Back swinging clubs (poorly) after a 2 month hiatus. De Bell are flattening and re-sodding tees #6 (par 3), 11 (par 5) and 14 (par 3) which should be a welcome relief as these were either amongst the ... Continue »

Back swinging clubs (poorly) after a 2 month hiatus. De Bell are flattening and re-sodding tees #6 (par 3), 11 (par 5) and 14 (par 3) which should be a welcome relief as these were either amongst the least level (11) or the most beat-up on the course. Temporary tees on each of these holes meantime. Also, fairways were recently verti-cut and de-thatched. Even still, they were nice and green with a good pad under the ball and preferred lies throughout.

Rough was juicy and difficult to judge (as is the case with kikuya grass). Most greens had nice grass coverage although a couple had hex plug repairs on the edges. They were soft and putted very slow by De Bell standards so much so that putts that usually won't put the brakes on were pulling up short of the pin. Just a few bobbles here and there. Wasn't in any sand but it looked a bit iffy - crusty, with lots of pebbles.

That said, for the money this was a well-conditioned muni, in the main. I still think it's the hardest regulation course under 6000 yards in the wider area. 12 out of 18 holes have a hazard or OB close in on both sides, while the other 6 have a hazard or OB on at least one side. It would be like playing a course with 30 water features to negotiate. One bad swing and you are done. To that point, I score almost 4 strokes above my overall GK score-tracker average on this track, in spite of its modest length.

POP was surprisingly good for a Sunday morn with virtually no waiting after the second hole.

Played today with GKers Wangster and mswhsu. Decent course conditions if you can handle inconsistent rough, hitting less than driver, a few blind shots, side sloping fairways, and less than perfect sa... Continue »

Played today with GKers Wangster and mswhsu. Decent course conditions if you can handle inconsistent rough, hitting less than driver, a few blind shots, side sloping fairways, and less than perfect sand. Hey, it's an old course, and an odd course, winding its way beneath the old iconic Castaways restaurant in Burbank, CA. Well, at least we got it for the $15 cart fee only. POP was right at four hours. Some tees were being redone. That is, they were being completely leveled and reseeded. The greens were soft and rolled smooth. Not too fast, maybe an 8.0. The fairways were very decent to hit from with lots of good coverage. Rough tended to be somewhat thick, but there was someone running a gang reel around 11 greenside. Hopefully, he will eventually make his way around the course. We saw the beverage cart about three times. The customer sevice when I arrived was mostly detached and disinterested as I was the first to show up. The guy did not want to check me in until the rest of the party arrived.

DeBell - you and I are much alike. We are getting old. We both are getting bald in places that we shouldn't and we are growing too much stuff in places that aren't helping. We used to be better gro... Continue »

DeBell - you and I are much alike. We are getting old. We both are getting bald in places that we shouldn't and we are growing too much stuff in places that aren't helping. We used to be better groomed but it's hard to stay well groomed when you get old - too much work. We don't look as good as we used to and we're not as friendly as we once were. Most of your friends seem to be old too - they've known you and put up with your flaws. Are you letting your rough grow long to stop the ball from going out or to punish shots not in the fairway - or are you just getting lazy? Oh sure, a few years back you has a crisis and got yourself a pretty little clubhouse and parade it around on your web page. It's nice - you also have some nice views and of course your namesake par 3 - it's great. But you seem tired - forcing people to hit irons on various par 4's and listening to them curse as another ball is lost seems to be wearing on you. When the wind blows all your old trees creak painfully. Maybe you should lie down for a while and rest. After my round - I needed to.

Played on Tuesday the 21st using that $15 dollar special (thanks!). After a few months without golfing, DeBell probably wasn't the best place to pick up where I left off, but a good deal cannot go un... Continue »

Played on Tuesday the 21st using that $15 dollar special (thanks!). After a few months without golfing, DeBell probably wasn't the best place to pick up where I left off, but a good deal cannot go untouched. Now I remember why I don't like the course nor why I don't score well-you need a draw on many of the holes and the lines are tight, especially on the front nine. A great short course that defends itself well if you aren't on your game like I was. My POP was just over two hours since I played as a single & played through quite a few groups since I had places to go later. Otherwise my guess is that it would've taken about 3.75 hours to finish in a regular group. Fairways are looking great right now. They are running really well with no flaws really. Rough is typical-patchy and thin-no need to have it lush anyway. Greens ran well and a little fast; only a bump or two & a divot or two here and there. The tee boxes were also very good; however some holes had the back tees' sod ripped out & maintenance workers were moving it elsewhere for whatever reason. The only SUPER bad part of the course is the bunkers, which I know have been plagued by rocks for years, but come on, this is ridiculous. If I had known better I would've brought my sifter to help them out. Rocks literally EVERYWHERE, and the sand was not good quality to boot. Very crusty/grainy, & hard packed. Bunkers did not have well defined edges. Otherwise, DeBell is in very good shape right now. Come out & play before it gets really hot out there.

Played in a scramble here today. The course is in as nice as shape as I have seen it; however, I should qualify that as I have only played here twice in the last two or three years. I have played here... Continue »

Played in a scramble here today. The course is in as nice as shape as I have seen it; however, I should qualify that as I have only played here twice in the last two or three years. I have played here often in the past and from my recollection, it is better than I remember it. As the previous reviewer noted, maybe it is the abundance of reclaimed water used for irrigation, but it is very green here. Greens rolled nicely, medium fast, without any bumpiness or ball marks. The fairways and rough were a mix of tight lies and lush conditions. I was not in any sand, but the bunkers looked decent. I know for a fact, there are small pebbles that do work their way up into the sand, though. Customer service was good and the prices in the clubhouse were not terrible. I may come back soon.

Grew up playing this course and they are doing a great job for the conditions ALL these courses are up against with water cut backs. Some trees are falling due to the "reclaimed" water issue. But I wo... Continue »

Grew up playing this course and they are doing a great job for the conditions ALL these courses are up against with water cut backs. Some trees are falling due to the "reclaimed" water issue. But I would say out of all the public courses within the San Fernando valley this course is amongst the top in " best shape". The greens do roll quickly at a pace of about an 11 on the stimp meter. Fairways do have some thin areas but get over it, if you hit the ball properly then you hit the ball first and not have to worry about the tight lie. But for the most part you may only see that once in a round. Always have a good time playing there and the staff is wonderful. "Scotty" is doing everything he can to keep conditions optimal with what budget he has to work with and doing a fine job at it.

Played 6-2-15 early morning walking in a little over 2 hours for $20 on there canyon club. Tee boxes were a mix of almost perfect to chewed up and un-level. Fairways had some real nice grass in areas... Continue »

Played 6-2-15 early morning walking in a little over 2 hours for $20 on there canyon club. Tee boxes were a mix of almost perfect to chewed up and un-level. Fairways had some real nice grass in areas but also a lot of small bare areas and very dry grass. Rough is cut down low with a lot of bare spots. Was not in any sandtraps but they looked pretty nice. Greens were in pretty good shape, a little soft and rolling medium speed. Have seen the course in better shape, but still fun to play. Staff here is always nice and friendly.

I have a soft spot for this course as I think it punches well above its weight in terms of shot quality and it's a good test of golf course where you don't have to miss by much to run up some big scor... Continue »

I have a soft spot for this course as I think it punches well above its weight in terms of shot quality and it's a good test of golf course where you don't have to miss by much to run up some big scores.

Buttttt: it's looking rough right now. They are clearly trying to get it in shape, but the best part of the course are the bunkers and when you say that then it isn't good. Fairways and rough are thin and patchy with lots of sandy lies. Around the greens the rough is more lush and most fringes are well maintained. Tees boxes, some fairways and rough have been cored with big spikes (one ball rolled into a hole as I was addressing it) and the greens - while they have good speed - are very bumpy and bobbly. I hope they get it together soon because it really is a great little track. Keep driver in bag and let putts roll to the valley (and stay below hole on approaches)

Played today using our vouchers from the LA Golf show. POP was 3 hours (that was great). Customer service excellent at all levels (also great). From previous reviews, I was expecting only the greens t... Continue »

Played today using our vouchers from the LA Golf show. POP was 3 hours (that was great). Customer service excellent at all levels (also great). From previous reviews, I was expecting only the greens to be suspect, but found them to be in fairly good shape (7/10) but was disappointed that De Bell did not use GK to inform patrons of the punching of the fairways (4/10) going on today (made playing very poor). I always enjoy playing here because of the uniqueness of the layout. Still we made the most of it and enjoyed just playing golf and ignoring the issues. Found the tee boxes acceptable and was not in any bunkers, so no input. Rough was penal and of course, there are many areas of OB on the course. Was told that DeBell uses reclaimed water and even with that, they were told to cut back by 20%? So it remains to be seen, how the course will fair over the next 5 months (M/J/J/A/S).