Played Friday. Course was crowded. Conditions are I think above average. Pace of play was faster than the crowded course appeared.

Greens were recently punched (small tine). There were some b... Continue »

Played Friday. Course was crowded. Conditions are I think above average. Pace of play was faster than the crowded course appeared.

Greens were recently punched (small tine). There were some bald spots especially on Hole 2 (par 3). Looked like some fungus issue. For the most part though even these greens rolled fairly true with little bumpiness. Fairways had good coverage with some thin lies especially on back 9. Rough was a various mix of cut thin to bare to truly thick stuff so mileage will vary. Bunkers had in my opinion the right amount of sand. Just enough to get your club under the ball. Tee boxes were flat and lush.

Pace of play was strange. We were a twosome stuck behind a really slow 4some. It was so bad that they were literally a hole behind. They were hospitable enough to let us play through but only AFTER we hit up on them mistakenly. I think it was hole 7, they had literally disappeared from the green and we thought they left so we hit; only to find them marching onto the green as my ball hit the front part of the green.

Overall conditions are decent to above average. Starter was accommodating towards his customers and that helps. Definitely recommended to play.

Played 5/8 had a 12:10p tee time for $26.99. Guy in proshop let me out early around 11:30a. The whole course is very dry. Tee boxes are level, not too many divots and green for the most part. The fair... Continue »

Played 5/8 had a 12:10p tee time for $26.99. Guy in proshop let me out early around 11:30a. The whole course is very dry. Tee boxes are level, not too many divots and green for the most part. The fairways are very dry. Thin lies all day and when you do find green grass, its "fluffy" so the ball sits down, kinda like your in the first cut of rough. Greens are 95% recovered from recent aerification so nice and green but they are not cutting them short or rolling them yet. Greens very bumpy and soft. Slow to medium speed. The fringe and around the greens are what you would expect with not watering as much as they should, dry and thin lies. Sand traps were ok good. Cant tell where the rough begins and the fairway ends. Chester Washington is usually in a little better shape than this.

Played an early morning round at CW last week and was absolutely thrilled with the organizational aspect of a course that often has plenty of trouble getting this right. Not only did we get out right ... Continue »

Played an early morning round at CW last week and was absolutely thrilled with the organizational aspect of a course that often has plenty of trouble getting this right. Not only did we get out right on time with our carts at a great rate of just $31, but also finished in exactly four hours, which, if you've played here often, is nothing short of amazing. Long may it continue.

Unfortunately the course conditions did not match the results of the course management. The fairways are very dried out so 80% of the time you're going to find thin lies, and the rough is not much better. There's an occasional green patch out there to make you happy, but this track could definitely use some watering and greenery. The bunkers remain in good shape as usual though, so that's nice. Tee boxes are just okay.

Greens were a bumpy mess throughout the day. I believe they were aerated about a month ago but this past week they were in dire need of a roll. The outer edges especially had a very bizarre bumpiness to them that made putting an adventure to the extreme. Not enough people here fix their ball marks, either. Speeds were pretty slow overall but they did hold shots very well due to their sponginess. A far cry from the fast greens I'd found here in prior visits.

In terms of layout, the course is pretty flat and non-descript with the exception of its main teeth from holes six through nine. No par 5s on the front nine so keep that in mind. Back nine to me seems much easier than the front, but wouldn't you know it my only blowup hole was on the back. Go figure. Anyway, good marks to the staff and all for the behind the scenes business, but the course itself could definitely use some improvement right now.

Greens very good and fast and soft for a city course. The cup edge DESTROYED on many holes by the rabbit SOB's that uses his/her putter to pick ball out of cup. I had 3 balls lip out of cup that sho... Continue »

Greens very good and fast and soft for a city course. The cup edge DESTROYED on many holes by the rabbit SOB's that uses his/her putter to pick ball out of cup. I had 3 balls lip out of cup that should have dropped. Shot a 75 from blues, that could have been a 72. For it only being a month or so since aeration, I thought the green were great. I was disappointed in the fairway conditions and with no notice at the counter. But found out that they are starting the process of changing out the fairway grass. Maybe less water use in the future (after watering a lot to get the new grass to grow). The rough was mostly dead and many bare spots (keep it in the middle). Sand traps had nice white sand. A delight for a city course and not seen the last 8 years.

For those of you read my reviews, you know me to be a "crack of dawn - first off" type player. After todays round, it only validates this for me.

After a 2 1/2 hour drive from Coto to make my 10:3... Continue »

For those of you read my reviews, you know me to be a "crack of dawn - first off" type player. After todays round, it only validates this for me.

After a 2 1/2 hour drive from Coto to make my 10:37 tee time, arrived just before 10am. After checking in with the shop who represented they were running a few minutes behind. At 10:25 I asked the group on the tee what their tee time was and the response was "I don't know, I'm in the skins game" I learned there were at least five fivesomes of groups in the skins game. Starter told me they arrived late so they were running behind. Finally after almost 40 minutes past our starting time, we hit off only to be met with four (4) groups waiting on the 2nd hole. It took us 5 1/2 hours plus the delay to begin our round - over 6+ hours !!! That is unacceptable !

Greens were far and away the best only good part of the course. Fairways were thin, rough was horrible, bunkers were hit or miss.

Then I had the 2 1/2 hour drive home. Twelve hours portal to portal to play one round of golf on a crappy course. Never again! I'm already looking forward to my 6:30am (First off)
next Monday at Santa Anita, and my round at Coto tomorrow pre-6 o'clock.

Don't want to hammer Chester Washington too badly as they were kind enough to comp Kassper7 two rounds after his last debacle there a week ago, but doing right by customers must be treated separately ... Continue »

Don't want to hammer Chester Washington too badly as they were kind enough to comp Kassper7 two rounds after his last debacle there a week ago, but doing right by customers must be treated separately from honest course conditions, right? Regardless the rest of this review, thanks to CW for doing that for us and trying to make it right.

As for the round itself, we had an 11:07 tee time and finally got out around 11:25 or so. We played the blue tees with two funny guys from the area. POP overall though was pretty abysmal for a Friday afternoon as the round finished at just around five and a half hours. That left plenty of time for course critiquing.

First off, the greens have somehow miraculously gotten fast here in total contrast to the slow, spongy greens they used to have. They actually run pretty fast and nice now, however there are a lot of ball marks to contend with and the pin placements today at those speeds were sometimes quite preposterous. Balls would simply keep rolling if they caught the slope with any pace and it was sometimes quite frustrating.

The fairways are typical of winter conditions - thin lies, browned out, hardpan and the occasional luck of getting onto a nice patch of the green stuff. Rough is not much better and a mix of all the same things - not a lot of differentiation from one to the other.

Fairways bunkers are in great shape, but unfortunately they're exactly the same around the greens. CW was always pretty reliable when it came to the traps, but they are currently very thin around the greens - best to chip the ball out of there with some conviction than hit a traditional bunker shot. Tee boxes were also a little beat up all around but level at least.

But hey, the round was on them and so that's always a good day. It's nice to see that CW has gotten their greens going better, but unfortunately it looks like it came at the expense of some other aspects of the course. Still, it's a nice little track to play that is challenging enough to keep you focused while still generous off the tee in most areas. A little rain would go a long way here, but that won't fix the bunkers!

Played 10/18. I did not ask the pro shop but strangest green aerification/maintenance i've ever seen. No warning on Golfnow or Golfzing. Holes 1,2,4,8,11 is punched and sanded. Holes 3,14,15,16,17 no ... Continue »

Played 10/18. I did not ask the pro shop but strangest green aerification/maintenance i've ever seen. No warning on Golfnow or Golfzing. Holes 1,2,4,8,11 is punched and sanded. Holes 3,14,15,16,17 no maintenance, greens are fine, smooth with medium speed. Holes 5,6,7,9,10,12,13,18 is punched with needle tines, no sand. Rest of the course is typical fall/winter muni conditions.

Got out at 2:45pm on Sunday 9/17 with MrKich and some friends. $24 including cart was a good price to pay, and we barely were able to sneak in 18 holes as the days keep getting shorter :(

Greens: ... Continue »

Got out at 2:45pm on Sunday 9/17 with MrKich and some friends. $24 including cart was a good price to pay, and we barely were able to sneak in 18 holes as the days keep getting shorter :(

Greens: Soft enough to hold shots, yet deceptively quick. Lots of mounds that aren't obviously visible unless you scope out the green fro multiple sides. They were a little bumpy so late in the day and there were some notable bare areas (especially left side of #2) that really affected putts. Tons of unrepaired ball marks, but that's on all of us to fix.

Fairways: Mostly lush with good lies. A few bare areas and a few extra spongy areas. Definitely playable throughout.

Rough: Lush and spongy for the most part, with a few bare areas near course boundaries, and some extra lush areas near trees. This led to some inconsistent lies, as on one whole (#8), I was stymied by a thick spongy mass, then on my next shot from almost an identical lie, my club slid through the grass like a warm knife through butter.

Bunkers: All were in very good shape. Fluffy sand with a nice firm layer underneath. I was in 4 bunkers and all had very similar sand.

Tees: Mostly lush and level with some areas with significant divot damage, especially on the par 3s and short par 4s.

Overall, Chester Washington is a fun track with some interesting holes. I don't get out here too often because I rarely feel like putting up with airport traffic, but when I do I always seem to enjoy myself.

Calling all cars! Calling all cars! Putting an APB out on the thief that stole Chester Washington's normally heavy, fuzzy, slow greens and magically replaced them with slick, tight and fast ones. It w... Continue »

Calling all cars! Calling all cars! Putting an APB out on the thief that stole Chester Washington's normally heavy, fuzzy, slow greens and magically replaced them with slick, tight and fast ones. It was a big surprise and one that I had trouble adjusting to the entire round on a Friday twilight session at CW from the blue tees.

Without a doubt though the best greens I've ever experienced on this course, but unfortunately almost all of the other aspects of the place were average at extreme best, but mostly a bit sub-average all around. Most holes provided thin lies from tee to green, tee boxes not very neatly maintained or trimmed down, the usual good sand at CW replaced with a thin layer of dust, and the rough mostly thick, sticky and grabby.

The $19 walking rate for twilight though is a fair price for what you're getting here currently. It's certainly worth that. There are a few challenging holes here but for the most part it's all pretty much right in front of you with few areas of serious danger to put you at risk.

But those greens! I kept rolling putts past the hole on a regular basis and it was very difficult to get a ball to check, which again, is simply unheard of on CW greens. But the rest is so-so at best. POP is also not a big trademark at this course, and this round was no different with a packed house on the course despite being told midday that it was wide open for twilight.

But it's better than not playing golf ...