Arg's Travel Log

[tw422]

15 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

 

that's a whole lot of 'car time'.

Ridiculous amount of car time and that is short by LA standards.  I haven't worked in an office since 2020 and have gained back 2+hrs day for the last 4 yrs.  Don't miss commuting and going to office at all. 

[Argonne69]

Last day at Dockweiler Beach, so I had to hike up the sand berm to see the view that I paid extra for. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by Argonne69

[st1800e]

Great pics and commentary, keep ‘em coming.

Hope you’re on the mend.  

[unskinnybop99]

Why would a golf course make a plaque of someone shooting a 12 on a hole? Did Arnold approve this?

[mci711]

18 minutes ago, unskinnybop99 said:

Why would a golf course make a plaque of someone shooting a 12 on a hole? Did Arnold approve this?

 

I am sure Arnold took it less seriously than you are 😂

 

He is one of the best golfers of all time, he made a 12, it is an interesting story. It isn't that deep. 

Edited February 15 by mci711

[tw422]

18 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Last day at Dockweiler Beach, so I had to hike up the sand berm to see the view that I paid extra for. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

Drove by Dockweiler last night after dropping my wife at LAX and saw Bessie and her calf (white honda) pointed towards the ocean.  You were probably enjoying a Bourbon Barrell Quad.  Felt like a celebrity sighing 😆.  Hope you are feeling better and safe travels.  Looking forward to more reviews and content.  

[Argonne69]

Uneventful drive east to San Dimas this morning. Only complaint was that stretches of I-605 had some pretty rough concrete patches. Loosened a few fillings, and a few bolts on Bessie. 

 

Very nice RV park. They have me in an end spot with views of Mount Baldy and Mount San Antonio. 

 

No plans today. Still under the weather, and I pretty much overdid it yesterday. Going to get some rest and watch the Genesis Invitational. I have a round booked at Industry Hills Babe tomorrow. No luck moving my tee time at Ike on Monday to Saturday, but I noticed Mountain Meadows GC adjacent to the RV park on the way in, and was able to book a round there on Saturday. Still want to try Alhambra and Santa Anita, but MM looks decent. 

 

I was able to book an RV park near Lompac this morning, so I'm now booked through mid-March with upcoming stays in Northridge, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Buellton. 

 

 

 

[StoutKing]

Ike/Babe are definitely unique.  I don't think you'll find something like that anywhere.  I think Tiger called Ike one of the hardest courses he's played; very difficult to walk as well.  Encino is not worth a play imo.  It will be muddy and over treed.  

 

I'm enjoying you sharing your journey.  Keep it up.

[Argonne69]

Not quite as nice a day weatherwise. Air quality is rather poor. Thankfully I had three great playing partners who kept me entertained while grinding out a slow round. Would be nice if courses hired marshals who actually marshaled. 

 

Walked the Babe Zaharias course at Industry Hills today. Yeah, tough course. Narrow parkland course with plenty of elevation changes. Can't complain about any left/right movement, because eight of the holes were sweepers or doglegs. Fairway bunkering was light, but the side slopes kicking balls into trouble provides plenty of danger. Greenside bunkering was decent. Water on four holes, including the two par 3s on the back with forced carries. Funky greens with some odd shapes. Many were long and narrow. 

 

Tough off the tee with narrow fairways on many holes and overhanging trees in play. The course is much easier if you fade the ball, as 7 of the 8 left/right holes played to the right. Not a lot of rough, so minor misses might still find trouble. Big misses might get lucky on a couple of holes and find an adjacent fairway, but it would usually be a goner. Approaches were tough with the narrow greens and solid bunkering. Greens were decent with a nice combination of contouring, tiers, and slope. Nothing crazy, but putting required some thought. Up and downs were tough with spotty lies, often off of slopes. 

 

Par 3s were decent. The 7th was a beast at 241 yds from the Blues. The tips played at 300 yds. The 13th and 17th with the carry over water were the best of the bunch. The three par 5s were meh. Nothing reachable, and not much trouble. The sole short 4 (9th) was OK, a dogleg right with a narrow chute off the tee. 

 

Conditions were very spotty. Fairways had large areas of dead grass. Teeboxes were a bit of a mess. Rough was decent. Bunkers were a notch better than hardpan. Greens were decent. A little bumpy, but speed was good at 10. 

 

Played the Blue/White combo at 6309 yds on the par 71 layout (71.2/128). Frustrating day waiting on every shot while watching the clowns in front of us hit two and three balls off the tees. Struggled with the driver, but kept it in play. Short game was the hero of the day. Five bogies and a double. 

 

Going with a solid 5 cows here. Very nice looking course on a great piece of property. Needs a good risk/reward par 5 and a couple of tough short 4s. No walking rate, but $89 for a weekend wasn't bad. Definitely worth a play. 

 

Got lucky in the pro shop when checking in for today's round. With heavy rain in the forecast for Monday, I was able to move my tee time on the Eisenhower course from Monday to tomorrow morning. Canceled the round at Mountain Meadows. 

 

[Argonne69]

Industry Hills GC, Zaharias Course, City of Industry, CA 

 

 

Gulp. 

 

 

 

 

The short par 4 9th 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1orpkeedzkx6pporcb8cn/h?rlkey=lzlhujyo3pp3b6drbgtiono0c&dl=0

 

Edited February 17 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Innovation Brew Works in Pomona. Small taplist, but the Belgian Strong Ale is very good. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Oy. $38 for a rack of pork ribs? Might have to consider picking up a job. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Joey's BBQ in Chino. Very good stuff. Baby back ribs were excellent. Very meaty, tender, and smokey. Brisket was tender, but much too lean for my tastes. Hot link was very good. Baked beans and coleslaw were both decent. BBQ sauce was not bad. 

 

 

[DrSchteeve]

Hey Arg, you have probably already answered this. I Googled and still couldn't find the answer. What is a sweeper hole? I'm thinking some angulation to the hole but not enough to call it a dogleg?

[Argonne69]

12 minutes ago, DrSchteeve said:

Hey Arg, you have probably already answered this. I Googled and still couldn't find the answer. What is a sweeper hole? I'm thinking some angulation to the hole but not enough to call it a dogleg?

 

Yeah, a sweeper to me is a hole without a proper angle in the corner. Pretty much anything that doesn't bend more than 30 degrees, and the green is not visible from the teebox. Probably picked up the term from my days as an auto racing fan. 

 

"Sweeper corners are ones that bend more gradually and slowly as opposed to sharper turns such as hairpins or double apexes. This type of corner requires the driver to have good speed management as they need to maintain good momentum in order to exit the corner quickly."

 

Edited February 17 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

A very enjoyable morning. Weather wasn't the greatest with overcast skies and fog/mist in the air, but the temps were nice. Good day to walk a hilly course. The pace was a little better on the Eisenhower course at Industry Hills. Very nice rolling, parkland layout. Much more balanced course than the Zaharias. Definitely more open off the tee. Solid fairway bunkering. Greenside bunkering was excellent as well. Water in play on just four holes. No where near as much left/right movement with just a pair of left to right sweepers. With five short 4s, the course played long on the remaining one, including the long par 5 18th. 627 yds from the Blue tees if you're up to it. Lol. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee with the deep fairway bunkers. Didn't find one today, but they were certainly a half shot penalty with the steep fronts. Minor misses were no trouble with generous rough. Big misses could get lucky in an adjacent fairway, but would generally be in the trees. Approaches were tough. Plenty of elevated greens with deep front bunkers. Greens were very good with nice contouring, tiering, and slope. A handful were narrow, but not as extreme as Babe. Up and downs were tough with plenty of uneven lies. 

 

Par 3s were quite good. Nice mix of lengths from the short 9th with its narrow, multi-tier green to the long 5th. The 15th with its forced carry over a pond was the best of the bunch. 5s were disappointing. The 8th was reachable, but not a lotta risk. The 18th was a tough finishing hole. Short 4s were very good with solid bunkering, but other than the downhill 2nd with the pond in play, they tended to play the same, uphill. 

 

Conditions were similar to Zaharias yesterday. Soft with large areas of dead grass. I didn't mention it yesterday, but half of the non-par 4s were CPO on both courses. Glad I walked both rounds. The freshly cut rough was nice. Bunkers were a mess. Little sand, and several with more rocks than sand. Greens were good. A little bumpy, but speed was at least 10. 

 

Played the White tees at 6361 yds (71.0/128). More than enough for this low ball hitter. Another reasonable day driving, but with little rollout, especially on the uphill holes, there were just too many long approaches with the deep front bunkers. I think I layed up on half the par 4s and trusted the wedges. One birdie, eight bogies, and a double. Highlight of the day was probably the 30' Texas wedge to save bogie. My three young playing partners were also great. Made this old man feel welcome as I struggled to "out drive" them from one teebox forward. 

 

Easy 6 cows here. Very nice layout, but don't think it quite climbs into the seven category. Needs a good risk/reward par 5, and a couple more doglegs/sweepers. No complaints about the $99 weekend rate. No discount for walking, but hey, I'm happy they allowed walking. Of course I waited on every single shot, so no real advantage to ride on a busy holiday weekend. Definitely worth a play. 

 

Edited February 17 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Industry Hills GC, Eisenhower Course, City of Industry, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/86a1jxot3npzgobl0i9kq/h?rlkey=w0bhy3tnh5lgd99d3rb53ebtx&dl=0

 

 

[Argonne69]

Smog City Brewing Company in Glendora. 25 taps with a heavy mix of, surprise, saisons. Did like the fact that they had three imperial stouts and a very nice barrel aged barleywine. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Las Palms Mexican Restaurant in San Dimas. That is some of the best mole I've had in some time. Thick, and a great kick. Like eating wasabi. Lol. It wasn't a full chicken breast, but nice chunks of white meat. Highly recommend if you like a good mole. The salsa wasn't half bad, too. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

I managed to snag a morning tee time at Mountain Meadows GC tomorrow morning. I drove by the course this afternoon, and it doesn't look half bad. Plenty of slope. It'll be nice to play a round less than 5 minutes from the RV park. 

 

Monday looks like a washout with yet another pineapple express heading this way early Monday morning. The rain will continue into Tuesday as I head west to Northridge near Simi Valley. I booked a round at Moorpark CC on Wednesday. Hopefully the rain has cleared by then. Thursday is DeBell. No luck at Los Robles or Griffith Park (Harding & Wilson). 

 

[Argonne69]

Very pleasant morning weatherwise. Forecast called for cloudy skies, but by mid round there was plenty of blue skies. Course was better than expected, but the pace of play was not. Again, I don't know how many of you slog through these 5 hour rounds standing around with your hands on your hips. 

 

Mountain Meadows today. The course was even hillier than I thought. Great piece of property for this inexpensive parkland muni. Plenty of uneven lies on roughly half the holes. Fairway bunkering was light, but greenside was quite good. Water in play on just three holes. Two doglegs and three sweepers helped mix it up, but there was still enough variety to avoid boredom. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with little trouble. Minor misses were playable from the generous rough, but it was very patchy ranging from thin lies to Torrey Pines cabbage. Big misses would generally find an adjacent fairway, but there was still plenty of OB along the perimeter. Approaches were tough with the well guarded greens. Several were elevated, and a few were downhill. Not a lot of room to run shots up the throat. Greens had a decent amount of contouring, tiers, and slope. Fairly impressed. Putting required attention. Up and downs we're tough given the iffy lies in the rough, along with plenty of uneven turf. 

 

Par 3s were pretty good. The 6th was long with some serious bunkering. The 9th had water in play. The 13th was a beast with a forced carry over a small canyon. Played 220 from the Blues. Par 5s were a letdown. The 8th and 11th were doglegs, and could be reached in two with decent drives, but no real danger. The other two were benign three shot holes. No short 4s. The downhill par 4 14th was a nice looking hole. 

 

Conditions were spotty. Fairways were soft with a few CPO, and several large areas roped off. Rough was inconsistent. Bunkers were actually quite nice with sufficient sand. Greens were bumpy and rolling 9 at best. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6270 yds (70.5/127). Solid day driving, but conditions and slope robbed distance. Once again too many long approaches. Short game was decent, but could have been better. One birdie, six bogies, and a double. Highlight was a 27' putt for bogie on the final hole. Golf Gods having a chuckle. 

 

Despite the slow play, I'm going with 5 cows. Not quite a hidden gem, but much better than expected. Par 5s need some danger. Conditions could certainly be improved, but the $49 weekend walking rate was a pleasant surprise. Can't say it's a must play, but worth a visit if you're looking for a round east of downtown. 

 

[Argonne69]

Mountain Meadows GC, Pomona, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qhiz95zboah2x2qt7bjg9/h?rlkey=zkwlrg0e12n11yxpgvhzyg2j9&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

As expected, the rain has come. Looking at the radar, the heavy stuff is west near Ventura and Simi Valley. Could possibly head east towards Ontario, but I think an actual (non-travel) day off is in order. Do a little planning, take a nice nap, run for groceries, and generally just kick back before packing up tomorrow and heading to Northridge.

 

[Argonne69]

Planning ahead, there aren't any RV parks near San Luis Obispo, so I'm probably going to split the stay between Pismo Beach (Cypress Ridge, Monarch Dunes, Morro Bay, Avila Beach, Sea Pines) and Los Robles (Paso Robles, Hunter Ranch) before heading up to Monterey. 

 

Monterey looks even less promising for RV parks. There's one in Carmel, but it's $140 a night. Another only has one spot that can fit a 35' motorhome. Ouch. Looks like I'll have to stay north of the peninsula, and drive 40 minutes each day. 

 

[HulaGolfMom]

Are you going to hit Pacific Grove Golf Links?

My boyfriend always tells me about that place every time the subject of Monterey or Pebble Beach gets brought up.

He used to live in Monterey and used to golf there a lot. 

[Argonne69]

48 minutes ago, HulaGolfMom said:

Are you going to hit Pacific Grove Golf Links?

My boyfriend always tells me about that place every time the subject of Monterey or Pebble Beach gets brought up.

He used to live in Monterey and used to golf there a lot. 

 

Yeah, the plan includes Bayonet, Black Horse, Pacific Grove, Del Monte, Laguna Seca, and Monterey Pines. 

 

If I can get a tee time at Pebble Beach I might play it for the 2nd time. I've played the top courses in the area back in 2017. 

 

[Mullenboy]

Chalk Mountain is pretty darn fun down near SLO.  Worth considering along with the others you list.
 

You have all the non-17 mile drive courses covered near Monterey except a few other privates near there and.. Pajaro Valley.. abour 1/2 hr north of Pebble on Highway 1 (depending on traffic)... great fun at a great price (use golfnow).

 

 

Is Monterey as far north as you will go?

 

 

If you get up to Silicon Valley.. I'd be happy and honored to host you at Saratoga CC... 9 holes of terror.  🙂

Private, great fun.  🙂  

 

And I assume you're played Pasatiempo but.. they completed the front 9 renovation a few months ago and it looks awesome.  I say looks because at $385 it's too rich for my local blood but it is likely worth a splurge.

 

 

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, Mullenboy said:

Is Monterey as far north as you will go?

 

If you get up to Silicon Valley.. I'd be happy and honored to host you at Saratoga CC... 9 holes of terror.  🙂

Private, great fun.  🙂  

 

And I assume you're played Pasatiempo but.. they completed the front 9 renovation a few months ago and it looks awesome.  I say looks because at $385 it's too rich for my local blood but it is likely worth a splurge.

 

 

Thanks. Added Chalk Mountain to the list.

 

Yeah, after Monterey I'll head to San Martin, and then south again as I work my way towards Las Vegas. 

 

I'll be in the bay area this fall as I conclude my trip heading down the west coast from Vancouver. 

 

Yes, I played Pasitiempo in 2017, along with Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay, Spyglass, and Poppy Hills. 

 

Edited February 20 by Argonne69

[jjr]

I can't wait to read your review of Bayonet and "Combat Corner" 11-15, I hope it's in good condition!

[trilinkrealty]

@Mullenboy beat me to it but I would swap out Avila Beach for Chalk Mountain.  You will not like #1 or 10 but the rest of the course is very good.

 

You could also make a really good 18 holes by playing the 9 holer Sea Pines followed by nine at Dairy Creek.