First time back out at Santa Anita in two years this past weekend and got treated to the course in pretty darn good shape. Normally you can find some really thin grass at this course, but it performed... Continue »

First time back out at Santa Anita in two years this past weekend and got treated to the course in pretty darn good shape. Normally you can find some really thin grass at this course, but it performed much better on this latest visit.

It was of course very hot out so my buddy and I rode, playing from the blue tees and the greens fee was around $60 - more than fair. We were paired with a fun father and son combo with a 12:20 tee time and off we went. The layout is classic parkland LA, with side by side holes, big trees but a unique twist with so many uneven lies on many of the holes.

Greens were in really decent shape and rolled nicely all afternoon - definitely the highlight of the round. Fairways have good coverage mostly all around, although of course you will find some thin areas. Rough was thick but playable, while the bunkers were the most disappointing. There is a nominal layer of sand in most of them, but where the bunkers bottom out, there's really nothing between your club and the ground underneath. Tee boxes were mostly okay but can always use some work.

POP was not so good but really only got slow on the par 3s, especially holes 8 and 12. For some reason everything backs up here good and solid, mostly because these are both very long par 3s that may require a little extra work from most golfers. There was no cart service either which is always disappointing as you must wait to go to the snack bar at the turn.

All in all though it was a good day out at Santa Anita and when it's in good shape like this time around, it's worth the drive up there.