I may be a bit unfair to the course, as its my favorite in Long Beach (I won't even play the others), and has impressed me in the past with its good maintenance on a city-owned/American Golf managed b... Continue »

I may be a bit unfair to the course, as its my favorite in Long Beach (I won't even play the others), and has impressed me in the past with its good maintenance on a city-owned/American Golf managed budget. However, I've noticed that the last few weeks the conditions there have deteriorated dramatically. I originally thought that the rain put it in bad shape and its been slow to recover, but now am thinking/realizing that they're basically putting ZERO effort into the maintenance of the course - it seems they're spending all their money on the never-to-be-completed maintenance building, and the endless trimming (and even complete removal) of trees. But let's get specific:

This course always has issues w/ the rain. They love to say that the water drains well there, but really it does not. When the rain came back in December, it showed how thin the fairways were as the entire course was completely muddy. Since they don't ever give 'cart-path-only' rules, all the cart traffic on the mud just made it all the worse. And the course has NEVER recovered from it. Hole 2, for example, is a mess about 200 yards off the tee just past the first fairway bunker on the left. The mud tracks from the carts has dried into a large patch of dirt.

The fairway grass around the entire course is hardly green, mostly brown. And the number of divots in the fairways is absolutely ridiculous!

Finally, what's up with all the tree cutting? While I can understand pruning or trimming the trees, I see several are being completely removed. I really hope this isn't part of some effort to make the course easier, as the course already borders between easy and moderate. I've noticed that most of the time the blue tees are at the white stones and the white tees nearly at the red stones, and has been like that for most of the year, thus I've always been suspicious that the course attempts to make itself easier for the lessor players that insist on playing further back than they should. (Does the course even own the black tee markers?)

Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE skylinks. I'm a member of the men's club, and frequent visitor (range, putting green, course, 19th hole; 3-6 times a week). In the past the place has been quite green and well taken care of. But I'd say when the greens were punched last September (or October?), the course maintenance has gone downhill. I kept expecting the course conditions to improve after that but they haven't. I played twice last week, and finally got myself riled up and am hoping that someone from Skylinks reads this or gets the message elsewhere. Hopefully more people have made comments directly to them. The advice isn't much: BUY FERTILIZER, WATER THE COURSE MORE!

Good luck! Cause as it is now, when my weekly itch to play comes, I'll be looking elsewhere this time, until I notice the conditions improve.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach California Golf Course Reviews

Played Skylinks with an 1130 tee time on a very busy Thursday. Groups were lined up 4 and 5 deep to tee off, so we knew the round was going to be long and we were ready for it and we were not disappo... Continue »

Played Skylinks with an 1130 tee time on a very busy Thursday. Groups were lined up 4 and 5 deep to tee off, so we knew the round was going to be long and we were ready for it and we were not disappointed, it was a 5+ hour round. The greens were beat up because of all the traffic the course was getting and the recent rain did not help either- This course does not drain well at all and the fairways and greens show this. The fairways were wet and had some areas that carts should not have been allowed to go and the course will need a few weeks to heal from this. We saw a tree trimming truck with a wood chipper attached to it spin its wheels in a very wet area behind one of the greens and that spot will be damaged for a long time to come. The course is a fun layout and has some great par 3's and some fun doglegs and I am sure that it would be more fun with better conditions.

Skylinks is usually the last of the Long Beach courses I choose to play because it is a bit overpriced in my opinion. Well, I played there Tuesday 13 Nov, and had a good round the course was in decen... Continue »

Skylinks is usually the last of the Long Beach courses I choose to play because it is a bit overpriced in my opinion. Well, I played there Tuesday 13 Nov, and had a good round the course was in decent shape even with recent aeration etc. However, we had two groups (possibly 2 five-somes) playing in front of us, they were terribly slow, we waited a minimum of 5 minutes for them before each shot, entire holes open in front of them and groups stacking up behind us, no "ready golf" was in evidence. After giving them ample time to speed up we requested a Ranger. The Ranger showed up, very useless, he said these same guys are "always" slow, we asked him to do his job and request they speed up, he did not seemed interested in doing much. He actually said if he stays after them to speed up they may call me a "racist," give me a break! I mentioned that since this seems to be a regular problem, and I heard these guys on the range say they had a time the following week, that perhaps they should be in jeopardy of losing their regular time if they cannot speed play up. The Ranger said that would be a decision up to the General Manager so the Ranger was no help.
The round took 5 hours, 10 minutes.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

I played on 10-31 during twighlight for a $29 rate. Pace of play was slow, about 5 hours, but that was expected for the time of day. The pins were all in front because the backs had been punched wit... Continue »

I played on 10-31 during twighlight for a $29 rate. Pace of play was slow, about 5 hours, but that was expected for the time of day. The pins were all in front because the backs had been punched with small holes the week before. The fronts had been punched about 4 weeks prior. That being said, the greens were still in better condition than some other muni's. They're healing quite well and they rolled medium-fast. My only knock is they were a little bumpy but understandable because of the foot traffic and time of day.

The fairways were firm as usual which allows for drives to roll out quite a bit. Plenty of grass on the fairway so I have no complaints.

The tee boxes were in average shape. You have to be pretty particular to have a problem there as well.

My only real knock is regarding the sand traps, which I happened to find myself in too many of them during this round. The sand is good, plenty deep and it isn't too heavy. But for some reason at this course, people are good about repairing ball marks, but terrible at raking the sand. Deep gouges and footprints all over the place. It left me with a few very less than desirable lies that I feel could have been avoided had a prior golfer just done a better job with a rake, or picked one up at all.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

I played Skylinks on 9/30/2012. Overall this course is in good condition. The layout is pleasing to the eye but is mostly flat with slight elevation changes on only a few holes. The tee boxes and f... Continue »

I played Skylinks on 9/30/2012. Overall this course is in good condition. The layout is pleasing to the eye but is mostly flat with slight elevation changes on only a few holes. The tee boxes and fairways are in decent shape for a public course and the bunkers are in excellent condition with lots of fluffy white sand. There are a few holes with carries over water and a good blend of challenging holes and birdie opportunities. One knock on this course is that the greens aren't in the best of shape right now. There are a few greens that appear to have had disease issues and also some that show the evidence of high traffic. Another negative is that the pace of play was definitely on the slow side. (five and one half hours) I will play here again provided I can get a discounted rate as the standard green fee is a little steep as compared to the other local courses in similar condition.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

Played Skylinks at 1:45pm Thursday. Finished up around 6:30PM. Very slow play, which shouldn't have suprised me since this course always plays very slow.

The course layout has changed since my last... Continue »

Played Skylinks at 1:45pm Thursday. Finished up around 6:30PM. Very slow play, which shouldn't have suprised me since this course always plays very slow.

The course layout has changed since my last visit back in 2011, I like the layout of the holes and the challenge of the course. You definitely have a birdie opportunity on holes 1-3.

Greens are in horrible condition, they are filled with ball marks and just generally rough and not rolling true.

Fairways were in decent condition.

Tee boxes have seen better days, but with patience you can find a good spot to tee your ball up.

I was able to get a tee time on Golfnow for $33 and that was the only saving grace for the day.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

Played 9-2-12
Course has diminished in quality since last time I played about a month ago. Fairways are severely burnt out and greens very bumpy and bare. I was very shocked how the course has gone... Continue »

Played 9-2-12
Course has diminished in quality since last time I played about a month ago. Fairways are severely burnt out and greens very bumpy and bare. I was very shocked how the course has gone downhill so fast. 1 month ago I was excited to come back and now I'll wait a while. Firm up the greens and smooth them out skylinks! come on

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

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Played here Friday. I am still undecided here while the conditions were excellent, the pace of play was TERRIBLE! With a 3PM tee time I expect to finish 18 with the sun still up and finish before or around 7PM. Who was I kidding? I should have realized this after I heard the starter line up 4 groups for the first tee. It literally took 3.5 hours for the front and another 2 hours on the back. Thank goodness groups dropped out otherwise you would find me sleeping under a tree somewhere along hole 16. Needless to say we finished in the dark. And yes I had to use optic balls little help especially when your prescription glasses severely hamper your night vision.

OK done ranting. It would be nice if they improved the frequency of their water stations to at least every three holes. Or at least place them at junctions so multiple holes can enjoy them. Tee boxes are flat, very lush. Fairways are like carpet. Fairway bunkers have steep slopes for fairway bunkers so beware they are after all hazards but the sand is soft and easy to hit out. Greens are in good shape. Once again fellow golfers fix your own divots. If you complain about the greens having pot marks you have only yourself to blame. We are stewards of the golf courses we play so show some respect! Greens are fast, hold their line well and extremely fun to play.

So bottom line, conditions are great but the secret is out and a lot of golfers come out and play. Don't expect fast play. Now would I play here again? Yes with conditions.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews

I played Saturday at about 9am. I got off the waiting list with no problem. Customer service was very good. The course is in really good shape all around. The tee boxes are really nice, and the fairwa... Continue »

I played Saturday at about 9am. I got off the waiting list with no problem. Customer service was very good. The course is in really good shape all around. The tee boxes are really nice, and the fairways are thicker and greener than usual. The greens are smooth and medium-fast, but prone to ball marks if golfers get lazy. Pace of play was reasonable at about 4 1/2 hours. A fun course that's easy to walk.

Skylinks Golf Course Review
Long Beach Golf Course Reviews