very interested for your thoughts on Dunes today then!
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This sums it up pretty well. When I played the Mountain course for the entire front 9 i was thinking i must have gone off the wrong course because there wasnt a mountain in sight. The back nine was much better, but the first few holes were just weaving through a housing development.
I did feel like Mountain was better than Dunes though. Dunes felt like a full 18 of exactly what the Mountain front 9 was.
It actually does sound like you played a different routing?
The Mountain course I played starts with 3 holes out in the open. The 3rd plays straight to the base of the mountains, then 4-6 play right along the mountains. 10-13 play through homes. 14 then plays back up to the mountains, 14-17 play along the mountains, and 18 returns to the clubhouse.
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My first job in golf was at the Mountain & Dunes. Your assessment is correct. 4-6 are up against the mountain and 14-17 are as well. Hole 13 is kind of a shoulder hole. The rest play in the lowlands.
The Dunes is a good course. Not something youâd travel across the country to play but worth it for a single day every once and a while. There are a few really good holes on it. Albeit about half the holes are meat and potato Pete Dye holes.
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Ok so I really really enjoyed the Dunes. I thought Dye did a very nice job with the land he was given. A few of the holes down in the wash were just ok but I really thought the back nine was good. Greens had a lot of character. Course was in good shape relative to some other courses down here. I was expecting a very flat course but the elevation change on approach shots was nice. A lot more houses around the holes than the mountain.
Give me 10 rounds and Iâll take 5 at mountain and 5 at dunes.
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I love 15 & 17 on the back.
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17 is definitely pure Dye. 13-18 are a great stretch.
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Thanks for the report. Looks great.
Wasnât sure where to put this, and itâs not going to be a ârefuge exclusiveâ event, necessarily. But I wanted to spread the word and try to get some dedicated sickos from the area to come in.
The entry fee covers the greens fee ($34) and the other $20 goes towards gross skins. Iâll also have prizes for CTPâs, as well as vouchers for free rounds at Soule going to low gross and low net. Currently limited to 32 spots, but if I get close to the limit, Iâm certain I can get a few more time slots.
Below is a link to a recap video from last yearâs event, which also was lucky enough to host The Duel to End the Decade.
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Hi All - First time caller. Recently relocated to LA and am living in Venice. I try to squeeze in rounds whenever I can despite the limited quality public golf on the westside and having a toddler at home.
Iâve recently resorted to playing rounds of night golf at Westchester on Monday nights when the kid goes to bed. If anyone has interest in joining me in this sorry excuse for golf, youâre more than welcome. To the positive, the course is typically wide open and I can squeeze in 20+ holes between 7:30 and lights out @ 10.
Lastly, a question for the group. In your opinion, what is the best public course thatâs within a 1 hour drive from the Westside? Looking for a few courses to play over the next couple of weeks as work slows down for the holidays.
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Welcome to LA! My course reccos would be:
Olivas Links
Los Robles
Soule Park (just outside the 1 hr range)
Santa Anita is a fun track
Roosevelt at Griffith Park (9 holes)
Wilson at Griffith Park
Rustic Canyon (Iâm eh on it right now)
There are a lot of options east and south but I tend to go north to Ventura County more often.
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Thank you for this! Some great options as Iâm looking through these.
Out of curiosity, whatâs the âehâ on Rustic? I played it a few weeks ago (only course Iâve played other than Westchester so far) and enjoyed it. Is it conditioning? I remember hearing somebody say itâs been subpar by their standards lately.
The exclusion of your home course, Rancho Park, is outrageous.
2nd @TacoBucket 's recs and would add that Harding and Hansen Dam are fine.
I could be down for giving night golf at WC another shot. Tried it a couple years ago and thought they didnt have nearly enough lights to see where your ball was really going.
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Woah, I didnât even realize I left it out. So hard to get a tee time there right now 
@ghost my Rustic take is based on conditions the last few times I played there and that management has been pretty awful the last 18 months. Pace of play is glacial and thereâs no marshall, even if you call the pro shop they wonât do anything. No water on the course when it can get over 100 degrees is appalling; I totally understand this has been a tough year but other courses are surging in course management (Soule & Los Robles come to mind). For the greens fees at Rustic, I think itâs a terrible value these days.
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I played Rustic on Sunday and pace was brutal - teed off at 11:40 and we were the last ones to get all 18 in before sunset.
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Yeah, lighting admittedly isnât great in spots. 14th hole is the worst. There are no lights on the tee box, so I have to lean my iphone flashlight against my pushcart to see the ball. Add to that, the only lights on the hole are pointed towards you so youâve got no shot of seeing where the ball is going.
Holes 3 and 6 are similar as youâre hitting towards the driving range lights which are pointed directly at you and blinding. And if youâre off the fairway, on most holes youâre probably pulling the iphone flashlight out. Honestly, a camping lantern hanging from the pushcart might not be a bad idea. I never said it was a great golf experience!
And noted on Rancho, Iâve kind of given up on playing there after checking for tee times so many times and coming up short. One day it will rain here in LA, and maybe thatâll be my chance to get out there as a single.
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No ideas why pace has been so bad??? Brutal wind?
Wind was not a factor for us. Two groups in front of us was a group of older gentlemen that was taking an extremely long time on every green - when they had three groups backed up on 6 behind them they had a hole and a half open in front of them. At this point the group behind us, who were third in line on the tee, skipped 6 and 7 and went straight to 8 tee. We called the pro shop but I have no idea if anyone said anything to them. To be fair, after 6 holes the pace quickened considerably and we never had a notable wait after that.
ideas why pace at rusticâs been bad:
itâs walking only, which is problematic when you have mediocre to bad golfers playing. these people benefit from cart use, whereas mandatory walking speeds up play for good players⌠couple that w/ golf demand being way up b/c so many other outlets are shut off and tee times spaced 10 mins apart, itâll be slow at rustic. and again back to bad players - while much of rustic is right out in front of you with limited hazards, you can lose balls off the tee on a number of holes. factor that in plus pretty quick green speeds where everything breaks toward the entrance (which isnât obvious by site) and you have alot of guys who canât break 85 chopping it up out there.
Last time I played there (roughly three weeks ago) carts were an available on a first come first serve basis. We teed off at 1:30 and had carts available. Two of us rode, two walked. There was a threesome and foursome all in carts in front of us, all ridiculously slow. Was also one of the more milder days wind wise so canât blame it on that. I think the semi-recent fame of the place coupled with new-ish golfers on a layout that is deceivingly difficult will bring pace to a grinding halt.
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