Played Rancho today at noon in 4:45. To put it shortly conditions have greatly improved. A few months ago the greens were terrible with a fungus of some sort on probably all the greens. Today only two... Continue »

Played Rancho today at noon in 4:45. To put it shortly conditions have greatly improved. A few months ago the greens were terrible with a fungus of some sort on probably all the greens. Today only two showed aby signs of damage and both were within a few feet of the fringe opposite the flags. The greens rolled pretty well but on the medium slow side.

Par 3 tees are pretty chewed up but the rest were very nice. Some dry spots in the fairways but outside of this provided solid lies throughout. The rough was patchy as usual.

Played here for my first time Sunday, 11/25 at 10:00 am with a great “Deal” time from TeeOff.com. $42 minus 25% promo code, so $31.50 with cart on a weekend… hard to beat! I arrived almost an hour ear... Continue »

Played here for my first time Sunday, 11/25 at 10:00 am with a great “Deal” time from TeeOff.com. $42 minus 25% promo code, so $31.50 with cart on a weekend… hard to beat! I arrived almost an hour early and check-in went smoothly. Things were running pretty much right on time. Having heard nightmare stories of six-hour rounds, I feared what I’d encounter midday on a holiday weekend, but POP was good at just over 4:30.

Conditions are mixed but overall pretty decent. Greens were probably the high point, rolling smooth in very nice condition, although only about medium-slow to medium speed. They were quite soft and accepted full shots extremely well. Fairways were spotty but there was always grass under the ball. Sometimes it was thin and sometimes a little more lush. Rough was spottier and there was little visual definition separating the fairways and rough. I wasn’t in a bunker but they actually looked really good. Blue tee boxes were maybe the low point, with some clumpy and/or very thin areas where it was sometimes a challenge to find a smooth patch of grass to tee it up.

I’d attended a Senior PGA Tour event here in the ‘90s and tried to walk on one other time but got denied (tournament or something; can’t recall specifically), so this was my first time playing the course. I really liked it, especially the back nine. The front nine routing seemed a little convoluted to me, but maybe that was just because it was my first go-round. Overall I felt the back was more memorable and also more removed from the surrounding urban landscape. I especially liked the par-3 12th and par-4 14th. Both the 11th and 14th had nice elevated greens. The 18th is pretty claustrophobic, but I loved seeing the Palmer plaque on the tee. The dual-green 17th was interesting, too. Unfortunately I hurt my back on the 6th hole and couldn’t enjoy my round nearly as much as I would have liked. (If it hadn’t been such a beautiful day and/or a course I’d never played before, I probably would’ve quit early.) I definitely want to get back out there once I’m healed up.

I had concerns about being able to get out early given this being Thanksgiving week, but to my surprise it wasn't as busy as expected, so able to get out within the first few groups. Pace of play was... Continue »

I had concerns about being able to get out early given this being Thanksgiving week, but to my surprise it wasn't as busy as expected, so able to get out within the first few groups. Pace of play was OK, not great, but still under four hours, which for Rancho is never bad.

Overall course was in decent shape. Greens rolled well, a little slow for my taste, but not bad. Most of the fairways were fine, rough was spotty. In just one bunker and it was well raked and had plenty of sand.

How can you not enjoy Rancho? A wonderful old style traditional track in the middle of Los Angeles. Can it get any better. For as many years as I can remember getting out at Rancho was nearly impossible, but I guess "golf is in a down-trend" so not so tough now. Because I do not have a players card, unable to get the senior rate, so it is a bit pricey. But hard to put a value on golf in November.

Played today, had a 7:04 AM tee time but was able to go out 15 minutes early as the first tee was wide open with no one waiting. It pays to get an early tee time even though it's starting to get a bi... Continue »

Played today, had a 7:04 AM tee time but was able to go out 15 minutes early as the first tee was wide open with no one waiting. It pays to get an early tee time even though it's starting to get a bit chilly in the morning these days. Went out as a walking single following a walking twosome, was able to finish the round in little under 3.5 hours even with getting plenty of practice two balls most of the front nine. The best news is that the greens which were quite badly damaged when I played here nearly a month ago have fully recovered and/or been repaired. Although they haven't recaptured the speed they once had, it was still nice to have smooth and predictable surfaces to putt on - kudos to the greenskeeper and his/her staff. One complaint I've had for sometime now is that many of the tees are set on a downhill incline and using the two-club length rule still doesn't find a level ground. No biggie, however. Fairways in general were decent with some patchy areas. As is the case with many city and county courses in Los Angeles, the rough is being kept short presumably to help improve the pace of play - smart. Bunkers were all in good shape and very playable. This is still one of the best layouts in L. A., and when the playing conditions are decent to good, one of the best deals for a senior walker at $21 on a weekday. Can't beat getting my much needed exercise while enjoying a challenging round of golf. It doesn't get much better than that.

Bigdana just reviewed Rancho Park after playing there yesterday in the morning while I played a twilight round, but his words are pretty spot on. My 'home' course is in a pretty poor state right now o... Continue »

Bigdana just reviewed Rancho Park after playing there yesterday in the morning while I played a twilight round, but his words are pretty spot on. My 'home' course is in a pretty poor state right now overall and could use a little time off for maintenance. Got a cart and played the blue tees for around $35, so at least the price was not outrageous for what we got. Was paired with three other singles who were all very nice and turned out to be the best part of the day - thanks Tiffany, Cliff and Yong! But we were all a little miffed off the bat by seeing the first two greens and some dried out fairways. Many of the greens have some serious damage, including sand filling in dry patches, bumps everywhere, and some areas that should seriously be GUR. They were bumpy, inconsistent speeds and at minimum held decent shots. But overall, pretty terrible - maybe the worst condition I've ever seen them here. Sad. Fairways not much better with loads of thin lies and dry areas, but you will find the occasional lush spot. Chipping around the greens always an adventure with so many balls finding dried out divots that affected shots and just an overall poor quality. The rough was slightly better for many of the shots and was often glad to be off the fairways if the line to the green was still good. Bunkers were good, actually - at least the ones I found myself in at times. Not exactly fluffy, but more than serviceable. And the tee boxes? Again, pretty rough shape. They could definitely use better coverage and a little flattening. Rancho Park definitely not in its best state right now. Not even close. No cart service all afternoon and the water fountains are mostly a broke-down joke. They really need a little bit of a sprucing up here and need it fast. The only salvation is the great snack shop between the 11th and 12th holes - everything you need to get you back on track. POP felt longer than the five hours it took as we actually did a little more waiting than I have in recent visits to Rancho. I'm hoping this is more an anomaly than standard future practice. Everyone knows the layout story at Rancho Park so I won't bother you with those details, however I will STILL let everyone know that the right side of the driving range fence needs to be higher and better quality so finding your ball on the 18th approach isn't always such a dumb adventure. Other than all that though, it's swell! Seriously though, it'll be a while before this track is required playing. Hope they get it sorted soon.

One of the best layouts in Los Angeles but in poor condition. POP was good at 7am on a Friday but the conditions all around are poor. Tee areas are uneven, fairways are bad and so are the greens. Roll... Continue »

One of the best layouts in Los Angeles but in poor condition. POP was good at 7am on a Friday but the conditions all around are poor. Tee areas are uneven, fairways are bad and so are the greens. Rolling about 7 and bumpy. Couldn't help noticing the locals I was playing with disrespecting their own course and not repairing ball marks or divots. Pretty sad to see this at one of my past favorites. If I were LA I would keep a look out for these kind of players and ban them.

Was watching Tiger play yesterday and he was leading by 4 so I thought it might be a good time to go play RP. I arrived at 3:15, paid $28 to walk, and was told to go out! Pace was good for the first t... Continue »

Was watching Tiger play yesterday and he was leading by 4 so I thought it might be a good time to go play RP. I arrived at 3:15, paid $28 to walk, and was told to go out! Pace was good for the first two holes but then the waiting started. I guess that can be expected on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. As far as course conditions go, everything was just okay with the fairways being best. I think it is kind of sad playing here because this place has so much history and the old school layout is fantastic but the facilities are just tired. They could do so much better but with all the play they get but I guess they don't need to spend the money. The low point of the round was the greens. They were patchy, bumpy, and inconsistent. I must have fixed 5 ball marks on every green before putting which I know is not the courses fault but still annoying. Maybe people think it doesn't matter since the greens are neglected. I always love playing here but wish the conditions were better. Will still return whenever I can.

Played last weekend in the early morning. Quite busy. I got there a little before dawn to get on the waiting list and waited about 45 minutes before my name was called. While that may not seem like... Continue »

Played last weekend in the early morning. Quite busy. I got there a little before dawn to get on the waiting list and waited about 45 minutes before my name was called. While that may not seem like a long time on a weekend morning, it was atypical to my experience here. The starter's computer kept going down, slowing the line waiting to check in, but people kept teeing off so that was not the issue. It was just busy. Maybe Tiger's resurgence is affecting the attendance??? Even considering the fog, which hung around for seven holes, the POP was less than 4 hours.

The course conditions were pretty much the same as they have been in my prior visits, except the greens and the rough. The rough is generally lush but it was definitely cut down from its height earlier in the summer. Still a factor but much more playable. Fairways were good, tee boxes were okay.

The greens were lousy. There were really bad fungus (bare) spots especially on the front nine. They were bumpy and slow. It was especially glaring considering how good the greens were earlier this year. What was funny about the situation is I made a ton of putts. I can only think I would have missed the putts if the greens had been any good. So my perception of the greens was not because of the experience. That said, some of the greens on the back nine were much better. Still slow, but without the bare spots.

I had a good time even with the conditions of the greens. The rest of the course is muni-good and putts were falling. So I will be back.

Played 8/17 at noon. 5:10 POP.

The course packed, waited on just about every hole, but that is to be expected at Rancho. The course was in pretty good shape. The tee boxes were level but had more ... Continue »

Played 8/17 at noon. 5:10 POP.

The course packed, waited on just about every hole, but that is to be expected at Rancho. The course was in pretty good shape. The tee boxes were level but had more than a few bare spots. There was always a decent spot to tee it up, par 3s were a little more sparse.

The fairways were thin in spots but were nice to play from. A few dirt patches on 3/4 holes in places where you want to be hitting from.

The rough was typical, mostly around 2 inches. Some spots were dirt and some had grown out to about 6 inches. Where it was long as typically spots you shouldn’t be hitting from.

The greens, aside from unfixed ball marks, were pretty good. I’d say 3 greens had some issues with dead grass. The other greens were rolling true, but at a medium pace.