Along the 210 Freeway, there are a number of smaller courses that can be enjoyed. I’m sure if you really wanted to get hardcore, you could check out quite a few of them in one day.
A friend and I were set to play at Glendora Country Club this afternoon, so we ended up checking out a couple of the nearby “pitch and putt” tracks as a little warm-up…
Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course • Arcadia, CA • 5/31/14
We met up here early this morning. We had a 6:35 tee time for a $16 walking rate. When we got there, the gate was locked and there were a few other golfers milling around and waiting for the pro shop guy to show up. People started sneaking around the side through another fence and we followed along as if we knew what we were doing. After waiting a little while longer (and past our original tee time), everyone there just decided to go ahead to the course and pay later, so that’s what we did. Somehow, we ended up going off first as the most ready twosome, so we had a nice pace to ourselves.
The guy was there when we finished 18, and paying afterward was no big deal. So everything worked out okay. It was just kind of a funny situation. Beyond the initial service blunder, Arcadia turned out to be a pleasant experience on the course itself.
In fact, the course was in really good shape for what it is. The fact that all the tee boxes use mats does kind of suck, but the mats themselves were good and seemed pretty new. Otherwise, the real grass throughout the course was nice, green and lush. The greens were great—super soft and not particularly fast in the dampness of the morning, but smooth and quite well maintained. There are only a handful of small bunkers on the whole course. Neither of us hit into one, but from what I could see the sand looked decent enough.
Arcadia is a fun and basic little 18-hole course that is all par-3s, with most holes in the 100 yard range. There are a few longer with the biggest playing at 153 yards. Most of the holes are pretty straightforward playing to simple, small greens. It’s nothing too exciting, but serves its purpose well as a great course for beginners and more casual golfers. For others, it’s a nice place to work on your short game. They do have a full range and some nice practice facilities, too.
If I lived closer I could see myself heading out from time to time to get an easy and cheap round in. There were light posts throughout the course, so I assume it’s lighted at night, too, which is an added bonus. Definitely seemed like one of the better pitch and putt courses I’ve played in SoCal.
Some pictures from Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course (5/31/14):
We were just planning this round as a warm-up, but we finished quickly and had a lot of time to kill before heading over to Glendora CC. We decided to stop by another nearby little course to check it out, as well…
Glen Oaks Golf & Learning Center • Glendora, CA • 5/31/14
When we got here, the place seemed kind of busy, but when we checked with the pro shop the lady said it was pretty open on the course itself. Most of the crowds seemed focused around the driving range, including a group of youngsters getting their lessons. We got around in about an hour.
The price was $10 to walk this 9-hole course. Like Arcadia, Glen Oaks is all par-3s, though it has a bit more variety in terms of distances. The shortest hole is 93 yards while the longest is 157 and there’s a variety in between.
Glen Oaks also uses mats on the tee boxes, though here is a traditional tee set up for the red tees (ladies). The yardage differences are pretty insignificant, so if you prefer to tee it up normally on grass then you have the option to play those.
Glen Oaks was also in pretty nice condition for a course of this caliber. The greens here were also very good. It was a step down from Arcadia on most levels, but it gets the job done if you want a cheap and quick round.
The greens at Glen Oaks are tiny and have more contour to them than Arcadia, offering a tad more challenge. Also, the bunkers here are more significantly in play as hazards. I found a couple and the sand quality was decent enough.
There isn’t too much else to say about this course. It’s a solid pitch and putt option right off the 210 Freeway.
Some pictures from Glen Oaks Golf & Learning Center (5/31/14):
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