Played today in a nice POP of 3 hours. I won't spend a lot of time on the review, as t8fish covered conditions very well. In fact today, they still had the number one fairway CPO. The front 9 is for s... Continue »

Played today in a nice POP of 3 hours. I won't spend a lot of time on the review, as t8fish covered conditions very well. In fact today, they still had the number one fairway CPO. The front 9 is for sure better than the back 9 (more low lying areas) but numerous GUR. IMO the course is playable and I agree the greens are in nice shape. I would hope that we have a nice week of sunshine and no doubt conditions will be much improved next week. Customer service excellent at all levels. And check out the food in Birdies. Great service, selection and prices.

Booked ahead Saturday night for a single, 9:20 tee-off at Wilson for Sunday morning, 1/29. Never got close as I tried various approaches and discovered all entry to the area was blocked until 12:00 du... Continue »

Booked ahead Saturday night for a single, 9:20 tee-off at Wilson for Sunday morning, 1/29. Never got close as I tried various approaches and discovered all entry to the area was blocked until 12:00 due to a half marathon and 5K. Headed over to Santa Anita where a men's club tourney was going off until 11:00, and so ended up at a busy Alhambra, where I teed off with a threesome around 10:50. Whew! I usually give this course points for consistently decent maintenance, conditions and good customer service — it's generally a nice shorter course — but today the conditions were more winter doldrums and probably the low point of the year. Tee boxes were fine, with good coverage and most nicely level. The main negative was short, frequently thinnish grass with a fair amount of exposed dirt patches distributed around the fairways. With all the rain, the soil was a bit sticky, resulting in the occasional heavy shot as well as frequent incidents of mud bits on one's ball. This is not to say there was complete absence of coverage or decent lies. The coverage was more often adequate with some better areas, but something of a mix. Rough could be anything from a bit grabby and sticky, to nicely playable, to hard pan, although it was OK more than not. I avoided the bunkers all day, but they seemed in good shape, a tad firm judging from my partners' results. The best aspect was the greens, which were generally clean, quick enough to get your attention and nuanced enough to keep it. As mentioned, it was busy, a little over a five-hour round, and the threesome I played with were good company. The weather was gorgeous and there were frequently beautiful views of the snow-capped mountains to the east. Overall, it's not in terrible condition but, personally, I won't be back for a while. Some time to dry out will allow some offset to the winter thinness of the fairways by offering a fair amount of rollout and an absence of the tackiness in the underlying soil. While the rain has been a godsend, it's understandable that this is not the best time of year for conditions at many, otherwise solid, courses.

Was able to squeeze one more round in for 2016 today. Beat most of the rain, so that was not an issue. Course was just coming out of last weeks heavy rains, so conditions where acceptable. Saw several... Continue »

Was able to squeeze one more round in for 2016 today. Beat most of the rain, so that was not an issue. Course was just coming out of last weeks heavy rains, so conditions where acceptable. Saw several GUR areas throughout the course, no doubt left over from past rains? But the fairways today were playable. No issues with any tee boxes. Even the sand traps (though not in any) appeared playable. And the greens were just great, even when the rain started to fall. This course (IMO) is one of the best maintained courses in LA county and it shows. Customer service excellent as always and good breakfast at Birdies to top off the round. Happy New Year to all GK members.

Back out today on a nice comfortable morning with POP @ 3 hours. Just a few things to add, since my last review. Course is still in great shape from tee to green. Green speed seems to be getting faste... Continue »

Back out today on a nice comfortable morning with POP @ 3 hours. Just a few things to add, since my last review. Course is still in great shape from tee to green. Green speed seems to be getting faster, as drier weather has stayed around. Tee boxes have filled in nicely. Great customer service (thanks Peter and the ladies in Birdies).

Early morning round today, delayed by frost (yep frost from cold night and 47 at 6:15). And we still managed to play in 3 hours. Staff and superintendent right on it and had everyone going with no mor... Continue »

Early morning round today, delayed by frost (yep frost from cold night and 47 at 6:15). And we still managed to play in 3 hours. Staff and superintendent right on it and had everyone going with no more than a 15/20 minute delay (great). Course is still in nice shape throughout. I have said before and will say again, this is one of the best maintained courses with an excellent grounds crew, in S CA (thanks). Tee boxes have filled in from over seeding, no issues; fairways in great shape both in roll out and lies; bunkers in top shape (though some still need to learn to use a rake); rough not a factor; greens in top shape both in chipping/putting. And great customer service as always. Only bad factor today, was a power outage which did not allow us to enjoy a good breakfast @ Birdies.

Played 12/1 at 11:30. POP 3:30

The tee boxes here are the only thing I can really complain about, they're pretty beat up, but at least they're mostly flat. The fairways had some thin spots, but wer... Continue »

Played 12/1 at 11:30. POP 3:30

The tee boxes here are the only thing I can really complain about, they're pretty beat up, but at least they're mostly flat. The fairways had some thin spots, but were pretty lush where you should be hitting the ball off the tee. This course is all about hitting the rights spots on the back 9. The greens at Alhambra remain some of the best muni greens in the area. They're quick, they break, and they're not too tough to read. Really enjoyed my round using their "Thursday Special" which is green fee, cart and lunch for $30. Will definitely be back to play again, and hopefully on a Thursday.

Played on Saturday, November 19 with a tee time around 9 am. We played as a foursome and POP was about 4 1/2 hours for 18. Pretty good for a Saturday to play this fast. Didn't really need to wait o... Continue »

Played on Saturday, November 19 with a tee time around 9 am. We played as a foursome and POP was about 4 1/2 hours for 18. Pretty good for a Saturday to play this fast. Didn't really need to wait on most of the holes.

Forget that this course was not flat. There are a few hills, mostly on the back 9. Water comes into play on 3 holes. Most of the par 4 holes play pretty short. I noticed that the group behind us were waiting for us to clear the green on some of the short par 4s as yardage was around 300 yards at the most from the back tees.

Course conditions were really good. Fairways had very good coverage from tees to greens. The teeing area had good coverage. Some of the teeing area was not level from the red tees. I can't comment about the sand in the bunkers as I didn't land in any this time. Greens were in excellent condition. Noticed when we were putting that balls were rolling pretty fast. Some of the greens were very large. I would make green and have 40 yard putt. My only complaint that there were a few unrepaired ball marks on the greens.

This is a nice course to get great your practice in. Some of the holes on the back 9 run downhill and back up to the elevated green. I forgot that there were a couple holes where you need to hit your tee shot about halfway down the hole and then hit your next shot across (the valley) to the green. If your tee shot on these couple of holes went too long, your ball landed at the bottom of the hill and then you need to hit up to the elevated green. The 18th hole was interesting. You need to hit your tee shot up and over the hill in front of you to the dog leg. Then your next shot is down the fairway and then your next shot is back up to a little elevated green. You get to practice a lot of downhill, uphill, sideways lies on this course.

Staff is pretty friendly. Love the practice area here. There is a three level lighted driving range. In addition, there are chipping, pitching, bunker areas to practice on behind the driving range. There is a restaurant here. Parking can be a challenge here as there are banquet rooms here and parking can fill up when a wedding reception is held here on Saturdays. Talked to one of the staff and the Sunday brunch is very popular.

Out today on a quite and cool (56 F @ tee off) morning. POP was 2 hours. Course remains in good shape from tee to green. Great maintenance staff here. Every green was cut by the time I got to 18 and c... Continue »

Out today on a quite and cool (56 F @ tee off) morning. POP was 2 hours. Course remains in good shape from tee to green. Great maintenance staff here. Every green was cut by the time I got to 18 and chipped/putted great. Great customer service in pro shop by Pete and Michelle.

Played today in 3 hours. Great Veterans Day special (free). Happy Veterans Day. Course is in very nice condition. Tee markers back to SCGA markers; tees all reseeded (level and being mowed); rough out... Continue »

Played today in 3 hours. Great Veterans Day special (free). Happy Veterans Day. Course is in very nice condition. Tee markers back to SCGA markers; tees all reseeded (level and being mowed); rough outside of fairways is 1/4 to 1/2 inch and tough to play out of; sand traps are all clean, level and playable; fairways seemed a little soft and thus not much roll out, but good lies throughout; greens are in great shape and hold shots well, chip/putt well (IMO about 8 maybe 9 in speed). Customer service is great at all levels and food in Birdies was excellent as always.