Went over on my own Sunday morning 5/31, mid morning. After warming up with a small pile of balls, I checked in as a single and, like my previous experience here, had to wait for more players to show ... Continue »

Went over on my own Sunday morning 5/31, mid morning. After warming up with a small pile of balls, I checked in as a single and, like my previous experience here, had to wait for more players to show up before they would put me out. I knocked around the putting green for what seemed like twenty minutes and was just about to head over to Alhambra when a threesome showed up and I was sent out with them. Tee boxes were all pretty good as far as level, some were nicely green and a few were more thin and dried, but all were suitable for teeing off. Fairways were generally good with the occasional thin brown spot floating out there, but nothing at all unreasonable. I noticed numerous areas around the periphery marked with white paint as ground under repair, which I thought was good. It meant that in some cases, where you hit a particularly rough or unsuitable patch, you had a no-penalty recourse. I was in a few bunkers and they were all reasonably playable, even as there was some variance in sand quality. As always, rough was a mixed bag but I would generally rate it as good with many opportunities (not always) to save par from off the fairway. The greens were in nice shape. Running a crisp medium speed and pretty true, they were very receptive with soft pitch marks that were easy to repair. Overall the course is in solid shape. Worth mentioning was the lack of traffic. I'm not sure when we got out — call it 10:30-11:00 — but the group ahead must have been at least three or four holes out, and we never saw anyone behind until a single appeared two holes behind us as we reached the 15th. We kept a casual pace and I'm guessing it was something under 4.5 hours. I had called ahead to confirm that there were no outings or tournaments, which can sometimes be the case, but we were all amazed at how open the course was on a Sunday. I believe they may have just bumped up the fee a couple of bucks. Does a couple of bucks make that much difference? For whatever reason, the course was worth it. The threesome was good company and I enjoyed the round.

Played today with my brother Tony and two buddies. Pace of play was 4:40. Greens look and putted smooth, but slow at maybe a 8. Fairways had decent coverage, and rough was not too penal but occasional... Continue »

Played today with my brother Tony and two buddies. Pace of play was 4:40. Greens look and putted smooth, but slow at maybe a 8. Fairways had decent coverage, and rough was not too penal but occasional hardpan and funky lies. Tee boxes were average as they are slacking in moving tee boxes around. Was in a few traps today and they would be rated average at best. This is my home course so i enjoy the round and company nonetheless.

Got out Sunday, 3/22, as a walk up single paired with a father-son duo who were very pleasant company. For whatever reason, the starter was a bit reluctant to send me out as a single this day, so the ... Continue »

Got out Sunday, 3/22, as a walk up single paired with a father-son duo who were very pleasant company. For whatever reason, the starter was a bit reluctant to send me out as a single this day, so the first tee was wide open for about twenty minutes before they sent out the next scheduled group, and then paired me up with the start time following them vs. just sending me out on an open course when I got there. The five-some ahead of us was a little slow but competent enough that it was about a 4.5 hr round—not a bad pace for a Sunday. Conditions were good all around. Level tee boxes with grass. Fairways had good coverage and roll out, and if there were significant bare areas, I don't remember seeing them. Rough was just long and thick enough that it was going to be a little grabby and probably cost you a shot—a fair result. In some cases the ball was really sitting down—so it was more of a factor than other occasions. I was in two bunkers and they were reasonably well groomed with slightly firm but quite playable sand. The greens were good here—running medium quick with no surprises. This is a solid county course in good shape. Go before they aerate early next month.

Played 3/6/15 w/2 friends. The course was in really good shape. Tee boxes were in some bad slope spots. Fairways and greens were really good, fast and firm. The tree lined course is a little more ... Continue »

Played 3/6/15 w/2 friends. The course was in really good shape. Tee boxes were in some bad slope spots. Fairways and greens were really good, fast and firm. The tree lined course is a little more difficult than you would think. POP was terrible though. 2 many 5somes on the course. Besides the POP, the bunkers were the only other problem. No sand in some, deep sand in others, with no way of telling how deep it is. If they can r-sand the bunkers and play 4's, it would be one of the best courses out there.

Miserable weather and disappointing conditions with my monthly golf group on Saturday morning, 1/10/15, at 10AM. Cool weather, intermittent rain and sun, then steady light rain during the back nine ha... Continue »

Miserable weather and disappointing conditions with my monthly golf group on Saturday morning, 1/10/15, at 10AM. Cool weather, intermittent rain and sun, then steady light rain during the back nine had us putting on and taking off gear, then just getting wet. Greens were very firm but receptive and rolled medium fast , but were plagued by scattered and extensive thin/bare areas and were very bumpy. Every putt was an adventure. Some but not too many unrepaired ball marks. Lies in fairways were generally good, although mudballs were common. Rough was not too long but wet - depending on location your lie could be better than the fairway. Tees were OK. Traps had only a very thin playable layer and were heavy and wet beneath. Carts are very basic. No GPS or yardage book. There are colored blocks in the fairways for 100, 150, and 200 yards. No hidden pins today - flags were near the center of the zone on each green. No marshall today, and POP was about 5 hours, average for a muni on a weekend morning. Long waits on all the par 3s. Saw the cart girl a few times. Also saw a couple instances of players driving carts right up to the green on a long par 3 (#12), and the usual plethora of unfilled divots and gouges and unraked traps.

This will be quick. Hit Santa Anita Sunday a bit before midday. Walked up as a single, got joined with another guy to be second up, and by the time we teed off we were a foursome. Winter conditions on... Continue »

This will be quick. Hit Santa Anita Sunday a bit before midday. Walked up as a single, got joined with another guy to be second up, and by the time we teed off we were a foursome. Winter conditions on the thin, firm and fast side. Generally good lies and coverage with occasional thin areas—at least one of which was thin, muddy and difficult to hit from. Bunkers a tad firm under a thin softer top layer, rough mostly on the short side and playable. Greens looked splotchy but actually rolled pretty well in most cases, and on the fast side for this course. Great weather and the pace was perfect for our group. For this time of year, a perfectly decent golf experience.

Played in a tournament on 12/7. Five hour round as would be expected with the tourney starting at 10:00. I last played this course about 15 years ago and did not remember much of it. What stood out... Continue »

Played in a tournament on 12/7. Five hour round as would be expected with the tourney starting at 10:00. I last played this course about 15 years ago and did not remember much of it. What stood out was how soft it was, possibly from the recent rains. There was mud on the balls often. The fairways were in winter condition with some tight lies and some bare spots. The rough was a pretty long and thick in places. The sand was good in the only trap I was in. The greens were shaggy and relatively slow. It made three footers an adventure. It was weird how bare the tee boxes were. I don't know if they leave the markers too long in one place or what, but most of the tee areas were 80% bare. I am not sure how much I liked the course. It has some interesting holes but the mounding does some strange things to some of the fairways. Balls tended to go to low areas which, with the rains, were not the best places to be. The 18th hole was deceptive to those of us that did not recall it. There was plenty of fairway straight away on the other side of a mound, that was not visible from the tee.

One cautionary note. A member of our group was taken away in an ambulance with food poisoning. We were told he was not the only one afflicted that day at the course. The coffee shop was hopping with Sunday diners, mainly non-golfers, but for whatever reason, the hot dog or condiments did him in. I had a hot dog also but with no adverse effects.

Santa Anita is one of my very favorite courses ! Love the old traditional style of golf, coupled with the parklike feeling. The course was in decent condition, the greens were a little slow for my t... Continue »

Santa Anita is one of my very favorite courses ! Love the old traditional style of golf, coupled with the parklike feeling. The course was in decent condition, the greens were a little slow for my taste. The tee boxes on the front nine were under construction and were over 50% bare dirt. Otherwise the course played very nicely. Pace of play right at 4 hours with a 7:15am tee time. A little slow, but that just allowed me to enjoy a beautiful December day in So Cal.

Played here in a tournament on 9/20. I have always been a huge fan of this course but last week was the worst I have ever seen this place. Greens were horrible and had some kind of fungus which made... Continue »

Played here in a tournament on 9/20. I have always been a huge fan of this course but last week was the worst I have ever seen this place. Greens were horrible and had some kind of fungus which made them slow and very bumpy. Fairways had many patches of just bare dirt. Very disappointed in current conditions so I won't be back for a while.