Los Serranos Golf & Country Club, Chino Hills, CA

[Pat Howard]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be playing the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA in Febuary for the Canadian Tour Q-school held there. I was hoping that someone from GCA might be familiar with the course and provide some insight. I'm flying down to L.A. the 21st of this month (Jan.) to play a practice round and just wanted to get as much info as possible. Thanks ahead of time for any replies!

-Pat

[Tom Huckaby]

Pat - two courses there - I'm gonna assume for an event such as yours you'll play the south, which is a lot longer and a lot harder.  I assume you have this already but the nitty-gritty can be found here:

http://www.scga.org/courserating/courseszip.cgi

then look up "los serrranos"

The south is neat in that at least for us mortals, it's a par 74 - the only one I've ever seen.  I'd guess they scale it down to 72 for you, one way or the other.  But anyway from the tips that 7521 yards, 76.3 rating is not to be trifled with - this is one difficult golf course.

That being said, I don't think it will present any unique challenges for you, nor will it require any specific preparation.  Playing a practice round is wise only because that's ALWAYS wise, and you may not be used to the type of grass prevalent in SoCal - they have a lot of kikuyu and bermuda, though it's been a few years since I've been to Los Serranos so I'm not sure how much is there.

In any case, I live in NorCal now so the locals down there will hopefully give better info.  In terms of preparing for competition in any case, I really don't think there's much to do specifically geared toward this course.

TH

ps - you likely have this already also but club website is here:

http://www.losserranoscountryclub.com

There's fine info about both courses.

[Pat Howard]

Thanks Tom,

I just looked it up, interesting! 7521 yds. & a 76.3 rating, should be a good test.

Do you recall what the greens were like? The biggest thing for me in practice rounds is getting a good feeling for the greens, in terms of both speed and slope. Most of our greens up here in the NW are originally Bentgrass that have been overtaken by Poa annua. I'm not real familiar the greens in So Cal.

[Brian Noser]

Pat,

I to will be in LA at that time. I have played Los Serranos. while long, as I recall not overly difficult. yes the rating is 76.3 but it is a par 74 so that takes away some of the toughness. if you go to  www.greenskeeper.org I think there are some pictures and a little review of the course. Over all not bad though. i almost forgot they have some great hazards like the tennis racket lake on 17.

[Tom Huckaby]

Pat - damn - don't remember for sure about the greens.  Normal Socal greens would be bent, trying to keep out the poa, same as up here (NorCal), but LS could be different.  We need a local to update.

Brian's right about the rating, also - nearly all of that comes from the length - which of course shouldn't be an issue for an aspiring tour pro.

Check the course web site - they have hole layouts - pretty straight.  The trees are HUGE though.

TH

[Tim Leahy]

Hey guys,I'm going to be playing the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA in Febuary for the Canadian Tour Q-school held there. I was hoping that someone from GCA might be familiar with the course and provide some insight. I'm flying down to L.A. the 21st of this month (Jan.) to play a practice round and just wanted to get as much info as possible. Thanks ahead of time for any replies! Pat

this is a very busy public course and greens will be bumpy and usually very firm. potential thin lies and almost no rough, lots of roll in the fairways and no sand in the traps. Feb. in So. Cal could bring rain or wind so prepare just in case. Also, it is located in one of the worst traffic areas in Socal so try to stay nearby or give yourself plenty of time to get there. Good Luck!

[Pat Howard]

Thanks for the info guys!, I can't wait to get down there.