One of the best layouts in Los Angeles county and a monster from the tips. This course is what it is on conditions though. Public park conditions but the greens are above average and tough to read wit... Continue »

One of the best layouts in Los Angeles county and a monster from the tips. This course is what it is on conditions though. Public park conditions but the greens are above average and tough to read with mucho break. Please stay off the tips unless you're a 7 or less as it will just eat you up. Play the blues for a good time. This course plays very slow so bring your patience.

Tee time: 9am Saturday 2/1/14
POP: 4:40
Fees: 55 incl cart (I think - had to split cart and pay cash to playing partner)

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I had a good time playing Griffith... Continue »

Tee time: 9am Saturday 2/1/14
POP: 4:40
Fees: 55 incl cart (I think - had to split cart and pay cash to playing partner)

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I had a good time playing Griffith Park on a Saturday. First, get this, they were running early! We teed off 5 mins before scheduled tee time. Second, we finished in under 5 hours. If I play Griffith it's usually Harding because it's almost always faster but my buddy had a later afternoon commitment so we took Wilson as a twosome at 9am. Got paired with a married couple that wasn't very good but picked up when they were hacking around a hole (I have no problem playing with bad players as long as they know they're bad and pick up when necessary).

The greens were quite nice for Griffith. Ran fast and true most of the day. 1-2 club wind out there but we had a great time. Fairways were pretty consistent for this time of year and had no major issue with tee boxes. Rough was patchy and usually resulted in a good lie.

But here's the headline of the day. A guy playing behind us told us, on the traditional 3 group backup on the second tee, that city course play is down. He said you can now play GP and Rancho on the weekends in 5 hours or less. That was huge news to me. I know golf is struggling a bit but I fully plan on trying to play Rancho (tied with Santa Anita for my favorite muni layout) sometime in the very near future. I almost never go near those places on the weekend because of the stupidly long rounds. Didn't see a marshall all day (good since they never enforce anything at city munis) but it seems the traditional waving on Par 3's has gone the way of the dodo. Thank god because it's ALWAYS slowed down play and now instead of constantly slow it's accordion-like (which is much more pleasant to play).

So, for the first and maybe last time ever, I played Wilson in under five hours and couldn't have enjoyed it more unless I actually played good!

Played Wilson in Griffith Park for just the second time on Sunday, January 26. After a big night out in Hollywood decided to try and tame the hangover beast as a single - walking rate of $43. This cou... Continue »

Played Wilson in Griffith Park for just the second time on Sunday, January 26. After a big night out in Hollywood decided to try and tame the hangover beast as a single - walking rate of $43. This course is long for one-year-inners like myself - par 4s that look like par 5s elsewhere, but hey - more golf, right? With the dry California conditions, it's to be expected that the fairways are a little dry but more than playable. Only in a handful of spots did I think I would probably have to move my ball had I landed there. The tee boxes were chewed up good but nothing terrible - just normal for an LA Muni course. Must say I thought the greens were in good shape - running pretty fast and there's some interesting variety in hole locations with many undulating greens - probably the best part of the course, currently. Sand was just so-so. For the same price as the fairly awful Woodley Lakes this is a good deal. You'll use every club in your bag. Unfortunately I left one of mine behind (probably the 9th hole left bunker by the green) so if anyone happens to have found a Callaway Jaws 64 wedge I'd be so appreciative to get it back! As for my round - well, let's just say I didn't play the round of my life, but considering the night before and an annoying pain in my lower left back, I'll live with the poor score. As for POP, I wouldn't say I waited for a long time at any of the holes until the 10th - seems to always back up there as it's a long par 3 and everyone is snacking at the shop until their group is up again. In the end it was about a 5 hour round. I will definitely play here again sometime in the near future.

Wanted to come out here and play the course before they punched the greens this week. Teed off at 8:30, paired with a threesome. Solid 4.5-hour pace, so no complaints there for a weekend morning.

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Wanted to come out here and play the course before they punched the greens this week. Teed off at 8:30, paired with a threesome. Solid 4.5-hour pace, so no complaints there for a weekend morning.

The course was in solid overall condition. Tee boxes a bit lumpy in places, but never had a problem finding a decent spot. Fairways mostly nice with some thin areas here and there. Rough mostly pretty lush. The greens were looking and rolling good before they get ready to aerate. Very soft and receptive. Some old/unrepaired marks here and there, but not bad for the amount of play this course gets. I wasn't in a bunker, so no comments there.

Very enjoyable experience and definitely one of the better muni courses around. Though I shouldn't have been playing from the tips, the guys I played with pulled me into taking the "full ride" from the black tees on this somewhat lengthy course. From tee to green, I found the course relatively forgiving outside of the added length. The relatively small greens, however, are very tricky with plenty of slope and quick speeds to contend with.

Played in a tourney on Sunday, 10/6. Teed off about 10:30 and played in about 5 hours. Could have been faster, it looked like we had a slow group a couple of groups in front. The course was in nice... Continue »

Played in a tourney on Sunday, 10/6. Teed off about 10:30 and played in about 5 hours. Could have been faster, it looked like we had a slow group a couple of groups in front. The course was in nice shape. The fairways were relatively lush with some bare spots. The rough was sparse and they definitely were limiting water to some spots off the beaten path. There were a few places we had to search to find a ball but usually the places for balls to hide were not many. I was in one bunker and it was okay. Not much sand but played okay. The tee boxes were generally level with a couple notable exceptions. The greens were really nice. Decent speed, about medium as I judge them and generally rolled true. We finished about 3:30 pm but footprints were not a factor. Too bad they are aerating in a week - the greens were the highlight for the course.

The amenities were decent. Nice coffee shop. Had a great breakfast before the round. Excellent service. The balls at the driving range were lousy. They could use a few newer balls. Interestingly, the putting green near the first tee was already punched. I guess they did it when they aerated Harding. I did not see whether the practice green near the range was the same. Saw a lot of deer and one coyote. Great day for golf in a nice setting.

On the Wilson early playing in the LA City Senior, the super had the course in great shape: Poa greens were exceptional ... but we were the first group to tee off ... I mean they were rolling near per... Continue »

On the Wilson early playing in the LA City Senior, the super had the course in great shape: Poa greens were exceptional ... but we were the first group to tee off ... I mean they were rolling near perfect. And, of course, that means they're going to punch them in a couple weeks. PoP a solid 4 hours walking ... shouldn't ever take longer than that. Some damp areas on fairway edges and around the greens here and there, some real scruffy rough if you miss a fairway, but otherwise real nice conditions. I'd play here every week if I lived in the area. Recommended, but pricey for a muni.

Pleasantly surprised with this course today. The layout is much more diverse than other city courses (like Balboa, Encino, Woodley) and the conditions are much nicer. Fairways were very lush. Only ... Continue »

Pleasantly surprised with this course today. The layout is much more diverse than other city courses (like Balboa, Encino, Woodley) and the conditions are much nicer. Fairways were very lush. Only minor problems others might have were the variations in grass types-only one really bad spot I saw on 15 where it was overgrown and muddy. Other than that, there was good rollout and it was great to hit off of. The greens, however, are a different story. Most of the time I don't notice or care about a bumpy green but these were so bad that 5 footers were jerked off-line at least 6 times in a putt sometimes! Had quite a few going in the hole only to bump off the line at the last second due to lots of unrepaired ball marks. Frustrating. Bunkers at first glance might look thin and hard to hit out of but they actually played nicely. Downside here is that you might end up in someone's shoeprint or divot since they don't have any rakes for half the bunkers!! Don't they want you to have a good experience?!? Rough was also different than I'm used to for city munis, was much thicker than any other place I've ever played (except Torrey) and very lush, though some spots aways from the fairway resemble a typical muni. Hard to advance the ball very far so try to avoid. Tees were perhaps ever so slightly uneven on some, nothing to complain about at all. Overall pleasantly suprised at this course and I will have to play the Harding sometime soon.

Played the Wilson Friday, mid-morning, $54 w/cart non-res. Perfect golf weather and course in very good condition for a city run muni, and I enjoyed the semi-rolling hills, tree-lined, rough-around-t... Continue »

Played the Wilson Friday, mid-morning, $54 w/cart non-res. Perfect golf weather and course in very good condition for a city run muni, and I enjoyed the semi-rolling hills, tree-lined, rough-around-the-edges layout. Greens actually rolled very true and semi-quick, really liked the texture and speed. Only a few unrepaired ball marks to fix. Bunkers I was in were firm and hard pan, but they weren't all that bad, just the rub of the green. Pop a bit slow, some waiting on most every hole, finished in about 4:40. I'd sure come back even though the green fees are a bit high for what you get, but the course was one I'd play again. Had a nice meal in Chinatown after the round and walked around LA, first time in like 25 years, then went to the Dodger game (they came back and won in the 9th inning). Some urban renewal is nice to see, but it's still the same ol' downtown LA ... got to watch your back.

Played 7/24. My buddy and I just showed up without a tee time (11am) and got sent right out. Paired with two other cool guys. Customer service was good. Pace of play was 4.5 hours. Front nine was clo... Continue »

Played 7/24. My buddy and I just showed up without a tee time (11am) and got sent right out. Paired with two other cool guys. Customer service was good. Pace of play was 4.5 hours. Front nine was clogged up but back nine moved along. Fairways are good / above average. Greens are pretty beat up. Sand and tee boxes are fair. Nice snack bar after hole ten, with a good variety of beer and food. Would I go back? Yes, but I feel $45 with cart is a little too high for this muni on my budget.