I was invited by a friend to join regular playing group for Saturday, 8/10, morning tee times starting at 10:00. Apparently this group attendance varies anywhere from about five to 15 on a given outin... Continue »

I was invited by a friend to join regular playing group for Saturday, 8/10, morning tee times starting at 10:00. Apparently this group attendance varies anywhere from about five to 15 on a given outing, and in this case we had six, starting out as a couple of threesomes. The course was in good shape overall. Teeing grounds nice and level with enough coverage, fairways were generally well covered, a little tight and correspondingly, with better than average rollout. Rough usually had coverage and could play anywhere from an easy out to thicker and costly. I was in the bunkers too much and found them particularly challenging. The surface tended towards clumpy and a little crusty over a softer base. I can't remember playing conditions quite like it and had trouble figuring them out. The greens were in pretty nice condition as to surface, running right around medium speed that felt slower because they were clean and looked like they should have rolled a little quicker. So conditions-wise, so far so good. The big negative was the pace. Slow from the get go and throughout. So much so that for about six holes in the middle of the round, the two groups decided to combine as a six-some until the marshals eventually caught on and had has us revert to two groups. It really made no difference. After a lot of waiting and, having an early evening engagement to get to, I had to quit after 17 which I never would have anticipated with our start time. It would have been at least 5.75 heading towards 6.0 hours to finish out 18 and it was the longest round I've played in years. There were marshals patrolling, but there was nowhere to speed things up and it makes me wonder what happened earlier to set things up this way. Cart service came around regularly and the staff was otherwise pleasant. Nice as conditions were, the thought of playing this course on a weekend again now leaves me a little twitchy.

Played today @ 5:30 (yes 1st hole was a tad dark). Had the course to ourselves (of course) and had an enjoyable round of golf. Course was clean and being cleaned, while we played. So tee boxes, fairwa... Continue »

Played today @ 5:30 (yes 1st hole was a tad dark). Had the course to ourselves (of course) and had an enjoyable round of golf. Course was clean and being cleaned, while we played. So tee boxes, fairways (good lies but no roll as they were wet) were in good shape. Bunkers were wet and not very playable, with no soft sand (need work). Rough outside of fairways and greens (though wet) was playable. Greens were not as good as last week, as they were too wet. One thing I have found on many courses this time of year with the heat, most courses will play wet. Unfortunately, something you have to deal with. Customer service at all levels, excellent.

Out early, done early. 2.5 H POP today. Course is in the best shape I have seen it in a long time. Tee boxes all good. Fairways were clean and provided good lies and decent roll, all round. Rough outs... Continue »

Out early, done early. 2.5 H POP today. Course is in the best shape I have seen it in a long time. Tee boxes all good. Fairways were clean and provided good lies and decent roll, all round. Rough outside of fairways and around greens, was about 1/2" and not too difficult to advance the ball/or find it. Traps were all playable. Greens were chipping/putting just great, with good speed, all round (and devoid of divots). Great customer service at check in.

Early AM done in 3 H. Course is green, but it was wet from watering and overnight dampness. Lot of maintenance this AM and they were aerating the greens (so putting was difficult). Bunkers were dry an... Continue »

Early AM done in 3 H. Course is green, but it was wet from watering and overnight dampness. Lot of maintenance this AM and they were aerating the greens (so putting was difficult). Bunkers were dry and crusty, lot of complaints. Tee boxes were being cut ahead of us (nice). Rough was wet and sticky. Check in great as usual. If not for the aerating of the greens, round would have been very nice.

Nice to get back to Rio Hondo. I've always enjoyed this course, felt it has been under rated. Good solid layout, enough of a challenge to keep your interest, but not so hard as to beat you up. (Exc... Continue »

Nice to get back to Rio Hondo. I've always enjoyed this course, felt it has been under rated. Good solid layout, enough of a challenge to keep your interest, but not so hard as to beat you up. (Except for the par three 14th when you play it from all the way back) Has a nice mix of birdie holes, but also holes you're thrilled to walk off with a par.

Not a lot to add to 24hourgolf's review, except I found the rough to be more difficult than just "sticky" Maybe I just drew poor lies? Greens rolled really well, fairways also very nice, with just a few areas needing attention.

Every time I play here I think about how much better this course is from the original time I played it in the early 70's. Great renovation.

Out today POP 3 H. Course has improved since last week. Fairways were clean, dry and provided good roll and lies all round. Tee boxes were all clean and no issues. Rough around the greens and outside ... Continue »

Out today POP 3 H. Course has improved since last week. Fairways were clean, dry and provided good roll and lies all round. Tee boxes were all clean and no issues. Rough around the greens and outside the fairways was 1/2 " and sticky. Traps were all clean and very playable. Greens were clean and chipped/putted very nicely and had good speed. Check in smooth and courteous, as always. Great playing conditions at present. Big tournament next Monday 6/24 and course closed to outside play.

Out early today and done in 3 H. Course was in decent shape. Tee boxes had good coverage. Fairways are green, with good lies, but not much roll, due to wetness (better by back 9). Traps were fine (in ... Continue »

Out early today and done in 3 H. Course was in decent shape. Tee boxes had good coverage. Fairways are green, with good lies, but not much roll, due to wetness (better by back 9). Traps were fine (in one) and no issues. Rough is low and not penal. Greens were in good shape, though slow, due to dampness and watering (never got faster even on back 9). Customer service excellent at check in.

Walked Rio Hondo today from the blue tees for our GK cup match play today. $50 is just about right for the Hondo in its current condition. Started off on the double deck driving range, conveniently ne... Continue »

Walked Rio Hondo today from the blue tees for our GK cup match play today. $50 is just about right for the Hondo in its current condition. Started off on the double deck driving range, conveniently next to the putting area and first tee.

Greens have healed pretty nicely from recent aeration and show no signs of the last punch. Speed was generally medium fast and not a lot of ball marks to complain about which was great. Tee boxes were mostly level with a few outliers less so, while the bunkers had good quality sand.

Fairways certainly looked pretty good all around, but while there were definitely plenty of good lies to be found, thin ones were also readily available. Some areas of rough were somewhat thick, but most of it was more than playable.

Fun but flat layout with many narrow, tree-lined fairways and a good number of water features to tease and torment. Blue tees were as far back as I can ever remember here. It actually made a relatively short course have some teeth in the distance sense. POP was a bit on the slow side with a ladies tournament just ahead of us, but because of our super tight and fun match play event, I’m sure the foursome behind us felt the same way.

I play this course monthly and unfortunately they had just punched and sanded the greens which made them slow and bumpy. The biggest complaint is the incredibly thin and patchy fairways. With all the ... Continue »

I play this course monthly and unfortunately they had just punched and sanded the greens which made them slow and bumpy. The biggest complaint is the incredibly thin and patchy fairways. With all the rain it surprises me that that they are still so bad. With the slow pace of play (5somes allowed) and the cost to play, might as well drive down the street to Los Amigos for the same experience at half the price.