I was itching to get out today despite the weather and figured it was a good excuse to finally go play Knollwood figuring it wouldn't be as crowded as normal. The gamble paid off. Teed off around 11:0... Continue »

I was itching to get out today despite the weather and figured it was a good excuse to finally go play Knollwood figuring it wouldn't be as crowded as normal. The gamble paid off. Teed off around 11:00 by myself ($49.50 with cart, so had to pay regular weekend rate as a walk-on). They were nice enough to let me go off the back nine first after a few groups went off the front ahead of me. I did play through a few groups along the way, but otherwise an awesome pace on a gloomy, drizzly day. I feel like a 2.5-hour round at Knollwood is definitely an achievement. The conditions at Knollwood were just so-so. I’d say about average for a muni-level course this time of year. Despite the rain, the fairways were very firm and very fast with a lot of tight lies. This turned out to be a big disadvantage here. With the short, but hilly and tight layout, the extra roll-out usually proved more harmful than helpful. I was in one bunker and it was very wet, hard-packed sand, so hard to get a fair judgment. The greens were in very nice shape, surprising given the amount of play this course gets. Even though it wasn’t busy today, I would have expected to see more old ball marks and beat up areas, but they were very green and smooth. And even with the dampness caused by the rain, they were rolling a very quick speeds. There were some low spots where water would puddle up, but the pins were kept away from those areas and that’s excusable after such a quick, but heavy rainstorm. Overall, I found Knollwood to be a fairly enjoyable course that is probably even more fun the more you get to know the different holes and shots required to play it well. Obviously the slow play is a deterrent for many coming here, so I was lucky to avoid that. The price, crowds and location would deter me from making it a regular stop in my rotation.

Played on October 27, 2013. Tee time was 11:00 am. We got out a little before 11:15 am. Finished at about 4:30 pm. I think they put more groups out per hour than most courses. Also they let fivesomes ... Continue »

Played on October 27, 2013. Tee time was 11:00 am. We got out a little before 11:15 am. Finished at about 4:30 pm. I think they put more groups out per hour than most courses. Also they let fivesomes go out. While marshals do patrol course, they do not do anything to hasten the pace of play...

I have always liked Knollwood. The course is challenging for all levels of golfers. The holes are not all the same, which makes for a much more interesting and enjoyable round.

Tees: Somewhat chopped up, which is unusual. On many holes the blue and white tees were the same.

Fairways: In pretty good shape.

Rough: Some bare spots, but overall, pretty decent. Not too thick.

Greens: They had been aerated recently. No sand, but the holes were still present. A little on the slow side and a little bumpy. I am sure the greens will get better as the aeration holes heal.

Sand: Bunkers were good. Sand fairly soft.

Played today at 7:30 a.m., which is about the right time of day to play here if you want to finish in a decent amount of time. However, it is almost always regulars who call ahead and get the earlier ... Continue »

Played today at 7:30 a.m., which is about the right time of day to play here if you want to finish in a decent amount of time. However, it is almost always regulars who call ahead and get the earlier tee times. My buddy is one of these regulars and we walked it for $27. A slower group in front of us kept our round at about 4.5 hours. The front nine fairways and tees were recently aerated and the tees were top dressed with manure. Sweet! White and blue tees were usually bunched together, some forward, others back. Fairways were thick with plugs and our shoes and push carts got dirty quick. Some of the first few greens had a lot of this debris tracked onto them, but folks got the idea and stopped tracking debris after a few holes. They were medium fast and somewhat smooth. The back nine fairways and tees were not aerated, but you could tell half of those greens were recovering from aeration. It was not bad and the course will be in great shape in a couple of weeks. For $27, I may come back at 7:30 a.m.

Played here today (8/11/13). Booked through golfnow for $38/person @ 1:32pm.

Teed off a bit late as we had to wait for a cart, maybe 10-15 minutes late.

First few holes were slowwwwww, but aft... Continue »

Played here today (8/11/13). Booked through golfnow for $38/person @ 1:32pm.

Teed off a bit late as we had to wait for a cart, maybe 10-15 minutes late.

First few holes were slowwwwww, but after getting through them, I could see why. First 2 holes are straight uphill... pretty tough.

Tee boxes were pretty decent. Some were pretty chewed up, most were ok.

Fairways were good. Some muddy areas though and for the first few holes, my ball seemed to either be in mud or on a super tight lie (like hitting off concrete).

Only went in 1 bunker on par 3 6th and there was a puddle... I moved it into the sand but took 2 shots to get out. BOO!!!

Greens were mehhh... Typical of LA muni's noone fixes their divots. Also, although they were pretty much healed up, I could tell the greens were punched recently and it was pretty bumpy on some.

Pace of play was just over 5 hours... pretty typical for this course on a weekend i think.

Played today (06/21) as part of the match play event for the GK Cup #5.

As always, Knollwood starts off a little slow. Huge group waiting to tee off on #1 and people just walk up to the box as if ... Continue »

Played today (06/21) as part of the match play event for the GK Cup #5.

As always, Knollwood starts off a little slow. Huge group waiting to tee off on #1 and people just walk up to the box as if it's automatically their turn. Starter did a pretty decent job of keeping the groups in numbered order though.

Tees - For the most part were average or above average. Always a decent place to hit from, was able to find some flat ground on the majority of them. Little surprised with the tee box placement, but it looked like they were trying to let some areas heal and that's completely understandable. Would rate them a 7/10.

Fairways - Few areas were water logged, and a few areas were patchy but for the most part they were pretty good by Knollwood's standards. Few of the holes had quite a bit of marked off areas but no ropes, just spray paint circles. Rating: 6/10.

Greens - Aeration was almost healed, in fact I didn't even notice it until number 15. As with any standard muni, there were a lot of divots to repair. I think our group probably fixed 10-15 on the majority of holes. Speed was different on each and every hole, tough to get a real gauge on em. Rating 7/10.

Rough - definitely not US Open rough that's for sure. Very playable. Most of the trouble areas have been cleared out pretty well so balls will find their way back into the fairway or just off most of the time. Think one guy we played with hit 3/4 into the "crap" on the first hole and ended up playable on all of them. Rating 8/10.

Sand - fortunately only found 2 bunkers on the day. First one was more mud-like than sand so balls were playing a little heavy. Looked like they over watered the sand since even a couple hours later there was standing water in one of the bunkers and they all looked mud-like. Rating 5/10.

Pace of Play - believe it or not, after getting a late start, we only had to wait a couple times. I would say that I think it's an anomaly for Knollwood, but multiple times I saw Voltaire (GM) riding around in a cart checking up on groups. Starter told us at the beginning that their goal was 4:20 round, and i'd say we were pretty close to that, maybe just a little over. Rating 8/10.

Played on Friday 5/3/2013 at 11:00 am. Round took about 4.5 hours. Not too bad for Knollwood which can be notoriously slow. The course was in pretty good condition. The greens were being aerated, but ... Continue »

Played on Friday 5/3/2013 at 11:00 am. Round took about 4.5 hours. Not too bad for Knollwood which can be notoriously slow. The course was in pretty good condition. The greens were being aerated, but only on 1/2 of the green. The greens were slow, even on down slopes. Tees were fairly good, some divot marks. Fairways were average and the rough was a little bare in spots. I never score very well at Knollwood, but nonetheless, I always enjoy playing the course. If you drive in the fairways you will be rewarded. Drive out of the fairway and you will usually pay for it with at least one stroke, maybe two. The staff was very friendly as usual.

Played today 3-14 afternoon twilight. Not a course I really like, but conditions were pretty good. Greens were good with decent speed to them, Fairways are nicely mowed and pace of play today was unde... Continue »

Played today 3-14 afternoon twilight. Not a course I really like, but conditions were pretty good. Greens were good with decent speed to them, Fairways are nicely mowed and pace of play today was under 4 hours. Tee boxes are sometimes chew up but that's understandable for a muni.

played 3-11 in the afternoon. found a good price on golf now for $20 including cart. not worth it. over 5 1/2 hour round. tee boxes are ok mostly level but on the dry side and not very lush. fairways ... Continue »

played 3-11 in the afternoon. found a good price on golf now for $20 including cart. not worth it. over 5 1/2 hour round. tee boxes are ok mostly level but on the dry side and not very lush. fairways are a little dried out with a lot of divots. rough is about the same as the fairways. was in one sand trap that had a lot of rocks in it. greens a very hard with lots of unrepaired pitch marks. it seems to me that managment and fellow golfers do not care how long it takes to play or what kind of shape the course is in. as long as american golf is running these course i will not be back.

Knollwood. Another great, classic course made famous from the Rat Pack days of Sinatra and the boys. A great course for being a public course. Kikuyu fairways and PoaAnnua greens. A typical William F... Continue »

Knollwood. Another great, classic course made famous from the Rat Pack days of Sinatra and the boys. A great course for being a public course. Kikuyu fairways and PoaAnnua greens. A typical William F Bell design, he did a bunch of these canyon courses all over California with the same kind of design, the same grasses. You have got to play it during the week in the mornings to get in before 5 hour round. That's the only way, unfortunately, as the course lets out 5somes. The greens are almost, always, very very good, if not excellent. On the hilly slopes they can be extremely fast, sometimes too sloped to make them fair as you watch the ball go rolling off the green. Add to that the Poa grass, it's a real test of your patience. For a public course, you can't beat this place, for its price and its tremendous layout. A lot of players find it hard to play here as, on a lot of the holes, you MUST curve the ball off the tee to give yourself a better chance of getting at the greens. Some of the tee shots are really tight, due to the massive trees lining up all the fairways on pretty much every hole. But the holes are well designed into the hills, curving and going up and down with the contours of the slopes. It's a real fun place to play. Worth the money and time if you can get out at the right day or time of the week.