Pros:
- Sloping park lots of fun uphills and downhills
- Alternate tee for 3 shoots across a large outdoor amphitheater, really fun
- Nice, active local DG community
- Interesting play for a local pitch n put, probably not worth traveling to but if you're in the area, definately give it a toss
- just up the street from the Manhattan Beach pier and beach, visit them too
- really nice park, check out the misters at the kid's playground down by the duck pond
- locals have established multiple tees for many holes, look around for interesting alternates, many are described in Other Thoughts
Cons:
- tees are poorly marked, usually white or silver duct tape corners on a sidewalk or path
- baskets are not in the right number order
- course layout varies significantly from course map (at center park kiosk and by duck pond) -- see corrected course map posted here
- the course is next to a middle school, which disgorges hundreds of teens at 2:45 pm weekdays during the school year. They mostly just stream across the park on their way somewhere else, but be prepared to wait at least 15 minutes for the park to clear
Other Thoughts:
The course as set up the day we played differs significantly from the official course map. The locals have set up alternate tees for some holes to make the shots more challenging, and hole 8 has been moved. The course is relatively straightforward once you know how to identify the minimalist tee markings on the sidewalks.
The course circles around the upper part of the park, with the first tee at the northeast corner of the park, near Redondo Blvd and the middle school. Start out shooting west. Tee 2 is easy to locate, though the pin is a lot harder to reach down a tunnel of trees. The best tee for hole 3 is around on the other side of the bathrooms from basket 2.
As long as you play from alternate tee 3 there's no need to go down by the duck pond. (Official tee 3 is at the duck pond gazebo and is an easy uphill.) Alternate shot 3 is why this nice local pitch n put gets a 2 rating instead of a 1.5. Alt 3 shoots across a large outdoor amphitheatre, proving interesting visual lines and lots of levels for your disc to land on, bounce down, or slide off of.
Remember that tee 4 is by the swimming pool, and tee shot 5 shoots over the yellow pipes. 6 and 7 shoot side by side up and down the hill.
Hole 8 is completely different than on the course map -- see the corrected one posted here. The best tee for 8 is on Manhattan Beach Blvd just west of the Historical Society building, shooting down an asphalt walkway in front of the building to the pin slightly past it. It shoots through a low tree tunnel. The easier tee for 8 is halfway down the walk, cutting out half of the trees.
Hole 9 is also best shot from an alternate tee, instead of the official one near the park's southeast entrance. :Look for markings on the sidewalk on Mahnattan Beach Blvd about 25 feet west of the park sign. This is a great tee shot underneath low tree branches and up a low rise. Pin 9 is back by tee 1.
The park gets crowded sometimes and the course is obviously closed when there's an concert in the ampitheater. Check the park's website for events that may be happening when you want to play.
This is a lovely park that's fun to explore when you're done playing golf. The kids playground by the duck pond is really neat, with swings and cool misters that go off from time to time. Plus it's in Manhattan Beach, one of LA's nicer beach communities. Go west on Manhattan Beach Blvd. a couple of miles and you're at Manhattan Beach Pier and beach. Take in the view while you're there.