Played Hansen on Sunday 5/1, because I love this course and wanted to see how the greens are healing after aeration about 25 days ago. Unfortunately the greens are not that great right now. It's pla... Continue »

Played Hansen on Sunday 5/1, because I love this course and wanted to see how the greens are healing after aeration about 25 days ago. Unfortunately the greens are not that great right now. It's playable, but not anywhere near as good as they usually are. The holes from punching are still somewhat visible but getting better, but the sand is still quite prevalent at the surface and the grass itself is somewhat long and makes for some very slow putts. With the grass on the greens being as long as they are, the grain of the grass plays a significant factor which is not normal for Hansen. There were also a couple of holes (#9 and #12) where the front part of the green was soaked by the sprinklers and had a large section with standing water (6:10 AM tee time mind you, so perhaps that was evaporated by later in the morning). Oh and the blue tee boxes were very chewed up, but that doesn't really bother me that much.

On the bright side, the fairways were in great condition overall, so was nice to hit approach shots from good lies. The greens being as soft and sandy as they were, they are very receptive to approaches -- just tough to make birdies with the greens in this shape unless you're right on top of the hole.

Pace was decent (sub 4 hours) but could have been better if the first group wasn't so slow. They picked up the pace after about 7 holes. No one behind us all day. Beautiful weather didn't hurt either.

Again for those who don't mind, it's still playable right now. But for those who are pickier, I would wait a couple more weeks.

Played at 10am on 3/6 with Mr. Kich. Course is very playable right now. Greens rolling really nice save for a few areas. Fairways surprisingly consistent. Not terribly lush but no bare areas either. R... Continue »

Played at 10am on 3/6 with Mr. Kich. Course is very playable right now. Greens rolling really nice save for a few areas. Fairways surprisingly consistent. Not terribly lush but no bare areas either. Rough, as usual, a mixed bag. The defense of this course is the trees and subtle 1-club elevation changes. Tees were fine. Sand Traps also very consistent somewhere between fluffy and hard pan. Waited on almost every shot but still finished in about 4:20.

I played Hansen Dam last Sat. The course is in good winter condition.

No issues with the tee boxes, some chewed up but always found a good spot.

The fairways were real nice, good coverage. Wint... Continue »

I played Hansen Dam last Sat. The course is in good winter condition.

No issues with the tee boxes, some chewed up but always found a good spot.

The fairways were real nice, good coverage. Winter thin, good runout on drives.

Greens are in good condition. Slower than most would like, but it probably helps pace of play. Collar areas are mixed bag, some bare some good. Shaved back enables TX wedge from 10 yards or so if the wedge isn't working.

Bunkers are fine. Not CC deep soft sand, but consistent muni bunkers.

No drink carts here. Snack bar (can't call it a restaurant) no bar area, no TV's in the small indoor area. Has basics & ice cold schooners.

POP was almost 4.5 starting at 9:00am. Group in front got 2 holes behind by 7th, finally got moving after some heckling. Still slow. No Marshall here. Driving Range (Mats) & decent short game area.

I still really enjoy the Dam. Fun course, not killer tough & a bit easier to get on then most city courses.

I Recommend.

Back again yesterday morning; tee off at 8:40, payed $47 to walk. We finished in 4.5 hours. There was a CA Junior Golf tournament being held later in the day and the course was trimmed up nicely for i... Continue »

Back again yesterday morning; tee off at 8:40, payed $47 to walk. We finished in 4.5 hours. There was a CA Junior Golf tournament being held later in the day and the course was trimmed up nicely for it. The greens, fairways and rough were in as good as shape as possible. Lots of roll out on drives. The rough was barely longer than the fairways in most areas and were not at all penal. Greens were all good: smooth and fairly fast. The only real drawbacks were the bunkers: almost all were a thin layer of sand over hard pan. The tees were somewhat firm but mostly level with ample areas to hit from.

Sunday, 9:40 AM tee; $47 Walking. The golf course was relatively uncrowded. It was a quick check in and we teed off on time. POP in about 4:35. Overall nice conditions. Some tees were hard but all wer... Continue »

Sunday, 9:40 AM tee; $47 Walking. The golf course was relatively uncrowded. It was a quick check in and we teed off on time. POP in about 4:35. Overall nice conditions. Some tees were hard but all were level. The greens ran fast and rolled true. The fairways and rough were firm and there was lots of roll. The turf was nice in most places with some thin areas here and there. Bunkers were mediocre with most just a thin layer of sand over hard pan. Snack shop and starter office are just the bare minimum. Good times with old friends.

Played again last Sunday, 12/19/21, with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. 8:30 am tee time, sub 4.5 hr. POP. Customer service, as the kids say, "Meh." As I checked in as the... Continue »

Played again last Sunday, 12/19/21, with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. 8:30 am tee time, sub 4.5 hr. POP. Customer service, as the kids say, "Meh." As I checked in as the fourth of our group, the starter asked if I was the fourth. I said yes, but he was looking at the guy behind me in line. Hey, I'm short but not that short! He seemed confused as I tried to scan my player card and I had to tell him a second time that I was with the 8:30 group. Whatever. The walking rate is $47 with a senior card.

Greens: Good overall. Soft and medium to medium-fast roll. A few ball marks to fix. There was occasional bumpiness, but not bad. It definitely appeared that someone ahead of us was dragging their feet at times, though.

Fairways and rough: Decent coverage and a nice greenish tint considering it's nearly winter and it's almost all kikuyu grass.

Tees: All tee boxes looked level and mostly had good grass coverage.

Bunkers: The sand looked well groomed and I found only one bunker on Hole 9 greenside. It was a thin layer of soft, nicely groomed sand over hard pan. Noemi seemed to have no problem getting out of the two bunkers she was in, so I assume it was all decent. Well, I skulled it. The other guy who hit into this same bunker as me went easy and left it in on his first try. I'm not sure what's worse.

Overall impression of the course is it's in fine condition for a popular muni. It was not too crowded for a Sunday; I question this as it's very difficult to get a tee time online. Makes you wonder if we are getting gas lamped. Nice GPS on the carts, although I did walk. It's a nice walk at about 7 miles total, with a handful of small hills. Decent bloody Mary at the bar. No beverage cart. I can recommend this course.

Played a GK18 match with BNaso on a gorgeous Sunday with a late morning start. POP was less than 4.5 hrs, and conditions were well above average. Good coverage on green fairways. Tees boxes were 7/10.... Continue »

Played a GK18 match with BNaso on a gorgeous Sunday with a late morning start. POP was less than 4.5 hrs, and conditions were well above average. Good coverage on green fairways. Tees boxes were 7/10. Greens were still healing from recent aeration, but the punched holes were small and they rolled quite well. Bunkers were decent, with a dirt/sand consistency. Course had a lot more going for it than I expected. I’d play again for $57 with cart on a weekend morning. Don’t go out of your way, but if you have a reason to make the the drive you’ll enjoy the round.

Played the Dam on Sat 11/6. I've probably played it more than any course, so it's not new to me. For those that haven't played, it is an LA City course in Pacoima. Gets less play than the Encino cours... Continue »

Played the Dam on Sat 11/6. I've probably played it more than any course, so it's not new to me. For those that haven't played, it is an LA City course in Pacoima. Gets less play than the Encino courses. I think it's a good test of Golf & a fun course. Some Tee boxes had been punched & fertilized, not a problem finding a good spot, more visual. Fairways are very good, didn't see bare spots. I think recent cooler weather & rain has helped. Rough is usual Muni mix of slightly higher fairway grass giving way to grass/weeds mix. Greens were great, med speed. They are large greens, so lots of room for imperfect shots. Like most courses there are more ball marks than there should be... Collar areas were mowed down, & in good condition allowing my shanking partner to putt from 10 yards off at times. Greenside Bunkers are mostly fair with just a bit of softsand on top of hard stuff. Fairway bunkers looked harder. Overall really nice condition for a muni!! POP was slow, it could have been because of a brutal low morning fog. So bad that one couldn't see more than about 70 yards at 8*30 tee off. Fog lifted shortly after, but pace was killed. 4:40. I would like to support the Restaurant, but it's little more than a snack shop. I believe it opens at 8 or 8*30 so early birds bring your own Java. Most of it is closed off. No bar area anymore, no TV's . We wanted to have a couple beers & lunch, but watching football wasn't an option, so we went elsewhere. Customer Service was fine, Shark Experience GPS & Bluetooth speakers in carts. I'll be back.

Played yesterday with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. Sunday, 9:10 am, 4.5 hr. POP. Decent customer service. I walked for $47, I think.

Greens: Good overall. Soft and m... Continue »

Played yesterday with fellow GKer, danoemi, her husband and one of their buddies. Sunday, 9:10 am, 4.5 hr. POP. Decent customer service. I walked for $47, I think.

Greens: Good overall. Soft and medium to medium, fast roll. Lots of ball marks to fix. There was occasional bumpiness, but not bad. It could have been someone ahead of us dragging their feet.

Fairways and rough: Decent coverage with some overly wet areas. The further off the fairway you got, things could get sketchy for your lie, but that's usually the case with most golf courses. It's almost all kikuyu grass here; it's thick enough to hold you ball up most of the time but you could end up in a divot and get a poor lie.

Tees: We played the whites. Those tees are up a bit; I would say it's playing where the forward tees were before they went to four separate tees. All tee boxes looked level and mostly had good grass coverage.

Bunkers: The sand looked well groomed and I found only one fairway bunker early on. Others seemed to have no problem getting out, so I assume it was all decent.

Overall impression of the course is it's in fine condition for a popular muni. It was not too crowded for a Sunday, maybe because it was Halloween. Check in was quick and the starter seemed pleasant enough. Nice GPS on the carts, although I did walk. It's a nice walk at about 7 miles total, with a handful of small hills. Decent bloody Mary at the bar. No beverage cart seen. I can recommend this course.