Review - Navy Golf Course

I'm sure all of you were on the edge of your seat, waiting for my first CA review.  This is an interesting one - Navy Golf Course (Destroyer).  Navy GC is a 27-hole complex that was recently opened up to the public.  Unlike many courses in SoCal, these guys seem to be more concerned with the actual golfing experience than making as much money as humanly possible, and that starts with disallowing fivesomes.

Let me give you a picture of what I've experienced with golf thus far in SoCal.  In the 4 or so rounds I've had at courses other than at Navy GC, I've never teed off before 15 minutes after my tee time.  I've never played a round in under 5 hours.  I've never played a course where I thought to myself, "Wow, I don't want to chop my nuts off with a set of rusted pruning shears rather than play here again."  The Navy Course excels in these aspects.  It's not the greatest course in the world, but I can play golf there without hating everybody around me.

The layout is pretty straightforward here.  Hitting the ball in the fairway is encouraged, but you can generally escape trouble fairly easily if you miss.  There isn't much in the way of gimmicky stuff which I like.  On every hole, you're presented with a pretty clear idea of where the hole goes and where you need to hit it.  The par 5s are risk/reward, the par 4s are varied, and the par 3s are right in front of you.  A solid, no-BS layout.  One thing I did notice which really amplified the difficulty was the amount of wind that pierces through this course.  Both times I played it, it was blowing at about 15, gusting to 30.  Brutal.

The course conditions are fairly decent for SoCal.  When I moved out here from MN, I fully expected everything to be in fantastic shape by comparison because they don't have to deal with winter damage out here.  The poa greens are usually in stellar shape, but the fairways, rough, and teeboxes have been brutal on every course I've played.  Think munis.  It's not so bad that it's unplayable, but it's to the point where if I'm in the rough, I'll occasionally have to move the ball just so I'm hitting out of grass.  Navy GC is about on par with everything else I've played, conditions-wise.  The greens are fast, grainy, and well-manicured, the fairways are patchy but decent, and the rough is short and torn up.  Bunkers are a big selling-point for me, oddly enough.  The bunkers here are perfect.  The depth and consistency are both absolutely perfect and it's a pleasure to hit out of them.  At least, that's my excuse when I leave my ball in them for 2 or 3 consecutive blast attempts.

The staff here is great.  Continuing with the theme of the course layout, the people that work here are no-BS. This is a definite SoCal trait, but combined with the military attitude, it's particularly apparent.  The humidor in the clubhouse is a nice touch, even if the cigars are way to expensive for me.  The only thing I really didn't like about the course, staff-wise, was that they didn't put a beer cart on the course.  There's a little refreshment stand between 7 or 8 and 12, but my 24-ounce Bud Light was pretty much cashed well before I got a chance to re-stock.

Overall, this is the best place I've played in SoCal so far.  This isn't saying much because the other courses have basically been muni stuff, but Navy GC is a fantastic fall-back course.  It's one of those courses that you come back to if you just want to get out and enjoy yourself without all the BS that comes from other courses that favor 6 hour rounds or par 5s where you have to hit a 7-iron off the tee.  I'll absolutely be playing here again.