Friday 9/20, 2:15, me and a buddy tee off from the whites with two singles taking the blues. As SA goes, overall conditions are good and recommended with a few notes. Fairways are mostly in good shape but on a couple of holes on the back nine, there are sections roped off where they are repairing/replacing the sod — the 13th and 14th, if I recall correctly. If you hit into the GUR, take your drop and move on as there is plenty of available non-GUR fairway and I didn't see it as a big issue. It is good to see the attention to improving/maintaining the conditions. Bunkers have a thinner layer of soft sand over a firmer base — balls tended to sit up. Greens were not pristine but had no serious issues, ran pretty true at a good medium/quick pace and were fine and fair by my standards. Busy Friday meant a sluggish pace, we got around in something like 4:45 and were probably the second to last group to have enough light left to comfortably finish.

Went out today 9/17 with an old friend who works part time at this course and two of his buddies with about a 10:30 start. After not playing this course in probably at least 25 years, this is the third time I've played it with my friend in the last several months. With enough contour to be visually pleasing it is pretty level overall and a good walking course. It has its challenges but is open enough to encourage optimism and feels playable with options to go high or low on approach. Two played from the blues and two of us from the whites, and I don't recall any teeing issues all day as to coverage and being pretty level. Good start. The fairways here are generally a little wider, tighter lies and a fair amount of roll with bit of a links feel about them. They were in good shape. Rough was mostly not too punitive. I was in a few bunkers and they ranged from firm-ish but clean and playable to damp, to the point of almost mud — I observed much more good than bad from a distance. Green surrounds were good for short game but could be on the tight side. I putt from off the green numerous times. The greens themselves are in pretty nice shape with a frisky pace, as munis go.

The course was busier than usual with a sluggish, but mostly steady pace to the tune of about 4.5 hours. Food in the cafe afterward was decent. Based on conditions and playability, definitely recommended.

The second of two rounds with my NY visitor was, again, at a course I enjoy but hadn't played in a good while, teeing off at 11:20 on Saturday, 8/3 with a pleasant young couple. Not Rustic Canyon but solid muni conditions. Teeing grounds all good, nice coverage on the fairways, rough was generally playable just off the fairway but definitely stretches and sections that were thicker and grabby in the mix as you moved off. Bunkers looked OK but I missed them and can't comment accurately. Green surrounds were good for short game and the greens themselves were in good shape, ran nicely, but not quite as quick as the fast practice green — enjoyable to putt on. The temps were up from our previous round but do-able in a cart. Pace was a reasonably steady five hours. Something classic about the Griffith Park complexes that I really enjoy, I wasn't disappointed. Recommended.

As an aside, the difficulty in getting reservations in the city system, particularly on weekends, was the reason I hadn't been to Harding in a while. I wasn't even trying. For this round I did the usual ready at 6:00 am on-the-dot first available booking day, and secured the time despite my fumbling. Don't know if the new deposit requirement is making the difference, but it seemed a little more forgiving this time rather than being immediately shut out if you didn't nail a time in thirty seconds. A little encouraging.

This is late, but will be brief. My buddy visiting from NY and I got out last Thursday, 8/1, for an 11:20 start with two senior locals who were good company. I hadn't been here in a good while and it was nice to get back. All around conditions were solid and consistent from tee to green. Bunkers, rough and beyond can vary and get wild depending on how far you go — anything from sitting on dirt/sand to short grass to instantly lost in thick stuff. It's Rustic. The greens were reasonably quick and clean, but not as touchy fast as they can be. While warm with only light breeze at best, it wasn't the hottest of the week and we got lucky on the back nine with a high cloud cover that dialed back the sun and made it fairly pleasant — really all we could have hoped for. Pace was a little sluggish at around five hours but mostly steady. Recommended.

Out 1:30, 7/17 as a twosome joined by a single. I like this course but rarely get out to play here, so it was a nice treat for a mid-week round. Conditions are very good. No problems with the teeing grounds to start. Fairways were more consistently grown in with some cushion than any I've played in a while. They set up well. Where grass, the rough was well grown in and the ball could sit down bit and cost you. Otherwise there are extensive areas of wood chips and some bare spots to contend with. I was happy to miss the bunkers here, which are dramatically shaped, tending to be deep and nasty. The sand seemed fine but I observed a lack of follow-up raking that left a fair amount of footprints — lazy or PO'd golfers not cleaning up. Green surrounds were good for short game and the greens were very nice. They didn't give up pitch marks easily but neither did they seem overly firm. Reasonably quick but not as fast as the previous review. Some of the greens a have a lot of slope and too fast could get stupid quickly, so I found them challenging but very fair.

Pace was about 4.5 hours and we had smoke and ash blowing our way for about an hour due to the Newbury fire before they knocked it down. I usually walk but this course has enough hills I rode for a change. Props to the middle-aged single with us who walked with his cart, but he was obviously beat up by the end. The course is in very nice shape with an interesting variety of challenges. Definitely recommended.

Ran over to get a quick nine in Thursday, 7/11 @3:00, because the heat had backed off from the previous day's high. Course conditions overall are as per usual with one exception. They are resting the tee boxes and markers are almost all bunched well forward or occasionally off to a side. Otherwise the fairways are good, greens ran medium and gave up pitch marks easily and the bunker I was in had pretty decent sand although they all need raking. More interesting and challenging than your usual nine-holer, I always enjoy coming here for a change of pace. Also got to hear music floating over from the Greek most of the round.

Teed off Friday 6/28 as a twosome joined by a single around 11:50. This place is reviewed often enough so I'll be brief. Overall good conditions. The bunkers tend to be firm, sometimes bordering on hard. The rough is good, mostly not too severe but definitely thicker in some places than usual. The greens had a nice level of quickness to them and mostly performed well. The exceptions were a few greens, starting with the sixth, that had some kind of blight on at least a portion, but was mostly avoidable when present. Due to an underlying softness, the greens generally had an uncharacteristic amount of pitch mark scarring and sometimes required repair work on your line. Mostly cosmetic, they were still enjoyable to putt on. Anything not specifically mentioned, (tees, fairways, etc.) were all good. Busy and seeming to start out a little slow, we actually got around in a little over four hours. Atypical minor issues aside, it was quite enjoyable.

Played Friday, 6/7 as a twosome joining a young couple, teeing off from the whites @1:00. I usually find the conditions here as good or better than most munis and it held true. There are some tee boxes with a bit of tilt to them but nothing too bad and most are level. Coverage around the course for both fairways and rough is pretty consistently green, with the fairways cut to a nice length and rough being generally playable. I was in one bunker, the ball sat on the surface although the sand was not actually overly firm. Sand quality is OK. The green surrounds presented well for short game and the greens ran a quick end of medium with minimum marks and a good surface.

The course was busy and we got around in about five hours that didn't seem quite that long due to the mostly steady pace. A steady 1-club breeze through the day that kept it from getting overly warm. There was woman in charge of organizing the carts and starts that would have put us out immediately if we hadn't wanted to hit warmup and stick to our original time. She was working hard all day to keep everything moving, which was nice to see and she deserves props. This was our first look at the new clubhouse. Good to see it up and running. Aesthetically, I found the interior a bit cold, but the food and golf services were all operating smoothly. The course has a couple of quirky holes (which I don't mind) but is a mostly solid layout is set in a very scenic foothill setting. Definitely recommended.

Out Friday with a buddy and a single for a 1:33 start, teeing up on the whites. Pretty good experience overall and the course is in good shape. Teeing grounds are mostly level and more green than not, with a few minor exceptions. Fairways are in good shape. Rough varies from lush to thinner to some dirt areas but is much more good than not. I only hit one bunker which was firm-ish but good. Mostly I found good lies in the green surrounds for short game and the greens are in nice shape, running the quick side of medium, firm and generally resistant to pitch marks.

For a Friday afternoon most surprising was the pace. We got around in a leisurely 4.5 hrs, with only brief delays on a couple of par 3's, otherwise mostly open shots ahead and never pressed from behind. Kudos to the mixed foursome ahead of us who moved efficiently when not impeded from the front. Service here is friendly enough and they seem to run it pretty efficiently. Recommended.

Played yesterday/Friday as a single joining a threesome teeing off at 1:00. By muni standards the course is in mostly good shape. Teeing grounds here are large, level and had good coverage. Fairways are mixed grasses but mostly green and cut, offering good lies with the rare exception of the patch where the dirt is revealing itself. Rollout was good. The rough is rarely overly thick or long and frequently plays much like the fairways with little penalty. I missed the bunkers but noticed grass/weeds frequently growing in them. Areas around the greens were good for short game and the greens are in good shape running around medium. Nice enough young guys, but our pace was about 4.5 hrs and with open holes in front of us could have easily been faster if the threesome was a little less distracted with their phones/food/pot and more pace conscious.

Flat, wide, and forgiving, I had my moments and enjoyed it. They have a beer special that if you ask at check in, they'll stamp your score card. Show it with your receipt at the bar afterwards and get a Corona for a buck.

I met two of my sisters for brunch at Penmar 5/10 and it worked out well. They enjoyed the ambiance and they found the food was unexpectedly good. As they were leaving I put my name on the waitlist and about a half hour later I was on the tee. It was convenient so I wasn't overly concerned about the fact that the greens are still in waffle-iron, sand-filled-holes recovery mode. Despite that, the greens putted reasonably true if you could manage to figure out the rate at which your putt would die out. Not what you are typically looking for, but not so bad as a spur of the moment fix of a round. Otherwise, the course played well but visually reflects a bit of the heavy traffic it gets. Some of the tees were spare, albeit level, but using a tee makes the scruffiness less relevant. The bunkers were decent sand but a collection of footprints that complicated your lie. Fairways and rough were good. It worked out well for me, but if you are just going on conditions, the greens will need a couple of weeks before the sandy holes are remnants and the green speed is closer to normal.

Worth mentioning is the non-golf aspect of this place. I unexpectedly found an attended mini bar and snack station on the fifth tee (Monday through Saturday, I believe). The updated cafe has become quite the magnet with an interesting, well prepared menu and a lot of outdoor seating — a bit hipster with a hint of gastropub. The patio has been extended parallel to the left side of the first tee and a permanent stage is set there for evening entertainment. I finished sometime around 5:00 and the setting up for additional food and drink stations around the putting green, starter shack and cafe area was significant. A band was already playing to the crowd beginning to assemble inside the gates. With the arriving security and more guests lining up outside, it had the feel of a genuine, if small, concert event. What was once upon a time a quiet, if always busy, nine holes with a simple cafe, has become quite the local scene on certain evenings. This Saturday night is headphone disco night, so there you go.

I played 5/3 with a 2:30 start, the day after 24hourgolf so I'm just going to add a couple of comments to his review. Pretty much in agreement with his take, the only exception being the greens. A day can make a difference and since he played AM and I played PM, I think the better part of two days did. I didn't find the greens soft. And while they can get quicker here, they were running at what I consider a nice reasonably quick pace. I assume the pace will be increasing with time. Bottom line, the course is in nice shape right now.

A side note on service: it's consistently good here — pleasant and well organized. When I was paying up with Julius, I asked for a hand cart and he threw it in at no cost. Seems like a small thing but I appreciated the unexpected gesture and felt appreciated as a customer.