Another brief review, I got out this Sunday morning, 2/4, around 10:00, paired up with a twosome and another single — an enjoyable group — for about a five hour round. The weak point right now is the... Continue »

Another brief review, I got out this Sunday morning, 2/4, around 10:00, paired up with a twosome and another single — an enjoyable group — for about a five hour round. The weak point right now is the fairways. Although there is some underlying cushion in most places as well as coverage, they are definitely firm-ish and on the thin side overall which can also reveal more subtle bumps and depressions in the lies — something for which a non-winter grass would compensate. Still playable, with a good bit of rollout, but definitely winter conditions. The rest was all good: tees had enough coverage and were mostly level or close enough, rough mixed but mainly green and playable, bunkers were groomed and clean, and greens were nice, running the quick side of medium. It was a beautiful day to be out and I shot one of my better scores in a while, so any weaknesses in the the conditions didn't preclude making shots. Temper your expectations here and you probably won't be disappointed — maybe even pleasantly surprised.

Played here for the first time on Monday 1/29/18 after reading Weber's review and seeing GK'sspecial. The recent strong Santa Ana winds forecasted were also a factor in choosing here since it is prote... Continue »

Played here for the first time on Monday 1/29/18 after reading Weber's review and seeing GK'sspecial. The recent strong Santa Ana winds forecasted were also a factor in choosing here since it is protected by the nearby mountains. It turned out to be a perfect day with just a slight breeze and tempatures about 83. My group really did enjoy our day playing here. We finished in under four hours walking, thought the course was in decent shape especially the greens, liked the wide open layout and with the long par threes the course was a challenge. We even stopped for lunch after our round and the food was quite good. Personally, I think the course could use a few water holes and fairway bunkers to give it more personality but I understand it is a muni so chances are slim. We would definetly return for another leisure round.

Santa Anita is my favorite County golf course. Taking advantage of the senior card, playing here for $16 is such a deal. Not too busy on a rather brisk morning. We had no problem getting out and pa... Continue »

Santa Anita is my favorite County golf course. Taking advantage of the senior card, playing here for $16 is such a deal. Not too busy on a rather brisk morning. We had no problem getting out and pace of play was reasonable - under 3 1/2 hours.

Greens were decent albeit a bit slow. Still some damp areas, but no mud picked up by the ball as mentioned in the prior review. Bunkers were good/bad depending upon which one you found and where the ball finished up.

Difficult for me to be too critical because I have a bias for this place and factoring in the $16 green fee, it's just a pleasure to play. I recognize some will not enjoy the frequent unlevel lies on the fairways, but it just adds to the charm

Played with my monthly group at 8:15am on Saturday, 1/13/18. Crazy warm weather for January – 80*+ today with clear skies and no wind. [Another 1 million people from the Northeast just decided to move... Continue »

Played with my monthly group at 8:15am on Saturday, 1/13/18. Crazy warm weather for January – 80*+ today with clear skies and no wind. [Another 1 million people from the Northeast just decided to move to CA – great!]. As previous posters noted, the clubhouse and shop are undergoing extensive renovation – the new outdoor patio looks nice, but the shop is skeletal right now, and bathrooms are only in poorly-maintained porta-johns – ugh!! Range balls are chipped/cut/worn, and mats are also pretty worn. Putting green is in very nice condition. Started on time behind a couple 5somes and pace was expected 5 hrs. Not much divot mix provided initially, but we filled up from a bin on #8. Lots of unfilled divots in fairways and rough. At that time of the morning everything is very wet, and the course still shows the heavy rain we had a few days ago, as the soil here is mostly clay and dries very slowly. Almost every shot wound up with mud on the ball. Fairway and rough turf is dormant and/or thin, with lots of scattered bare areas. Not a lot of rollout in the damp conditions. We played winter rules (LCP) but good lies were sometimes hard to find. Tees are also thin, and being wet they were quickly torn up between the markers even this early. Many were also sloping, with the worst offenders the 4th (to the right) and 18th (to the left, when you really need a L>R shot there!). Greens were the best part of the course. They all had good coverage, rolled well at increasing speed as they dried out, and were pretty firm but receptive. Not too many unrepaired ballmarks. I didn’t remember this much slope on some of these greens (I play here just once a year), and the guy setting the pins chose some very slopy areas today! The position on hole #8 was really unfair – just below the crest of the runup to the upper tier. There was almost no way to stop the ball near the hole in any direction, and even putts from directly below the hole stopped near the hole, then rolled back 6-8 feet. I think the 5some in front of us took 18 putts!! Sand was in good condition, ample in all greenside areas, fairly dry, and raked. OK for a casual round.

Played here 12/30/17. Sad to say but this place has really gone downhill since new management company took over. Seems like they have focused on restaurant exterior and have neglected actual course.... Continue »

Played here 12/30/17. Sad to say but this place has really gone downhill since new management company took over. Seems like they have focused on restaurant exterior and have neglected actual course. Clubhouse is depressing with little to no merchandise available. Range balls were PATHETIC (DIMPLELESS @$12 per bucket). Thin fairways with many bare spots make it frustrating to play. I understand it is winter but it was almost as bad a few months ago. No consistency at all with tee boxes-many bare spots and most unlevel. Sand traps and greens were pretty good. Customer service in pro shop/restaurant was very good. Used to be my favorite LA county course but it appears a mistake was made awarding this place to current management company. Will definitely wait to come back.

Played a Saturday round back out at Santa Anita today with a buddy on a $55 GN deal with cart. We ended up playing the blue tees and paired up with two singles on the second hole.

Greens are the h... Continue »

Played a Saturday round back out at Santa Anita today with a buddy on a $55 GN deal with cart. We ended up playing the blue tees and paired up with two singles on the second hole.

Greens are the highlight of the course right now, with very nice coverage, rolling true and holding shots well, and minimal ball marks to contend with currently. There were some tough pin positions though and more contours on the greens than I remember from before.

Fairways are in rough shape with a lot of bare or thin areas, which makes good, clean contact difficult to create. There are also plenty of muddy hardpan areas on the bottom or sides of many of the hills in the middle of the fairways here. The rough is not much better.

I was in a lot of bunkers today and the sand was pretty good. Any trouble getting out was more about my poor day than the conditions themselves. However, the tee boxes could use some serious work. Many not level, and almost all of the others very thin or beat up.

POP was very nice at just over four hours. Surprised there wasn't a madhouse today, but it was a nice, smooth pace. Unfortunately never saw cart service all day, and the pro shop is in a bit of disarray at the moment as they appear to be remodeling.

I know that I have seen Santa Anita on better days and I'm pretty sure it'll get there again. And when it does, I'm sure to be back again. It's a fun 18 with plenty of interesting holes and fun layout. It screams 'flat course' but when you're on it, it plays very differently with all of the undulations in the fairways. And a great closing hole.

Is it worth the $55 currently? Probably not, but if you can get it walking for cheaper, or a better online deal, than it's still worth your time.

Got out this afternoon as a single @2:50 and got 11 holes in for twilight before calling it quits. There was no one in sight behind me and the twosome ahead of me moved briskly so I never got close. N... Continue »

Got out this afternoon as a single @2:50 and got 11 holes in for twilight before calling it quits. There was no one in sight behind me and the twosome ahead of me moved briskly so I never got close. No wind, and really a beautiful late afternoon to get a walk in. I'd describe the conditions overall as good but wintery, the fairways in particular. With few actual bare spots, the coverage was generally green but included patches of browned out or drier grass — all of which was generally on the firm, tighter side with the accompanying rollout. I take little or no divot so I was generally fine with it. If you take more divot or need more perched lies, you might have more issue with it. The tightness overall also made chipping more challenging than usual if you were on the fairway short of the green. Areas of rough around the green were more typical, thicker lies. Otherwise, teeing grounds were very good. I missed playing any bunkers but they seemed clean and firm based on stepping into one. The greens were quite decent, pretty clean and true, running a nice medium quick. One has to make the personal decision as to whether tighter fairways create a disincentive. For me, it was not a big factor, the course conditions were consistent, and I enjoyed it.

Decided to give Santa Anita a try on Wed. 11/15 to see if any improvements have been made since the last time I was here. Got there around 10:00 and as a single, the starter got me right out. Real n... Continue »

Decided to give Santa Anita a try on Wed. 11/15 to see if any improvements have been made since the last time I was here. Got there around 10:00 and as a single, the starter got me right out. Real nice guy and he wanted to hook me up with a twosome but they had already teed off. So off I go playing solo. Something seems to have gone wrong here. The fairways were pretty brown with many dead areas and looked very dry. In fact, some were hard pan which was nice only as I got a lot of roll out. Looks like they were working on the fairways and the rough so this may be a maintenance thing? The areas around the greens were in very nice condition however. Tee boxes have definitely been worked on and were starting to grow in nicely. Bunkers are in great shape but it would be nice if people would use the rakes after hitting out of the bunkers (hint: that’s why the rakes are there! :-) Greens were real slow and some were pretty bumpy. I know it’s only been about 2-3 weeks since aeration so not a big surprise. I’d give it a couple more weeks and then let’s see how they roll. Pace of play of was about 4:40. Was moving along at a great pace until hole 7 and then came to a screeching halt. From that point, we waited on every shot. For a weekday, it was pretty crowded. A lot of twosomes followed by a few fivesomes = a long round. Noticed a few changes which I had not noticed before. The restaurant got a nice face lift with paint and they are working on improving the clubhouse. The fairway bunker on #1 was shrunk down a bit and if you’re in it, you're no longer blocked by that tree in the fairway. Also, the OB stakes right of 13 fairway are gone. Good move. IMO, average to just below average conditions. SA is a nice course with a nice layout and its always been a favorite muni of mine so I’m hoping for improvements in the near future.

Played mid AM and POP was 3.5 H. Course is in relatively good shape, with the greens being the highlight at present and glad I played prior to upcoming aeration (shame they have to do them, as they ar... Continue »

Played mid AM and POP was 3.5 H. Course is in relatively good shape, with the greens being the highlight at present and glad I played prior to upcoming aeration (shame they have to do them, as they are nice). Tee boxes were clean/level and posed no issues; fairways a mixture of green/brown (and you will find some dry patches) but provided good lies and roll, throughout; bunkers played just fine, with no issues; greens were in nice shape and receptive to shots, in addition to chipping/putting very nicely. Customer service excellent at all levels. Course seems to be shaping into a very nice course, in comparison to the way it was last year? Work continues on the pro shop and clubhouse and the appearance is very noticeable, from the past conditions. Even the restrooms on the course, have all been redone.