Played today on 5/14, mother's day with a mid-morning tee time. It was very quiet today. Found out after I made my tee time that the greens were aerated about 5 days ago. Probably another reason wh... Continue »

Played today on 5/14, mother's day with a mid-morning tee time. It was very quiet today. Found out after I made my tee time that the greens were aerated about 5 days ago. Probably another reason why it wasn't that busy here. POP was around 2 hours to play 9. We hardly had to wait while we played.

The fairways and rough were fairly lush. There were some yellow spots here and there but you can still play. Tee boxes were well covered. As I had mentioned earlier, the greens were recently punched. Greens were very sandy with rather large punch holes. Probably should wait a few more weeks for the greens to recover. I noticed with all the sand on the greens that it made for a rather slow and bumpy putts. Oh well, it was just a nice day to be out playing and not a good day to putt.

Teed off today, 2/23, some time after noon as a single within a five-some, after waiting two groups worth as a walkup. Teeing grounds were generally pretty level with good coverage on par fours and ... Continue »

Teed off today, 2/23, some time after noon as a single within a five-some, after waiting two groups worth as a walkup. Teeing grounds were generally pretty level with good coverage on par fours and good enough on the par threes. Fairways were lush with the length equivalent to light rough in many places, closer to fairway length in others. The rough was thick and impactful with a 50/50 chance you'd get a ball sitting up or an area where the ball sat down enough that you could walk right by it or have to punch out. I only saw one patch of actual standing water, and there were areas distributed around that were juicy/muddy under the grass, but these were mostly off the fairways and the exception. One exception was the ninth tee was moved up about 40 yards with the regular tee boxes roped off, probably because of over-saturation. I was in one bunker and the sand was OK, on the firm side, but the bunker could have used an overall grooming. The greens continue to surprise me with their medium quick pace, reasonably clean surface and tracking — nice, actually. There were indications of some kind of slit cuts that I assume were aeration, but they were subtle, with no impact on putting. Pace was slow but so was our group, so not too much waiting. It was a brisk, breezy, beautiful, cloudless day and the group was pretty amiable. The course is very lush and will be pretty nice when it dries out a little more and gets a general mowing. It was occasionally moist and frequently shaggy today, but still quite enjoyable.

I knew I was going to be on the West Side on an errand today, so decided to utilize my LA City golf card last night to reserve a tee time. The options at my first choice, Rancho Park, were discouragin... Continue »

I knew I was going to be on the West Side on an errand today, so decided to utilize my LA City golf card last night to reserve a tee time. The options at my first choice, Rancho Park, were discouraging, so for simplicity and scheduling sake, I opted for a 10:00 at Penmar. I'm glad I made the reservation because it was about as busy as I've seen it. Everything was five-somes, as per usual, and the 10:00 slot actually teed off about 20 minutes late, but it was nice to know a time was secured when I lined up to a busy check in. Anyone who played today knows what a perfectly gorgeous and surprisingly warm golf day it was, with minimal winds in Venice, mainly from the east. The course, pretty straight forward to begin with, was rendered just a tad more benign with most of the tee boxes moved up to the vicinity of the red zone while most of the regular teeing grounds are recovering. The active teeing areas were generally pretty level with good coverage. Except for the first hole (for some), driver could still be pulled out at the usual opportunities. If you are looking for the "big course" experience at Penmar, you're in the wrong place anyway. The fairways here normally tend towards lush with the marine air, and they fit that description today — amazing, given how much traffic the place gets. The rough could be punitive in places, but was generally green and more often offered a good shot at recovery if you weren't obstructed. I missed the bunkers, some of which need some clean up around the edges, but seemed to perform adequately from what I observed. The greens were the surprise of the day — tightly mowed, the surface was in as nice a shape and as quick as I've seen it here — probably a brisk medium quick. I used a lot of the same words back in June when I last reviewed the place, but I think the greens are even a bit cleaner now. Pace was slow (always expected here) but generally steady and we got around in just about 2.5 hours. If it matters to you, call ahead to see if they have opened up the teeing grounds. Otherwise, and minus the holiday week crowds, the course is in as prime condition as one can reasonably expect from Penmar.

Played on Saturday 8/27 with a mid-morning tee time as part of a foursome. Pace of play was about 2 hours and 15 minutes to play 9. Not too bad, we had to wait to hit on a few par 3s.

Course cond... Continue »

Played on Saturday 8/27 with a mid-morning tee time as part of a foursome. Pace of play was about 2 hours and 15 minutes to play 9. Not too bad, we had to wait to hit on a few par 3s.

Course conditions were pretty good for this time of year. Tee boxes were fairly level with good coverage except for 8th hole tee box. I don't know why this tee box was really beaten up. Played from the white tees today. Was a sign on hole #8 to keep your walking carts off the 8th tee box. Maybe with the trees near the 8th tee box kept grass from fully growing in.

Fairways had very good coverage. Tho' there were bare or yellow spots here and there but the fairways looked fairly green from tee to green. I didn't land in any sand this time so I can't comment on the sand in the bunkers. Saw when we were practicing on the practice putting green that it was recently punched, which I didn't know about beforehand. Looked like the greens were recently punched. The holes were very tiny and there was some sand on the greens. When we putted on the greens, we noticed that the balls were bouncing a little bit. You can still putt on it. Punched greens didn't really affect your putting that much.

There are no riding carts here on this golf course. You can rent carts or bring one from home or carry your bags. Course is around 2,500 yards. There were just two sets of tees today - gold - front, white - back. There is a snack bar here but no driving range here. I like coming here for a little cooler weather than the SFV but it can get a little humid here. Will be back again.

Stopped by Penmar Sunday, 6/12, a little after twelve to take advantage of the weekend senior rate while I was running an errand on the West side. Got out in the second group. Conditions were a little... Continue »

Stopped by Penmar Sunday, 6/12, a little after twelve to take advantage of the weekend senior rate while I was running an errand on the West side. Got out in the second group. Conditions were a little mixed but generally good. Tee boxes generally level with good coverage. The par-three 8th comes to mind as being more chewed up. A couple of fairways had some thinner discolored area, but most of them were in pretty good shape and more lush than any fairways I've been on in a while. Missed the bunkers, so no real comment there. By Penmar standards, the greens were as quick as I've seen them (medium quick). A couple had isolated damaged spots while others had some fungus that made them a bit splotchy or bumpy, but most of them were pretty clean. The group was congenial, the weather pleasant and not too windy. Got around in something over 2.5 hours. For what it is, better than average conditions.

Just a quick early 9 this Sunday and Penmar fit the bill. Best shape course has been in in a long time.

Greens are finally back in good shape and actually had some speed to them today and ran very ... Continue »

Just a quick early 9 this Sunday and Penmar fit the bill. Best shape course has been in in a long time.

Greens are finally back in good shape and actually had some speed to them today and ran very true. This is a very nice change to last few visits. Fairways also have good coverage right now, and the rough is thick and penalizing.

Tee boxes are a bit beaten up for sure but must be hard with all the traffic this place gets. Bunkers I saw looked a little thin and could use a fresh layer of sand.

On top of the very good current conditions, the POP was actually quite good for a Sunday at a little over 2 hours. Why? Apparently they're now stretching out tee times from 6 min intervals to 8, and the difference is noticeable - at least it was today.

Was fun tying best ever round at Penmar in these conditions. Long may it continue.

Just out for a quick 9 at Penmar today and the greens are in the worst shape I've seen in a long time. Dried out, bumpy, slow - and those are the good ones. Fairways are in mostly good condition and t... Continue »

Just out for a quick 9 at Penmar today and the greens are in the worst shape I've seen in a long time. Dried out, bumpy, slow - and those are the good ones. Fairways are in mostly good condition and there's plenty of coverage in the rough as well. Tee boxes a bit chewed up, especially on the par 3s. Decent POP after the group in front of us got the message to hurry it up with an open hole in front of them. Got done in right over 2 hours. Squirrels were curiously mellow and non-abrasive today ... not sure what that's all about.

Played Saturday 8/29 with early afternoon tee time. It took us about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours to play 9. It was a little slow playing here. Had to wait on almost every hole. Was really backed up on al... Continue »

Played Saturday 8/29 with early afternoon tee time. It took us about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours to play 9. It was a little slow playing here. Had to wait on almost every hole. Was really backed up on all the par 3 holes. Walking only on this course (no riding carts here). Can get slow playing here as they sometimes do fivesomes here.

Course conditions were fair with the ongoing drought. But the greens were in really sad shape. Greens were very patchy - part grass, part brown grass, part area in need of repair. Greens were so hard that I couldn't see my ball marks on the greens. Putts were very bumpy and very slow. Tee boxes were just ok tho' some of the tee boxes were very hard. I had a hard time putting in my tees on some of the tee boxes. Fairways had decent coverage but there were bare spots here and there. It's still ok to play here.

I don't mind playing here as the weather is always cooler than playing in the SFV. Friends showed us where Harrison Ford's plane crash landed four months ago not too far away from the 8th tee. Glad Harrison Ford survived plane crash.

Went over to the West side with my buddy for a lesson with Josh Alpert over at The Lakes at El Segundo but swung by Penmar first to see where our issue on the course lie before consulting the swing ma... Continue »

Went over to the West side with my buddy for a lesson with Josh Alpert over at The Lakes at El Segundo but swung by Penmar first to see where our issue on the course lie before consulting the swing master. Traffic was bad and time was short, so we only got in five holes before we had to leave. The short summary is that while I noticed a touch of drought dryness and a few scruffy areas, the course was generally the same old, generally playable, Penmar. The real notable exception was arguably the worst shape I've ever seen the greens. Some kind of verticut to the surface, very tight grass surface with little furrows of dirt in the verticut grooves. With the tight surface you would expect some quickness, but there was a lot of deflection and bumpiness that slowed the ball as well as messed up the line. They generally seemed dried out. They need to hydrate and heal a bit. Still a nice place for a casual little round, but the expectations need to be a bit lower than usual. Still hope to get the full nine in next time out, but I'm not over this way often.