue pin rotation. Because of where they fall in the hole order, 3 of the 4 par-5s had red flags today– the course needs to use some imagination to break up that pattern and provide better variety. Saw a cart girl a couple of times - snack bar at #10 tee closed. Staff was friendly but a couple of “ambassador” carts seen around the clubhouse were never actually seen on the golf course.

Nothing we got for the round was unexpected.