Had another doctor’s appointment in Duarte and while out here, had to play SA, particularly after reading the last few reviews. The last couple of times I played here I was pretty disappointed with t... Continue »

Had another doctor’s appointment in Duarte and while out here, had to play SA, particularly after reading the last few reviews. The last couple of times I played here I was pretty disappointed with the course conditions as this has always been an old, favorite muni of mine. Walked up and registered as a single and the starter mentioned I would need to wait a bit unless I wanted to go out as a single. Only waited about 10 minutes and other single checked in and off we went. Nice older gentleman and we had fun. As a twosome, we finished in just over 4 hours which was surprising being that we waited on every hole. We were behind a pretty slow foursome. Example: On hole #8 a par 3, we walked up to the tee box and found the group ahead of us sitting eating lunch while the green was open. I mentioned to them that the green was open and they can hit. They jumped up and scrambled to grab clubs to hit. Oy Vey! Well, I am pleased to say that there are some nice improvements out here. The fairways are in very nice condition. And they are filling in many of the bare spots around the green with sod (looked like kikuyu). Sand traps are nice but they have always been good here. Tee boxes were really nice. Good coverage on all of the tee boxes. Greens are better but still very slow, bumpy and grainy. The good news the ball would stay online for the most part but not sure why they are so slow. Overall, I was impressed with the improvements. It’s clear they are trying to improve the operation here. The restaurant and bar has been upgraded a bit and there are little things out there that make the course look clean. SA has never been noted for their greens but I’m hoping one day they will get to a point when someone would say “boy those greens at Santa Anita are great”! One day!

My buddy got an 11:30 GolfNow tee time for today, 8/20, at $40 per with cart and we went out as a twosome. It was was surprisingly wide open. The foursome ahead had a few holes lead and we saw no one ... Continue »

My buddy got an 11:30 GolfNow tee time for today, 8/20, at $40 per with cart and we went out as a twosome. It was was surprisingly wide open. The foursome ahead had a few holes lead and we saw no one behind us until the 16th tee when a twosome came up the 15th, seemingly out of nowhere. The conditions continue to be pretty good and much the same as recent reports by myself and others. There are some occasional brown and thinner areas on the fairways but even those provide a good hitting surface in most cases. Actual hardpan is hard to find and most of the fairway areas are green and fairly lush with good lies. There are some good sized patches on a number of fairway marked as GUR and newly sodded. It's nice to see the effort to maintain and/or improve the conditions. The rough, more often than not, was not overly punitive, and the bunkers I visited were clean but a bit firm under an inch or two of softer top sand. The greens were receptive, reasonably clean, and ran pretty true at a medium speed. I don't know why the course was so open, but I'm not complaining. We got around in about 4.25 hours. This is the third time I've been here in a little over a month, so I'll probably give it a rest for a while, but I still recommend it.

Got over to Santa Anita today, Sunday, a little before 11:00 and was sent out immediately as a single for $40 walking. Preceding group was about two holes ahead. There have been more reviews for S.A.... Continue »

Got over to Santa Anita today, Sunday, a little before 11:00 and was sent out immediately as a single for $40 walking. Preceding group was about two holes ahead. There have been more reviews for S.A. lately and consistent with those, I found the conditions are still good. Generally well covered and level tee boxes. The fairways were lush overall with the occasional brown area —usually still a good hitting surface. Where there were actual hardpan areas, (not many and usually on the edge of the fairway or bordering rough,) they were usually painted as GUR, so the crew was paying attention. The rough was more often than not lush, offering varying degrees of recovery potential. There were good pitching and chipping opportunities presented by the area around the greens. Bunkers were firm-ish, generally clean, and nicely playable. The greens were pretty clean with a minimum of unfixed ball marks, and running at a medium speed. They never get too quick here, but they are often a bit quicker than today. Not a complaint, just an observation, and nothing to detract from the round. After breezing along, I caught up with the pack around the eighth hole. After that, there were a few minor holdups, but it generally moved steadily and the final running time was a little over four hours. Good course, good conditions, and a good all-around playing experience. When I reviewed S.A. last month, for the first time in over a year, my one complaint was the lack of yardage markers and the visibility of the monuments. I have no idea if that comment was noticed or if it is just coincidence, but they have added vertical, colored yardage sticks at the 100 and 150yd points in the fairway centers, with blue 200yd stakes in a couple of instances such as the par-5 third hole. For anyone over there who might actually see this, it's a simple but greatly appreciated improvement. Thanks.

Played twilight on July 30 on a hot sunny afternoon. POP was around 4 hours to play 18. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon. It was rather quiet. We kept up and we didn't have to wait on any tee.

Co... Continue »

Played twilight on July 30 on a hot sunny afternoon. POP was around 4 hours to play 18. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon. It was rather quiet. We kept up and we didn't have to wait on any tee.

Course conditions were in great shape. The fairways were well covered and quite green and lush. The tee boxes were in good shape. The rough were deep in spots and bare in other spots. Had a few shots on bare ground off the fairway. The greens were in good shape rolling about medium. The only issue we had on the greens were unrepaired ball marks. The sand in the bunkers were decent.

Some holes on this course can be a little tricky with various mounds rolling through the fairways. Still can't figure out how to play the 18th hole. There's some serious mounds or hills rolling in the middle of the 18th fairway. I'm keep on hearing about the buried VWs or railroad cars on the 18th hole. It's a fun course to play.

There's no GPS in the carts. There can be noise from the ambulances that are going to the nearby hospital on the front nine.

After finishing up work in Pasadena for the afternoon, decided to head over to Santa Anita for twilight after hearing good things about its current condition. The intel was solid. Got a cart just aft... Continue »

After finishing up work in Pasadena for the afternoon, decided to head over to Santa Anita for twilight after hearing good things about its current condition. The intel was solid. Got a cart just after 3pm for $45 and joined two Chinese gentlemen at the first tee. They started out as good company but as the day progressed, what should have been a 3 hour round turned into four because they could not detach themselves from their cell phones and often was waiting around ahead of them frustrated while they sat in the cart on their phones with an empty green ahead of them. But I digress ... Santa Anita is in great condition from the fairways to the greens. The fairways are really lush with only the fewest of dried out areas, and the greens are really tremendously good right now for a Muni with a lot of traffic. Medium speed greens with few rampant breaks to frustrate you, and good rollout. A few ball marks, sure, but nothing too bad. The other areas are a bit less pristine, but overall course is in really solid shape. The rough is an afterthought currently - they're just kind of letting it go wild so it's very thick in places and you're in serious trouble. Other areas off the fairways can be quite thin and dried out so avoid them at all costs. The worst area are the tee boxes which have not been cut at all but just resemble an unkempt area of the rough with varying lengths of grass. Surprisingly poor. And the bunkers are mostly in good shape but fluctuate a bit in quality throughout the track. Only one par 5 on the back nine but the layout is actually pretty fun and you get a decent chance to hit most every club in your bag. Not too many short par 4s either so your driver will get a good run from the blue tees. There are also a surprising amount of undulations in the fairways for what most would consider a flat course. And the 18th hole is a worthy adversary. Good customer service at starter and cafe, but no cart service on this day. It's hard to imagine Santa Anita in much better shape any time soon (with the exception of the tee box condition), so I would take the opportunity if you get it. Great mountain views, too.

I decided to head over to Santa Anita this afternoon to check it out. The latest reviews were positive but almost a month and half old, and I wanted to see the conditions for myself. I knew it had bee... Continue »

I decided to head over to Santa Anita this afternoon to check it out. The latest reviews were positive but almost a month and half old, and I wanted to see the conditions for myself. I knew it had been a while, but according to my Score Tracker record I was surprised to find out after the fact it had been over a year since I played there. I was sent out immediately as a single around 4:15, a bit ahead of the men's club, never waited and was never closer than a full hole to anyone in front of me. I don't recall ever seeing the conditions as nice all around as I did today. The teeing grounds here are pretty consistently very level with a few slight exceptions, and the grass coverage was good and mowed to a tight length. The fairways in particular struck me as being more consistently lush than I ever remember seeing them. There were very few brown spots and the ball set up nicely but still provide good rollout. The rough was pretty consistent and green, and generally just long enough to cost a shot, but would occasionally allow recovery with a good lie. Bunker sand was good and playable, with not too many unraked footprints. The areas around the green set up well for chipping and the greens themselves were pretty clean, rolling a brisk medium pace. Really, I was a little surprised in a good way and I will definitely have to get the course back into my rotation to play more often, especially in it's current state. With all the positives, I did have one gripe: lack of yardage markers. With the lush grass, the in-ground markers were a little overgrown and frequently hard to spot. Often I just couldn't find a 200 yd marker, there are no stakes for any of the yardages either in the fairway or rough, and I never found a yardage on a sprinkler head. As someone who prefers to pace off yardage old school style, it made it tricky at times to select a club. The 100, 150, and 200 yd locations are enough, but I have to be able to find them, preferably without having to stand over them. That said, if you are a fan of Santa Anita, (and I know there are a few), now is the time to visit. Otherwise, it was a beautiful warm, late afternoon with a declining breeze and I got around in under 3.5 hours. Did I mention it was $13 to walk? Good times.

Had a fun round yesterday with acesfull and TeaGal. It was my first time here. John had warned me not to expect much so I was really pleasantly surprised. It’s a basically flat course but has plenty ... Continue »

Had a fun round yesterday with acesfull and TeaGal. It was my first time here. John had warned me not to expect much so I was really pleasantly surprised. It’s a basically flat course but has plenty of slopey greens and lots of hills and dips in the fairways which are wide and lined with a variety of pine, oak and eucalyptus trees. The mountains in the backround added to the scenic appeal of the course.

Kristi and I played our ‘custom combo’ of tees which made a challenging yet manageable distance. The fairways were green and lush and tee boxes level. The greens were smooth but somewhat slow. I was very surprised at how nice the sand was- clean and soft. I didn’t keep track of the time but we waited only a little bit on a couple of the par 3’s. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and would like play there again.

Have played several times prior but this review is based on today's play. Played today with Acesfull and Abbacat. We finished in under 4 hours, I wish that was the case every time. Perfect weather wit... Continue »

Have played several times prior but this review is based on today's play. Played today with Acesfull and Abbacat. We finished in under 4 hours, I wish that was the case every time. Perfect weather with company to match. I made my own combo tees and played between the orange and red tees as the red tees are too long and the orange tees are too short. Tee boxes were in excellent conditions and were very level. Fairways were great, few divots but they were filled. Greens were medium to slow and no bumps or divots. They rolled really nice. Sand traps were nice and easy to get out of. Sand felt like the sand at the beach. There is a cart girl that comes around with drinks and snacks. The restaurant/snack bar at the turn has excellent food. I think this is one of the nicest LA City courses and worth the play!!

Played a very nice round today with Teagal and Abbacat. Course is in very nice condition going to the summer with lushness all around and very few areas of any issue. Greens medium slow but in good s... Continue »

Played a very nice round today with Teagal and Abbacat. Course is in very nice condition going to the summer with lushness all around and very few areas of any issue. Greens medium slow but in good shape with almost no divots anywhere. Two boxes level and nice, fairways good lush, good as well. Rough just a little longer. Sand always nice here. Definitely the nicest of any of the LA city courses that I've played on a consistent basis. Jordan?? (From Minnesota) at the pro shop super nice. The guys here now are so much better than the grumpy old guys that used to be here. Good practice facilities and a very nice round with no delays today. Really a nice, enjoyable day of golf. Perfect weather, light breeze. Friendly cart girl ran into on 14 and 16. The nice thing about this course is it doesn't use yardage as the challenging factor like most of the LA City course is too. It's nicely laid out and while no holes are particularly memorable they all have their own little challenges with the greens smaller and approaches can at times be tough.