Weekend round back at Rio Hondo this weekend with an old friend and we both walked, playing from the blue tees. Made the booking online with cart only, but the starter was a pro and gave us the walkin... Continue »

Weekend round back at Rio Hondo this weekend with an old friend and we both walked, playing from the blue tees. Made the booking online with cart only, but the starter was a pro and gave us the walking rate instead of the online price - good customer service there.

I've reviewed Rio Hondo a million times so I won't get too much into the course layout or other extracurriculars, but current course conditions are worth a closer look.

The greens have recovered well from the last punch a month or so ago and are running quite nicely right now. Putts hold their lines well, approach shots hold the green, and the speeds (medium fast) are consistent from hole to hole. A few too many pitch marks to be fair, but I fixed up as many as I could find.

Fairways are mostly in good shape but there are some holes that are severely flirting with 'thin.' The rough is also a mixed bag of everything imaginable - stick to the fairways - easier said than done on this narrow track. Bunkers were okay - a little thin for my liking but played better than they actually look. Tee boxes are feeling the heat but nothing too awful to cry about in this post. The course is definitely playable but I've certainly seen it more lush than at the moment.

POP was not great but we were paired with a twosome and one of them was most certainly a beginner so I think we were mainly the reason for the slow-ish play, but it wasn't too bad in the long run as we finished at just under five hours ... I suppose that's not bad for a Sunday round in LA.

Overall it was a good day for golf (despite playing atrociously) as the skies never parted, the sun kept us warm and the course entertained us with all its gifts. I will be back I'm sure.