Played Tues April 18..a greenskeeping disgrace…fairways indistinguishable from rough, it was all rough in places…buy a mower

Played Tues April 18..a greenskeeping disgrace…fairways indistinguishable from rough, it was all rough in places…buy a mower

Weather has of course kept many of us off the links the last few weeks but decided to snag a late solo round at Encino on Saturday to sharpen up before this week's trip to N Scottsdale.

The course... Continue »

Weather has of course kept many of us off the links the last few weeks but decided to snag a late solo round at Encino on Saturday to sharpen up before this week's trip to N Scottsdale.

The course is still showing a lot of impact from the recent storms, including two holes (5 & 6) being closed due to damage I assume, and there are a number of trees that are roped off having been toppled by the high winds. There are a number of water-logged areas still around as well, and many of the bunkers still acting as small ponds instead of beaches.

Overall the best part of the course right now though is the fairways as the water has done a lot of good in many areas where the sun shone bright enough to dry them out. But the greens are definitely showing some wear and tear and a lot of rough spots from the weather, while the tee boxes are also a bit worse for the wear. As mentioned above, a lot of the bunkers are either still stuck with standing water, or at the very least are grainy and require chip shots instead of bunker shots. The rough can be just about anything it wants to be there right now.

Still, the walking price (no carts right now fyi due to conditions) was definitely worth it ($37), and the range is very useful and has a lot of hitting bays to choose from. No cart service for a Saturday is always a bummer, but the snack shop is a good one (outside of a $12 charge for a breakfast burrito!). POP was pretty good as I was paired with another single and the two of us played behind a well-moving foursome before they ditched their round after the 10th hole and scampered over to the 18th tee box - still wondering if that was a mistake or not? Either way, we had smooth sailing most of the way after that except for the par 3 15th.

I've seen Encino in better shape but it gets a pass after all the recent inclement weather. Still, the ratings have to reflect the current reality.

When checking a few days ago, I was surprised to find a fair amount of short-notice availability for Saturday 12/31 in the LA City systems and booked Encino. Then I checked the weather report and unde... Continue »

When checking a few days ago, I was surprised to find a fair amount of short-notice availability for Saturday 12/31 in the LA City systems and booked Encino. Then I checked the weather report and understood why I was able to do that. I don't typically play in the rain but, having the appropriate gear, decided to "go Irish" and take the challenge for a change. As it turned out, the conditions were wet from the previous night's rains but surprising little precipitation for most of my round. The course is playable but in mid-winter form. Probably because of the wet, on most tees the black, blue and white were set together around the white monuments. The teeing grounds themselves were consistently level with coverage and provided a good start. Fairways were a chaotic patchwork of mixed grasses on the tighter side, occasionally thin/bare and with sticky/muddy patches distributed around. More than once I moved a ball in the fairway to get some grass under it, but mostly it played OK. Runout was reasonable for the conditions but clubbing up was the rule of the day. Rough was a little longer than the fairway but not much of a factor. I was in one bunker and rather than firm and soggy, it was damp but surprisingly fluffy. Short game from the fairway in front of the greens was tricky as the lies were tight and sticky, but surrounding the green usually gave you a better lie for chipping. The greens were the highlight — pretty clean, running true at a fairly quick medium pace. No apparent slowing from the dampness. There were golfers out but it was understandably spare, and it seemed like most of them started earlier. I was on my own and in my vicinity there was only a two-some in front of me and a single a few holes back. Pace was just about four hours. There were a few times over the course of the round it started to lightly mist and I donned my rain jacket, but it would end within a half hole and the jacket would come off. It really only started to rain to any real effect at the start of the 18th through finish, so I lucked out as to my timing and exceeded any expectations I had as to avoiding the wet. Would I recommend it? Probably not, even as I wouldn't steer anyone away from it. As long as you know before you go. Did I enjoy it as the golf slut that I am closing out 2022? Heck yeah.

Played Encino on Sat Aug 26. Teed off just as the sun was giving some decent light to the course at 6:05 am. For how hot it's been, I found the course to be in pretty good shape. It happened to be ... Continue »

Played Encino on Sat Aug 26. Teed off just as the sun was giving some decent light to the course at 6:05 am. For how hot it's been, I found the course to be in pretty good shape. It happened to be quite wet throughout the round so they must be watering it quite a bit. The fairways were mostly green and even the brown spots were totally fine to hit off. The greens were slightly shaggy and slow due to the moisture, but were very consistent and in a good shape overall. I didn't find too many bunkers but they seemed fine too. Overall we had a good round and I'd definitely recommend it.

Quick review after Friday twilight round at Encino ... walked from the blue tees with a friend and had two others join us. Another buddy who was supposed to play today cancelled this morning due to il... Continue »

Quick review after Friday twilight round at Encino ... walked from the blue tees with a friend and had two others join us. Another buddy who was supposed to play today cancelled this morning due to illness so thanks to the very accommodating starter's office for waiving the cancel fee with another player on the wait list ready to go.

Greens are not quite fully healed from aeration two weeks ago. I was hoping they would be a little crisper and run better, but they need about a week more and some hydration, then should be quite fine. Fairways and rough in decent to good shape with lots of good lies but also lots of thin ones depending on your luck. Bunkers were definitely more on the hardpan side than fluffy, but totally playable. Tee boxes all level but slightly beat up.

POP was pretty steady but came in around four hours and forty-five minutes. No cart service all afternoon but plenty of good stuff in the snack bar near the starter's office. No time on the driving range so can't speak to that.

Encino remains a great option for a fairly straight-forward golf round with minimal fuss and frills. It always gets the job done.

Played 3/26 11:45 am. POP 4:10.

The course was overall in good to very good shape for what you expect at Encino.

The tee boxes were all fairly lush but a few were in spots where it was hard to... Continue »

Played 3/26 11:45 am. POP 4:10.

The course was overall in good to very good shape for what you expect at Encino.

The tee boxes were all fairly lush but a few were in spots where it was hard to find level ground which was a pain.

The fairways were pretty healthy and provided good turf for hitting off of. Are they pretty and uniform in color? Absolutely not but no real issues with dead spots out there.

The rough as a mixed bag, generally not too long and fairly easy to hit out of. Could be thinner and thicker in spots, especially thin under the trees.

The bunkers were interesting. It seems as though they’ve completely restocked many of the bunkers, but not all of them. I was in 3 yesterday and two were like walking in foot deep sugar and the other was pretty crusty. The inconsistency made it tough but nice to see they’re at least trying to improve the course in some areas.

The greens were the highlight. They were as firm and true as perhaps I’ve ever seen them. While there were ballmarks out there, they were much smaller than typical, still lush enough to repair easily.

I have points to use up on my LA City card and grabbed an 11:55 start on Friday 3/18 as single joining a two-some and another single, all walking. I don't recall any issues finding a suitable spot to ... Continue »

I have points to use up on my LA City card and grabbed an 11:55 start on Friday 3/18 as single joining a two-some and another single, all walking. I don't recall any issues finding a suitable spot to peg it in the teeing areas — mostly covered and level or close enough to it. The fairways are a mashup of grasses that grow at varying rates, so the closer to having been mowed the more consistent the surface. On the day a cut was probably due and a little lumpy. That said, mixed or not, it was generally covered, wintery firm with a fair amount of rollout. The rough was not particularly thick or that much different from the fairways and usually not at all penalizing. The run-ups to the green generally made for tight pitching lies while around the greens it was just a little more forgiving. I was in a couple of bunkers where the sand leans more towards heavy than fluffy, but otherwise fair, reasonably clean and playable. I personally did not see any I would describe as dirt or close to it as previously reported, but maybe I missed those. The greens were firm enough to leave minimal pitch marks, running mostly true at a decent medium quick pace that overall wasn't as brisk as the practice green. It was a good day to play — clear, warmer than usual with no impacting wind. It's flat and a good course to walk. Pace was very good at right around four hours on a busy public course. Almost surprising, really. All the guys in the group were friendly and, except for me, young and hit the ball far if not always straight. It was also a nice surprise that I could use my points for the range balls, so I was nothing out of pocket on the day. It's muni golf, not in peak condition but more than acceptable and I recommend it as such.

Quick review of recent Encino visit, walking and playing the blue tees. First off, had a great customer service interaction so kudos to the team there to take care of the last-minute booking when it c... Continue »

Quick review of recent Encino visit, walking and playing the blue tees. First off, had a great customer service interaction so kudos to the team there to take care of the last-minute booking when it couldn't get done online since my LA City card had just expired the day before. Great job and much appreciated.

Course is definitely showing some wear and tear in the fairways, rough, tee boxes and bunkers. There are a few more dirt patches in prime landing areas that I've never seen here before, and just in general it's a little more thin and yellow than it is usually. The bunkers were mostly dirt with the exception of one or two, and the tee boxes were flat but definitely a bit beat up. Rough was a mixed bag but nothing too penal if you ended up in it.

Greens were actually pretty darn good, rolling medium-fast and holding their lines nicely. They also did a good job of holding shots that were less than perfect on approach. There are some ball marks to contend with of course but overall, considering the shape of the rest of the course, the greens are quite nice and fun to play on right now.

POP was very good at just over four hours with three of our foursome walking (I played as a single and got paired up with a twosome and another single). There was no cart service anywhere on the course and no snack shop other than the one at the main starter's area. Oh yeah, the starter shack during Covid is now closed so the new 'office' is quite roomy and nice.

Price is always right to play this confidence course and it's always a good place to work out some swing thoughts or kinks to help get your game back in order. Par 3s are long beasts but other than that, with the exception of a few holes, it's pretty straight-ahead golf to help get your mind right.

Played on Sunday 1/2 with a mid-morning tee time. POP was around 4 1/2 hours to play 18.

As it was about 3 days after recent rains, the course was a little soggy. They let out electric carts toda... Continue »

Played on Sunday 1/2 with a mid-morning tee time. POP was around 4 1/2 hours to play 18.

As it was about 3 days after recent rains, the course was a little soggy. They let out electric carts today. But there were about 3 - 4 holes that were "cart" path only. For example, the 1st hole was totally roped off on each side of the fairway. So you could not drive your carts onto the fairways on these holes. There were so much mud on the fairways. Had to move the balls a lot as the ball was either in mud or in a water patch. The tee boxes were ok to hit off with very good coverage. I found that the bunkers were still rather wet. I landed in one and the ball disappeared into the water in the bunker. On other holes, the bunker was hard packed and wet. Greens were decent but it felt a little spongy as it was still wet. Balls still rolled ok. Have to remember to allow a little more time to play after it rains to allow the course to dry out.

With all the recent rains, we found that a number of trees had fallen down on the course. It does not come into play unless you pulled or pushed your shots.