Played on Wednesday, November 12, before 7:00 am. The course was crowded but we still managed to get around in just over 4 hours. There was a marshal ... » More

Played on Wednesday, November 12, before 7:00 am. The course was crowded but we still managed to get around in just over 4 hours. There was a marshal out early which was appreciated. No cart service and the on course snack stand was not open.

The course was in great shape. The rough was cut down in most places but it was fairly lush anyway. The fairways were very nice although there were some bare spots. A few of the tee boxes were not in level areas but they were generally good (#18 not so much). The greens were outstanding. Fast and smooth, they were a joy to putt on. The front right pin position on #1 was devilish considering the speed.

I always like coming to ElDo but it is especially nice with the conditions so good. I used to play here regularly and was able to say hi to one of the regulars from 20 years ago. If I were a Long Beach resident I would be out here all the time also. Recommended.
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Played today in the Golf Moose/Vivid/GK outing at Western Hills Country Club. Nice facility in the Chino Hills area of Carbon Canyon. Had a breakfast ... » More

Played today in the Golf Moose/Vivid/GK outing at Western Hills Country Club. Nice facility in the Chino Hills area of Carbon Canyon. Had a breakfast burrito in the bar before the round and it was very good. Friendly staff and well run event. The pace of play was okay at 4:45 considering how long shot gun starts usually take. My group played the white tees, listed at 6400 yards and a 128 slope.

The course has quite a few elevation changes. Interesting layout and tricky figuring out the right club on a first visit. The 13th hole is being redone and was closed. They converted the par 5 15th into a short (255 years today) par four 15A and a long par three (200 yards) 15B. Interesting that what I can only assume is a temporary par 4 green for 15A was a nice green that rolled identical to the other greens on the course. Very nice!

The course was in great condition. Beautiful fairways, lush rough and nice tees. Really lush conditions throughout. The greens looked like they were recovering from aeration sometime in the past but they rolled well at a fast speed. There were some wobbles but overall the ball, for good or ill, went where you sent it. It would take a couple of rounds to figure out the greens; there were some difficult reads. Both 1 and 10 had front pin positions which were border line unfair but otherwise they were tough but fair.

I liked the course a lot. It exceeded my expectations in terms of concourse conditions and there were no issues with regard to services or facilities. It is definitely a course I would like to play again.
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Played Wednesday, October 29, in the early morning. Walked the Blue tees with a twosome and another single. Nice pace of play at less than 4 hours. » More

Played Wednesday, October 29, in the early morning. Walked the Blue tees with a twosome and another single. Nice pace of play at less than 4 hours.

The course was quite wet. There was a heat alert for the day so it likely was because of that, but it made the course play longer. The bunkers suffered the most from that with some water pooling at the bottoms of a couple and heavy, wet sand in most. The fairways were good with some bare spots. Rough was a factor with some thick areas capable of hiding balls. On 18, I did not see the ball after my second shot until I was within 10 feet of it. The greens were still recovering from aeration earlier this month but they were running at nice speed and were pretty firm. Quite a few bumps still though.

The greens should be completely healed within two weeks although the course is playable now and I may be back before then.
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Played on Wednesday, October 8 around 9:00 am. POP was around 4.5 hours. Not great but not unexpected either. Busy day but the staff was courteous. » More

Played on Wednesday, October 8 around 9:00 am. POP was around 4.5 hours. Not great but not unexpected either. Busy day but the staff was courteous.

The course is in better shape. It is getting more water and the fairways were greened up. Nice to see. They were placing new sand in the green side bunker as we finished #9 and we noticed there was new sand at #18 also. The greens were good. Fast side of medium. Overall, the course is improved over what it has been for the last few months.

I am cautiously optimistic that the course is coming back to where it should be. I had a good time.
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Played Sunday, October 5, around 7:00 am. Started late after they put a gap group in front of us and they were a hole behind after one hole. About the... » More

Played Sunday, October 5, around 7:00 am. Started late after they put a gap group in front of us and they were a hole behind after one hole. About the 5th hole though, they took off and started playing at a good pace. It was like a tag team and a group that had an interest in pace substituted in. Ended up being a 4 hour pace. Snack shack was open when I we went by after the 2nd hole, nice to see as it was not open early the last couple of times I played here. I made sure to buy something when we made the turn to give positive reinforcement for the good behavior.

I knew from Greenskeeper that they had punched the greens on Monday and Tuesday. It was a heavy punch. Interestingly, the greens were still pretty firm. Lots of hops and change of direction to the putts. I thought they were faster than the practice green. The fairways were pretty tight, almost winter like condition with some bare spots (looking at you #16). There is quite a bit of lush rough but also some areas with bare spots. I had a couple of nasty lies, on dirt between clumps of grass. The bunkers were also a mixed bag including several that had insufficient sand. I was in one fairway bunker (#13) where a heavy rake job left me with a teed up lie. I lost no yardage on the shot, ending up in the back bunker that had less sand than the fairway one. At least this time here I did not end up near one of the crazy steep edges they bunkers have (last time here I had to play a bunker shot on my knees outside the bunker, lunging down at the ball). The tees were lush and level.

Overall, not as good tee to green as I have seen it and the aerated greens are what you would expect from the large punch. I enjoy Lakewood but I may delay my return until the greens heal.
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