Got out for a casual round two weeks after carpal tunnel surgery on my right wrist, late morning on Friday, 9/26/14.My Saturday club is playing here next month and I decided to take a look while testi... Continue »

Got out for a casual round two weeks after carpal tunnel surgery on my right wrist, late morning on Friday, 9/26/14.My Saturday club is playing here next month and I decided to take a look while testing out the wrist. It was a sunny, hot day with light breezes, and the course was very uncrowded – I could have teed off immediately on arriving at 10:15 AM, and went off when ready at just before 11:00. The two guys who rolled up behind me said they wanted to “survey the course” – not sure what that meant, but it meant that they didn’t want to play with me, so I headed on out as a single. Played at my own pace, frequently hitting 2 balls, and only caught the twosome somewhere ahead of me on reaching the 17th tee. Overall played in a leisurely 3.5 hours.

I hadn’t played here in 5 years or so, but there were no surprises. Conditioning is typical LA County indifferent. Greens are fairly small without significant tiering or undulation. Greens were ½ punched two weeks ago, and that half had healed pretty well and quickly. You could still see the evidence of punching, but in those areas the ball rolled well at medium speed, and those areas were fairly firm. The remaining ½ of each green was punched/sanded in the last couple days, and those areas were much softer, and rolled much slower. Fairways were anywhere from good to terrible, with lies between good and sitting on bare areas or in scattered clumpy grass. And this is all the kikuyu that I hate so much. I found that if you miss the green on the fringe or close by, you are best off using a putter if the grass is cut down – anything that spins the ball in the fringe or surrounds really kills the shot and makes the bounce/release unpredictable.

Rough varied from cut short/bare to scattered areas that were deep and lush. Almost every tee was not level. No GPS on the cart, no yardage book – distances were shown by colored stakes and plates in the fairway. Saw the cart girl a few times, snack shack with limited choices at the turn, and plenty of water was available. Range hitting off mats with about 20 stations available. Small putting green – the larger green had just been sanded. Friendly ranger distributing water and banter on the back side. OK for a casual round.