Played Woodley yesterday, first out at 3:00 twilight, as a threesome plus one. I'm guessing it's been at least 20 years since I last played this course so, while my buddy selected it, I was curious to... Continue »

Played Woodley yesterday, first out at 3:00 twilight, as a threesome plus one. I'm guessing it's been at least 20 years since I last played this course so, while my buddy selected it, I was curious to revisit it. I remembered it as flat and open, and it was that in spades -- to the point that it was a different golfing experience than I've had I a while. The fairways seem to average at least 75 yards wide. The greens are generally really big and on the flat side with some gently rolling or undulated exceptions. There are trees lining the fairways, but the width of many of the fairways precludes them from having much effect on the sense of expansiveness. The expansiveness caught me off guard a little because you just don't usually see that much room on a golf course. Open areas around the golf course, yes, but the course itself, no. It alters your perceptions. I had to trust the yardage markers because as I stood at the 150 marker with my 150 club, part of my brain was saying "no way -- seems longer". But sure enough, it was "way." Of course I was walking/carrying on a really hot afternoon, so maybe I should had my perceptions altered into renting a cart. If you like to pull out driver, this is the course the do it. The course's defense to it's wide, forgiving fairways is that the par fours and the par-5 18th are on the longer side. That, and being on the green can still mean you are a long way from the hole. The conditions were generally very good. I didn't hit a bunker all day, so I can't give much detail on them. They generally looked OK but, because two in our group had to play out of it, I noticed the fairway bunker on the 16th hole was hard and had a little standing water at one end. Delivering variious levels of punishment for stray shots, I think the rough was a fair challenge overall. The fairways were nicely mowed with the occasional thinner or dryer spot that you will get on a muni. Nothing too bad and overall, pretty good. The greens were in very good shape --- receptive, not too many ball marks, medium fast, but not as quick as the practice green I was on. If your swing is in shape as to hitting your distances and generally maintaining direction, you should score well on this course. The quality of your lag putting will probably determine whether you convert a lot of holes into a good scores. They have a nice grass range, chipping and putting areas, so it's a good place to practice or warm up thoroughly. The clubhouse facility is new to my experience and seems nice enough, although the bar/restaurant was closed when we were done around 7:30. It was the perfect time on a warm evening to have a cool one after the round but -- oh well. Because my swing got erratic on the back nine, I have it in my mind to go back and play this course better than I did yesterday, and I can see coming back from time to time just as a change of pace (certainly more than once every 25 years or so). But otherwise, I wouldn't play it with any regularity because I can't see it holding that much interest. I can usually remember all the holes and usually mentally replay almost every shot after a round. With Woodley, there is a sameness to the holes that makes that difficult to do. But that's me. On the basis of conditioning and the expansive vibe, I would certainly say the course is worth a try to see if it suits your tastes.

Walked on as a single and teed off right away with a 3some at 3:09pm 8-6-10.The course was in good condition.The only thing that smelled was the large mounds of manure near the 4th tee and 5th fairway... Continue »

Walked on as a single and teed off right away with a 3some at 3:09pm 8-6-10.The course was in good condition.The only thing that smelled was the large mounds of manure near the 4th tee and 5th fairway that made you hold your breath otherwise everyhting else was good I always play this course on the weekdays and like the long holes and wide greens.

Played Monday, 07/05/10, hoilday rates applied, teed off at 5:36 a.m., done before 9:30. Sort of the Alondra of the Valley, wide open fairways, big greens that do not undulate very much. Good course... Continue »

Played Monday, 07/05/10, hoilday rates applied, teed off at 5:36 a.m., done before 9:30. Sort of the Alondra of the Valley, wide open fairways, big greens that do not undulate very much. Good course to stretch out and improve your score. Overall, course was in pretty decent shape, greens were nice and the fairways did not have a lot of bare spots.

Played on Friday afternoon and happened to be in a group with Hunter7 as well. Course in in fair shape, but the greens need another couple of weeks to get over recent airaition. They were still pret... Continue »

Played on Friday afternoon and happened to be in a group with Hunter7 as well. Course in in fair shape, but the greens need another couple of weeks to get over recent airaition. They were still pretty bumpy but the speed was ok. The Fairways were firm and fast and were decent. Rought non-existent and the bunkers were OK, but nobody rakes them. First Time I have played here and it is a pretty straight forward, wide open course and I needed this to get a little confidence back in the game, hard to miss those fairways, but I easily managed to do just that on more than one occasion. No beverage cart, but the 19th hole was good.

Played about 12 today and hole #9 was pretty swampy down the left side of the fairway. The greens were in pretty good condition and medium to medium-fast. The fairways were pretty patchy and was defin... Continue »

Played about 12 today and hole #9 was pretty swampy down the left side of the fairway. The greens were in pretty good condition and medium to medium-fast. The fairways were pretty patchy and was definitely still in winter playing conditions. Pace of play was pretty nice today but went especially fast because it was super windy and no one else was on the course. It's a steal of a deal for super-twilight. Unfortunately times will change next week. Good round, pleasant staff, respectful golfers. It is also the only place of in the Valley that I know of that has a driving range where you hit off the grass instead of mats.

Played Sunday, 12/27/09 with GKers Moneysworth, kilt1iron, and k1's brother in cool, wintry conditions. Course is not bad right now if dormant grass doesn't bother you. Tee boxes are fine, mostly leve... Continue »

Played Sunday, 12/27/09 with GKers Moneysworth, kilt1iron, and k1's brother in cool, wintry conditions. Course is not bad right now if dormant grass doesn't bother you. Tee boxes are fine, mostly level, and perhaps a little thin, and there is plenty of room for the grounds crew to move the markers around. Fairways are mostly a mix of dormant bermuda and kikuyu grasses; not too thin and providing mostly decent lies from tee to green. Greens are in excellent shape; firm, medium slow to medium fast, and rolling true. No ball marks seen on the greens.

I played Woodley on 12/5. I always like playing this course cause it is rather easy and the greens are in decent shape. The greens are actually pretty good for a muni but rather slow. No complaints th... Continue »

I played Woodley on 12/5. I always like playing this course cause it is rather easy and the greens are in decent shape. The greens are actually pretty good for a muni but rather slow. No complaints than usual. The tee box area was slightly muddy and there seems to be a greater number of geese than usual on the course (of course leads to additional "treats" for you to step in).

Played Woodley Lakes on Saturday 11/7/09. Started at about 6:30 am and finished at about 11:00 am. Woodley Lakes is not one of my favorite courses. The course has no character. Most of the holes very ... Continue »

Played Woodley Lakes on Saturday 11/7/09. Started at about 6:30 am and finished at about 11:00 am. Woodley Lakes is not one of my favorite courses. The course has no character. Most of the holes very similar. The greens were in okay shape as were the tee boxes. The fairways and rough were in poor condition. Neighboring Balboa and Encino are much nicer courses.

Played Sunday 9/20. Other than the greens, I would consider this course to be in poor condition. There were times it was better to miss the fairway because the lie was better in the rough. Many bare &... Continue »

Played Sunday 9/20. Other than the greens, I would consider this course to be in poor condition. There were times it was better to miss the fairway because the lie was better in the rough. Many bare & dry areas. Tee boxes were fairly uneven & bumpy. Pace of play was at least 5 1/2 hours. Hardly makes it worthwhile to spend $35 + $25 cart fee just to play on the weekend. Should be able to play some great courses for $60.