Taking advantage of the time change I decided to take off early and hit the links. Got right out sandwiched between twosomes so I just joined up one of them after about 4 holes. Pace seemed slow but actually ended up being a 4 hour 15 morning round. Never saw a marshal so maybe that could have improved the pace a little.
Greens are just OK. To me they seemed slow but I’ve been playing Torrey so I’m not sure if I just got accustomed to the speed. A lot of bumps on the greens especially in the afternoon. Areas around the green have some patchy grass so I tried a hybrid and that didn’t work out so well.
Fairways are OK too, there was standing water in the fairway on 1 but I didn’t seen any other water in any other fairways. Quite a few divots out there and some questionable areas but generally decent t hit from.
Wasn’t in the sand but it looked ok. They looked like they could be raked however.
Rough was nonexistent so no penalty from being in it. It could be hard pan thou and that may make for a more difficult shot.
A few tee boxes need some leveling. 10 comes to mind off the top of my head.
Rate was 29 to walk it so still pretty decent value.
I played a second round here last Saturday morning.
What a difference with the lack of strong winds. The course is a nice mix of reachable par 5’s, medium to lengthy par 3’s and 4’s. Stay out of the trees on the front nine to score well. A couple of holes there have lush forests of pines along the right side. It might look somewhat open, but it is thick.
Holes 10, 11, and 12 take you across the street from the clubhouse and up across a high ridge. The drop shot on the medium par 3 12th hole was a punch 4-iron in the wind and an easy 7 iron without the wind.
Again, the course is lush and nicely conditioned from tee to green on every hole. The only area that looked somewhat dormant is the large drainage area that runs between some holes on the back nine. You really can’t see it and it doesn’t normally come in to play unless you hit way right of your target. Part of it is used for their maintenance and practice facilities.
We ate dinner in the clubhouse Friday night. The food was just okay and the drinks were sub-par; however, everything I got was covered by my hosts so I’m really not complaining. The Bunker Burrito I had on Saturday morning was just okay. The course personnel and members here are all friendly and everybody seems to know everybody.
Played Sunday 3/11/18. Pace of Play (POP) 4 1/2 with a lunch stop playing as a five-some. Good news.
They now have grass on the fairways and some clover. Big improvement grass coverage wise. Except for the greens nothing had been mowed for awhile. probably due to the rain. Tees long and uneven, but playable. Fairways have a few thin spots, but have the clumps of grass that grow faster than the other grasses, hate those things. Rough is fine not penal at all, slightly longer than the fairway. Bunkers were wet packed down sand with puddles in low spots. Greens were outstanding. Very fast and smooth. It is in good enough shape to go back to occasionally. Will put back into the rotation.
Played the Blues (6751/72.7/138) in 3 Hours and 40 Minutes as a single early morning. Started off in the 50’s and was in the mid 60’s by the end of the round under partly cloudy skies.
The tees were semi lush and some could use leveling, but most were well maintained for divots.
The rough is not high, but it’s challenging. Uneven lies between clumps of grass was a common theme the entire round when I missed the fairway. Miss the rough and reach the oak trees and you are on hardpan.
Most fairways are generous in size. They have large patches of dormant grass sprinkled with lush green areas. They play better than they look, not great but decent.
The sand was very well maintained. Soft, fluffy, nice to play from.
The large, undulating greens were the best part of the course. Medium fast and firm, but they held irons very well.
This would be a challenging course to walk with all the hills. Tough course to play, hilly with sloping fairways framed by oak trees. Few level lies anywhere on this course. The customer service was good, quick, efficient check-in. No dink cart, no one cleaning up your clubs after the round. Very challenging layout in decent playing condition. Recommended.
6:30am tee time, which meant it was pitch black outside! I thought we had the first time, but when we checked in, was told we were third off?? We waited on the tee behind a bunch of people, until it was 6:30, then since nobody was willing to hit it, off we went. (If you make the tee time, you have to be willing to tee off regardless of conditions!)
Greens were the highlight of the course. They rolled very nicely, and were reasonably quick.. Bunkers were also excellent. Fairways/rough were iffy, some good, some not so good.
Being first out, great pace for the first 11 holes, then we hit the back nine play. Took 1 1/2 hours to play the first 11 holes, and 2 hours to play the next 7 holes. But it was a beautiful morning, so we didn’t mind all that much. Santa Anita is probably my favorite LA County course, and for $16.50, what’s not to like!
Santa Anita Golf Course Arcadia California Eat & Play GK Coupon
Hot off the press!!! Dragonfly is finally doing some major maintenance on the sand traps! It looks like they are following suit with other courses in the valley and overhauling the bunkers. I can’t wait! Not that it will help my pathetic sand play but that’s another story. I was in 6 bunkers today which ranged from poor to OK at best. The good news is that within a few weeks the bunkers should all be very nice.
As for the rest of the course, it’s still in great shape. Greens roll smooth and true. I will say that I’m curious about their mowing procedure. The speeds were all over the place on the front nine. They were consistently on the medium/slow side on the back nine.
Fairways are still dormant but very playable. Beverage cart was out making the rounds as well.
Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks
After all these years I finally played The Links at Summerly on Saturday 3/10.
Golf Playing Conditions 4.62 FAIR
It was a scramble format, in the rain, and we teed off around 8:30am. Finished in 4 ½ hours.
tbone127’s review from 3/2 was spot on so please read it as well. Thanks!
I never got to play this course in its glory days, I meant to then Lake Elsinore flooded the track and shortly after that the course came on hard times. It’s a long drive for me from Thousand Oaks and I wanted to experience the course when it was at least decent shape, well it’s in decent shape, certainly not great shape, but definitely playable. I really liked the layout with all the risk/reward shots and surroundings. It features some super fun greens which are the highlight of the course. I was fortunate to play with someone that knew the course very well so I was given the correct lines off the tee and what to look out for. I think had I not had that insight, and had it not been a scramble, I would have got in some big trouble off the tee, it’s not a grip and rip track.
What to Expect
They are doing a lot of work still on the golf course and they will be planting a bunch of new sod to bare areas of the fairways. On the perimeters of the fairways/rough they are cleaning them up more but it will likely be some time before those bare areas are addressed fully so make sure to keep your ball in play off the tee because a shot off the fairway can take some big hops into the hazards. They are going to plant new sod to some of the tee boxes that were previously closed. Not the way back tees although. As for the greens they rolled smooth, fast and held shots,You will find some invasive grass here and there on the greens but they are addressing it and it hardly effects play. Most bunkers I was retrieving my ball from were in good shape. But being a scramble I never got to hit a shot from them so don’t have good info for us there.
After golf had some very good food and service in the clubhouse. They brought back the previous chef and are going to be utilizing their high-end smoker more. I was impressed with the tri-tip sandwich, had cold beer to go with it, watched a little golf in the clubhouse, excellent service, great 19th hole.
Something to Consider
I’m going to make a prediction that THIS is The Links at Summerly’s come back year. I see the commitment with the staff, the resources are there, the place has great bones, I can’t wait to get back out there later this year to see the progress, catch a sunny day, and snap a bunch of pictures.
Played the Blues (5827/67.3/120) with Kathy & Ralph in 4 1/2H, which is WAY too long for this course. Clear and a little breezy in the 70’s, excellent golf weather.
Woodhaven is a fun course that would be an excellent choice for seniors and golfers that would like to play a less demanding, shorter course in very good condition that doesn’t require forced carries or have penal rough. OB on both sides the length of the hole is a common theme on this layout. The course is fairly short and scoreable if you are straight, especially off the tee. Definitely not a grip it/rip it type course, there are many fairly tight to tight holes.
The Review
The tees are lush but a little longer than I prefer. They were decently maintained for divots.
The over seeded fairways are lush and mowed close. Excellent to play from.
This is some of the best rough I have encountered this golf season. Lush and not long, just long enough to make longer clubs a chancy play.
The traps had decent sand and were decently maintained.
The greens were very firm, even well struck irons shots usually released. They are very smooth and putted medium fast speed. They slope gently from back to front and only a few have tiers. Not alot of break on these greens, These greens are probably only about 1/2 the size of the greens on many courses I play. So you can expect many chips shots to tight pin locations @ Woodhaven.
Bottom Line
The customer service was excellent from everyone. No drink cart, but plenty of water stations. Other than during the hot season, this course would be easy to walk, shorter, flat and most tees are close to the last green. No GPS on carts. Recommended.
