ALERT: (Projected Aeration Alert)
Will be aerating the greens 5/27 & 5/28.
* Please note that although we put a great amount of effort into forecasting course maintenance, we still recommend you contact the golf course to confirm this information.
ANGC is located just 3 minutes off Interstate 210 between the Sunland Blvd. and Wheatland Ave. exits.
Exiting at Sunland Blvd.
From westbound 210, use the Sunland Blvd. exit, go straight through the traffic light onto Fenwick until you come to Foothill Blvd. Turn left on Foothill Blvd. and you will see the golf course about 1 mile down on the right.
Exiting at Wheatland Ave.
From eastbound 210, use the Wheatland Ave. exit, turn left and go under Interstate 210 and when you come to Foothill Blvd., turn right. You will see the golf course on your left.
Angeles National burst onto the LA Public golf scene in 2004 as the first area offering from Nicklaus Design. The course occupies a low-lying basin just north of the 210 freeway in Sunland, and those of you who have driven this corridor have no doubt noticed the grass from the freeway. Though it still lacks a formal clubhouse, the facility is still quite nice, featuring a large practice area and both a grill and snack-tent near the first and tenth tees. They've clearly taken the proper steps to ensure that "temporary" does not have to jointly mean "compromise" when it comes to the amenities on hand.
Angeles National is, without a doubt, one of the more challenging layouts in Los Angeles county. The new and unique approach to the concept here, though, is the fact that the land it occupies is largely flat. It seems that so many new courses nowadays are being built in, around, over, and through mountains and valleys deemed unsuitable for homes or other development, and they find their teeth in the form of ravines, penal cliffside fairways and greens, and dizzying volleys of blind tee and approach shots. While you will find a your fair share of forced carries at Angeles National, the good news is that once you make your way into the fairway, the holes are relatively straight-forward and fair. Bring anything less than your best tee game, however, and you're going to be in for a long day of fishing shots out of the rocky washes that border almost every single hole.
Hopping onboard with the recent movement toward opening up the green complexes with shaved collars, mounding, and a general lack of thick rough next to the greens, Angeles National frequently offers the golfer a distinct set of options around the putting surfaces. The closely mown collars invite the bump and run more than most other courses do, but the lush lies from the fairways and rough tempt you to open the face of your sand or lob wedge and try something a bit more cute. Whichever option you choose, though, you can be sure that a well played shot will be rewarded, and a poor shot will be punished.
The element of luck, for better or for worse, is far less of a player in your score at Angeles National than at other courses. If you strike the ball well off the tee, keep it in play, and avoid large mistakes, it's likely that your score will be one of which you can be proud. The problem, of course, is that doing all of this is much easier said than done (and not for lack of fairness or offering the golfer a chance to pick up ground if they can successfully navigate their way to the putting surface 18 times).
The greens are superb - they roll at a quick pace, and one that is appropriate for greens of this size and severity. The Nicklaus design philosophy has come a long ways since the early years of almost comical undulations and tiers on the putting greens, and you'll find yourself staring at 20 foot putts thinking you have a real chance to make it (because you do). Likewise, the fairways and rough are equally excellent, and the only true complaint I have about the turf conditions is the higher than normal divot damage in some of the fairways. Absent of this shortcoming, I found the conditions at Angeles National to be almost perfect.
Overall, you can count me among the many who are happy to see a course like Angeles National make some waves in the area. For my personal game, it's never a course I am going to score particularly well at (being the owner of an occasionally excellent, but often erratic Driver), but to see a course put so much effort into maintaining ideal playing conditions on a course that occupies largely flat/rolling terrain makes me hope that the playing public will recognize that quality in a golf course is not measured by how big the clubhouse is, or how nice the view is from the highest point on the property. That being said, I am eager to see what ultimately happens with the clubhouse and the completion of the facilities, but they certainly have a great start with a course that will give you everything you can handle from tee to green if you are up to the challenge.
