We had a 6:44am tee time on Saturday the 25th. We started about 7:02am. POP was about 4:45 once we started. Course is still really really wet. Tee boxes were nice, flat, and decent coverage. Fairwa... Continue »

We had a 6:44am tee time on Saturday the 25th. We started about 7:02am. POP was about 4:45 once we started. Course is still really really wet. Tee boxes were nice, flat, and decent coverage. Fairways were WET. Some were just really damp/soft from the rains, others still had standing water in the fairways. It's crazy how bad this course drains. Because of the the wet fairways, you got no roll on high hit tee shots. It's 'ok' as the course doesn't play too long. Bunkers were pretty good. Only saw 2 or 3 that had standing water in them, but very playable and nothing to complain about. The rough was thick as wet! Hard to spot balls if you didn't keep an eye from your previous shot. The greens were pretty good. For some reason, holes 1-3 had a ton of divots - more than you'd expect. Not sure why this was the case. But overall, the greens putted true, and were pretty fast. Downhill putts to a front pin were really tough, as a few rolled right off the front of the green. I love El Do's layout, and once these rains stop and the course firms up, it will be nice! Give it a few weeks and it will be pristine.

Unplayable. The course should be closed until it dries up. Don't come here for at least another week. Played today, full price walking. Many holes have ponds running across the fairways. You cann... Continue »

Unplayable. The course should be closed until it dries up. Don't come here for at least another week. Played today, full price walking. Many holes have ponds running across the fairways. You cannot find a dry spot to play your ball out of casual water. On #11, moved my ball 30-40 yards to get to reasonably dry spot to hit approach. My shot in the middle of #13 disappeared in water on the fairway. Did not find it. I could not keep an honest score. The lake at #18 green flooded across the fairway. Greens were ok. I trudged through muddy water all day. Like playing in a marsh. Terrible experience. I complained at the pro shop after the round about no warning at check-in about the standing water, yet still greedily charging me full price to walk. I got this reply: "I'm sorry. I'll let my manager know." At least, offer a discount to compensate for temporarily bad conditions. Many courses lower their prices for a week or two after punching the greens. Why not do it when you got ponds in the fairways?

Played MLK Day, Mon Jan 16th. Tee time was 8:12am. Tee off around8:30. POP just under 5 hours. Not too bad for a holiday round. For non-Long Beach residents, its $67 to ride on Weekends and Holidays. ... Continue »

Played MLK Day, Mon Jan 16th. Tee time was 8:12am. Tee off around8:30. POP just under 5 hours. Not too bad for a holiday round. For non-Long Beach residents, its $67 to ride on Weekends and Holidays. While they keep the course nice, that is still pricy for a muni- just like Skylinks.
With the recent rains, it was Cart Path Only. Course was still crazy water logged. I'd say every hole had standing water. The greens and surrounding areas were dry and in great shape. The tee boxes were really nice to. Rough is very penal here, especially with the muddy, wet conditions. While we need the rain, it wrecks havoc on my golfing schedule, haha.
I'd recommend, but can't wait for the course to dry up. It will be nice.

Played here twice during the winter break. Once was a day right after it rained, and another was mid-week between Christmas and New Years, but still cart path only. Place is pretty crappy if you ask... Continue »

Played here twice during the winter break. Once was a day right after it rained, and another was mid-week between Christmas and New Years, but still cart path only. Place is pretty crappy if you ask me. I think I'm over my attempts to play muni's as they're only a cut above playing a miniature golf course. Place of play sucks, quality of players suck, and the course is treated as such. What I do like about this course is that its a park atmosphere, so there's lots of trees, and a decent layout. But it does have that cheap muni feel to it. Golf isn't always about pace of play, and sure I choose a day where it was going to be slow, but when you hit the 3rd tee (the first par 3 of the course), and there's a group just leaving to goto the green and another waiting, and then you come up ... well... I just quit. I want to golf, not wait. And perhaps I've spoiled myself on playing higher end courses, but those courses you can hold to a higher standard. Muni, well, I guess I deserve it. So yeah, the first round I played, we where held up by a foursome that was 2 holes behind. The marshall kept trying to push them, but they didn't care. I quit at 13 on that day as I had a holiday party to get to. The second day was when I quit on 3 and ran over to my country club (which had a tournament but told me if I got there quick I could go right out). I had to leave that round at 11 because golf had already taken too much of my day. All that stuff isn't part of a specific review of this place, just my general frustration with rounds that last 5 hours. So yeah, I'm over muni golf. If you need to play in Long Beach, goto Skylinks and pick a day/time where you can finish in at least 4 1/2 hours. Skip the rest (Rec Park, El Dorado, Lakewood), as they're like too poor to bother.

Played ElDo today, 9:40 tee time. Got out on time, dodged the rain until #15. Long round, finished in just over 5 hours.

I didn't rate the course due to the wetness, everything is very saturated. H... Continue »

Played ElDo today, 9:40 tee time. Got out on time, dodged the rain until #15. Long round, finished in just over 5 hours.

I didn't rate the course due to the wetness, everything is very saturated. However, aside from that, conditions were pretty decent. Tee boxes were mostly level with good coverage. The fairways were typical winter muni, decent coverage with some bare spots, a little thin overall. The rough ranged from slightly over fairway height to very penal. Lots of leaf litter as well. Bunkers were wet but very playable. The greens were awesome...most held shots well, putts held their lines, and they were smooth and fast, especially downhill.

It was cart path only today, so it definitely slowed play down. The rack rate of $67 including cart is pretty steep for a muni, but I like the old-school layout and decent conditions here so it's worth it.

Out early at El Do on a Friday, got around in 4:20 as a walking 4 ball. Cool temps mean firm turf so the greens were releasing quite a bit today, rolling so fast and true ... avoid the downhillers or... Continue »

Out early at El Do on a Friday, got around in 4:20 as a walking 4 ball. Cool temps mean firm turf so the greens were releasing quite a bit today, rolling so fast and true ... avoid the downhillers or you're off the green. Really sweet to putt on. Fairways had some thin and bare areas (need to break that budget and put some white paint out there, Lawnboy) but I had good lies all day. Ventured into several bunkers which had ample sand and most were raked and in good shape. Always enjoy the tight, tree lined layout here and for $41 walking, non-res, a decent deal ... not as cheap as The Wood, but worth the coin. Oh, yeah, every goose in LA county was hanging out by #11 green with their dog sized turds that you had to avoid. Will come again for sure.

Finally played El Dorado for the first time on Sunday, grabbing a $67 'deal' online that sure didn't feel like one by the end of the day. I did find out that the walking price is $52, which would be f... Continue »

Finally played El Dorado for the first time on Sunday, grabbing a $67 'deal' online that sure didn't feel like one by the end of the day. I did find out that the walking price is $52, which would be fair for this course, but $67, meaning $15 for the cart fee, is a bit crazy. And from what I understand those fees are going up, so that's not good. Still, I had always wanted to try out the one remaining big Long Beach course that had always eluded me all this time. How was it? Not bad. I can see why some have gripes with this course, but I still think it was alright. However, a few things were not alright. How about POP? Well, never good when you're behind a fivesome of young dudes with backwards caps, tank tops and a cooler full of brews. Even worse when they're not that good (and it's okay to be bad, just don't be bad AND slow). At the end of the day, shocked to clock in at just under SIX hours. Luckily it was a gorgeous day and the players I was paired with were quite nice and fun to hit the sticks with today. How's the layout? For the most part it's okay, but man do I have a gripe with hole 6. When you pipe a 281 yard drive right down the center, it's supposed to be a good thing. But on this hole, they throw in a random tree right between my perfectly struck tee shot and the pin. Great. Ended up costing me big time so I was not amused. But the rest I was okay with. As for the conditions, some good, some bad. The greens were actually quite fast, rolled true and were a lot of fun to play on. A few stray ball marks here and there but overall I would say they were in quite good shape. Tee boxes were also good. Fairways had some patchy sections but there is also a lot of green to work with at El Dorado. But the dried out areas do encroach many of the fairways so you can find yourself with some pretty thin lies even with some solid tee shots. And the rough was also varied from hole to hole - not horrible, but far from consistent. And the sand? Well, they make sure it looks real good on holes 1 and 10 to give you hope, but they were awful after - very thick, watered down mud in some of them even. The others thin and frustrating to hit out of with any consistency. It was a hot day and never saw a cart girl once, however there were a few water stations along the way filled with the cold stuff. Nice snack shack too in the middle of the nines. I didn't hit any balls before the round but the practice areas were well maintained and the driving range looked pretty good. So yeah, some problems for sure with my first visit to El Dorado, but I guess in the end I would not be averse to coming back if I can get a way better deal. It's just not worth full price (not unlike Skylinks), but if you can get a deal, I'd give it a shot.

Played yesterday after they had punched and sanded 1/2 of all greens. Actually, not too bad. Just have to play for sand slowing down chips and putts before rolls onto untouched 1/2. Or, you can dro... Continue »

Played yesterday after they had punched and sanded 1/2 of all greens. Actually, not too bad. Just have to play for sand slowing down chips and putts before rolls onto untouched 1/2. Or, you can drop onto clean 1/2 and play equidistant shot. Pace was better than usual: 4 1/2 hours, started about 9:30 am. Chipping and bunker area has been closed for about a month. No word on re-opening date. Rates going up Oct. 1st.

El Do this morning: 7:15 tee time running 15 minutes behind, PoP a bit on the slow side at 4:30, $40 non-res walking rate, $4 for 30 range balls on grass. Poa a bit bumpy mostly due to poorly repaire... Continue »

El Do this morning: 7:15 tee time running 15 minutes behind, PoP a bit on the slow side at 4:30, $40 non-res walking rate, $4 for 30 range balls on grass. Poa a bit bumpy mostly due to poorly repaired ball marks more so on the front side. Otherwise, semi quick and true. Good fairway coverage, patchy rough. Bunkers very good and well conditioned. Walkable, accessible, and a decent test from the blacks. Big tree on #10 is gone, really changes that hole design. Not a coot in sight (thanks, Callaway!). Recommended.