Angeles National Golf Club

It sounds cliché, but I really am not one to write these types of complaints, but my recent round was so absurd that I felt compelled to write something.

I’ve played Angeles National regularly since it opened and enjoy the course. My round on 9/18 was by far the worst experience.

Golf has obviously boomed in popularity since Covid, which is why I’m willing to pay a premium to play at Angeles. For $175 my expectation of Angeles is the same as any other Nicklaus course. I would like to use the range to warm up before my round and have a reasonable pace of play, somewhere between 4 and 4.5 hours. Today, neither of those things occurred.

I booked a 7:28am time so I could enjoy a regular paced round, as noted above. I realize when playing as a twosome, there are periods of waiting, but I regularly play as a twosome at Angeles and the pace is normally fine. Today there was a group of 12 that were playing in the three groups ahead of us that held up play the entire round. It is not an exaggeration to say we waited on almost every shot on every hole. As the GPS messaging in the cart pointed out continuously on my screen, if you can’t keep up the pace of play, then you may be asked to leave. According to the message, the expected pace of play is 4:10. We were well behind that all day and there was no a marshal available to move groups along. At the turn, I went into the pro shop to tell someone about the pace, but no one was available. I seriously considered walking off after 9 holes.

When I went into the pro shop after my round to discuss these issues with the starter I was told that Saturday is the busiest day. I’m aware of this, as I always play early Saturday mornings (between 7:20am and 8:30am), so I can play at a decent pace. Even on a slow day at Angeles, I can generally finish in around 4.5 hours. The round today was almost 5.5 hours. I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous, especially for $175. If I was playing Rancho Park or the Wilson/Harding courses on a Saturday at 7:28am, I would expect a 5+ hour round, but the green fee of $75 would lower my expectations. And if I played at one of those courses, the range would be available beforehand. For the other courses I play regularly – Rustic Canyon, Industry Hills, Moorpark GC – the range is open when the course opens. These courses offer a similar type of golf experience that I expect from Angeles.

If you are going to charge $175 for a round of golf, then the experience should match the price tag.

Additionally, I sent the same comments to the club via email on Saturday and 5 days later I have not even received an acknowledgement. Really unprofessional and disappointing. The Angeles "experience" is not what it used to be and I will no longer play there unless the price tag is commensurate with what they offer.

Course was in fantastic conditions. Enjoyed the layout. Good for all skill levels really.

Course was in amazing shape even with the grounds crew updating the bunkers which look great.. did not find myself

I’m any of them but had I on the back nine which I started on #10 I would have been content getting out. Fairways were softer than usual which I will never be upset with. Monday rate of $95 well worth the money

I dont understand this course. I'm a 5 handicap and generally love tough courses but not this one. In terms of visuals and conditioning its a glorified muni: flat, brown, gravel in the bunkers, and poor visuals off the tee. Its difficult without being interesting. It somewhat resembles links golf on some holes with mounding in the fairway that sends the ball in random directions (sometimes to the desert) but with no strategic options to balance that out. Honestly the worst Nicklaus course I have played.

I love a hard golf course. And don't mind blind shots or places you should or should not end up being a bit of a surprise but boy oh boy. You hit one you think is in the fairway and you still end up searching in the cactus off the side for balls. When we got there the guy standing behind us said... you better buy a dozen... he wasn't wrong. I go through multiple rounds with the exact same ball (so much so that it gets beat up). If I played here every week I would never ever have that problem.

The course layout is really nice but difficult to play. There are multiple holes where you have to carry at least over 150 yards, otherwise your ball will end up in bushes and rocks and unplayable. It's not suitable for most seniors since they can't carry that far. For young guys, you need to bring lots of balls because you will lose lots of balls. The scenery should be really beautiful in winter and spring when the surrounding mountains are green, but they are yellow and dry in the summer. Overall, a really nice course but on the expensive side.

Definitely would recommend to play. Our group didn’t wait at any hole. Course is well maintained and greens were very nice, a bit slow but we played in the early am and dew point was high. Greens were consistent throughout.

The only negatives are the practice area is seriously lacking… no chipping area, and for $120 mid-week that should come with range balls. Additionally the food service is lacking but that could be due to covid.

Overall a great experience, would play again.

After reading the recent reviews I was very hesitant to play this course. Since I found a Hot deal for a reasonable price I decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. Arrived early and the pro shop worker was polite and welcoming. Allowed me to take a cart to the driving range (it’s a long walk) to hit a warm up bucket. The practice green was open. The ice chests on carts can be filled with ice stored next to the pro shop. Had a breakfast burrito from the snack bar which was made to order. Was able to tee off on time. Pace of play was good and the course was in good shape. I don’t think I would ever pay more than $100-$120 to play here. The rates I usually see posted are just way too high. $60-$80 on a weekday is the most I would spend. Had a good time overall.

Always enjoy the challenging course at Angeles National. It was very hot on the day I played (No fault of anyone), and the fairways were very dry (LA has water challenges). I look forward to playing another round soon. Wish it was a little less expensive.

Angeles National is in the middle of nowhere- far East corner of the San Fernando valley, but accessible by major freeways. The course is well-maintained and almost never crowded. The holes are varied and interesting. Some sight lines from the tee boxes (particularly the back tees) are intimidating and narrow to first timers and you need to bring your driver in order to position yourself in the fairways which are actually quite generous once you get out there. Fairways are cut short (though green) and tight lies are common. Greens are undulating with many subtle breaks -even on the short ones. Good track from the blues and blacks. Slightly pricey for a course with golf only ( the clubhouse and facilities have been shut down over the past year) but that’s offset by the lack of crowds and nice pace of play. The staff is friendly. It’s worth the drive.

For a price like this the course was atrocious but relative to other courses in LA it was very nice. Some tee boxes were unacceptable and most greens were marked heavily. Not to mention how often the cart berates you for being on 3 minutes behind pace. It’s almost to the point that you can’t use the range finder on the cart. Go ahead waste your money here but Hansen Dam is right down the road and is so much better. 165$ for a tee time at this place is absolutely insane.

Angeles National is well worth the long drive from the South Bay to Sunland.

The perfect course for any level and skill set player. We flew in from Arizona to play this course. Wifey and I enjoyed the pace of play. There was plenty of time to soak in the Mountain View’s and natural wildlife.

We rented clubs, hit the practice facility and enjoyed a 18 holes; including back-nine margaritas!

The pleasant staff, course conditions and location makes this a “must comeback course” for us.