Played yesterday. They just recently sanded the greens. They are firm, bumpy and slow. Fairways are thinish with a few bare spots. Rough is thick and very penalizing. Green complexes are lush and... Continue »

Played yesterday. They just recently sanded the greens. They are firm, bumpy and slow. Fairways are thinish with a few bare spots. Rough is thick and very penalizing. Green complexes are lush and sand in bunkers are inconsistent at best.

I saw almost 9 bunkers today -- atypical of my game. Learned how to hit out of thickish crusty sand that embeds the ball along the side walls. I honestly thought bunkers should have a thinner layer of sand along the walls to allow the ball to run to the bottom of the bunker instead of embedding. Sand is inconsistent with loads of wet spots and dry crusty spots. Bottomline it was a challenge to hit out of them since you didn't know what to expect and took a while to figure out the proper shot to execute.

Pace of play was brisk for front but slowed down once we caught up with the last group. One thing that gets my goat though. Whoever hits into the bloody bunker PLEASE CLEAN UP YOUR MESS. Footprints and unraked bunker shots abound. It was a mess because I had to deal with crazy lies all day in the bunkers. Not my cup of tea. Golf is hard enough as it is without the distraction of some idiot not cleaning up their mess. We are after all custodians of the golf course -- Golfers pick and clean up after yourselves. How else are the conditions going to improve if you don't do your part?

Rant over. I played my match yesterday with LOTR and lost 3 with 1 left to play. Made a try at coming back but it LOTRs game came back at the right time. I figure in a few more days the greens should be fine and fast but at the moment it's not what I would call... fun. Play here again? Perhaps in a few weeks.

After getting finished with work early, decided to try out Lakewood on the way back up the 405 around 3:20pm today. Got a twilight rate (I think) for $32 with a cart (would have walked but knew gettin... Continue »

After getting finished with work early, decided to try out Lakewood on the way back up the 405 around 3:20pm today. Got a twilight rate (I think) for $32 with a cart (would have walked but knew getting 18 in would be tight, so splurged).

Pair up with four others who were all very good company. That's always a plus. Was immediately struck by the poorness of the fairways - it's wear and tear and dryness is really showing. The hardpan in some areas is disappointing. The greens were okay, but plenty of ball marks and splotches of overgrowth.

The tee box on the 10th hole is one of the worst I have ever seen - just dirt and good luck finding some grass. The traps were just okay, and the rough was a mixed bag - really kind of all over the place to be honest.

The positives? I really enjoyed the layout. Despite the poor conditions, I did enjoy myself, despite not playing particularly well. I found the place to have character for some reason, and I can't explain why. Would also say the front 9 is slightly more fun and intriguing than the back 9, but each has its quirks.

Finished 18 pretty much in the dark which is always amusing, but will definitely come back as soon as I see the conditions have gotten just slightly better.

Played early today in about 4:15 POP. No rain even though it was in the forecast. Sun was out for the back nine although it was still a bit chilly. The course was pretty dry. The rough is shaved d... Continue »

Played early today in about 4:15 POP. No rain even though it was in the forecast. Sun was out for the back nine although it was still a bit chilly. The course was pretty dry. The rough is shaved down throughout the course and in places it was tough to see where it ended and the fairway began. The hitting surfaces, fairway and rough, were okay if a little tight. The sand is heavy, thick beach sand. A couple of guys in the group had their shots plug in the faces of the bunkers. The greens were good. Decent speed throughout. The divot damage on the greens was pretty noticeable but the rolled true as far as I could see. For $36.50 to walk, an excellent deal even considering the conditions were not ideal.

Able to book a 7:15 single time at The Wood, got around in 4:15 walking, 27 bone. Greens are the highlight here and they rolled well today, just a touch slower than expected ... looks like they were ... Continue »

Able to book a 7:15 single time at The Wood, got around in 4:15 walking, 27 bone. Greens are the highlight here and they rolled well today, just a touch slower than expected ... looks like they were verticut a couple days ago. Otherwise, not much change ... other than the coots seem to multiply. Really, can't we do something about that? Sorry, I'm going off again. Fairways mostly full with some thin areas, rough is hit or miss. Bunkers have new sand, well maintained other than a few non-raking golfers leaving their residue ... and don't get me started about those people: they're worse than coots! Should be taken out back and flogged. Why don't I ever see this happen when I play? I'd say something to them for sure! Who are these people that can't take 15 seconds to rake a bunker? Just a beautiful morning, a bit hazy but no fog, geese out making geese (or goose) noises. Ya know, for the $, I like The Wood ... solid course, economical, just no fanfair. But 5-somes are allowed so slow play is the norm unless you go off early.

Played early on Super Bowl Sunday, teeing off about 5 minutes late around 6:30 am. Some mist on the first hole that had cleared by the time we got to the green. POP of 4:15. Course was in pretty go... Continue »

Played early on Super Bowl Sunday, teeing off about 5 minutes late around 6:30 am. Some mist on the first hole that had cleared by the time we got to the green. POP of 4:15. Course was in pretty good shape. The coots have done a number on the tee boxes near water, they were cropped down to mud in some places. The fairways were better with some winter bare spots. The rough was shaved down to not being much of a factor most of the time. The sand was thick and moist. A lot of foot prints (how hard is it to rake??). The greens were nice - good medium speed with not many unrepaired ball marks. They were also pretty firm. I imagine the greens were pretty tough after they dried out. Pleasant professional staff. All in all, not counting the coots, a good experience.

I was able to book a 7AM single time at L-Wood over the phone on a Friday, new policy I'm told. I hope this applies to all of the AmerGolf run courses. $27 to walk ... 5-somes allowed here and I was... Continue »

I was able to book a 7AM single time at L-Wood over the phone on a Friday, new policy I'm told. I hope this applies to all of the AmerGolf run courses. $27 to walk ... 5-somes allowed here and I was paired up with some real nice fellows. Course is flat without much fan-fair, and it's a haven for coots ... hundreds of them basturds ... you have to constantly dodge their dung anywhere near water. Greens were cut today and very nice, smooth and rolling at medium speed but very quick downhill. Bunkers excellent, with brand new sand in many and well conditioned. Fairways are a Kikuyu mix and somewhat thin or matted in some areas, so you don't always get a decent lie. Rough is even worse, good luck if you go there. Altogether, not a bad experience, especially for the green fee. PoP was 4:15 today with no waiting after #5. Sorry I missed a chance to play IH/Ike today with some fellow GK'ers but L-Wood worked out okay considering my situation. Recommended, but brutally slow if you don't play early. And watch out for early morning fog, which lifted once the sun began to shine on the course an hour after first light.

Played on Sunday 12-21-14 at 1230. Pace was quick on the front in about 2 hours or just under but slowed significantly on the back to about 2.5 hours at least.

I was a little disappointed with the... Continue »

Played on Sunday 12-21-14 at 1230. Pace was quick on the front in about 2 hours or just under but slowed significantly on the back to about 2.5 hours at least.

I was a little disappointed with the course condition. It had been a week or so since the last heavy rainfall, but most of the course, especially the tee boxes, were extremely soft, bordering on soggy.

The tee boxes are nice and level, but there were many bare areas with damp, almost muddy dirt exposed.

The fairways were probably the best part of the course, as they were well covered with grass for a muni.

The rough was real thick in places, thin in some places, and muddy in others.

The greens were soft but rolled decently at an above medium pace. Unfortunately, like other local public courses, there was lots of ball mark damage from unrepaired ball marks which made them a little bouncy.

The sand traps had enough sand to be playable and were acceptable.

Played today. Greens looks to be aerated for some time. They use a mixture of sand and something else to help keep the greens smoothish. Ball will bounce still. But I suspect that these greens wil... Continue »

Played today. Greens looks to be aerated for some time. They use a mixture of sand and something else to help keep the greens smoothish. Ball will bounce still. But I suspect that these greens will heal faster than most given aeration and materials they used. Fairways in good shape, some bald areas but those are left to the sides of the fairways. Rough is thick and very sticky, or spongy and sticky. Tee boxes are flat. Bunkers except for one bunker on 17 was really well stocked with sand at the bottom. Along the sides expect to have a thin layer of sand and hard pack underneath.

Pace of play 4 hours. Tees were stuck all the way in the back so for the money this was a fun course to play today. Wind was a factor on several holes including 12 the long par 3.

Play here again? Of course especially with the pace of play being at or around 4 hours.

Put my name on the waiting list pre-dawn at L'Wood this morning (Friday) and was on the tee at 7am sharp. Pop exactly 4 hours walking ($27) with short waits at the par 3's, but it was looking slow an... Continue »

Put my name on the waiting list pre-dawn at L'Wood this morning (Friday) and was on the tee at 7am sharp. Pop exactly 4 hours walking ($27) with short waits at the par 3's, but it was looking slow and crowded by the time we finished. Course is actually in very nice condition, tee to green ... much better than the last time I was here. Found many greenside bunkers today and every one was well conditioned and good sand to play from. Greens rolling very true and somewhat on the quick side, too. Very firm but will hold a well struck iron from any distance ... but they might be a bit firmer later in the day as they dry out. Mostly good green Kikuyu fairway coverage with some thin areas as expected, always hit or miss in the rough here. So, as good as the greens are they plan to aerate next Tuesday, 100% of the green surface. Might want to wait until November to visit again, but that Poa can become playable in two weeks if the greenskeeper is on the ball. One of the best chipping practice greens in the area, always several up-and-coming players here working on their short game.