The second of two rounds with my NY visitor was, again, at a course I enjoy but hadn't played in a good while, teeing off at 11:20 on Saturday, 8/3 with a pleasant young couple. Not Rustic Canyon but ... Continue »

The second of two rounds with my NY visitor was, again, at a course I enjoy but hadn't played in a good while, teeing off at 11:20 on Saturday, 8/3 with a pleasant young couple. Not Rustic Canyon but solid muni conditions. Teeing grounds all good, nice coverage on the fairways, rough was generally playable just off the fairway but definitely stretches and sections that were thicker and grabby in the mix as you moved off. Bunkers looked OK but I missed them and can't comment accurately. Green surrounds were good for short game and the greens themselves were in good shape, ran nicely, but not quite as quick as the fast practice green — enjoyable to putt on. The temps were up from our previous round but do-able in a cart. Pace was a reasonably steady five hours. Something classic about the Griffith Park complexes that I really enjoy, I wasn't disappointed. Recommended. As an aside, the difficulty in getting reservations in the city system, particularly on weekends, was the reason I hadn't been to Harding in a while. I wasn't even trying. For this round I did the usual ready at 6:00 am on-the-dot first available booking day, and secured the time despite my fumbling. Don't know if the new deposit requirement is making the difference, but it seemed a little more forgiving this time rather than being immediately shut out if you didn't nail a time in thirty seconds. A little encouraging.

Pretty much going to echo my review of Wilson here. Played Harding on Sunday for round 2 of the LA City tournament and conditions are very similar. Still unsure really which of the two is actually "ea... Continue »

Pretty much going to echo my review of Wilson here. Played Harding on Sunday for round 2 of the LA City tournament and conditions are very similar. Still unsure really which of the two is actually "easier" even though by rating it would be Harding. Both courses have very straightforward easy holes, but a number of them are sharp doglegs that require a good tee ball to be in position for your approach. Can definitely find yourself lost in the trees scrambling.

I will say there is probably nothing harder to me on both courses than holes 11/12. 11 is a dogleg right onto a fairly narrow fairway so if you over cut (or in my case slice it 50 yards) or hit a draw or straight ball you're on another fairway. On 12 there's the freeway right with a large net that is actually fairly forgiving if you hit it but it's still a nervy tee shot.

I will say over two days I didn't hit the ball into one bunker so I can't comment on conditions but it at least appeared that they had sand.

Definitely a great weekend playing both courses back to back and if you're able to do so, I'd highly recommend doing it!

Played Griffith Harding on Sat 4/6, 8*30 tee time. No wind, cool early but a beautiful day for Golf! With respect to the recent tee time uproar, I got my tee time as always by being on the computer at... Continue »

Played Griffith Harding on Sat 4/6, 8*30 tee time. No wind, cool early but a beautiful day for Golf! With respect to the recent tee time uproar, I got my tee time as always by being on the computer at 5*59am 9 days before. I don't know if the "Bot Brokers" got scared off or I got lucky... They did ask for my ID at check in. Tee Boxes; good coverage, large enough to find a flat spot, many could use some leveling. Fairways; Really, really good!. Maybe as good as I ever recall here. Thank you rain. Rough, also great shape, many areas have a 5+ yard 2nd cut. The real rough could be few inches or 4-5" with clover. Greens med-Fast, very nice condition. Bummer aeration in a couple weeks. Collars & surrounding areas also good shape. POP; 4:45. Seems like a long day, but it wasn't awful at all. My 1st time out in 10 months after a shoulder injury, so maybe it was gonna be good no matter the POP! The Restaurant is back open, a big plus. Good food, not cheap, but not crazy either. They did a nice job on the remodel with a big bar & better tables/chairs. No bev cart on course. Pass a snack shack in the middle of the course a couple times. I recommend. Look out for aeration! PS weekend early rates (before 9am) are $69 with cart. And the old route up the hill from the Forest Lawn exit of the 134 is closed. Have to drive in by the Zoo.

Got another treat this past weekend when one of my buddies snagged an 8am foursome at Harding on Sunday. The weather forecast looked fairly bleak in terms of high winds and cold temperatures, but luck... Continue »

Got another treat this past weekend when one of my buddies snagged an 8am foursome at Harding on Sunday. The weather forecast looked fairly bleak in terms of high winds and cold temperatures, but luckily both were quite manageable throughout the day with only bursts of gusts or icy winds that chilled the bones. We all walked to try and keep the circulation going.

In short, the course is in really good shape right now and it's a must-play if the opportunity arises. Greens are actually quite fast which took a while to sort out speeds, but they're rolling very nicely right now and may even require your absolute best chips and pitches to stay close. Fairways are in good shape all across the board - they're not super lush private course of course, but they're great with all the traffic this Muni gets. Rough is very playable and fun. Tee boxes (played the blue tees) were in good shape - flat and level, while the bunkers were maybe the only disappointment feeling pretty thin and making sand shots a little terrifying.

Didn't see any cart service all day but the POP was exceptional as I'm imagining the weather report scared a few groups off or just made everyone want to get through the round faster to get back into their warm and cozy cars. We were walking up the 18th fairway at around 12:20 so to finish Harding in 4:20 on a Sunday was pretty great.

So if you're a fan of this course and have maybe waited to hear some good news about it before returning, now is the time to go. You won't be disappointed.

Good times last Sunday, playing with fellow GKer, danoemi. The course was coming off the City championship and was in very good shape. Greens were medium fast and soft with few ball marks. The fairway... Continue »

Good times last Sunday, playing with fellow GKer, danoemi. The course was coming off the City championship and was in very good shape. Greens were medium fast and soft with few ball marks. The fairways and rough were in good condition. Not many divots and some good coverage throughout the course. Sand was decent and fairly easy to hit from. Tees were nice and level. I recommend playing here. Of note: coming in from the Valley side the access is now from the southeast, coming off of Zoo Drive. I tried to enter from the Forest Lawn side on the north only to find a locked gate.

Usually play the Wilson course but the club tournament was there today which made a lucky early morning tee time open up on Harding. You probably won't find this course, or Wilson in better shape due... Continue »

Usually play the Wilson course but the club tournament was there today which made a lucky early morning tee time open up on Harding. You probably won't find this course, or Wilson in better shape due to the championship. Greens were in great condition.....for a mini. Weren't running super fast but no ball marks and looked great. Not super fast, but can't ask for more. Fairways in generally good condition. Rough was spotty. Not many sand traps out here, or I didn't notice since I wasn't in them. Really enjoyed more than Wilson which I normally end up on. Anyways a pleasant morning on the course.

not bad for may condition considering it was aerated about a month ago. fairways are less lush compare to March when there was a lot of rain. green needs a little bit more time to heal. besides that ... Continue »

not bad for may condition considering it was aerated about a month ago. fairways are less lush compare to March when there was a lot of rain. green needs a little bit more time to heal. besides that everything else is in great condition. pace of play could be a little better

Weekend twilight round at Harding with two buddies this week and the course is in pretty darn good shape overall. We also got a ridiculously good $22 walking rate with LA City card so if there's more ... Continue »

Weekend twilight round at Harding with two buddies this week and the course is in pretty darn good shape overall. We also got a ridiculously good $22 walking rate with LA City card so if there's more of a steal anywhere in SoCal golf, I haven't seen it.

Fairways are in good shape with mostly all good lies and some semi-thick rough in parts but mostly very manageable. Bunkers okay but a little on the thin side, and the tee boxes were mostly in good shape (played the blues) and level. Greens were running very nicely - not too fast, not too slow, had good, smooth coverage and held shots well. No complaints there.

POP was super dreamy as we had a nice moving group in front of us and were rarely ever pushed by the group behind us so finishing in just about four and a half hours was really good for a weekend date. No cart service but a very convenient and well-stocked snack bar at the 'turn' (actually the 8th green/9th tee box on Harding).

Pretty much always a good time at Harding and this time was no exception.

Played Harding on March 9. First official tee time out at 5:50, played as a single with a couple other singles who were really nice people. Conditions-wise, I've had some really bad experiences on co... Continue »

Played Harding on March 9. First official tee time out at 5:50, played as a single with a couple other singles who were really nice people. Conditions-wise, I've had some really bad experiences on courses in LA recently due to all the damage and sogginess that the massive rains have caused. Today the conditions were really, really good after a few days of dry weather (finally!). The fairways were in good condition and were finally give some normal rollout and distance. The greens at Harding were near immaculate -- maybe the best I've ever seen and I've played the course a lot over the years. They are running really fast, pretty hard although mostly receptive to approach shots, and on some greens it was hard to even find any ball marks on the greens, so people must be doing a really good job of fixing them or a really bad job of hitting them! Anyhow, who knows how the conditions will be with more rain coming in, but I felt very fortunate to have played in the small window before the next rains arrive.