Finally made it back to Rio Hondo this weekend as it was the location for my monthly golf group's round in February. We played from the white tees and had four groups go out there with a 10:40 tee tim... Continue »

Finally made it back to Rio Hondo this weekend as it was the location for my monthly golf group's round in February. We played from the white tees and had four groups go out there with a 10:40 tee time on Saturday.

The driving range is open but the practice putting area behind it is not. Why I have no idea.

I was really looking forward to getting back to Rio Hondo as I always have fond memories of a fun, challenging course with some of the better Muni conditions you'll find in Southern California. Sadly that was not the case this weekend.

The fairway have decent coverage but the lies in so many areas were paper thin, and it appears that they have painted some of the fairways to look more lush than they really are? I don't mind that if the surfaces are still good to hit shots from, but that is not the current case. The rough was in good shape, as were the bunkers - very nice, white fluffy stuff greenside. Tee boxes were a mixed bag but mostly of the beat-up variety.

Greens were fairly good but too many ball marks and inconsistent speeds. There aren't really any tricked out greens at Rio Hondo, but lots of bumps and those pesky ball marks make long lag putts a real adventure. Speeds were medium fast but varied from green to green. They are playable but I've seen them much better here.

POP was quite awful as we came in a little over five hours and waited on many holes. It was a very crowded day though so we can let a little of that slide. Cart service came around once I believe but there's a very convenient snack shop at the turn. We paid $60 for the round + cart which is normally very fair here but perhaps a touch over the top right now, but I would come back again expecting to see improvements as the weather improves.

Despite the less-than-spectacular conditions, I think Rio Hondo remains one of the region's best Muni courses and expect they'll have it up to snuff in no time.