Played Wilson in the rain on Sunday, September 6, teeing off just before 7:00 am. The forecast showed a window with no or little chance of rain for the first few hours but it was, sadly, mistaken. There were people hanging around the clubhouse when we started and a 3some in front of my 4some, but we did not see anyone behind us until the last couple of holes. There were people on the courses, though, which surprised me because it rained pretty much the entire round. I have not been that soaked in a while. Shoutout to Cindy, our waitress in the cafe afterwards, who went out with us in the rain to the 18th green at Harding to take photo (a member of our group is moving back east and it was on that site in 1974 that he had his first beer with his grandfather). Her friendly service was above and beyond the call of duty.

Overall, the course was in good shape. It drained better than I expected. There was the start of some ponding at the low point on the 12th green but I did not see that on any other green. The greens rolled great, at a decent speed. The only green that had the problems noted in the last review was the par three 15th. It was pretty bad. Otherwise they were fine. There were some burnt out spots in the fairways but I had good lies in them. In the rough, gopher holes abound. Overall, the course is in good shape.

Played in the NCGA Senior Series tournament here on Monday, August 31. Cool day, which was appreciated after the heat in the LA area and in the Central Valley where we spent the weekend. Shotgun start at 8:30 am, we played in around 4:45 hours. Not great but okay for one of these types of tournaments.

I played with two other guys who had also not played here before. We got lost a couple of times but found our way back so no problem; it just seemed some extra signage would have been helpful. The conditions were good. Generally good lies in the fairways and the rough was lush. The rough was not particularly long but we did have to search for balls at times. My playing partners were in several traps and from their shots, they seemed in good shape. I was in one bunker, right greenside on #13 (our last hole of the day), and there was some but not enough sand on the uphill slope I was on.

The greens were interesting. They were in good shape and were fast. They rolled nicely. There was more slope than I expected especially those where the pin was near the edge. They were also firm. I had a 114 yard shot from the fairway to a front pin with a sand wedge. I had great contact but he ball hit the middle of the green and bounced to the back edge. There was also less check on chips than I expected. I had three three-putt bogeys. A little course knowledge would have helped but I do think the greens were challenging.

The pro shop was open but that was it. Thankfully, we were told beforehand that the restaurant was not open so I had coffee and water with me. As it was, tough to gauge the amenities. I did enjoy the course though and the conditions.

Played Wednesday, August 12, around 7:30 am, walking from the white tees with grandson #4 and a nice twosome who were riding. Pace of play was nice at 3:50. No drink cart on the course or other amenities but the grandson sprinted to the coffeeshop while we were on the 10th tee, so no problem.

The course was in pretty good shape. There were some burned out spots in both the fairway and rough but overall it was lush enough that it was a good walk out there. The sand was nice. The greens are usually the highlight for this course but they were just okay. There were fungus spots on most of them and they were running slower than usual and slower then they looked. They rolled fine, they just were not fast.

I always enjoy Big Rec and yesterday was no exception. It is not perfect but it is a fun golf course.

Played this morning just before 7:30 am, trying to beat the heat. I walked from the black tees playing as a single. Pace of play was about 4 hours. The foursome I ran up against on #5 asked if I wanted to play through but I told them to go ahead as I was fine with the pace. There was a brief delay when one of their players collapsed next to the 17th green but he was able to drive himself back to the clubhouse when he was able to get up. Otherwise a pleasant walk on a nice morning.

The course is in fine shape right now. The greens are really nice. Soft with extra water being put on them because of the heat, the were running fast and true. No excuses on these greens (unfortunately). The rough is cut down but still not easy to deal with. The fairways were beautiful for the most part although there were some burned out areas in both the fairways and the rough. There was not as much run as normal because of the watering. The tee boxes still have some issues with levelness but the grass was lush and really nice for the most part. Far better than I am used to in my LA County courses.

The course is well worth playing if you are in the area. Use your bug spray as I was warned by a patron in the pro shop.

Played in a NCGA Senior Series tournament on Monday, July 27, teeing off about 9:30 am. We finished in about 4.5 hours, which was better than I expected and was appreciated considering it was getting pretty hot by the time we finished. Good practice facility. That said, I thought the corner of the practice green they were using was much more sloped than the greens on the course.

I had hoped to pre-play the course with 24hour but I was waitlisted and did not get the call to play until Friday afternoon. So, the round was an adventure. We were playing it from the gold tees at around 5800 yards so we missed much of the trouble on the course. The conditions were very nice. Lush fairways and rough and wild areas outside the rough. Unfortunately, I had trouble with my new driver and found those wild areas more than I would have wished. The sand looked like dirt and played a little heavy but otherwise was okay. The tees were very nice. The greens looked nice and rolled nicely but were slower than expected and did not break as much as I anticipated. They were medium speed.

I really liked the layout and would like to play it sometime from the white or blue tees. If I lived in the area, it would be a regular on my course rotation.

Played last Sunday, getting out as a single in mid-morning, walking from the blues with a fun riding threesome. The course was hosting the City Championship finals earlier in the morning so the pace of play was not great, around 4:45. The blue tees were generally on the monuments making the course play longer than usual. They had championship markers set up farther back for the more adventurous.

Twenty years ago, when I played this course several times a month, it irritated me that American Golf would get the course in primo shape for the Long Beach Golf Festival but the conditions would be inconsistent the rest of the year. This round, the course was in very nice shape although I have seen it better. The greens were exceptional, running fast and true. The rough was mainly cut down to manageable levels and fairways were good although the heat has obviously affected them. The only off notes were the slanted tee on #9 (tucked on the left side of the box) and the lack of sand in the sand trap on the right of #1 green. Otherwise, no complaints from a very enjoyable round.

Played BCC twice this week, riding solo Wednesday am from the black tees and walking this morning from the blues with a mother and (middle age) son. Pace of play was good on Wednesday where I was sent off the 10th tee to avoid the pot game starting on the front nine. Today not so much when the course was more crowded.

The course is in beautiful shape. Gorgeous green fairways and lush rough. Sure, there are some less watered areas in both, but generally lush conditions. The rough is cut down but still sticky and punitive. The greens are very nice. I have seen them faster but not by much. I’m told the aeration on Monday and Tuesday is small tine. The greens are firmer than usual so it may help with that. Biggest negative about the conditions are the sand traps. I switched to a lob wedge out of them because of the thin sand layer.

Well worth playing if in the area.

Late review, played last weekend with two grandsons and a friend of theirs from San Pedro. The range was closed because of heavy rain the day before. It was cart path only for the same reason. I was pleased with the 4:15 pace of play considering my grandsons are new to the game and each lost a box of inexpensive golf balls.

There were wet places out there but overall, the course drained well. The starter warned me that some of the sand traps were in rough shape but I found them playable. Fairways were good. They were working on the greens with many of them having new grass with seams evident between the strips. Those greens were lush but very slow (like the practice green). Other greens had sections that had been repaired. Some had no new sod laid. There were places on the greens with bare spots which presumably will get work in the future. The areas without new sod ran at a nice medium speed with some subtle breaks.

I enjoyed the round but the course was overpriced at its present condition (the availability of last minute tee times was a red flag I missed). I’ll probably go elsewhere on my next visit unless the grandsons drag me out there.

Played Sunday, Mother's Day morning, around 7:00 am, foursome walking, three from the blue tees and one from the white. Range open when we got there but that was the only services offered. Played in 3:50, waiting on some shots but not many. There were two solid holes open behind us the entire back nine and some space behind that group. Shameful that early.

The course is in nearly good shape. Definitely not as much water being put on the grass. The fairways were dry for the most part. The rough was cut down and not as lush as one would like. The sand was beach type, and no issues with amount of it. The greens have not completely healed from aeration, with some bumps. I thought the course greens were not as fast as the practice greens. They were medium speed, although admittedly some downhill putts could get away if the putter was not careful. My experience though was more short putts than long ones.

Overally, enjoyable as usual. No beverage cart out there that I saw, there was no food truck at the driving range and the snack shack was not open. Outside of the lack of amenities, a good time had by all especially considering the pace of play.

Played this morning, teeing off about2 10:00 am. They evidently aerated the greens recently, I am guessing two weeks ago. The greens had evident remnants of the holes and were bumpy. They were also pretty fast, not always the best combination. The course is playable now and will be even better in a couple of weeks.

I was told there had been improvements including some new sand traps. The course was lusher than the last time I played. The cart told me that the 16th green recently opened. There were faint lines where I could see turf had been added in strips. It had not been aerated. It looked nice and rolled well. The course still has numerous different kinds of grasses and is s little rough around the edges. Overall, though, it is in good condition. Amazingly enough, we played in about2 4:10 after making the turn almost exactly 2 hours after we started. Much improved pace of play for the past.

Played on Saturday, April 25, in a fundraiser for the Riviera Village Sportsmens Club. Scramble format with a 10:00 am shotgun start. About 20 some odd years ago, two co-workers and I would play this course on Friday mornings before work. So I was interested to see how it had changed.

The course is pretty much the same except the greens are better. They were really very nice, running at a fast speed and rolling nicely. The course is a par three layout with holes running from 80 to 180 yards. Easy walking course which is good because it has been years since I started drinking beer at 10:30 in the morning. They are playing the first tee from the longer, upper, tee. I thought back in the day that they were not using that tee in order to limit possible shots going into the hotel's patio. It would take a really, really bad shot to do that though so apparently they have adjusted. The worst part of the course was the tee boxes which are really in need of grass. There was a mat on each tee but we were playing from the markers and those areas were lousy. Otherwise no complaints, the course is lush and obviously well maintained. I note that they took out the parking lot next to the clubhouse to install three pickle ball courts. We had to park at the adjoining hotel although the course validated parking. Word is the parking lot may be coming back sometime in the future. Considering we had to walk through a conference's registration (before the round) and lunch (after the round) area for ingress and egress, changing the parking layout seems a good idea.

Played this morning around 8:00 am, joining three regulars, walking from the blue tees. They had a barbecue going for burgers and hot dogs when I finished and the restaurant was packed with locals. Nice to see. The snack shack at the 2nd and 14th greens was closed, from what I was told probably permanently. No drink cart. We played in 4:20, falling a shot behind at the end.

The conditions were very good. Green and lush fairways for the most part. Some barer areas but I was not in any. The rough was generally cut down but was on occasion a factor. The sand traps did not have much sand in them. There was enough, but barely. The greens were very nice, running fast and true. I had three three-putt bogeys, twice when it ran out more than expected (front left pin position on #1 is always bad when putting from above the hole) and once when I left a lengthy putt woefully short. I really like the greens here when they are running like this.

Overall, a great experience. Recommended.