Went over to Griffith Park Sunday, 9/10, to see what was available. Wilson was restricted to some tournament play, so about 40 minutes after arrival I was actually teeing off @10:00 on Harding in a fo... Continue »

Went over to Griffith Park Sunday, 9/10, to see what was available. Wilson was restricted to some tournament play, so about 40 minutes after arrival I was actually teeing off @10:00 on Harding in a foursome composed of singles. The conditions overall were really pretty good. Coverage on everything from tee boxes to fairways and greens reflect the effects of the wet winter — well established, thick grass, with the usual, occasional brown or worn area — nothing to complain about or detract from the overall conditions. The rough was worth an extra mention. As uniform as anyplace I've played lately, it was usually not long enough to lose a ball, (although I did in one thick stretch,) but it was grabby and would cost you. Relentless in its consistency, I never seem to catch a favorable, fairway-like patch when I ended up there. The greens were pretty clean on the whole, and ran at a reasonable, medium pace. Bunkers were generally groomed and only slightly firm. I expect a slow round here on a Sunday, but it was worse than usual approaching a 5.5 hr round — more waiting on the early holes followed by a slow but steady remainder. I'm usually happy to spend more time at golf, but I admit that walking on a warm, slightly humid day, it started feel like a grind towards the end and I was losing focus. That said, the group was pleasant and the conditions make it worth a recommendation.

Played 7-30-17, Sunday morning. 728 tee time but teed off 10 minutes late. Finished at 12:20. So POP was mediocre. Playing conditions overall were very good. Fairways were mostly lush, propping u... Continue »

Played 7-30-17, Sunday morning. 728 tee time but teed off 10 minutes late. Finished at 12:20. So POP was mediocre. Playing conditions overall were very good. Fairways were mostly lush, propping up balls on balls in the fairway. A few muddy areas which should have been marked GUR were avoided. The rough throughout was quite penal, at least 2 inches thick. Greens were OK except for a couple which had some fungal issues. Tee boxes were mostly level but a handful were almost rock hard. Bunkers were ok with thick-ish sand.

Went over to Harding as a single @ 10:30 this morning and was sent to the lineup at the first tee to join a twosome, third up, and teed off about 15 minutes later. It has to be the result of the rain... Continue »

Went over to Harding as a single @ 10:30 this morning and was sent to the lineup at the first tee to join a twosome, third up, and teed off about 15 minutes later. It has to be the result of the rainy winter, because I'm generally finding better than typical conditions at the courses I've hit lately, and Harding was no exception. Tee boxes generally pretty level with good grass coverage. Fairways were pretty consistently green and lush with only a few isolated dry patches and a couple soggy spots. Nice hitting surface with decent rollout. The rough was generally lush. There were some spots where the ball would sink down and be hard to find, although in most cases it wasn't that deep. It was deep enough to be penalizing more often than not, with only the occasional opportunity for a clean recovery. Green side rough could similarly vary from nice chipping grass to a little bit longer and juicier, but generally nicely playable. Greens were receptive and generally clean, rolling fairly true at a medium speed. A few had the suggestion of a bumpier texture than the majority, but seemed to be more often a visual phenomenon than of real consequence on putting lines. It was a pretty warm day, but there was a nice breeze (up to one club) to cool the sweat, so it was really more pleasant and less oppressive than I feared it might be. I was in hydration mode and draining my water bottle all day. Glad they have enough fountains spread around to refill. The pace was slow but generally steady for something short of a five hour round. The guys I was paired with were more into keep to themselves and not overly sociable, nor were they in any way unpleasant so, being prepared for anything, I was fine with that. Generally speaking, a fine example of muni golf under better than average course conditions.

Back out to Griffith Park today with a buddy to tackle Harding once again. It still amazes me how easy it was to get a decent tee time at Harding while Wilson was backed up until the late afternoon? I... Continue »

Back out to Griffith Park today with a buddy to tackle Harding once again. It still amazes me how easy it was to get a decent tee time at Harding while Wilson was backed up until the late afternoon? I've played both numerous times and I simply don't get the fascination with Wilson be so much superior to Harding. But that's for another forum. As far as course conditions currently at Harding, not too bad at all. Took a cart today to escape some of the hot sun and played the blue tees at $59, which is a fair price with the cart added. We took off as a twosome and started playing with the twosome in front of us around the 7th hole and had an overall respectable POP of 4 1/2 hours - pretty darn good for a Sunday. A lot of nice areas in the fairways that are nice and lush, but the heat is definitely back and there were a few thin areas where the heavy traffic would congregate. There was also some overwatering, swampy areas along some of the fairways. The rough was crazy - it appears they haven't mowed it down in quite some time and it will absolutely grab any shot coming out of it. Bunkers I was in (only two) were okay but one was not raked and made for a terrible lie. Tee boxes generally flat but a lot of hard ground to push tees into. Greens were in nice shape in terms of coverage and look very nice, but absolutely roll medium-slow and require a confident stroke or you'll be short a lot most of the day. Not too many problems though with bumps or ball marks which was nice to see - they seem to have healed well from the last aeration when I played here a month or so ago. Always enjoy the layout at Harding and have a fun time there. It's not crazy long from the blue tees (6423 yards), but there are only three par 5s on the course so birdies can be tough to come by if you're not on your game. Fun closing hole for sure here, too. Darn it - just realized too that there are only four pictures from such a popular course as Harding and I forgot to do hole-by-hole shots - next time!

Played Sunday morning, 6/11. POP was good at 4 hr 20 minutes, with a fast 3 some in front of our 4 some. Fairways were fine, with some very lush areas. Some tee boxes were very hard packed but bett... Continue »

Played Sunday morning, 6/11. POP was good at 4 hr 20 minutes, with a fast 3 some in front of our 4 some. Fairways were fine, with some very lush areas. Some tee boxes were very hard packed but better than before; but they were generally level. Unfortunately, I was in one greenside bunker before they groomed it and let's just say the lie was not favorable. Greens didn't look great but they rolled ok at medium speed.

'Know before you go' should have been adhered to before I headed over to Harding for a twilight round today. I was a little bummed out when I got to the first green to see the effects of the recent pu... Continue »

'Know before you go' should have been adhered to before I headed over to Harding for a twilight round today. I was a little bummed out when I got to the first green to see the effects of the recent punch and then realized I had only myself to blame for not checking with GK first. Just assumed it was already May and over with by now!

Rest of the course though was in pretty nice shape. I walked the blue tees and played a really good round despite the greens being sub-par. The fairways had some very decent coverage and there were only a few thin lies to be found on the periphery. Rough cut to a nice length. Was only in one bunker but saw the others and they looked thin but playable. Tee boxes on many holes were rock solid and difficult to place tee in at times.

POP was a very nice 3.5 hours and moved well until the last few holes. The group behind us tried to hijack our spot on the 9th tee box (at the snack bar) but me and my playing partners I was paired with were having none of that! Walking rate was $32 which is fine, but more fine when the greens are in the right shape.

I always enjoy this course and was really happy to be out there and play my best round to date on it. I would give the greens another 2-3 weeks and then everything should be great.

My HS daughter and I played on Saturday April 29th. I played from the blues and she played from the yellow or ladies tees because the junior tournament the next day was playing from those tees. Overal... Continue »

My HS daughter and I played on Saturday April 29th. I played from the blues and she played from the yellow or ladies tees because the junior tournament the next day was playing from those tees. Overall, the course conditions were ok. Some of the tee boxes were rock hard and I actually broke a tee just trying to tee it up. Hint: look for existing tee holes. Fairways were fine. I didn't have any bare spot lies. I didn't have any bunker shots so I can't comment on them, but they appeared to be somewhere between hard dirt and country club white sand. The greens were kind of bumpy but acceptable, just short of having no confidence of making any putts. However, my daughter made 4 birdie putts the next day so I'm pretty sure she was okay with them. The course itself is not that long but it requires some course management. You can't just yank out your driver on every hole. As I recall the short fourth hole requires you to leave it about 80 yards short of the green. You can easily hit your drive through the dog legs on many of the holes. Some of the greens are also much more sloped than you think and it is highly advisable to leave the shot below the hole. I'd probably like one more shot at the course and I'm pretty sure I would hit a couple of more tee shots with my 3 wood instead of my driver. I wouldn't play this course if it were my choice but I wouldn't turn it down if I were invited. The two real complaints I have would be the gopher holes all over the place and the poor condition of the range balls. The balls were much better two months ago. Pace of play was over 5 hours starting at about 1:30 but it got better as the day went along so I don't think it got to the "I will never go back to this d%mn course!" 6 hour mark. Middle of LA so what do you expect. Look forward to playing the longer Wilson course some time. PS. My daughter shot a one under the next day so I'm sure she has nice things to say about the course.

Played 4-23 with a 7:28 tee time. Was paired up 3 other singles and we played the blue tees.
We got off about 5 minutes late and we waited on every hole but still finished in 4 1/2 hours but it sure... Continue »

Played 4-23 with a 7:28 tee time. Was paired up 3 other singles and we played the blue tees.
We got off about 5 minutes late and we waited on every hole but still finished in 4 1/2 hours but it sure seemed way longer.
Tee boxes are level but thin and rock hard. Very tough to get your tee in the ground.
Fairways had decent coverage and the rough was ok. I was in one bunker and it had sand but was not raked and provided a tough lie.
Greens were firm but held shots and rolled well. They are punching soon.
Overall about what I expected for a busy Sunday morning on a city course. I like the old school layout and I will be back.

Got out Sunday, 3/27, first twilight at 2:00 with two other singles. The course conditions were pretty good overall. Good coverage on the teeing grounds which are generally pretty level with little va... Continue »

Got out Sunday, 3/27, first twilight at 2:00 with two other singles. The course conditions were pretty good overall. Good coverage on the teeing grounds which are generally pretty level with little variance. The grass can be a bit mixed, but the fairways had good coverage that still allowed for some rollout. Rough varied from mostly green and playable with the ball sitting up, to occasionally punitive. Glad to say I can't report on the bunkers, but they looked in good shape. The greens and surrounds were in good shape. They were firm-ish, rolled a respectable medium quick, pretty true, with minimal ball marks. I made some long putts that tracked well, and the miss-reads were on the intended line. The weather was comfortably cool with a 1+ breeze at times. The pace was somewhere between 4.5 – 4.75hrs. It moved reasonably well until the 13th hole, and the pace dropped off from there with backups especially on 13 and 15 (par 3's). I hadn't been out on Harding in a while and I was quite pleased with the current conditions and, for a Sunday, the overall pace. One serious caveat: I approached the park from the N. Zoo Drive approach off the 134 transition where it wraps around the soccer fields, at around 12:30. I spent an hour in traffic crawling around that complex once was I committed to that exit ramp. Once in the loop, no way out and it truly sucked. I talked to one of the playing partners about it and it seems to be the result of an inherently bad approach system on a nice zoo day. Consequently I recommend avoiding N. Zoo Drive and instead approach the park from the south after mid-morning on weekends. I don't know what state Zoo Drive approaching from the west via Forest Lawn Dr. would be like at that time. I ended up ducking onto the first available freeway entrance and circling back through west Glendale and south on San Fernando Rd. No issues approaching from the south end of the park.