We were here the day after Thanksgiving 2016. A cool morning that got up to about high 60s without much breeze on a clear day.

The course conditions were in good shape and the course playability w... Continue »

We were here the day after Thanksgiving 2016. A cool morning that got up to about high 60s without much breeze on a clear day.

The course conditions were in good shape and the course playability were pretty good. There aren't much rough, and there are some bare spots on this muni course, but it is as good as what we paid for here. In other words, I am satisfied to find it the way it is for the amount they charge- regular without the city card- (sorry, I don't remember what we paid).

I don't remember seeing any beverage cart- but that's okay with me.

We had a 7:38 tee time and finished almost 4 hours after with two of our guys on the cart and two of us walked. I thought that was an okay pace- not fast, but not slow either.

The bunker sand quality is pretty heavy type, but there is sand there. I was only in that one, the #4 hole- west side of the course- the rest of the bunkers appeared to be okay- meaning it had sand and raked smoothly.

The teeing grounds were okay, the fairways were good, but there were some bare spots as I mentioned- not bad. The greens were good and it rolled pretty good- on the average it felt like a 10.5 - 11 in speed.

This is the third time they've changed the front/back start. The current front or the west side 9 of the course generally plays a few strokes more than the back for me, and I like that I could play the west side first.

Hoping to play it again soon.

Played the newly reversed-nines Hansen this morning at dawn. Second group out and never waited on the group in front. Course is in really good shape right now. The fairways are mostly lush and a pleas... Continue »

Played the newly reversed-nines Hansen this morning at dawn. Second group out and never waited on the group in front. Course is in really good shape right now. The fairways are mostly lush and a pleasure to hit from. The greens were quicker than I've seen in a bit and rolling very well. Not a lot of ball marks and saw maintenance fixing several greens throughout the round. Tee boxes were in good shape too, though one par 3 was pretty dinged up. Wasn't in any bunkers, they looked alright. Bottom line, it's in great shape right now and for $29 this morning it can't be beat.

There's a few major changes at the Dam. The nines are reversed as of November. The former par 3 hole 9 is gone. Its green is now used to elongate former #2 (now #11) by about 50 yards. It's now a proper drivable par 4, which means most people can't actually drive it (unlike before). This should speed up play significantly, as #2 was always a backup with anyone who could hit it 250 waiting for the green to clear. They've yet to get rid of the protective fence right of the old green, but I'm sure that's on the to-do list.

To replace the par 3 9th, they've added back an old hole between former #s 5 and 6. This too will speed play, because the walk from 5 green to 6 tee used to be pretty long. Now it's 14 green with 15 tee right there, and 16 right behind that. That said, new #15 is the ugliest hole on the course, a rather bland 150 yard par 3 against the fence of the course. The course now ends on old #8, a tough hole with arguably the toughest green on the course. It's just all slope. That will leave a lot of people with bad tastes in their mouths finishing the round, and that's too bad. I'd love to see them redo this green and make it a little more interesting and less of a mean one-trick pony.

I think the rerouting will definitely speed up play, but it's not really ideal. Maybe it just takes getting used to, but the new finishing stretch doesn't have the same sense of wrapping up a round. Old 18 was pretty and ended right at the clubhouse. It felt like a finishing hole. New 18 is kind of whatever and leaves you with about a quarter mile walk back up to the clubhouse, and if you take the shortcut up old #9 you'll be walking right in front of people playing new #11.

Oh well. It is what it is and won't be changing back anytime soon. And the course is still my favorite of the LA munis and in great shape so go try it for yourself.

Played on Saturday morning out at 9:10 with two friends. Got paired up with a single. I walked along with the single and my buddies rode. The course is fairly easy to walk, but does have a couple of h... Continue »

Played on Saturday morning out at 9:10 with two friends. Got paired up with a single. I walked along with the single and my buddies rode. The course is fairly easy to walk, but does have a couple of hills. POP was right around 4 and a half hours hardly waiting on any shots.

The greens looked like they had recently been punched, small holes all over sandy and some sort of grass all over the surface of most holes. Made putting a chore as the greens were super slow and bumpy.

Tee boxes and fairways were in good shape with lush lies all around. A couple of areas had some hard pan and bare spots in the fairways but for the most part it wasn't good. Wasn't in any traps, but they looked to be in good shape.

As mentioned in a previous post they are switching the nines and had the markers with the new hole numbers covered in plastic, but you could still see that the nines had been switched. They were also in the process of adding a hole between 5 and 6. I can only assume that they will be dropping 9th, as I didn't pay close attention to the marker hole numbers to closely to know which hole was missing one.

Had a fun time, no cart service and wouldn't mind coming back once the 9's switch, but coming from Ventura County and in my opinion the better courses out that way I don't know if it will be until I see some post about the greens being better taken care of and the overrun of grass on them handled.

Played 10-13-16 for $19 walking. Teed off at 12:25 with three other singles and finished in about four hours. Tee boxes were in descent shape, a little thin but mostly level. Fairways were very nice g... Continue »

Played 10-13-16 for $19 walking. Teed off at 12:25 with three other singles and finished in about four hours. Tee boxes were in descent shape, a little thin but mostly level. Fairways were very nice green Kikuya with some minor yellow areas. Rough was not that long and in good shape. Was in one bunker on 16 that was a little crusty, but had a descent amount of sand. Greens were a mix of Poa Annua and bent which left them a little bumpy and slow in the afternoon.

Nice little Saturday out at Hansen Dam with fellow GKer Mattias, playing from the blue tees with a 10am tee time and a $47 rate with push cart and a bucket of balls. It was a pretty hot day so it was ... Continue »

Nice little Saturday out at Hansen Dam with fellow GKer Mattias, playing from the blue tees with a 10am tee time and a $47 rate with push cart and a bucket of balls. It was a pretty hot day so it was a bummer that there was no cart service at all throughout the day, but there were a decent number of water fountains around the course to accommodate that.

Conditions at Hansen Dam were actually pretty darn good. Was expecting much more dried out fairways, but actually the coverage of green was pretty nice. There were some dried out patches and actually some areas with standing water from overwatering, but overall they were good. The rough is very playable and isn't an issue. Sand traps were just okay, but enough to work with if stuck in one. Tee boxes? Level, a bit dried out, but not too much to complain about.

Thought the greens were actually in very nice shape. They looked much chunkier than they played, but the speed was good and they were quite receptive to shots coming in from high angles. Fixed a few ball marks here and there but must say I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't find all that many throughout the 18.

One thing of note - they did not have any proper scorecards but instead a black and white single sheet copy of them all around. Why? Apparently word on the street is that they are going to reverse the nines once again, making the current hole #10 back to the opening hole #1 and so on. I think it's a great idea at the start, but I don't like the idea of a place like Hansen closing on a par 3 (current #9 hole). I also think it's bad for business as there is a long walk from the current #9 hole to the restaurant/clubhouse with the parking lot in between, which means many will simply skip the 19th hole and just go straight to their cars.

Of course, the current #1 hole is not a very good opening hole at all. So what's it all mean? There are pros and cons of course, but ultimately as long as golf is being played, everyone should be happy.

Sorry for the aside. Good day at Hansen Dam. It's in pretty good shape throughout right now. Go play 18 and enjoy it, albeit with a crappy scorecard.

This is late since barkinesq wrote a review for his Monday round and I went out a day earlier on Sunday, 9/4, @11:15 with a couple of buddies and an added single. His review is only a little ways back... Continue »

This is late since barkinesq wrote a review for his Monday round and I went out a day earlier on Sunday, 9/4, @11:15 with a couple of buddies and an added single. His review is only a little ways back in the thread so read it. I pretty much agree with it with very minor additions. While most of the greens were pretty good and running a brisk medium pace, at least one (5) was bumpy due to mixed grasses and a tad worse for wear. However, there was a crew of four working on patching and edging it even as we played through. The brown spots on the fairway were remarkably few and small relative both to the expansive nature of many of Hansen's fairways, and the condition of fairways I've seen on other courses lately. Those spots may have been a little brown or dry yellow, but they still had cushion and I personally didn't notice any actual bare spots. It definitely doesn't feel like drought conditions there. Sunday was a surprisingly uncrowded round in the middle of a holiday weekend. To second Monday's review, a solid muni experience.

Played Monday 9/5/2016. Teed off at 7:15 am and finished about 11:30 a.m. For a muni track, Hansen Dam is in very good shape. Fairways are green with only a few bare spots. Tees are in good shape and ... Continue »

Played Monday 9/5/2016. Teed off at 7:15 am and finished about 11:30 a.m. For a muni track, Hansen Dam is in very good shape. Fairways are green with only a few bare spots. Tees are in good shape and the greens are quite good as well. They make very good use of recycled water. I have always like the layout of the course. For most players the course is not easy, nor hard. Lots of elevation changes and doglegs. The people who man the starter's window are always courteous and helpful.

Played 7/16/16 at 5 pm. Finished in 3 hours.

The course was in overall decent condition, if you completely ignore the greens. Most of the tee boxes were flat, most of the fairways had grass, most o... Continue »

Played 7/16/16 at 5 pm. Finished in 3 hours.

The course was in overall decent condition, if you completely ignore the greens. Most of the tee boxes were flat, most of the fairways had grass, most of the rough was thick but not unkempt. The greens, however, were all covered in ball marks, fairly bumpy and had a lot of damage from a history of unrepaired ball marks. Given the super twilight rate and wide open course, I would probably play it again if I had to, but wouldn't suggest it over other public courses around town.

The two nines are very different and presented a fun layout. On the front nine there's a lot of elevation change, both up and down hill on the same holes too. Doglegs both directions and some straight holes. This course is low on the city course list of priorities but could be a real gem if it ever rains again (and then the course gets taken care of)

Played this LA Municipal on Sunday July 3rd. Was one of the first groups out around 6:15, and finished around 9:45, so POP was excellent. You can usually get around this track in less than 4 hours i... Continue »

Played this LA Municipal on Sunday July 3rd. Was one of the first groups out around 6:15, and finished around 9:45, so POP was excellent. You can usually get around this track in less than 4 hours if you are one of the early groups out. After 7am you are likely looking at a more than 4.5 hour round.

The tee boxes were in fairly good shape, they do a good job of rotating the tee locations at this course. They also have the benefit of having some of the larger tee boxes in the LA city muni system, so this gives them the luxury of having the space to rotate them. The only exception being 3 of the 4 par 3 holes, which are a bit more cramped, and a bit more beat up.

The fairways here are mostly good. There are definitely some thin spots on several fairways, and generally my ball ends up on these thin spots. Other players seem to be doing a good job replacing their divots, and filling with sand. The rough is quite thin, and I suspect they do this to keep the pace of play moving. There is not a ton of punishment for going into the rough as opposed to the fairways here. Although there are some exceptions on several holes where one side of the fairway will have thick rough.

In general the greens here are doing quite well. Most divots are repaired, and they are rolling pretty smooth, and on line. They are not fast, but that is expected at this type of course.

In general this is a good course that is fairly wide open and will not punish you too badly for an errant drive. The greens can be somewhat challenging to read on some holes, as you have to remember everything, and I do mean everything breaks away from the dam.