I played El Do on Friday early morning, the day after Ring's recent review to which I concur except our PoP was 4:15 as a walking 2 and riding 3. Greens were cut this morning and are very firm, rolli... Continue »

I played El Do on Friday early morning, the day after Ring's recent review to which I concur except our PoP was 4:15 as a walking 2 and riding 3. Greens were cut this morning and are very firm, rolling as fast as I've ever experienced. Almost everything released big time except on 17 (best green on the course) and 18 which allowed balls to actually spin back a tad. Worse green was no. 1: pock marked and crazy fast downhill. Took a while to get used to the speed. Fairways are firm, too, giving a good drive and additional 10-30 yards of roll out than what would be expected. Some, but not all, bunkers had been conditioned ... I had no problems in the several that I visited but others in my group complained that their club bounced at impact. Rough at around 1 to 2" so some balls were hard to find if they ventured too far from the fairway. All in all, El Do is in good winter condition ... if you want to call 85* winter. Recommended. Oh, yeah, hardly a coot to be seen thanks to head GK'er Mark and his Australian Sheppard. They were out rounding them up and sending them to Skylinks. Fun to watch that dog work.

Arranged tee time through Golfzing $42.75/player with cart. POP was 5+ hours. It was slow going. Immediate confusion off the first tee, thankfully the starter had the presence of mind to sort it ou... Continue »

Arranged tee time through Golfzing $42.75/player with cart. POP was 5+ hours. It was slow going. Immediate confusion off the first tee, thankfully the starter had the presence of mind to sort it out and actually walk out to the tee box to straighten it out. Apparently a single wanted to play in our group which would have pushed us back a group. Kudos to the staff for heading the problem off at the pass.

Greens are super fast; tabletops almost. Took a while to figure out how to exactly put on these surfaces but they are consistent. Word of advice I now know lag puts work best here. Bunkers need sand again. I was in 3 today, one was well stocked and several bunkers in the fairway were thin with hard pack underneath. Hard to bounce wedge underneath hardpack with a thin layer of sand underneath but not necessarily a deal breaker. Fairways well covered. You will get a lot of release from fairway. Rough thickish and not overly punishing. Tee boxes were flatish just had to find a good spot to hit from. Tees were well covered with turf.

Marshalls just drive around not necessarily looking for thirsty golfers so it would be nice if they would look around every now and then and help out since they do represent the golf course.

Overall though pace of play was on the slowish side for a Thursday. Finished in 5+ hours. Loads of golfers playing.

Tee'd off Monday morning at 7 am and we finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Course was in typical El Do shape with the exception of the tee boxes which were noticeably shaggy. Greens were a little o... Continue »

Tee'd off Monday morning at 7 am and we finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Course was in typical El Do shape with the exception of the tee boxes which were noticeably shaggy. Greens were a little on the slower side. If you can get a discounted rate, I would definitely suggest playing El Do, but I don't think it is worth their non-resident weekend fee which is around $65.

Out early at El Do, walking rate of $36 booked online, 4 hours to get around. Greens smooth and rolling nice with a few poorly repaired marks. Fairways mostly full but the Kikuyu this time of year c... Continue »

Out early at El Do, walking rate of $36 booked online, 4 hours to get around. Greens smooth and rolling nice with a few poorly repaired marks. Fairways mostly full but the Kikuyu this time of year can lie down and get thin, as it showed in some areas. Not many coots but they sure like that 18th hole ... gotta get the Australian Shepherd after those varmints. Bunkers were well cared for and were easy to play from. I really enjoy the layout and challenge here, especially from the tips. Best LB course in my opinion. Recommended.

Lots of frost on the ground but no delays at El Do this (Fri) morning, CPO until 8:45 the only restriction. Greens very firm and bumpy today early, then they were mown/rolled on the back side, real n... Continue »

Lots of frost on the ground but no delays at El Do this (Fri) morning, CPO until 8:45 the only restriction. Greens very firm and bumpy today early, then they were mown/rolled on the back side, real nice other than the unrepaired ball marks. Fairways dried out and firm, rough semi-deep in areas, not a factor in most. Holding up well after the cold weather, should stay that way as the temps come back up into the 70's next week. Slow play today, 5 hour round off the tee at 8:20. Some guys just don't/can't keep up, but what ya gonna do?

Made the tee time at El Do on the SCGA website again and saved a few green backs, Xmas Eve at 8:44 running 20 minutes late. $35 walking. Poa greens rolling semi quick and true, with a few ball marks... Continue »

Made the tee time at El Do on the SCGA website again and saved a few green backs, Xmas Eve at 8:44 running 20 minutes late. $35 walking. Poa greens rolling semi quick and true, with a few ball marks to repair but nothing to get worked up about. PoP this time of the morning will bring you around in 5 hours. Greenside bunkers in very good shape today, good lies in fairways, and rough decent but patchy in some areas ... it's winter conditions. The course has dried out a bit after the rains last week but not the course to play when it's raining or soon after ... drainage is not good on this flat piece of land. Still, very much recommended.

Played Wednesday. Apparently everyone else had the same bloody idea so pace of play was an outrageous 5 hours and this is with light dimming. We only managed to get as far as 15 before the sun fell.... Continue »

Played Wednesday. Apparently everyone else had the same bloody idea so pace of play was an outrageous 5 hours and this is with light dimming. We only managed to get as far as 15 before the sun fell. Two groups ahead were painfully slow. Both groups were at least 1 hole behind making it approximately 4 holes off the pace. By our reckoning we could have finished if they just picked up the pace before the light fell. Instead they really only sped up when it was getting so dark we could not continue. I get this course now. A lot of beginners or below average players come to this course versus playing other local Long Beach courses so expect their pace of play to really put a damper on pace of play. It's not an easy course with a lot of mature trees. Throw in their hot dog + chip + cart deal of $39.50 and you get a whole lot of golfers frequenting this course. Conditions I would say were not perfect but very good. Greens really rolled quick. I mean lightening fast compared to what I have come to expect from Long Beach area courses. They held their line up to the hole only to veer to the left or right as you would approach the hole - very maddening. You had to trust your line and hit it with enough speed to get past that. Fairways in good shape; thin in spots but playable. Bunkers are a different animal. Fairway bunkers I noticed need sand. Bunkers around the green complex were fluffy. Not the white sandy beach fluffy but good enough. Tee boxes were thin and flat. Loads of water on the course. So mind the puddles and mud even for as hot a day as it was. Aside from the pace of play though the course is what I would characterize as decent. Very playable and expect it to get better if the warmer climes continue. Would I play here again? Of course if only to be challenged by the greens. Slow play I can do without but it's always a test of golf when you play El Dorado and the conditions for the most part are the reason why I will come back.

Got out in the third group or so around 6:10 this morning. We were all over the group in front of us, the first group was long gone, but we still finished in 3:50 at almost 10:00 on the dot. The cou... Continue »

Got out in the third group or so around 6:10 this morning. We were all over the group in front of us, the first group was long gone, but we still finished in 3:50 at almost 10:00 on the dot. The course was in pretty good shape. The fairways were cut pretty low and the ball ran. Still a decent hitting surface. There were some bare spots here and there. The rough was also cut fairly low. The sand was inconsistent, generally thick and wet then I hit out of one with only a thin layer of sand. The green were great. Sneaky fast especially as they dried out. Nice holiday morning on the course.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Unfortunately, it was not a happy one for people this morning at Eldoraro and Skylinks. Without any signs and communication, American Golf (Rick GM at El Dorado) decided ... Continue »

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Unfortunately, it was not a happy one for people this morning at Eldoraro and Skylinks. Without any signs and communication, American Golf (Rick GM at El Dorado) decided to model of split tees out. They had people on the front nine and then the back nine. This is all about making money and I understand. But, this is NOT going to work. We were the first group out and by the turn, there was an entire group on the back nine 2 groups deep. Yes, I admit that we play at a good pace but now people are being punished for waking up early and playing in a timely manner. I got a text from my friend and he was playing Skylinks and he also said the same model was being implemented. I When we teed of the back nine, all holes were 2 group deep. This is ridiculous. I literally walked off the back nine as it would have taken 5 hours to play. Everyone is front stacked and by the time I left the course, there was no one on the tee box The course overall is in great condition. Greens roll true. So if you want to play early morning and be willing to spend 5 hours and you are OK with waiting then this course is for you. I am sorry for the staff that has to work there today. Not only do they have to work the holiday but they have alot of people angry at them. Follow up: Received an email from Rick. A true professional and followed up with the issues. He has indicated that improvements with communication. I value him getting back to me to address the issues.