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 an... Continue »

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.