Recreation Park Golf Course 18

Intro to Rec Park 18

The course now known as Rec Park was built in 1910 as part of the Virginia Country Club, whose members would take a train and then horse and buggy down a dirt road to the golf course. The city of Long Beach took over the lease in 1921, and today it’s one of the busiest tracks in the country. 

Perched on a hill looking toward downtown Long Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Rec Park has a lighted driving range, chipping and putting greens and a comfortable cafe.

Playing Recreation Park

Blue Tees (6,405 yards)

The front 9 breaks from tradition by offering only one par 3 and one par 5. You can warm up slowly with two easy, short par 4s playing only about 300 yards. Things get a bit more interesting on the third, a 412-yard par 4 with OB on the left and a narrow, sloping green, while the fourth is a shorter par 4 that can still pose problems with its uphill approach shot and expansive putting surface. The par-3 fifth hole uses two greens and plays either uphill or down. If it’s playing downhill, it’s only 110 yards from the blues, but stopping your ball on the green requires either a towering wedge shot or massive spin. 

The next three holes up the ante considerably—a trio of par-4s measuring 460, 428 and 412 yards from the blues. Many a promising start has been squandered with an errant shot bringing an ensuing double. But the par-5 ninth is a definite birdie hole or even an eagle for long hitters. At 483 yards, it’s straight away and slightly uphill, with little trouble except a sloping green that can get very slick. 

Making the Turn

The back 9 is a tad easier and has more variety. It starts with a challenging 426-yard downhill par 4 that somehow doesn't seem to play downhill—the approach shot plays longer than you'd expect. On the short par-4 eleventh, you’re looking up at the fairway, but your approach shot is back downhill to a tricky green that slopes off treacherously to the right. After a short par 3, you get a drivable par 4 across a grassy arroyo to a flat landing area. The fourteenth is a par 5 skirting a dog park, so time your tee shot between barks and growls. Your approach shot is struck toward the lights of Blair Field where the CSULB Dirtbags play—enjoy the rock music mixed with the sound of dingers off aluminum bats.  

The fourteenth is a par 5 skirting a dog park, so time your tee shot between barks and growls.

On the par-4 fifteenth, you have to thread your tee shot between eucalyptus trees and send another approach shot to a downhill green. The uphill par-3 sixteenth plays toward the parking lot, so if you’re running out of daylight—or patience—you can just call it a day and head for your car. If you soldier on, seventeen and eighteen are like a two-hole match played out and back. The seventeenth is a par 5 with an elevated tee box, but watch out for the bamboo thickets on the left (certain death) and a line of pine trees bordering the fairway on the right. Standing on the eighteenth tee box, take a moment to enjoy the most scenic hole with a row of palm trees on the horizon and a gentle dogleg fairway right to another tough green. Your second shot is nearly always played from a hanging lie. 

Conditions & Pace of Play

It would be a stretch to say that either of these is a Rec Park strength. Still, the course is fairly well-maintained considering all the daily traffic it gets—just don't expect perfectly rolled greens or lush fairways. The pace can be particularly trying over the first few holes, but it does tend to pick up thereafter. Does that mean a five-hour round won't happen to you? We offer no guarantees.   

Parting Thoughts

The folks playing this reasonably priced course are as diverse as the city around it. Expect a friendly and funky bunch of unpretentious golfers. You will get forgiveness off the tee, but you can get burned on the greens. No water, and few punishing bunkers, make Rec Park a good course for a casual, confidence boosting round.

  by Philip Reed

Playing out of the LBC, Phil grips his own clubs and even trues his own shafts when he's not using them to shoot in the 70s. In between rounds, he's been known to frequent the blackjack tables.