Played Encino on Thur Aug 16. The course has survived the summer heat better than some of the other local muni's. Pace was just under 4 hours, but this was teeing off at 2pm. This seems to be the m... Continue »

Played Encino on Thur Aug 16. The course has survived the summer heat better than some of the other local muni's. Pace was just under 4 hours, but this was teeing off at 2pm. This seems to be the magic time to play the muni's and not suffer to much waiting.

The tee boxes here were in decent shape, you can tell they are rotating them frequently. The unevenness continues to be an issue. I swear they must place those markers on a slope every time I play. The par 3's continue to suffer the worst damage.

The fairways here are mostly good, several of them had some serious dried out patches, but I noticed that they were never in play, and generally in areas that were easily carried. The fairway just short of several of the greens were quite dried out and almost bare on some of the holes. The foot traffic is probably contributing to this problem.

The rough was mostly good on many of the holes, you can tell they are watering regularly. Some do have the severe dried out areas that can definitely affect your shot if you end up there.

Greens were in okay shape. Running fairly slow with some bumpiness. As noted by several others a lot of courses are keeping the greens shaggy so as not to lose them to the heat. Just hit it firm, and play less break than it looks.

Overall the course is in better shape than some of the other local muni's. They seem to be giving it more water, so the conditions are much more playable.

Encino Golf Course Review
Encino California Golf Course Reviews

Played Fri 6-15-12. Similar conditions to my last review which was about 2 weeks ago. The tee boxes do not seem to be getting any love lately. They are rather torn up, and the unevenness is very no... Continue »

Played Fri 6-15-12. Similar conditions to my last review which was about 2 weeks ago. The tee boxes do not seem to be getting any love lately. They are rather torn up, and the unevenness is very noticeable on several of the holes. The fairways are in mostly excellent shape, and did not notice any large brown patches or thinness. The rough continues to be lush and thick in some spots, but thin and almost hardpan in others. You never know what you are going to find.
The most disappointing aspect of the course is the bunkers, the sand is almost non-existent and continues to be hard packed. Especially the fairway bunkers. The greens run average speed, and I repaired about 3 divots per hole.
I enjoy this layout, and if you play during the week in the afternoon it is absolutely worth the green fee.

Encino Golf Course Review
Encino California Golf Course Reviews

Late review. Played on 6/1/12. Still wanted to write a review, since they made some small changes to the course (look at PDF below). Hole 2 tee box for the back tee was shifted to a area that is about... Continue »

Late review. Played on 6/1/12. Still wanted to write a review, since they made some small changes to the course (look at PDF below). Hole 2 tee box for the back tee was shifted to a area that is about 300 yards on the first hole. The hole is a dog leg left from those tees, which makes it a bit challenging. Hole 10 you are hitting from the end of the tee box. Course condition is ok, greens were in good condition, fairway was mostly lush but thin on certain area, rough was lush, and the sand was little heavy as usual.

Walked the course in under 4 hours. A quick round with a course to work on the game is always needed.

http://www.golf.lacity.org/pdf/scorecard_encino_front_w.pdf
http://www.golf.lacity.org/pdf/scorecard_balboa_front_w.pdf

Encino Golf Course Review
Encino California Golf Course Reviews

Played Encino on Tuesday June 5th. The course has greened up considerably since the last visit about a month ago. I continue to enjoy this course, as it seems more than a simple up and back muni.
... Continue »

Played Encino on Tuesday June 5th. The course has greened up considerably since the last visit about a month ago. I continue to enjoy this course, as it seems more than a simple up and back muni.

The tee boxes in were mostly good shape, some tee markers were on unlevel ground which always bothers me. The condition of the grass was fine though.

The fairways and rough have gotten much greener over the past month. The rough being in much better shape. With lots of lushness on many holes. The fairways were a bit patchy on some holes, with plenty of clover growing in. The length of the grass was level throughout, and the patchiness never really bothered any of my shots.

The bunkers on the course are in very poor shape. I am glad to have only visited one, but the others I viewed throughout the round were very thin, and compact. Especially the fairway bunkers.

The greens ran medium speed and were fairly smooth on the whole. Lots of leaves and debris on the greens though, which was a hassle to clear prior to any putt.

Overall the course is in decent shape, and as always you get what you pay for. The pace of play was excellent at just about 4 hours, we never had to wait on anyone. But it was a Tuesday afternoon, not exactly prime hours. Will be going back again soon, as I enjoy this layout, and it serves as a good confidence boosting course.

Encino Golf Course Review
Encino California Golf Course Reviews

Played Encino for the very first time today March 23rd. Went out at 248, and was in the car at 7, so just about 4 hours. The pacing on this course seemed to be much better than my prior experience a... Continue »

Played Encino for the very first time today March 23rd. Went out at 248, and was in the car at 7, so just about 4 hours. The pacing on this course seemed to be much better than my prior experience at Balboa. Having said that, I enjoyed this course much more than Balboa. I thought the holes were much more varied, and made me think a bit more than Balboa. I found myself enjoying it much more than my past round at Balboa.

The tee boxes on the course were pretty good overall. As usual the par 3s were a bit beat up, but I was still able to find a decent spot to tee up from. They were all fairly level, and fair.

The rough on the course was much better than I expected, it was fairly lush on most of the holes. It was not nearly as spotty as the sister course. You could definitely tell where the fairway ended and the rough began. I think it was definitely helped out by last weekends rain. The fairways were rather thin though, and patchy on some holes. They were really a mixed bag, some were very nice, especially the approach on several holes, I even considered putting a few times.

The greens were not the best, they ran rather bumpy. Essentially every single one, you could watch your ball jump and bounce on its way to the hole. The speed would be considered medium to slow. Did not notice un-repaired ball marks though, so that's always a good sign.

Overall the experience was pleasant, I enjoyed this routing and layout more than the Balboa course, and will find myself returning here soon.

Encino Golf Course Review
Encino California Golf Course Reviews

Late review. Played on Christmas day. Got there early 30 min early, and no one was on the course. Just went and teed off, and no one said anything! What a way to celebrate Christmas!

Course is in f... Continue »

Late review. Played on Christmas day. Got there early 30 min early, and no one was on the course. Just went and teed off, and no one said anything! What a way to celebrate Christmas!

Course is in fair condition. Fairway is mostly dry and yellow grass, with some areas green. Same for the rough. Greens were in great condition, rolled true at medium speed. Got in the sand once, and it was in ok condition.

Finished the round in just over 3.5 hours walking. We took plenty of time on the green to enjoy the empty course!

Encino Golf Course Review
Los Angeles California Golf Course Reviews

Course was in decent shape; nothing special. Biggest complaint was gnats that were almost intolerable on some holes as they seemed most interested in flying into golfers' eyes.

Course was in decent shape; nothing special. Biggest complaint was gnats that were almost intolerable on some holes as they seemed most interested in flying into golfers' eyes.

Played on 6/4/11. Played in 4.5 hours, which I think is pretty good for a muni on a Saturday. The greens were as good as they can be for this amount of play. Overall a good course in great conditio... Continue »

Played on 6/4/11. Played in 4.5 hours, which I think is pretty good for a muni on a Saturday. The greens were as good as they can be for this amount of play. Overall a good course in great condition.

Played Sunday 5/22. Tee time was 30 minutes prior to twilight rates. Worth it to pay extra because there was no one in front of us and no one went out behind us for half an hour. A 4 hour round! Unhea... Continue »

Played Sunday 5/22. Tee time was 30 minutes prior to twilight rates. Worth it to pay extra because there was no one in front of us and no one went out behind us for half an hour. A 4 hour round! Unheard of at an LA muni on the weekend. Judging by the parking lot, it was not a busy day at the Sepulveda Dam Rec center. The greens are nice and roll true. The fairways are pretty thin, often leaving your good drive on hard pan. The course is still recovering from the flood damage. On the plus side, the traps had new sand in them allowing you to play a real sand shot. Beverage cart came around twice. They were offering 50% off for replays.