Teed off as a threesome on Monday morning at Encino and completed the round in 4 hours total. Pace of play was just fine. Right now Encino is in full winter condition. The greens and greenside bunkers... Continue »

Teed off as a threesome on Monday morning at Encino and completed the round in 4 hours total. Pace of play was just fine. Right now Encino is in full winter condition. The greens and greenside bunkers are in very nice shape, the rest of the course is in poor condition.

Teeboxes have many bare areas and a lot of hardpan - 3/10
Fairways are very thin with many bare spots, and hard with lots of roll - 4/10
Rough is very inconsistent, but mostly sparse grass and hard - 4/10
Greenside bunkers have plenty of good quality sand - 7/10
Greens are medium fast, smooth, firm. Didn't hold approach shots very well - 7/10

Taxi!!!!! Hit a House!!!! I have never played a public course under 50$ with green speeds like they were today at Encino and Balboa. Encino? Balboa? Yes!!! For 36 holes I had 8 3 putts including many ... Continue »

Taxi!!!!! Hit a House!!!! I have never played a public course under 50$ with green speeds like they were today at Encino and Balboa. Encino? Balboa? Yes!!! For 36 holes I had 8 3 putts including many where I used a putter just off the green. Both courses humbled me today. The ground is very hard on the rest of the course. While you get a lot off roll, it is difficult to hit it crisp off of semi-hardpan to hard-pan lies. A crisp strike was necessary to hit and hold these very fast greens today. With rain in the forecast soon things should soften up a bit.

Played with my monthly group at Enicino this Saturday and found the course to be in good, not great shape overall. We had an 8:24 first tee time and it was very cold at the start, making the decision ... Continue »

Played with my monthly group at Enicino this Saturday and found the course to be in good, not great shape overall. We had an 8:24 first tee time and it was very cold at the start, making the decision to walk much easier.

If you've never played Encino (or Balboa) before, it's the true definition of 'confidence course.' A poor round here will haunt your dreams. It's straight ahead golf with only minor inconveniences along the way, with the possible exception of some length depending on if you play from the black tees. If not, take aim and let 'er rip.

Conditions are just about what you would expect for this high-traffic muni, only the greens are in better shape than you think they'll be in, rolling at medium-fast speed and actually pretty smooth in terms of ball marks. Fairways are mostly thin, but playable, and with a few lush patches. Rough is only slightly differentiated from the fairways so it's easy to manage.

Tee boxes definitely in rough shape (played the blue tees), while the bunkers were in better shape than I expected, but nothing super to write home about. Absolutely playable, though. POP was pretty good for a cold, busy Saturday but maybe that's because we were the last group out of our three. Cart service came around too so that was an unexpected surprise.

Overall, a nice time at Encino and definitely a place to go to work on just about any aspect of your game that you're struggling with. Mistakes won't be greatly penalized with all of the side-by-side fairways and ample collection areas. Take it for what it's worth and you won't be disappointed.

Hadn't played Encino for several months. With heavy winds predicted for the day, I thought I'd get a quick early round in at Encino. Our threesome walked the course in about 4 hours. Encino is a strai... Continue »

Hadn't played Encino for several months. With heavy winds predicted for the day, I thought I'd get a quick early round in at Encino. Our threesome walked the course in about 4 hours. Encino is a straight forward average municipal course. Fairly wide open with a moderate amount of trees lining the fairways.

Overall, the course is in decent muni shape. The fairways are a mix of good lies and bad. The grass is on the thin side, but decent to hit from generally. I was not in any bunkers, but my playing partners had no issues with them. The greens are in real nice shape. They are very green, smooth, and medium speed. They had minimal unrepaired ball marks for a Monday after a busy weekend.

For a walking senior rate of $20, this is a good deal. If you're looking for a stress free round to work on your game, Encino will fit the bill.

Teed off at Encino on Monday 8/26 at little after 7am. As a twosome we completed the round in about 3 hours and 40 minutes. Overall, the course is in very playable condition. Teeboxes were OK. Some of... Continue »

Teed off at Encino on Monday 8/26 at little after 7am. As a twosome we completed the round in about 3 hours and 40 minutes. Overall, the course is in very playable condition. Teeboxes were OK. Some of them were a little unlevel, and for several, it was difficult to get the tee to penetrate the ground. But not a big deal.

The fairways were in better shape that what I expected. Although there were some bare areas and thin spots, for the most part the fairways are green and pretty lush. They had a nice cushion under the ball. With a few exceptions, if you were in the fairway, you likely had a nice lie. I wasn't in any bunkers, but they looked wet and firm. The areas around the greens were usually well covered and decent to hit from. The greens were quite soft. They held shots well and rolled smoothly at about medium speed. As an inexpensive municipal golf course, the conditions make this a good deal to play.

Played Encino this morning with some buddies. Tee time was 6:35am. Beautiful morning, a little hint of breeze. POP was 3 hours, 50 minutes. Right now the fairways are cut short (also due to winter... Continue »

Played Encino this morning with some buddies. Tee time was 6:35am. Beautiful morning, a little hint of breeze. POP was 3 hours, 50 minutes. Right now the fairways are cut short (also due to winter dormant conditions) and are running fast. The greens looked faster than they were but as the day got warmer, they went from medium to medium fast. I was in one bunker that had plenty of fresh raked sand. All in all, I think Encino is in pretty decent shape and it’s always nice to get another 10 to 15 yards of roll on your drives.

In dire need of a confidence round after a rough few last outings, I decided to head over to Encino this past Sunday since I had a nice history here of low 80s scores and good shot making. Encino was ... Continue »

In dire need of a confidence round after a rough few last outings, I decided to head over to Encino this past Sunday since I had a nice history here of low 80s scores and good shot making. Encino was also in much better shape than its reputation the last few visits, but unfortunately it's currently back to its infamous state. Walked with a push cart playing the black tees for $45.

Fairways are very dry, lies are very thin and you will find no shortage of dirt areas in the middle of fairways that should be GUR. The rough is not much better with the occasional lush section, but mostly a very tough job differentiating between rough and fairway. Sand in the bunkers seemed to be just okay and was fine in the one that I was in (15th hole). Tee boxes are thin but mostly level. No major issues there.

Greens were running medium speed with plenty of ball marks and bumps and bruises along the way, but not on all greens. Very mixed, actually. A few of the greens were in pretty nice shape, but others had some damage and needed some work. No rhyme or reason to it.

Pretty straightforward layout at Encino - very surprising that Encino from the black tees has a higher GK CDF than a place like Eagle Glen from the blue tees! It's not even close! You can close your eyes and swing and still break 90 at Encino nine times out of ten. Oh yeah, POP was a bit of a nightmare with long waits playing just behind the women's league groups who were, well, not fast. Certain par 3s had three groups waiting so it was very tough to keep any rhythm whatsoever.

In summary, Encino is a fine place to play, just not right now. Hope that it gets back to better shape soon to make it worthwhile to make the trip again.

Played a Saturday round this weekend at Encino with a friend and got paired up with a nice Asian couple who were great fun. We played from the blue tees and I got a push cart for around $50 or so. Was... Continue »

Played a Saturday round this weekend at Encino with a friend and got paired up with a nice Asian couple who were great fun. We played from the blue tees and I got a push cart for around $50 or so. Was it worth that?

Well, in the past two visits to Encino, I've had nothing really but good things to say about this often dissed course that many simply don't hold in such high regard. Is it pretty straight forward and easy? Sure. Are there exciting green complexes? Not really. Are there lush conditions and beautiful surroundings? Not particularly. But if you're looking to really build some confidence back into your game, especially off the tee, it's a good call.

But right now, it's not in the same good shape as it had been on my two prior visits. The greens continue to be above average for a track that gets this much traffic, but there were definitely a few more ball marks and goose remnants on the greens than I remember from prior visits. But overall they remain quite good and run at nice speeds, hold lines and are very receptive to approach shots. They do a good job here on the greens and that should be recognized.

Unfortunately, the dry start to the fall and winter has been testing on the fairways and rough. So many thin lies, so many burned out areas, so many dirt sections - it's a shame because the overall aesthetic really suffers and it's already not a pristine piece of property to begin with. The rough is okay but also plenty of hodge-podge in overall quality.

Bunkers are okay - nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. And the tee boxes were mostly just okay, but a few really were a bit ragged and beaten up. Some attention should be given to them as soon as possible.

POP was quite slow, clocking in at around 5:15. There were some good-sized pile-ups at the par 3s, and just the overall pace of the place was languid. Luckily though there was a cart around at the 8th hole to get some drinks and snacks and they drove around throughout the round.

I still like Encino and think it's a good place to work on your game, but it's currently not in optimal shape with the exception of the greens as usual.

Played Encino golf course Monday morning 12/11 at 9am. Over the past few weeks this course has really dried out. The fairways are thin with quite a few bare areas. There are some good areas also, but ... Continue »

Played Encino golf course Monday morning 12/11 at 9am. Over the past few weeks this course has really dried out. The fairways are thin with quite a few bare areas. There are some good areas also, but the fairways are quite thin and dried out. The rough is blotchy, with bare areas and hard dirt. Although many of the areas surrounding the greens are decent, some of them were mostly dirt, and hard as a rock. I was in two greenside bunkers. One was very hard with little sand, and the other had adequate sand and was quite firm. The greens are the best part of the course. They were medium fast, rolling smoothly, and holding well hit shots. Overall, I rate this course as only fair.