Long Beach Recreation Park Inviting but Not Easy

Long Beach Recreation Park has always welcomed lots of golfers, but it received one unwanted visitor last year.

“A funnel cloud touched down on the course on holes 15, 16 and 17,” Recreation Park head professional Bruce McDaniel said. “It tore up some of the eucalyptus trees along 17 pretty good.

“But we didn’t even close. Maintenance was out there at 4 a.m. the next morning, and we played a tournament that day.”

A well-maintained layout is par for this course. Fairway coverage is good and the lush greens are usually in excellent condition.

Located one-half mile west of Long Beach State, it’s easily accessible to golfers from Los Angeles and Orange counties. Add the cool, tranquil setting and affordable green fees and it’s easy to see why Recreation Park is a popular public course.

But that popularity also translates into lengthy waits for some who want to play it.

“The best bet is to get a reservation card,” McDaniel said.

For $10, even non-Long Beach residents can purchase a card that is valid for one year from the date of purchase. Non-resident card holders can make reservations six days in advance, although Long Beach residents can call in one-half hour earlier than non-residents to secure tee times.

After golfers decipher the two-page reservation policy rules and actually get on the course, the reward is a pleasant round.

The course is not hard to walk over the gently rolling terrain. It is generally a forgiving layout, although there are challenges.

High handicappers will enjoy some generous, wide fairways, but there is still plenty to keep the low handicappers’ attention.

“I know these guys who always play Industry Hills,” a course with a 136 slope rating, McDaniel said, “and they tell me how they never score well here.”

Recreation Park has a 111 slope rating. But after a relatively easy start--Nos. 1 and 2 are par fours measuring fewer than 300 yards--Nos. 6, 7 and 8 are monster par fours, measuring 412 to 460 yards.

“You can be one-under after five holes and be thinking real positive,” McDaniel said. “But then, you can make eight, eight and seven on Nos. 6 through 8 and be right back to normal.”

The course’s back nine is shorter but has a little more character, especially the four finishing holes.

No. 15 is a 329-yard, quirky par four that features a huge tree guarding the left side of the fairway.

No. 18 is a picturesque, 392-yard par four with the white clubhouse behind the green. The elevated green is protected by a large, deep bunker on the right side.

But McDaniel is partial to the 17th. The par-five, dogleg left measures 511 yards but plays even shorter.

“It’s not that tough a hole,” McDaniel said. “But I love hitting from that elevated tee. It’s a fun hole.”

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Course Information

* Course: Recreation Park Golf Course

* Address: 5001 Deukmejian Dr., Long Beach

* Phone: Golf course 562-494-5000, reservations 562-498-0977 or 562-421-0582

* Green fees (regular/twilight after 4 p.m.): Mon.-Fri.: Long Beach resident $14.50/$10, non-resident $18.50/$12; Sat.-Sun.: Long Beach resident $18/$12.50, non-resident $22.50/$14.50.

* Carts: $21 per cart

* Par/Yardage: Par 72/6,405 back, 6,155 middle, 5,930 forward. Par 74/5,930 women’s

* Rating/Slope: 69.9/111 back, 68.8/108 middle, 72.4/119 women’s

* Reservations: Reservation card ($10) required, up to six days in advance