Was invited to play here today and readily accepted. The drive into the course is very nice. Then you arrive at a beautiful and stately large white clubhouse, decorated wonderfully for Christmas. Built in 1906 (William Watson and William P Bell 1928 and Brian M Silva 2007). The course is not long (6602 from tips) but it has teeth and great elevation changes. Was really glad I w... » More

Was invited to play here today and readily accepted. The drive into the course is very nice. Then you arrive at a beautiful and stately large white clubhouse, decorated wonderfully for Christmas. Built in 1906 (William Watson and William P Bell 1928 and Brian M Silva 2007). The course is not long (6602 from tips) but it has teeth and great elevation changes. Was really glad I was playing with someone who had local knowledge (very needed on the greens). This is one course you don't have to talk about tees, fairways, bunkers, etc.. All you have to say is that everything is great. I loved the men's locker room, as it has its own barber shop? Driving range/putting green next to the first tee. Service in the pro shop was great (made me feel like a member). From tee to green, it is just a wonderful course to play if you have the opportunity. Service (as expected) was terrific at all levels.
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What a beautiful day to play Terrnea. Warm, clear, views forever. It wasn't so much that I wanted to play this course again, but while the "boss" shopped at Del Amo. what better way to spend time on a Winter day in Southern California. Perfect.

Nick's prior review was spot on. I too struggled from the bunkers, but mostly because it seemed ever one I found provide... » More

What a beautiful day to play Terrnea. Warm, clear, views forever. It wasn't so much that I wanted to play this course again, but while the "boss" shopped at Del Amo. what better way to spend time on a Winter day in Southern California. Perfect.

Nick's prior review was spot on. I too struggled from the bunkers, but mostly because it seemed ever one I found provided a super tough lie. (At lest that's my excuse) Greens rolled well, faster than I expected.

I would play here more often if it were closer to home and less expensive, but the $$ I'll forget, the memories will last.
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I went over to Altadena for super twilight yesterday for the first time in a while and started out as a single around 3:40. Caught up with a friend in the group ahead to finish as a five-some. The most noteworthy aspect of the course is that they have changed the sequence, which I will come back to after a quick recap of conditions. Due to timing, I only played 7 holes total, s... » More

I went over to Altadena for super twilight yesterday for the first time in a while and started out as a single around 3:40. Caught up with a friend in the group ahead to finish as a five-some. The most noteworthy aspect of the course is that they have changed the sequence, which I will come back to after a quick recap of conditions. Due to timing, I only played 7 holes total, skipping the current 7th and 8th holes. Overall I'd say conditions are a little wintery but fair. Tee boxes are generally good with coverage. Fairways are predominantly green with good coverage, but the grass can tend to be uneven/lumpy up close, so there will be some variance in the quality of your lie — sitting a little up or just a little down. Things have an underlying moisture so sometimes I got pitch marks where my drives landed rather than rollout. Rough is generally green, reasonably consistent, and not overly long or punitive. I was in one bunker and it was OK to play out of, leaning a little closer to firm than fluffy. The greens were a little mixed — generally quicker than expected with surface quality varying. Most were in decent shape, but a few had distressed surfaces in areas. Overall, the course is serviceable for a casual round at less than full price.

The old routing started out with the inner loop holes one through five (a par five) and finished with the perimeter holes, six through nine (the other par five) . They have flipped this so that what used to be the sixth hole is now the first hole and you play the perimeter first, finishing with the inner loop and the former fifth hole par five. I'm not sure what motivated the change, but it makes sense and plays better. The previous first hole (now fifth) is a 453 yd par four that is the #1 rated hole and was a bit of a bear to start with. The current first hole is a 300 yd par four, made somewhat strategic by a well placed fairway bunker — very gettable as a par four and drivable for some. You now generally get a better opportunity to build up some confidence and rhythm before you get to the #1 rated par 4 hole at five position. The par five finishing hole (shorter than the par four rated #1) is a nice opportunity on which to finish.

While I have only known the routing that was just abandoned, I believe this new routing was used in the past and may have been the original for this iteration of the course.

I think the current sequence will provide the opportunity for a better score without any actual change in the holes themselves, and so improves the experience.

I may still be the only one from this site out there, but at least now you know if you ever go.
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