Returned to Rec Park this week with a twilight time on Friday. Not much different in terms of conditions from my last review, but a few things stick out.

Course conditions remain good across the b... Continue »

Returned to Rec Park this week with a twilight time on Friday. Not much different in terms of conditions from my last review, but a few things stick out.

Course conditions remain good across the board with some noticeable exceptions. The bunkers appeared to be a big grainier than before, and some with standing water in them, but nothing that will likely affect your future visit. The greens rolled nicely at medium-fast speeds but a few more ball marks and damaged areas than previous visit.

Tee boxes were okay and the rough was very manageable in most locations. There was no cart service and the cafe is quite inconveniently located at the turn so I would suggest making sure to stock up on what you need when you hit the first hole.

I'm not quite sure why this course gets such a low course rating and slope, but I will discuss that in another post about handicaps. But in summary, Rec Park is in good, not great shape right now but will provide you with a very pleasant afternoon on a fun course.

Played a twilight round at Rec Park with a buddy and was pleasantly surprised by the current conditions across the board. I was surprised when I posted my score that it had been over three years since... Continue »

Played a twilight round at Rec Park with a buddy and was pleasantly surprised by the current conditions across the board. I was surprised when I posted my score that it had been over three years since the last time I played here, so it was nice to get back. I had forgotten plenty of the little intricacies about this place.

The most important one? Stay below the hole! The greens are currently in really excellent shape and running pretty darn quick. The slopes and breaks are subtle but strong here, so it was very difficult to get the distance right on lag putts and had way more three-putts than in normal rounds. Very tough but very nice play.

The course is also quite green right now and you'll be finding lots of good lies in the fairways with the occasional thin area near or around the greens and in the popular landing spots. Rough is in good shape as well and can be somewhat penal if you're in the trees. Lots of mulch areas as well around those trees so be ready to hit ball first out of some awkward angles.

Bunkers were in good shape with plenty of foot traffic reminders in them, but still no rakes. Tee boxes were probably the worst part of the course right now but nothing too terrible. Overall it's just in good shape for as much traffic as this place gets all the time.

Decent variety of holes here but the front does only have one par 3 and one par 5, so it's a bit repetitive, but the lengths vary enough on all the par 4s to keep you on your toes. There are also a few elevations here which you wouldn't expect, and a few bomber holes where you're going to have to hit an excellent tee shot to get home in two fairly regularly.

The intangibles are where the course suffers just a bit right now. The carts are very basic and no frills, as is the odd and segmented driving range, but the large putting practice greens are nice and actually open. There was no cart service all afternoon which was a bit disappointing, and there's no real convenient snack opportunities at the turn if the small snack stand is closed (which it was). The 10th tee box is right next to the 9th green so it's somewhat inconvenient to go all the way back to the clubhouse to grab something.

But yes, overall it was a very positive experience and I was glad to get back. POP was a little bit on the slow side as we waited on quite a few holes, especially the par 3 5th where we were stacked behind two groups. Always enjoy the Long Beach Rhombus of Lakewood, Skylinks, El Do and Rec Park, with each jockeying for top spot depending on course conditions.

Played here today at 11:40 with a TeeOff.com “Deal” time for about $44 (after 15% off promo) w/cart. Check in through a window into the shop and then there’s a little table set up outside with another... Continue »

Played here today at 11:40 with a TeeOff.com “Deal” time for about $44 (after 15% off promo) w/cart. Check in through a window into the shop and then there’s a little table set up outside with another employee who assigns carts. Ended up starting a few minutes early playing with three others, including one walker. After a couple holes, we fell about half a hole behind the group in front of us (the group behind us was nowhere to be seen, though, so no big deal), but ultimately caught them at the 17th tee and had to wait a bit on the last two holes. Overall POP good at around 4:20. Carts had no sand bottles, no rakes in bunkers, no touching the pin, masks required on course the whole time, pool noodle in the cups… yet the mask-less Marshall was driving around and filling divots on the first tee.

Conditions are pretty good. Having played munis on back-to-back days, I’d say Rec Park actually looks better than Harding did yesterday, but where I lucked into avoiding the bare spots and lesser conditioned areas yesterday, I seemed to find a lot of them today. Greens were the highlight of the course… mostly smooth, medium-fast, accepted full shots really well. Fairways had good coverage of healthy green grass, but as I already alluded to, also their fair share of bare spots and unfortunate lies. The rough seemed to be a mix of grasses and also had some bare spots. While the rough isn’t deep, I had trouble making crisp contact when I was in it. (Although that may be due to the fact I hit my irons poorly all day.) Tee boxes were mostly good except the par 3s were definitely more beat up than the others. I was only in one bunker (greenside at 18) and it was full of high quality sand.

Many, many years ago I used to play here and all the Long Beach courses fairly regularly, but then for some reason I started to prefer Skylinks and El Dorado to Rec Park. As a result, I hadn’t been here for probably at least 20 years until today. I really enjoyed the course quite a bit. I still haven’t played Skylinks since the long-ago renovation, but I definitely preferred Rec Park today to what I remember of ElDo. Will consider playing here more often.

I almost always play super early, so teeing off later was quite an adjustment, bit in terms of having much warmer conditions and not being able to play in under three hours, but since the weather was ... Continue »

I almost always play super early, so teeing off later was quite an adjustment, bit in terms of having much warmer conditions and not being able to play in under three hours, but since the weather was very nice and the company was good, it wasn't all that bad. Plus I have always liked playing Rec Park. While not the most difficult of the Long Beach courses, it has always been my favorite.

Conditions were good, better than expected. Greens rolled well, decent pace. Fairways had good coverage, and the bunkers were well groomed. Some spots in the rough needed attention, but overall, no complaints. Recommend playing Rec Park.

Played Sunday, 1/31, at 7:00 am. Crisp morning that evolved into a decent, sunlit day. Still checking in people through the back window in the pro shop but the restaurant is open early which was app... Continue »

Played Sunday, 1/31, at 7:00 am. Crisp morning that evolved into a decent, sunlit day. Still checking in people through the back window in the pro shop but the restaurant is open early which was appreciated.

I have not played here in a while and I was pleased with the conditions. Even though we had rain recently, the fairways were mowed with little residual moisture. The fairways were tight winter lies though. The rough was cut down and not much of a factor. The sand was in good shape. The greens were much improved from my last time here. Slower in the morning quickening as the round progressed. I had a four foot downhill putt on the par 3 16th that I barely tapped and it slid 3 feet past the hole.

Pace of play was also nice. Two hours at the turn, four hours total. We had to wait most holes being a 3 following a 4, but nothing too bad. Overall a nice morning.

Teed off at Rec on Sunday, 11/8, at 730am about 10 min late but didn't wait on a shot all day. The pace was under 3:45! The wind was howling all morning and made the round very challenging. The condit... Continue »

Teed off at Rec on Sunday, 11/8, at 730am about 10 min late but didn't wait on a shot all day. The pace was under 3:45! The wind was howling all morning and made the round very challenging. The conditions are just okay with everything from the tee boxes to the greens needing a little bit of TLC. I always enjoy Rec as the layout is challenging enough to keep you on your toes but not a extremely difficult track. Hopefully, they'll get some rain this season and the course will improve the conditions. $43 to walk with a resident card isn't a bad deal but it's $58 without.

When I lived in Westchester I played Rec quite a bit, but since moving to Orange County, not so much anymore. While it may not be the best of the Long Beach courses, I've always liked Rec the best, a... Continue »

When I lived in Westchester I played Rec quite a bit, but since moving to Orange County, not so much anymore. While it may not be the best of the Long Beach courses, I've always liked Rec the best, and the most fun to play.

Course conditions were decent, but not nearly as good as in times past. The greens here had always been very good and reasonable quick, but not so now. Too slow for my taste. Most of the fairways are OK, with some bare spots here and there. Only in one bunker, very thin sand, unraked.

The cost of the Long Beach courses has risen too much recently, so maybe that's why it was not as busy as expected. Pace of play under 4 hours, which for this place is pretty good. Fun day on a fun course on a perfect fall weather day.

Played around 7:00 am on Saturday, 10/31. Pretty crowded. Check in through back window facing the first tee. The coffee shop was open (for outdoor dining) before 7:00 which was nice to see. No put... Continue »

Played around 7:00 am on Saturday, 10/31. Pretty crowded. Check in through back window facing the first tee. The coffee shop was open (for outdoor dining) before 7:00 which was nice to see. No putting green or chipping area but range was open.

The course was in decent shape. I was in several spots of dirt/mud in the rough and a couple of bare spots in the fairways but overall pretty good. The sand traps had not been raked but I was in one and it was a good lie albeit without an abundance of sand. A couple of the tee boxes had little to no grass. The greens were in good condition. They were running medium slow but rolled well. They were quite firm considering they were 6 weeks post aeration. Several of the greens had been newly aerated around the edges, notably number 1. Those areas were soft and shaggy, making it a challenge to putt from off the green.

Overall, in decent condition.

Teed off at 6:50 Monday and finished in 3:45. The greens will be aerated starting 9/15. The greens were in good condition rolling with medium speed. The fairways had good coverage and did not roll out... Continue »

Teed off at 6:50 Monday and finished in 3:45. The greens will be aerated starting 9/15. The greens were in good condition rolling with medium speed. The fairways had good coverage and did not roll out much. The rough was mostly at a playable height with some very thick spots while other areas were a bit patchy. The bunkers were groomed but the sand was a bit compacted. The tee boxes were mostly fair due to mild unlevelness and the par 3 tee boxes were chewed up. I wish courses would sanitize sand bottles and put them back on the carts. Overall all the course was in decent muni condition.

The driving range is open. The chipping and putting greens are closed. Single rider carts. Check-in was outside of the pro shop adjacent to number 1 tee box. The staff was friendly.