Played a Friday twilight round at Encino this past week in spurts of rain and a constant chill that was unpleasant for much of the round, but the weather cleared for most of the back nine so that was ... Continue »

Played a Friday twilight round at Encino this past week in spurts of rain and a constant chill that was unpleasant for much of the round, but the weather cleared for most of the back nine so that was nice. I'm sure the rain this week has done wonders for the course.

Check-in went smooth and we played from the blue tees while getting a cart for around $42. The carts themselves are amusing as they've placed a plastic barrier in makeshift fashion between the seat to separate players who most likely drove there together in a car. A nonsense, but what isn't right now?

As for the course conditions, pretty standard stuff again at Encino. You're going to find non-pristine fairways that are plenty okay though to play golf from, some thin lies around the greens, simple but ample rough, tree-lined but fairly wide-open fairways with lots of room to spray the ball, average bunkers, pretty beat-up tee boxes and greens that are surprisingly good in terms of coverage, speed and trueness of line. Always surprised how well they keep the greens here despite all the traffic. Ball marks always an issue though with more 'budget' golf.

Encino is a great course to really get your confidence back after some rough rounds though and it's just interesting enough to have a good time. It's as flat as can be and very straightforward, but what it lacks in charm it makes up for in value and consistency. I never blow off a chance to play here over and over again.

My friend and I found an early morning tee time today at Encino. We teed off at 6:45am. It was VERY cold to start - 39 degrees! As the second group out, following a very quick threesome, we finished ... Continue »

My friend and I found an early morning tee time today at Encino. We teed off at 6:45am. It was VERY cold to start - 39 degrees! As the second group out, following a very quick threesome, we finished the front 9 in 1 hour and 10 minutes. We caught some back 9 starting groups, but still ended up with a brisk 3 hour and 5 minute round.

Encino is in deep winter condition. The greens were soft, holding shots pretty well, and rolling medium speed. I was in one greenside bunker, and it was in good shape. The rest of the course is thin, with spotty grass and many bare areas. Although, I will say that when in the fairway there was enough cushion under your ball to get a good strike on it. The thin and ragged fairways were not hard pan. So, you were able to get a good strike on the ball. Tee boxes were pretty chewed up. But never really posed a problem. For a quick, early round at $20 for the senior walking rate, it was decent.

Played Encino for a mid morning round on Monday, 10/19. Overall the course is quite playable. Fairways are typical muni; some areas had lush good lies and some were bare or thin and dry. It was a mixt... Continue »

Played Encino for a mid morning round on Monday, 10/19. Overall the course is quite playable. Fairways are typical muni; some areas had lush good lies and some were bare or thin and dry. It was a mixture of all this. But many times I had a nice lie in the fairway. So not complaints here. The rough is mostly just a little longer than the fairway grass, except for some random area here and there that are either a bit longer or thin and hard. Tee boxes are below average. They are beat up. But you could a decent spot to tee up your ball. There are about 6 or 7 tee boxes that were closed due to repair/reseeding. The alternate teeing grounds were often very poor, hard dirt or dead grass. The two bunkers I was in had plenty of firm sand. Nice to hit from. The greens were soft, medium speed, but many were bumpy and slow. For the $20 senior walking rate, it was a good morning of golf.

850 Tee time with some guys from the club.

Range was open and the ball dispenser at least this time took the cash. Last time the dispensers were not working and its way too far a walk to hit balls... Continue »

850 Tee time with some guys from the club.

Range was open and the ball dispenser at least this time took the cash. Last time the dispensers were not working and its way too far a walk to hit balls and be reminded of
how crappy a player I am 30x.

The course was in good condition and they were watering this place all day and everywhere.

The tee boxes were usual but trimmed, clean and level-ish.

Fairways were good and getting water throughout the day.

Sand Traps, they seemed ok, I was only in one and it had been raked by maintenance so it was fine.

Around the greens were the typical kikuyu that I whine about in most of my posts but the stuff
sucks and it makes it a lot harder hitting a sexual wedge shot when needed. The apron area though, is gold! You can spin, flip, dip, do whatever you want as they are super grabby and very useful for said sexual wedge shots. Around the greens on a couple of holes had those turd tubes sprinkled around like after a punch.

Greens were good, looked like there was some micro punch done but didn't affect the roll
too much. Greens were medium speed and the pins weren't tricky.

POP was good, we were slow because there was about 20 bets going and some of my friends
are dicks about not giving some putts. Its not charity you're looking for, just some compassion.

Lastly, I could have sand blasted my nuts with Gold Bond and that still would not have prepared me enough for the sticky valley death heat that was on tap for todays round.

Bring lots of water when you head out this week.

Later

Spent Sunday afternoon at Encino to get some confidence back on a pretty direct, flat and non-tricky course. If you've played either Encino or Balboa before, you know the deal - not a lot of trouble t... Continue »

Spent Sunday afternoon at Encino to get some confidence back on a pretty direct, flat and non-tricky course. If you've played either Encino or Balboa before, you know the deal - not a lot of trouble to get into, wide fairways, few bunkers in play, and manageable greens. The course's defenses are mainly a decent amount of length and some large and thick trees between holes which can often force punchouts if you find them.

POP was not too bad except for bunching up at the par 3s, but it was a busy Sunday with a 12:50 tee time and we rode in carts while playing from the blue tees. Unfortunately no cart service to be found on course despite the crowds and hot temperatures.

Conditions for such a popular track remain quite good and the grounds crew deserves a lot of credit. The greens are in pretty fine shape with minimal ball marks and good, consistent pace to them. Speeds are medium fast and the coverage is very nice. Nothing gimmicky or tricky about the greens at all.

Fairways are mostly in good, not great shape, but you won't find too many bad lies if you're in the fairways. Some of the fringe areas can be a little thin, but it's nice and manageable in the rough and you won't get stuck in there. Tee boxes are just okay with the par 3s being particularly scruffy, while the bunkers I avoided all day looked a little on the thin side.

Not too bad for all the traffic this place is getting and it's most always an enjoyable round here.

Teed off as a foursome at 7:10am on Monday, 8/3. Pace of play was just at 4 hours. As a well used municipal course you don't expect stellar conditions at this course. But I was pleasantly surprised at... Continue »

Teed off as a foursome at 7:10am on Monday, 8/3. Pace of play was just at 4 hours. As a well used municipal course you don't expect stellar conditions at this course. But I was pleasantly surprised at the overall condition of the golf course. Although the fairways had numerous areas that were thin or even bare, most of the fairways were in very good shape. I never had anything but a great lie in any of the fairways I was in. So unless you hit the occasional bad spot, you would find the fairways were mostly pretty lush. Tee boxes were not in great shape. They were hard pan and thin. The rough was also in pretty good shape. It was about 1-2 inches and in many areas had good coverage. There were some bad spots, but I was pleasantly surprised by the good conditions of the rough. The rough around the greens was in very nice shape, easy to chip from. I was in 1 greenside bunker. It had plenty of firmly packed sand. Very easy to hit from. The greens were running medium-slow in the morning, but became medium speed as the day wore on. Unfortunately, there were far too many unfixed ball marks from Sunday play. They affected several of our putts during the round. Overall the greens were OK.

Hit up Encino for a 6am tee time. Just old guys and death out there that early morning.

I totally get maintenance and all but today was ridiculous. We play the first couple of holes and then on ho... Continue »

Hit up Encino for a 6am tee time. Just old guys and death out there that early morning.

I totally get maintenance and all but today was ridiculous. We play the first couple of holes and then on hole 4, worker guys are standing on the green going over things as were waiting to play into the green. Like they knew we were waiting and they were like, no, I'll be a cigar store Indian and just hold up the pace of play and chat about bent grass and weed. So we wait. then we wait. Then we play.

FFW to a couple of holes later and the tractor guy is on us in the fairway. Like right behind us. It reminded me of the movie Cars when the tractor Frank was after them. I look back like, Dude! Let me hit this shot so you can keep mowing. He waits, half idles the mower and now I gotta hit a good shot because he's waiting. I hit a nice second tip my cap and move on.

Literally, the next hole, another guy is doing the tee boxes. I'm like, d%mn !, Augusta is closed and the Masters is coming here! I wonder if Tiger will sign my chest?

I totally get we were out early and theres 2 courses, blah blah blah. I'm not a retard, however, the constant work was kind of a bummer.

Fairways were usual muni and the rough was whatever. The sand was also soft but its like cheap playground sand and not the nice cocaine sand but it was still sand so not complaining.

Tee boxes were decent and the greens were very nice. The greens rolled well, not too hoppy at all and looked lush. Pin placements were fair and friendly all day.

Two buddies and a single joined me for a 2:10 tee off on Saturday, 7.18. I had not been to Encino in many years and was curious to revisit it. The most recent review was positive but a bit dated so I ... Continue »

Two buddies and a single joined me for a 2:10 tee off on Saturday, 7.18. I had not been to Encino in many years and was curious to revisit it. The most recent review was positive but a bit dated so I was hoping it would hold up. I actually had my start time wrong and so arrived a couple hours early. Fortunately, the range was open, but every-other-stall. The matts were in good shape and there was grass covering the target area which surprised me because it was pretty much just hard dirt back in the day. I had time to kill, but because of the lack of spaces, there was waiting to get a station. Check-in was smooth and Covid-spaced with no congestion or delay on the first tee. Two of us walked, carts and hand trolleys were available. As to the course, I was not disappointed as conditions were better than any from my recollection. There seems to be a current effort keep this place greener and better maintained. Tees were generally level with good coverage. It is worth noting that the course has length, tees here include a black set and there is a real separation in the tee yardages between all the monuments — consistently more than I'm used to seeing. The fairways had the occasional drier, thinner patch, but these were minor exceptions to an overall nicely green surface that offered good lies and some runout. Rough was mostly green and cut to where it was not overly punitive. Bunkers were not groomed but not bad on average as to playability. The grass around the greens was healthy and appropriately cut, with wider than average fringes and the caveat that it is kikuyu. Greens were pretty clean, receptive and rolling about a medium pace. Quicker would have been nice, but they were consistent, pretty true, and enjoyable. We were not the fastest group, losing touch with the group ahead, but only getting pressure from the following group middle of the front nine and the last few holes — finished in about 4.5 hrs. Senior discount walking, I got out for $26. The course is generally flat and good for walking, long but reasonably forgiving in it's wide, tree lined fairways. Strategically, mostly straight ahead muni golf, but a nice setting in good condition. Temps were warm but the breeze kept it reasonable, and by the time we sat down for a beer afterwards (yes, bar still open for patio drinking at 6:45!) the lowering temperature and sun made for a really nice, comfortable post round chat. Weird things were going on with my swing and I didn't play particularly well, but I still had a good time and no regrets for my choice — rather, a nice, fatigued sense of having had an afternoon well spent. Recommended.

played this course yesterday and it was in very good shape. its a different world out there, must wear a mask at all times, must make reservations online or phone, earliest you can go out is the time ... Continue »

played this course yesterday and it was in very good shape. its a different world out there, must wear a mask at all times, must make reservations online or phone, earliest you can go out is the time you reserved, no getting there early and going out, starter will call to the tee box, flags must remain in the hole at all times, stay socially distant. The tee boxes were in the best shape I've ever seen them and fairways were very good too, no bare spots. The greens were running slow and the sandtraps were ok, but there are no rakes so you may get a bad lie. Overall, I think this course is well worth the price.