Played Santa Anita on February 19, two days after very heavy rain storms throughout the week. Almost canceled our tournament scheduled for that day, but since the predicted rain moved out of the area... Continue »

Played Santa Anita on February 19, two days after very heavy rain storms throughout the week. Almost canceled our tournament scheduled for that day, but since the predicted rain moved out of the area, we went ahead and played. It was very cold, but believe it or not, the course played very well. Not one bit of mud, no standing water, truly amazing after all the rain that we had. This is the course to play in the midst of our winter weather. Due to change in management, the pro shop was almost empty as they were getting ready for new merchandise to arrive. Much kudos to Daniel in the pro shop -- in spite of all the interruptions, he was so pleasant, so patient, wonderful customer service!

Had a mid-day doctor’s appointment today (3/1) over in Duarte and decided to play a very early round on one of my favorite muni’s. This was my second time here since they turned over the management t... Continue »

Had a mid-day doctor’s appointment today (3/1) over in Duarte and decided to play a very early round on one of my favorite muni’s. This was my second time here since they turned over the management to another vendor. The clubhouse house has changed. It’s pretty much empty of items for sale. Creepy actually compared to the way it used to be. Not crowded at all. My God, I remember SA always having a crowd waiting to tee off. Regardless, the starter got me out with a twosome around 6:25. Nice guys but they seemed to keep to themselves talking as they were walking along. Was also hoping to have a nice breakfast but the restaurant was closed and had a termite tent over it. Not what I wanted to see. The rain has really helped this course. Very lush. Even the rough which was bone dry the last time I was here, was thick and lush. The tee boxes have improved. The fairways however needed to be cut. Lush and thick and coupled with the morning dew, we got very little roll out. Sand traps were hit and miss. I was in a couple on the front 9 and they were great. Back 9 a different story. Rock hard underneath a very thin layer of soft sand. The greens, aye yai, yai! What in the world has happened to these greens?? Very chewed up, bumpy and not very green. Some were blotchy (is that a word for greens?). Bumpy rolls, balls never staying on line, terrible! Also, not holding any shots. SA has never been noted for their greens but this is not very good at all. Too bad because the rest of the course is coming back real nicely. I hope they get this under control because I would still like to call this one of my favorite muni's! :-)

Played with my monthly group at (supposedly) 9am on Saturday, 1/7/16. I say supposedly because the course was jacking another tournament of 5somes out ahead of us and our first group started about 20 ... Continue »

Played with my monthly group at (supposedly) 9am on Saturday, 1/7/16. I say supposedly because the course was jacking another tournament of 5somes out ahead of us and our first group started about 20 minutes late – then we had the usual 5.5-hour Saturday round. I read that the place changed ownership/management recently and the shop is undergoing renovation (almost totally cleaned out) and they looked short-staffed (no starter, one person in the shop, one overworked cart guy, no marshal). We were worried about the rain, but it stopped sprinkling about the time we teed off, it was so warm that I was shedding clothing as the front nine progressed, and I actually put some sunscreen on as we made the turn! Very little breeze today as well, which probably contributed to the warm conditions.

The course was wet but playable in all aspects. We played LCP everywhere except hazards so I didn’t rate the round. Fairways and rough had a lot of mud throughout as a result of all the worm castings pushed up after the recent rains, so LCP was welcome. There were no cart restrictions, although some small areas were roped off and we tried to stay out of the deeper swales.

Greens were well-drained, very firm, and held only well-struck shots. I didn’t note very many unrepaired ball marks, which were fairly small. They rolled well at medium-fast speeds. Fairway conditions ranged from lush to clumpy to scattered bare spots to large bare areas; there are many unfilled divots in both fairways and rough. Rough was generally short, but wet/long in swale areas. Most players here apparently play the blue tees – with the wet conditions, all the blue teeing areas were very torn up even at 0930, and par 3s were especially damaged. A large number of the tees were sloping to one side, and in some cases I really had to hunt for a level spot.

The course offers plenty of water fountains, but there is no cart girl – there’s a snack bar at the turn. The range is on mats. The carts are basic – no GPS, no cooler, no club cleaner; most holes have small colored markers at 100, 150, and 200 yards COG. The sand bottles on our cart were empty at the start, but all the par 3s had dry sand containers on them (but players had obviously NOT used them on those torn-up tees!).

Played yesterday and POP was a nice 3.5 hours (better than 11/22). Still not much improvement in the course. More and more trees are coming down and being trimmed. Greens seem fast and slow and that's... Continue »

Played yesterday and POP was a nice 3.5 hours (better than 11/22). Still not much improvement in the course. More and more trees are coming down and being trimmed. Greens seem fast and slow and that's because they are not 100% green (still "blotchy"). Also, something I experienced yesterday but not on the 22nd, if you miss some of the greens, you can end up in some pretty ugly locations. This is due (IMO) to the dryness of the course and the many slopes around the greens. Customer service is excellent. Fairways playable with good/bad lies. Bunkers fine. Tee boxes OK. If you need a place to play, then you might find the course acceptable? If you are looking for great conditions, this is not what you are going to find (but for $12 walking I can live with that). Personally, I think I will wait until spring to go back. As I said previously. If the same group who fixed Los Amigos can bring back Santa Anita, after what appears to be years of neglect by previous management, then I support them 100%.

With the recent rain, I decided to try S A as no recent reviews in over a month? As many have said, new management who also run Los Amigos and I believe Eagle Glen (?) have taken over. Customer servi... Continue »

With the recent rain, I decided to try S A as no recent reviews in over a month? As many have said, new management who also run Los Amigos and I believe Eagle Glen (?) have taken over. Customer service young lady was formerly from L Amigos and as efficient here as she was there (nice). Got right out and was a little concerned as it took some time to play # 1. But after that, even while waiting on some holes (mostly the par 3's as they are long) still played in 4 hours. Course seems to be coming along fine. Tee boxes still need some grass, but I had no issues. Fairways, while appearing thin, still provided good lies all afternoon (some patches but no issues) and with some more rain/water and attention, they will be very nice. Rough was between 1/4 and 1/2 inch, depending upon where you looked? But the fairways are really nice (and wide) and hitting the fairway is not that hard (IMO). Greens appeared to be "blotchy" and by that I mean some areas had not fully grown in. But for the most part, the greens were fine, they just putted slow (6-7) and one just needed to adapt (and yes some players do not repair ball marks). But I feel that over time they will be very nice. Sand traps (and I was in 2) all were just fine (and even raked by previous players - wow). I saw a lot of trees, either already down and many more marked for either removal or trimming, so that more light can get into the course (you can see that the trees have been neglected for far too long). As many have commented over the past year Los Amigos has been transformed into a decent and playable golf course. I hope and suspect, such will happen to Santa Anita. It really is a great course, being that the fairways are not totally flat, it has decent length and the greens are elevated (some not all) and they could be really great greens, given the proper attention. I will go back in a few weeks to see if my assessment is correct. I would recommend playing here w/o any reservation.

Played here Tues 10/11
Course was in decent shape, greens have not been punched yet. Under new management. Same company that owns Los Amigos.

Customer service was good, got us out ahead of time. ... Continue »

Played here Tues 10/11
Course was in decent shape, greens have not been punched yet. Under new management. Same company that owns Los Amigos.

Customer service was good, got us out ahead of time. Tee boxes were decent, playable. Fairways were beginning to go dormant, and had some thin spots. Bunkers were thin no sand on couple I found. Greens rolled nice, some ball marks.

4.5 POP/ Good breakfast sandwich, and cold beer at the 19th w/really crispy Onion rings.

I played Santa Anita Friday Sept 2 and have too noticed the change in the management. Noticed a lot of trees were tagged with ribbon so probably planned for thinning/trimming. A lot of the oak trees ... Continue »

I played Santa Anita Friday Sept 2 and have too noticed the change in the management. Noticed a lot of trees were tagged with ribbon so probably planned for thinning/trimming. A lot of the oak trees were tagged. Hope they check with the state before cutting. Someone said rates were increased to $30. When I played I was told my senior rate increased too. Santa Anita is a LA County course. Looking up the rates in the LA County website, the rates were not increased this year and we should not have had to pay more than our usual fee.
During play noticed no maintenance being done on the course. Tee box were not mowed, fairways were spotty and greens were lumpy. Greens were dry at 7:30 a.m. So probably not given their morning watering. Everybody from previous mgmt have gone. This explains the current state of the course. Hope they get new crew in soon.

It's official, Santa Anita has been turned over to a brand new "regime". The rumors turned out to be true about the change of ownership. We quickly found out when we didn't see our old friends Ed or... Continue »

It's official, Santa Anita has been turned over to a brand new "regime". The rumors turned out to be true about the change of ownership. We quickly found out when we didn't see our old friends Ed or Gary at the starters window. Found a lone stranger/starter in an empty golf shop who could only take cash and a closed snack window/coffee shop. (Rate has increased to $30) This turnover probably explains the recent downturn in conditions for SA. I was told that his management group also runs Los Amigos and Eagle Glenn, so I'm hoping they can turn this place back around because the current around course conditions are far below par. Our group noticed that many trees were clearly "marked" for something, I hope they don't do anything too drastic. I'm willing to be patient and give these new guys time to bring Santa Anita (a former Southland Golf Course of the Year) back to what once was a favorite course where I grew to learn and love the game ...and hopefully make it even better!

At long last, after years of saying 'I really should go play Santa Anita,' I finally went and did it with three friends on Saturday. I had always heard very complimentary stories about this old time t... Continue »

At long last, after years of saying 'I really should go play Santa Anita,' I finally went and did it with three friends on Saturday. I had always heard very complimentary stories about this old time track and, while conditions did not match the reputation, I could definitely see how this would be a really fun course to play when it's in top-notch shape.

Unfortunately, for now, it's far from it. The greens were pretty good on the front nine but really took a nosedive later in the day and were bumpy, burned out and difficult to get any consistency out of putting. Ball marks galore, as well.

The fairways had some decent coverage depending on the hole, but there are far too many areas cleverly disguised as grass from a distance, but upon closer inspection it's really just some type of weed growing out of ample patches of dirt just underneath - in other words, expect to find yourself with some terrible lies.

The sand in the bunkers was okay, so no real complaints there, but the tee boxes were well chewed up and the rough was a hodge-podge of thin, thick and dirt and bare. Really did not know what you would find each and every time you hit a ball out of the fairway (and even sometimes when you did).

That all being said, the track itself is actually a very fun design and layout. It's not a hilly course, but it makes up for that with some pretty interesting undulations in the fairways and a few nice green complexes to challenge every skill level. But sadly it could not be enjoyed to the fullest in the current conditions.

We played the white tees for the first time around and it was $37 walking, which is a fair price for this place. For a crowded course, the driving range doesn't have enough stalls to accommodate all of Santa Anita's guests, but the diner and bar in the clubhouse are nice and serviceable.

So I will definitely play this track again when I see that the course conditions have improved. I understood (rumor perhaps?) that the folks who fixed up Los Amigos a few years back will be working to restore Santa Anita, so if that happens, I'm not going to hesitate to make the drive and see it at its best.