400 S. Sepulveda,
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 322-0202

9 holes (par 29)
Yardage: 1,340 yards
Hours: 6am-sunset
Green fees: weekdays $15, weekends $18

The Lakes at El Segundo is a short 9 hole executive golf course. It is located off Sepulveda Blvd and about 5 minutes south of LAX. Which makes it convenient if you have a long layover or staying at the airport. They have a full practice center here – driving range, putting green and chipping area. There is a small pro-shop and a cafeteria on site.

The course itself is 1,340 yards in length. There are two short par 4’s (around 260 yards) which make the course a par 29. The course is well designed. It occupies a relatively small area, but the holes fit well into the footprint. The holes are close together, but are cleverly designed in a way so that they run in different directions and you are not on-top of people playing other holes.

The first three holes run parallel with Sepulveda Blvd., then you head east out into the course. There are plenty of bunkers spread throughout the course. Some are challenging and in all the sand seemed to be good and not too dense. There is some water which comes into play in about 3 of the holes. Kind of surprising considering the name. I was expecting a lot more water and actual lakes. Where is reality there are just two small ponds out on the course if I correctly recall. May be The Two Ponds at El Segundo?

The holes had good variation and some nice elevation changes. I particularly liked hole 7. This was a short 103 yard par 3, where there is water in play if you hit right. Hole 9 is a 261 yard par 4 hole. For some reason there is a sign saying you can use irons only. I think it may be as a precaution in case someone launches a 300+ yard drive towards the club house.

The course was in very nice condition. The greens were large and ran fast. The grass was green and the tee boxes were also in good shape. You hit off the grass and there are no tee mats on this course which is a nice bonus.

Being close to the ocean it was nice and cool. We played early and the course was covered in early morning ocean mist as you can see in the pics below. The pace was good and the course was quiet as we played early. I have been here at 10am on a Saturday though and it has been very busy. In all cases I recommend calling in advance and booking a tee time. They sometimes close the course for a few hours at a weekend to allow kids to play and do workshops.

The ground-staff need to learn some etiquette. While playing the first hole, we had made our tee shots and were playing our second shots around the green. While doing a guy drove a cart right up to the green and started to make two holes in the green surface, presumably to move the hole. He then drove off to return five minutes later. In the meantime, my playing partner had a putt with a large hole right in his line. Not cool – they need to wait a few minutes for players to complete the hole before trying to make changes.

Despite giving it 4/5 for design and condition, I am giving El Segundo an overall score of 3.5/5. $18 seems a little high for this short course. You do not get much golf for your money. Also there is really nothing here which makes it stand out from the rest. It is just another 9 hole golf course.

Richie says.. “Nice little course, but the Marriott at Manhattan Beach is better. The two courses are only a couple of blocks apart. I was disappointed with the lack of water out there – going by the course name, I was expecting a lot more.”

Albino says… “Nothing really sets this course out from the rest. Also at $18 it is not very good value for money. You don’t get much golf for $18. Also I do not appreciate the staff cutting holes in the green when we are in the middle of playing it.”

This was cut out of the green as we were playing the hole. The staff then just took off to come back about 5 minutes later.

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 128 yards

Hole 2 – 112 yards

Hole 2 – green

Hole 3 – 178 yards

Hole 4 – 269 yards (par 4)

Hole 4 – 2nd shot (100 yards out)

Hole 5 – 96 yards

Hole 6 – 78 yards

Hole 7 – 103 yards

Hole 7 – green

Hole 8 – 115 yards

Hole 9 – 261 yards (par 4)

Hole 9 – 2nd shot (50 yards out)

6700 East Carson Street
Long Beach, CA 90808
(562) 421-88556

18 holes (par 54)
Yardage: 2,143 yards
Hours: Sunrise to 8pm
Green fees: $16, $18 on weekends and holidays

Heartwell is a 18 hole par 3 golf course located in the North East edge of Long Beach. It is close to the 405, 91 and 605 freeways. The course is fully lighted allowing play in the dark winter evenings. There is a full practice facility at the location, with the driving range having 35 stalls. There are also practice putting and chipping greens. Heartwell is known as the course where Tiger Woods got started in the game. Four months shy of his fifth birthday Tiger got his first birdie and it was at the 91 yard, third hole at Heartwell.

I went super early in order to zip around the course. So that I could get back home and take my significant other to IHOP for some German pancakes. However that didn’t work out so well. This course is busy and I mean really busy. I started straight away and by the time I got to the 2nd hole I had to wait a few minutes at every hole for the rest of the round. Now I teed off at 6.35am and it was not really fully daylight. When I finished my round (9am ish), which took about 2 hours 20 minutes the parking lot was almost full. As I finished the last few holes and looked around I saw people all over the course playing. I was relieved I played so early and would hate to play 9am or later. For me the popularity of this course is a negative and it is reflected in my overall mark for the course.

I was a little underwhelmed by the front nine holes. They all seemed a little generic and all at the same yardage range. The back nine was a great improvement. The holes were designed with more variation and the yardages varied.Almost all of the holes (if not all) had a greenside bunker. There was a little water on the course which came into play on hole 14 and 18. One of the most enjoyable holes was hole 12. It is only 85 yards, but has a deep bunker at the front of the green and a small green; so you have little room to work with. In fact the best stretch of the course for me were holes 11 to 14. They were short, but as often the case the short holes are the most fun to play.

I did notice an error on the scorecard. Hole 8 is down at 140 yards. But in reality it is about 115-120 yards.

The course was relatively easy to play. The longest hole is 140 yards, so you only need to bring a wedge, putter and a couple of short irons with you. I brought just four clubs and did just fine. Many of the holes were straight with little danger. Therefore making it a good choice for beginners to play. Where there was water, the shot to play over it was short – may be 70 yards. You do not have to hit 180 yard shots over water like at Manhattan Beach! I did find it a little tricky at times to navigate the first few holes of the golf course. The holes were not clearly marked and some had no tee markers at all – especially on the front nine. The tee markers were small stones and not all that large. Some were covered by nearby foliage. There were some ball washers out at the tee boxes, but not on every hole.

The course was in really nice condition for a public course. The grass was well watered and you hit off regular tee boxes – not mats. The greens were of good size, although it did seem as the round went on the greens got smaller. The greens were soft and did not run all that fast. Which I liked and made a nice change as with the heat recently greens have been running ridiculously fast. I did notice however that a lot of the greens had pitch marks which were not repaired. The maintenance guys were out working on the course and waited while you played the hole, letting the game flow. They did not storm onto the green while I was in the middle of playing it. Take note Norwalk and El Segundo!

They do have golf carts available to rent which is rare for a par 3 course. This makes Heartwell good for seniors or those with walking difficulties.

Richie says… “Too busy! If I played here again, I would probably just play the back nine. Those holes were much more fun and interesting than the front nine. Nice short course but the popularity of it, is its downfall.”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 128 yards

Hole 2 – 135 yards

Hole 2 – green

Hole 3 – 91 yards (The hole where Tiger Woods got his first ever birdie!)

Hole 4 – 126 yards

Hole 5 – 125 yards

Hole 6 – 121 yards

Hole 7 – 121 yards

Hole 8 – 140 yards (I think it is really about 120 yards)

Hole 9 – 140 yards

Hole 10 – 119 yards

Hole 10 – green

Hole 11 – 103 yards

Hole 12 – 85 yards

Hole 13 – 130 yards

Hole 14 – 85 yards

Hole 15 – 118 yards

Hole 16 – 119 yards

Hole 17 – 136 yards

Hole 18 – 121 yards

1000 Las Lomas Road
Duarte, CA  91010
(626) 357-9981

9 holes (par 31)
Yardage: 1,635 yards
Hours: 7.30am-dusk
Green fees: weekdays $12, weekends $17

Rancho Duarte is a 9 hole executive golf course located in Duarte – just off the 210 freeway. There is a parking lot with ample parking. In addition to the course, there is a small pro shop a nice bar/ cafe area with shade and couches and a driving range. I did not see a putting green, but I did not use the practice facilities.

We played at a peak time – Saturday morning. It was not crazy busy, but there were a fair number of people out on the course. That being said, the pace was good. Everyone placed at a good speed and we completed our 9 holes (4 ball) in exactly 2 hours.

The course is well designed. It is surrounded by houses and as we were finishing up, we heard a group a few holes behind smash a window. There are a good mixture of holes which allows you to use a lot of clubs in your bag. Not a driver or a 3 wood much though – as the longest hole is 329 yards, and the second longest 244 yards. You start with a short 68 yard hole and then the holes build up in distance. There are four short par 4’s on the course. The longest par 3 hole is 143 yards. Which makes this course a good one of beginners or people looking to take a step up from the short “pitch-n-putt” courses. Or looking to bridge their game from short courses to full length courses. 

There were no real hazards on the course other than the trees. There were a lot of trees which came into play. No water and a couple of token sand traps. These traps were not really in play though and were not well kept. The course flowed well but is somewhat open. Some of the benches by the tee boxes were in dangerous locations with no fence to protect you – especially hole 7. Several times while waiting errant tee shots from hole 8 came whizzing by.

The course was in decent condition; above average. The greens were large and in nice shape. They ran fast and were sloped which made putting challenging. The grass was generally well watered and green colored with the odd dry patch.

Richie says… “A nice executive golf course with a good variation of holes. One of the better courses in the area. You get to use a lot of different clubs in the bag. Remember to bring your sunscreen, it gets hot out there!”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 68 yards

Hole 2 – 112 yards

Hole 3 – 329 yards (par 4)

Hole 3 – 2nd shot (100 yards out)

Hole 4 – 143 yards

Hole 4 – green

Hole 5 – 282 yards (par 4)

Hole 5 – 2nd shot (100 yards out)

Hole 6 – 126 yards

Hole 7 – 109 yards

Hole 8 – 222 yards (par 4)

Hole 8 – 2nd shot (50 yards out)

Hole 9 – 244 yards (par 4)

Hole 9 – 2nd shot (100 yards out)

Lindero Country Club
5719 Lake Lindero Drive
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
(818) 589-1158

9 holes (par 29)
Yardage: 1,626 yards
Hours: 7am-sunset
Green fees: weekdays $11, weekends $15

Lindero Country Club is located in Agoura Hills which is on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura County. It is located just off Thousand Oaks Blvd. The parking lot is on Lake Lindero Drive. When you arrive there is an ample sized parking lot. In addition to the golf, there are tennis courts a snack bar and an event space for weddings etc. There is the 9 hole executive golf course and two putting greens and a driving range located here. Although it is a country club, public people can pay and play the golf. Standard golfing attire is required – collared shirt etc.

The course is executive as there are two short par 4’s, making the course a par 29. The course is designed very well. The shortest hole is 123 yards and the longest is 285 yards. The course is very challenging to play. In fact one of the hardest I have played. Each hole has danger whether it be water or sand. As it is so challenging I would recommend that only intermediate/ advanced players play here. If you are just starting out it may be difficult for you to hit greens and keep the ball in play. The pin positions were also in really tough locations to make shot making even more challenging.

The course winds through an HOA community and many of the holes are surrounded by houses. On the second hole dogs would park from their respective yards as I approached the green. You play 6 holes and then cross a main street to play the remaining 3 holes. Some of the par 3 holes were long and all of the holes required accuracy to accomplish a good score. I enjoyed hole 3 in particular – a dog-leg left. You have to tee off over some reeds and lay up on a small fairway. You then play your second short into the green over a creek. There is a creek that runs through the first 6 holes and is in play for a lot of shots.

There are two tee box locations for each hole. Which means if you do a replay and play 18, the holes will play differently on the back 9.

The course was in good shape. I understand that they have worked a lot recently on improving the course and the last 3 holes have been redesigned. I read poor reviews online before I played, but when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. It was in a nice condition. The greens ran well and were of a good size. The most noticeable green was on hole 5. It had two levels and had a steep slope running down the center of it.

You hit off the grass – standard tee boxes. There were no mats – yay! There were ball washers and yardage signs at each tee box. But not benches or places where you can sit while you are waiting to tee off.

I played on a Saturday morning (peak time) and the pace was decent. There were a few short hold-ups on a couple of the tee boxes, but we still managed to get around and play the 9 holes in about 1 hour 45 minutes. I understand during the week this course is very quiet.

Note – I booked a tee time directly on the country club’s website and got a great deal. They have last minute deals. I went online on a Saturday morning at 7am and booked a 10.30 tee time for that same morning and it just cost $5! 9 holes for $5 you can’t go wrong! Just remember to bring your confirmation number with you to provide to the starter. She told me she had no way to look it up on her end.

Richie says… “Very challenging course. But it was fun to play. A lot of water and places to find trouble so bring plenty of spare balls.”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1- 136 yards

Hole 2 – 123 yards

Hole 2 – green

Hole 3 – 180 yards

Hole 4 – 247 yards (par 4, dog-leg left)

Hole 4 – 2nd shot (100 yards out)

Hole 5 – 196 yards

Hole 5 – green

Hole 5 – green

Hole 6 – 142 yards

Hole 7 – 285 yards (par 4)

Hole 7 – 2nd shot (60 yards out)

Hole 8 – 148 yards

Hole 9 – 169 yards