Wet kikuyu – even more fun than regular kikuyu!!

Played with my monthly group here Saturday, 10/13/18, at 10am after quite a bit of rain the previous night and this morning. Just scattered sprinkle... Continue »

Wet kikuyu – even more fun than regular kikuyu!!

Played with my monthly group here Saturday, 10/13/18, at 10am after quite a bit of rain the previous night and this morning. Just scattered sprinkles by the time we teed off behind only scattered groups – very unusual for Lakewood on a Saturday morning. Course was very wet and we played LCP, so I didn’t rate the course. Greens were in good shape – receptive, rolling well at medium+ speeds. Wet bunkers with some standing water – no LCP there!! We were able to avoid wet deep rough areas through the LCP. Many areas with muddy ruts from carts and equipment – I was surprised they were allowing carts on the fairways. Many fairway areas squishy from pooled rain.

Overall decent conditions following the rain. We caught the group in front of us on the 17th tee, finishing in just over 4.5 hrs, which is breakneck speed here on a weekend morning.

Played today, Sunday Oct. 7, in a tourney at 10:00 am. Not surprisingly, they were running about 20 to 30 minutes behind. POP was about 5:15, about what we expected and better than we feared.

The... Continue »

Played today, Sunday Oct. 7, in a tourney at 10:00 am. Not surprisingly, they were running about 20 to 30 minutes behind. POP was about 5:15, about what we expected and better than we feared.

The course is in decent condition. The only sign of the recent aeration was on the practice green. The greens on the course showed no evidence of it. The rolled decently although they were fairly soft so there were bounces from the footprints. The fairways were pretty good, the rough cut down and more hit or miss. That said we lost two balls in the rough in areas where no balls should have been lost. So there was some thicker grass that apparently gobbles balls.

The tee boxes were merely okay. Between the markers they tended to be chewed up but there were flat decent areas if you were flexible on ball placement. The worst part to me were the sand traps. The sand was hit and miss with many spots with less sand than there appeared. The fairway bunkers tended to be hard as concrete except on #10.

Overall, it was an okay experience. I played poorly and that likely colored my experience. That and the decently quick greens with footprints evident in them. It is recommended but not ideal.

Played here on Saturday, August 25 in the LA County Men's Amateur tournament. I have to say that I am disappointed in the course conditions. The greens were very spongy and not their normal beautifu... Continue »

Played here on Saturday, August 25 in the LA County Men's Amateur tournament. I have to say that I am disappointed in the course conditions. The greens were very spongy and not their normal beautiful, firm and quick selves. Tee boxes and fairways were just in ok condition. Rough was very spotty. I was told that the recent heatwave really took it's toll on the greens.

As a contrast, the 2nd round was played on Sunday at Los Verdes whose condition was MUCH better than Lakewood's. I'm sure that Lakewood will recover. It will just take a bit of time.

Played Lakewood CC on Saturday for the second time in the last two months and there is much improvement to report currently. The course is probably in the best shape I've seen it and it was really fun... Continue »

Played Lakewood CC on Saturday for the second time in the last two months and there is much improvement to report currently. The course is probably in the best shape I've seen it and it was really fun to play. We also avoided the dreaded six-hour round at LCC because we found that sweet spot between an early morning tournament and the afternoon crowd.

Put it this way - we got to the par 3 12th hole and there was no backup at all. If you play Lakewood regularly, you'll know that this is not a common occurrence.

As far as conditions go, the course was again in its best shape that I can recall. The greens were running very nicely and quite quick, and also had many very tough pin placements (probably for the earlier tournament). Held shots well despite and only a few greens that had a lot of ball marks to fix up. Not bad at all, actually. Very nice to play.

Fairways were mostly in good shape with the occasional thin section, but really playable overall. Rough was not penal, but a little dried out but still thick enough to be considered rough. Some areas of course well off the fairways were dried out entirely and there are a lot of mulch areas that you should avoid at all costs. Was only in one bunker all day but it was also playable but hardly the fluffy stuff. Tee boxes were all very serviceable and no big issues stand out in my memory.

Hot day and it would have been a good one to see some cart service, however none was around all day. There is however a very convenient snack shop between the second green and third tee box and again when you make the turn. When conditions are good at Lakewood, it enhances the layout without a doubt. I would definitely play here again soon if the conditions stay this good.

Played an early Friday round at the 'Wood, PoP quick at 3.5 hrs, green fee $30 walking. Not alot to add other than the greens were about as good as Poa can get right now. Even #2 & 3 which have had ... Continue »

Played an early Friday round at the 'Wood, PoP quick at 3.5 hrs, green fee $30 walking. Not alot to add other than the greens were about as good as Poa can get right now. Even #2 & 3 which have had issues in the past were just about perfect. No bunker maintenance today, so they were wet and lumpy. Fairways and tee boxes were getting ready to mow but we were out too early to get that benefit. Recommended for no frills golf. Oh, the big lake was very low and the smell of turtle dung was nearly overwhelming on the 12th green. Hope they fill it back up soon. BTW: I wish I was posting a round at Spyglass again like Johnny and Sixpez. I might have driven all the way back up to Monterey if Alex invited me :-)

Looks like a lot of GK golfers on Lakewood recently! Played on Saturday, June 2. 5:36 am tee time. Our fivesome (3 walkers, 2 riders) got around in 4 hours. RDDenn summed up the course conditions ... Continue »

Looks like a lot of GK golfers on Lakewood recently! Played on Saturday, June 2. 5:36 am tee time. Our fivesome (3 walkers, 2 riders) got around in 4 hours. RDDenn summed up the course conditions nicely. However, I would say that the front 9 bunkers SUCKED. RDDenn was being kind in his assessment. The back 9 bunkers (yes, sadly, I played out of almost ALL of the bunkers on the course!) were in much better condition than the front 9 bunkers. As RDDenn reported, the blue tees were WAY back. Other than the front 9 bunkers, the course is in EXCELLENT shape and a joy to play right now.

Not much more to add to RDDenn’s review. The course was in great shape; just wish the POP would have been a little better. Gotta expect that on a weekend after 8am at Lakewood though.

Not much more to add to RDDenn’s review. The course was in great shape; just wish the POP would have been a little better. Gotta expect that on a weekend after 8am at Lakewood though.

Played a GK12 Cup match with golfereric420 today, teeing off at about 8:20, 20 minutes late. The POP was slow, as expected, with the front being played in about 2:40. The back was faster but still a... Continue »

Played a GK12 Cup match with golfereric420 today, teeing off at about 8:20, 20 minutes late. The POP was slow, as expected, with the front being played in about 2:40. The back was faster but still at a little over 5 hour pace.

The course is in good shape overall, especially the greens. They were running medium fast and generally true. They held shots well. The highlight of the course.

The fairways were generally lush. There were some drier spots but I did not see any bare spots. The rough was inconsistent with some thick areas, some that was longer than the fairways but not bad to hit from, and some bare areas. The bunkers looked good but I found the sand layer was not very thick. They were okay to hit from but it was close.

My peeve was some of the blue markers were all the way back on the rocks, which is the black tee position. I have found that seems to happen on Sundays. The course can stretch to 7000 yards at the tips and plays longer with wet kikuyu. It is not conducive to a good pace of play to have weekend warriors playing from that far back. Two of the par 3s were playing over 220 yards. A small peeve that did not detract from a nice day on the links.

Early Friday round at L-wood today, $35 walking w/small bucket fee, PoP right at 4 hrs. It's a county course, flat and walkable, Kikuyu and other grasses in the fairways, with Poa greens. Nothing sp... Continue »

Early Friday round at L-wood today, $35 walking w/small bucket fee, PoP right at 4 hrs. It's a county course, flat and walkable, Kikuyu and other grasses in the fairways, with Poa greens. Nothing spectacular but relatively inexpensive golf and decent conditions. But play early or suffer as roarksown1 did according to the previous review, cuz it can get crowded here and PoP can skyrocket as it is a hackers haven.

Greens rolled okay, medium speed, true and very quick downhill. Bunkers have great sand but were not conditioned today so lots of foot prints. Greens had a few unrepaired ball marks, too, so you get the drift. Simple and easy but still a fun round as there are a few water features and tree lined fairways to keep you honest.

Also, the clubhouse remodel is complete and it really does impress with outdoor seating and an open aire atmosphere. I'm sure it's to generate revenue for receptions and other gatherings, but nice to see our tax dollars going to work. Somehow, I'm guessing we have Len Kennett and Don Knabe to thank for that. Recommended.