At my buddy's instigation, went out as a twosome plus a single for a late Friday 4:10 tee time, walking for $23. The recent reviews seemed underwhelming so, while I like SA, I'd been inclined to stay ... Continue »

At my buddy's instigation, went out as a twosome plus a single for a late Friday 4:10 tee time, walking for $23. The recent reviews seemed underwhelming so, while I like SA, I'd been inclined to stay away. Perhaps because I had negative expectations, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are flaws, but the overall experience was good. Teeing grounds were consistently one of the better aspects, being level and with good, appropriately cut coverage. They are on the larger side, so they have room to move them around. The fairway and rough conditions were both mixed as to consistency. There are definitely some extended patches of dry, thin areas, sometimes to the point of hardpan — some in the fairway but more often not so much in your main target areas. The main areas of fairway I more often found to be in nice shape with a good hitting surface. I definitely had a few shots I had to play off thin coverage or hard ground, but I managed and was generally happy with the lies I was presented otherwise. Was in a couple of bunkers — one rather firm, the other reasonably playable, but I'd guess they are probably more on the firmer side overall. The greenside areas were generally in good shape for executing the short game. The basic condition of the greens was OK, but overlaid with a fair amount of pitch marks late in the day and they ran medium slow. They looked appropriately cut, but putts consistently seemed to put on the brakes in the last quarter off their run. Now, I like greens on the quick side and I know this is a deal breaker for some, but I found them pretty consistent and so think part of the game is calibrating yourself to the conditions. Wouldn't want to play that speed regularly, but for the round I was good with it and no excuses for missed putts. Similarly, the number of pitch marks is ultimately not relevant. Fix the ones in your line properly and get on with it if the greens are otherwise true. Pace was a tad sluggish but steady and we were probably the second to last group to get off 18 with enough light to finish. Didn't know with our tee time if we would have a chance to finish so I was happy to and considered it a bonus. My report on the conditions might be influenced by me having one of my better rounds, but it also suggests that the conditions were good enough to let me execute a good round. Late in the day was nice and with the views of the mountains, it can be a surprisingly scenic venue. The course is reasonably challenging and with appropriate expectations, quite enjoyable. There is enough contour through the course to make it a good workout. The late day rate I got made it a very good value. Your call.

Hit up Santa Anita for an Am run with the old guy crew.

Nice playing with the old guys, I hit a driver 210 and they think I'm a blaster ( I kid, I kid).

Santa Anita is generally spotty during t... Continue »

Hit up Santa Anita for an Am run with the old guy crew.

Nice playing with the old guys, I hit a driver 210 and they think I'm a blaster ( I kid, I kid).

Santa Anita is generally spotty during the hot summer and honestly, the course fairways
seemed better than the last couple of years. Yes, theres parts, but all in all its ok.

Now the real truth.

45 bucks to walk with greens that slow is total BS! I get that they have green issues in the summer, so I understand the grass length and watering, however, courses like American Golf ( who I hate) generally have much faster greens in the summer and in the same area, ( mountain meadows, San Dimas, Knollwood. Generally, all the city courses are faster as well. I play around 2/3 times a week and I play everywhere. I do understand with them loosing greens in the past and people love to full on Glamis their golf carts up to the greens so that doesn't help with the patchyness but 45 to walk is weak with those green speeds.

Sand Traps there are generally ok and the course has some fun and challenging holes with some great views.

Maybe, Next time I'm out I'll leave the driver at home and bring a weed eater to cut the greens a touch more

Later!

Was invited by buddy to walk Santa Anita yesterday @ 12:35 pm with his 2 other buddies. In 90 degree heat, it was a tough walk, but my lazy butt needed the exercise.

The course is only in fair sha... Continue »

Was invited by buddy to walk Santa Anita yesterday @ 12:35 pm with his 2 other buddies. In 90 degree heat, it was a tough walk, but my lazy butt needed the exercise.

The course is only in fair shape. The mowers must of been smoking too much weed before they came to work as there is patches of rough in the middle of the fairway....tee boxes were unlevel and not mowed. The greens were slooow...running at 6 on my imaginary STIMPmeter. The rough was thick and lush in some parts. Jeff, the starter, cashier, bartender, and snack shop attendant is always a pleasure to deal with and super hard worker. Snack shop was open and bar was open for outdoor drinks. They seem very busy, which is great for the golf business in general.

After reading the last review, I did not have high expectations, but I was surprised just how much better the course was than the prior review reflected. The greens were actually pretty good, but way... Continue »

After reading the last review, I did not have high expectations, but I was surprised just how much better the course was than the prior review reflected. The greens were actually pretty good, but way too slow. Fairways had good coverage, although there were some bare areas. Rough was a mixed bag, depending where the ball ended up. Many areas were thin/bare, but playable overall. Bunkers had sand in them and were reasonably well maintained.

Check in was smooth and efficient. Daniel, the starter, was friendly and actually got us out a few minutes early. We had a 6:45am tee time, which was the second time off, which is crazy. Our walking foursome finished in under 3 1/3 hours, which was a decent pace. ( We were 1 1/2 holes behind the first group, but never saw the group behind us, so we never pushed it.)

Always enjoy Santa Anita. Nice park like setting along side the Sierra Madre Hills. Plus I enjoy playing golf courses with adjacent homes or streets. And for $19.50, a bargain !

My Saturday foursome played Santa Anita today and it was disappointing. I agree with other reviewers that the course has been neglected (management company) during the shut-down and could have made m... Continue »

My Saturday foursome played Santa Anita today and it was disappointing. I agree with other reviewers that the course has been neglected (management company) during the shut-down and could have made many needed repairs. They have had problems with bare spots on the fairways, thin and sloping tee boxes, hard ground that does not allow turf to grow, and dirt in the bunkers. They had 2 months to address these issues and squandered the opportunity to fix them. I understand without any revenue coming in, it's difficult to pay employees and address these problems. However, they have existed for at least the last 2+ years.

We have played here the last 2 weeks and many of the fairways have bare spots. I can understand at the end of summer, after a lot of play, this may happen, but it's May and the course has been closed for 2 months. Comparing last week to this week, it appears the fairways have dried out even more. By July/August, it should be brown grass on many of the fairways.

The staff is ALWAYS great and friendly. They are doing the best they can with the restrictions surrounding the COVID-19. But the course needs some love and attention. Hopefully the management company will start watering more frequently so there will be some grass in the fairways this summer.

Played here 5-15 and was disappointed again. The course was neglected during the closure and it really suffered. The tee boxes were a mixed bag with some in ok shape but many were really thin. The fa... Continue »

Played here 5-15 and was disappointed again. The course was neglected during the closure and it really suffered. The tee boxes were a mixed bag with some in ok shape but many were really thin. The fairways had lots on dry brown areas and some places that were just dirt. The rough was cut short except for the areas around the greens which was about 2-3” The bunkers were ok although somewhat thin. The greens are still showing the effects of recent punching so they were bumpy and very slow. We had a 7:15 tee time and got around in 3:45 so pace was good. Check in was smooth at a window out of the back side of the shop. I would wait a couple of weeks before trying this track again.

Played here today 2-7 and what a mistake it was. The course is in poor condition. The fairways are winter thin but there are a lot of dried out areas.
The tee boxes are thin,hard and really have a lo... Continue »

Played here today 2-7 and what a mistake it was. The course is in poor condition. The fairways are winter thin but there are a lot of dried out areas.
The tee boxes are thin,hard and really have a lot of divot damage.
The bunkers were the best part today ( I was in way too many today) they had good sand and most were well raked.
The greens are a disaster! They have some kind of fungus and dead spots which made them really bumpy and very tough to hold your line.
Even though we waited on every tee box pace of play was only 4 1/2 hours even though it seamed longer.
The rough varied in length and there was a lot of leaves under the trees. I lost one ball in the leaves.
With conditions like this it will be awhile before I head back here.

Played in a tournament with my monthly group on Saturday morning, 1/11/20, teeing off at ~1030. Everyone was teeing off on #10 as they had a wedding scheduled for later in the afternoon, and they use ... Continue »

Played in a tournament with my monthly group on Saturday morning, 1/11/20, teeing off at ~1030. Everyone was teeing off on #10 as they had a wedding scheduled for later in the afternoon, and they use the blue tee area on #10 for wedding seating. Weather was clear, warm and sunny with a little bit of breeze on the back (front) nine. Our group had a brief wait while carts were brought up – I couldn’t tell if that was due to turnover from earlier players or understaffing at the course.

My group has played here every January for the past several years, and conditions are pretty much similar each time. All surfaces on the course are very firm – greens show only small ballmarks, although there are many of them. Fairways are firm and tight, with extensive scattered bare areas. Rough was cut pretty short and was very playable. The clay soil here retains water and bare areas are packed and firm. We played LCP so I didn’t rate the course.
Tees were generally flat and OK to hit from. Par-3 tees were in pretty good shape. Sand was adequate but thin.

The putting green was in terrible condition with widespread bare areas – shop blamed a “fungus”. My question is: if you use the practice green and then go out on the course, isn’t there a good chance that the on-course greens will be infected?! Adequate water available. Some blue flag positions today were stuck back in challenging locations.

My recollection is that late Spring conditions here are much better. OK for a casual round.

With no rain in the forecast, back out to one of my favorite courses to walk. Always enjoy this course because of the beautiful views of the hills, and the general ambiance of this rolling golf cours... Continue »

With no rain in the forecast, back out to one of my favorite courses to walk. Always enjoy this course because of the beautiful views of the hills, and the general ambiance of this rolling golf course. Did not expect great conditions, but was actually surprised they were better than expected. Greens rolled well and fairly quick. Fairways were a mixed bag, some areas lush, some thin. Same with the rough. Really not a great deal to add to the last review, except to say that for the price, this is just a wonderful old style golf course that deserves to be played and enjoyed.