Course was in a bit better shape than last week, the greens have been cut and are decent to putt on . . . still not good, but rolling better. The rest of the course is still a bit on the rough side bu... Continue »

Course was in a bit better shape than last week, the greens have been cut and are decent to putt on . . . still not good, but rolling better. The rest of the course is still a bit on the rough side but improving.

Not much changed from last week. Greens have been cut, but are still rather slow. Still need at least a week or two to heal sufficiently. The rest of the course is so-so at this moment, playable tee t... Continue »

Not much changed from last week. Greens have been cut, but are still rather slow. Still need at least a week or two to heal sufficiently. The rest of the course is so-so at this moment, playable tee to green, but certainly not pretty.

Twilight this afternoon, went off at 2:15 finished at 5:15. Course is in rough shape right now, greens are still shaggy, bumpy, sandy from punching. I'm not sure if they deserve the yellow flag just y... Continue »

Twilight this afternoon, went off at 2:15 finished at 5:15. Course is in rough shape right now, greens are still shaggy, bumpy, sandy from punching. I'm not sure if they deserve the yellow flag just yet. All parts of the course are pretty rough. There is still evidence from the flash flood rains of a month ago and the ever present heat. Bunkers look to be the best part of the course right now (although I avoided playing from any). Not many people there due to the greens and football, so great to get out and whip around 18 quickly, but the course needs a couple weeks to heal.

PS ~ I'm just glad to be out there again!

First off at twilight, finished in under 4 hours at our own pace, no waiting. The course is showing signs of wear and tear, both from the heat and the damage the excessive rain of a couple weeks ago p... Continue »

First off at twilight, finished in under 4 hours at our own pace, no waiting. The course is showing signs of wear and tear, both from the heat and the damage the excessive rain of a couple weeks ago produced. The sod replacement fix on the first hole obviously didn't take (oil leaked from a mower and that sod had been replaced), there's some crusty spots all over the course and some strange damage on a couple greens on the back (looks like something scraped a thin line across the greens?), there are some pretty thick areas of rough, washed out areas from the flood, sand deposits (again from the flood). Still the course is very playable and the greens are mostly smooth and rolling well, but not perfect.

First off at twilight, played at just over 4 hours walking. Course is in great shape right now, fairways plush with a bit of run, rough the best I've ever seen it here, uniform 3 inches, thick and gra... Continue »

First off at twilight, played at just over 4 hours walking. Course is in great shape right now, fairways plush with a bit of run, rough the best I've ever seen it here, uniform 3 inches, thick and grabby . . . just how it should be! Bunkers aren't overflowing with sand, but it is sand and at a very nice level, plus well manicured. Greens are just about perfect except for the numerous un-repaired ball marks (I fixed A LOT and it is a muni so you get plenty of occasional golfers). Only negative and it's slight, is the tee boxes, a bit chewed up, not always level and not overly wide, but again you are putting it on a tee.

Second day of the Presidents Cup at Balboa brought similar conditions except the greens, they speeded them up as some the top juniors were playing their second round of the Chris Riley Junior Champion... Continue »

Second day of the Presidents Cup at Balboa brought similar conditions except the greens, they speeded them up as some the top juniors were playing their second round of the Chris Riley Junior Championship . . . local legends Haley Moore and Chloe Belle Hooton played and came in 1st and 2nd. So the course was once again set up tough, tees all back pins in hard to find (and putt to) places. Then add in the Rock and Roll Marathon coming down Pershing(the road skirting the course) with a man constantly yelling in the microphone (by the 7th tee/8th tee box), "REPEAT THE MANTRA! I FEEL GOOD!!!". Then a bandstand with bands cranking out rock classics across from the 15th green/16th tee box and it all made for a tough day . . . hard to stay focused! Something different, and it was all good . . . heck I even somehow placed?

Played the first round of the Presidents Cup, one of the major tournaments for our men's club. Course was in very nice shape fairways nice, rough thick and lush, with greens playing very nicely all ar... Continue »

Played the first round of the Presidents Cup, one of the major tournaments for our men's club. Course was in very nice shape fairways nice, rough thick and lush, with greens playing very nicely all around. We started on time and played in under 4 hours. Cart path's are all done but there is still work needed/being done to resurface the areas surrounding the new paths. Walked, it's an old school course (built in the 20's) it's made for walking, but is hilly.

. . . oh yeah, there is now a snack cart! Simple, but effective.

Second group out at twilight, right behind the boys CIF qualifying tourney. Backed up on the second tee box then open right up. Found the course in good shape all around, with the greens being in real... Continue »

Second group out at twilight, right behind the boys CIF qualifying tourney. Backed up on the second tee box then open right up. Found the course in good shape all around, with the greens being in real good shape. Good shots stuck, not so good bounced, rolled fast and smooth with unfixed ball marks being the only problem . . . I hope someone teaches those kids to fix their divots! Cart path project is real close to complete.

Played Balboa on Sat morning and it was great to get out of LA and play an entirely new track. The starter was a great gal who was simply as nice as can be. Got off on time at 7:37am for the rack $50 ... Continue »

Played Balboa on Sat morning and it was great to get out of LA and play an entirely new track. The starter was a great gal who was simply as nice as can be. Got off on time at 7:37am for the rack $50 weekend rate and was paired with 3 great local guys.

There's a lot of work being done at Balboa in terms of adding cart paths everywhere so be advised it's not aesthetically at its best. But the track itself is an old school treat with a fine variety of holes - challenging and encouraging, long and short(er). Yes, hole #4 is an odd terror that I can see few being in love with.

Conditions were pretty darn good. Fairways are not pristine but plenty playable. The tee boxes vary from hole to hole - most good, but a few pushing that line. The rough can vary a lot as well. Sand seemed good but avoided it all day. The greens were pretty fantastic I must say - excellent pace and roll, minimal ball marks.

The last 3 holes are a nice display of some of the Balboa crazy-cool; a very long and super narrow par 5 with cool views, then a 200 yd par 3 from an elevated tee about 200 feet, then an uphill par 4 to close that's got a new cart path on the right and thick trees on the left en route to a small green - madness! But I loved it ...