Played El Do for the first time on 10/5, and was very pleasantly surprised. I'd read here that Skylinks' loss was El Dorado's gain, as the greenskeeper moved over. I haven't played Skylinks after the ... Continue »

Played El Do for the first time on 10/5, and was very pleasantly surprised. I'd read here that Skylinks' loss was El Dorado's gain, as the greenskeeper moved over. I haven't played Skylinks after the change, and as I said, this was my first time at El Do, so I can't speak to the before/after on either course. But however El Dorado played before, its condition now is terrific - better than Skylinks at any of the many times I'd played there. First, the layout is superior. Terrific use of water to protect the greens and make sure that seemingly easy approaches don't quite suit your eye. Greens are fair - meaning that they aren't tricked out and roll true - but often challenging. Terrific use of trees - again, fair but penal to hit from - gives you the feeling that you are not just playing a classic-style design, but almost like you're playing a private club (something quickly, and pleasantly disrupted by the sounds of happy children and music from the adjacent park). Pace of play was very good for a municipal course, and while our foursome waited on most shots, we never felt it unreasonable, and we finished in well under 5 hours. Try doing that at Rancho or Griffith Parks! Service was fine, from the pro shop, through the cafe, and the cart person. Only slight throat clearer was the price - $65 through GolfNow - which I would absolutely not pay to play the other mentioned courses, but for El Do - yeah, I'm looking forward to the next time.
I will keep a sharp eye out for better discounts, though!

Played in a tournament last weekend. I think there were two or three tournaments going on that Saturday, and we were pushed back about 20 minutes. The greens were much more receptive than they were ... Continue »

Played in a tournament last weekend. I think there were two or three tournaments going on that Saturday, and we were pushed back about 20 minutes. The greens were much more receptive than they were back when I played in August. I don't know if it was because the greens had been shaved down for the Long Beach Open, but the front nine greens especially seemed to be very hard back in August. This time around, my ball was checking very quickly with short irons and on pitch shots. A lot of the ball mark damage that I had seen on the greens looked like it had been repaired. Had a great time, I love visiting the courses in Long Beach.

Paddled into the lineup at dawn for a 3.6 hour session, course still in great shape. Not as many ball marks on the greens since the last time I played here, thankfully, and there are some thin areas i... Continue »

Paddled into the lineup at dawn for a 3.6 hour session, course still in great shape. Not as many ball marks on the greens since the last time I played here, thankfully, and there are some thin areas in the fairways here and there. Highly recommended.

Teed off 6:20am Tuesday. The course is in overall good condition. The greens rolled good (if you can get past the many ball marks). They held shots and rolled med/fast speed. The fairways, rough and b... Continue »

Teed off 6:20am Tuesday. The course is in overall good condition. The greens rolled good (if you can get past the many ball marks). They held shots and rolled med/fast speed. The fairways, rough and bunkers are in good shape. The tee boxes are fair to good due to minor unlevel spots. The course is flat with a nice variety of hole lengths. The fairways are lined by large mature trees with a few tee shots being on the tight side. Water comes into play only several holes. Staff was friendly.

Played today as the second group out. Pace was great except for first 2 holes since it was played in the dark. Tee boxes were nice level a little too fluffy for my taste. Not a lot of divots since the... Continue »

Played today as the second group out. Pace was great except for first 2 holes since it was played in the dark. Tee boxes were nice level a little too fluffy for my taste. Not a lot of divots since they moved the tee boxes from the weekend.Fairways were lush and always had a good lie from there.Rough was not too thick but the grass does catch the club sometimes.Bunkers were soft in the 2 I was in. It was easy to get out of and was able to put spin on it.
Greens were tore up in a lot if spots. This is not the fault of the course but from the lazy people that played over the weekend. I was fixing about 6 divots for every green and in some there were gashes. I cant believe the way some people treat golf courses. Had a fun round other than that.

Yes, El Do is still in very good condition. I put my name on the waiting list Friday at sunrise and was on the 1st tee by 6:30, PoP was around 4:15 today with a bit of waiting on the par 3's. Greens... Continue »

Yes, El Do is still in very good condition. I put my name on the waiting list Friday at sunrise and was on the 1st tee by 6:30, PoP was around 4:15 today with a bit of waiting on the par 3's. Greens are still cut low and some are very quick (my guess would be about an 11), especially downhill putts which can get away real easy. Also, many poorly repaired ball marks were present ... that's Poa when it's short. But they were soft and would hold any decently struck approach ... really nice to chip and putt on. Fairways and bunkers in good condition overall, and the semi-lush rough was a bit deep in many areas that wasn't Kikuyu. I helped the 3 super seniors I played with look for a few missed iron shots and it was a chore to find some of them. Would play here every week with conditions like these, $40 walking non/res.

Played on a Thursday afternoon. Twilight rates start at 2pm for Long Beach residents, 3pm for non-residents. Green seemed to be very hard, especially on the front side, with many ball marks. Perhap... Continue »

Played on a Thursday afternoon. Twilight rates start at 2pm for Long Beach residents, 3pm for non-residents. Green seemed to be very hard, especially on the front side, with many ball marks. Perhaps they were really shaved down for the Long Beach Open a few weeks ago? They played at a medium speed, and rolled fairly true if you were lucky to not have ball marks in the way. Tee boxes and fairways were in good condition. The sand in the bunkers was good too, if a little coarse, and the lips can be intimidatingly high. There were a decent amount of people out there, but we were never pushed. We only waited on the first couple of holes, and the group behind us didn't wait on us until the par-3 17th. Some of the rough was very lush, we would drive past our balls a couple of times before finally spotting them. The drink cart gal was going around a lot, she passed by us at least four times. Service in the pro shop was very pleasant. I'm playing in a tournament next month, will be glad to head back.

Out early Friday morning with fellow GK'er BuckeyeNut, $40 to walk. PoP a leisurely 4:20 with some waiting on the par 3's. A week after the LB Open and the course is in great shape, tee to green ...... Continue »

Out early Friday morning with fellow GK'er BuckeyeNut, $40 to walk. PoP a leisurely 4:20 with some waiting on the par 3's. A week after the LB Open and the course is in great shape, tee to green ... and the greens were cut ...the best Poa I've played on in a quite a while ... like Velcro. Nothing to complain about here, a muni that makes you hit it straight off the tee or you're scramblin'. Recommended.

Played on 07/20/13. Course is in great shape and ready for the Long Beach Open. My group and I play El Do, Rec and Skylinks every Saturday depending on where we can get the earliest tee time. In my... Continue »

Played on 07/20/13. Course is in great shape and ready for the Long Beach Open. My group and I play El Do, Rec and Skylinks every Saturday depending on where we can get the earliest tee time. In my opinion, El Do is in the best shape of all of them at the moment.