South Gate Municipal Golf Course – Par 3

9650 Pinehurst Ave
South Gate, CA 90280
(323) 357-9613

9 holes (par 27)
Yardage: 1,010 yards
Hours: 8.30am-dusk
Green fees: weekdays $5, weekends $6.50

South Gate Golf Course is located in South Gate Park, exit the 710 Freeway at Firestone Blvd. For those who are unfamiliar of the area, South Gate is a small industrial city about 5 miles of downtown Los Angeles.

The golf course is a City owned facilities. It is cheap and you get what you pay for. There is adequate parking next to the golf course. Also I understand that there is a driving range at the location, although I did not see it. I did not notice a putting green either. The starter was friendly and advised me to start hole 3 as there was a large group about to tee off on hole 1. I did so and managed to play the round quickly and returned to play hole 1 and 2 at the end.

The course is in a park-like setting. Basically the holes just run up and down the park. With the first five holes being around the 100 yard range. There were two bunkers in the course, other than that no hazards. Each hole is divided by trees. I did have a little difficulty with following the course layout around holes 6 to 8. Once completed hole 6, you have to cross the green of hole 8 to get to the tee box on hole 7. It was quiet when I played, but I would be worried it could be a little crazy when busy. With crossing holes and each hole being so close to the other, I would expect that you will have people on other holes inadvertently hitting into you or getting in the way. The course is super generic. The only hole which stood out which hole 8. It was 156 yards (the longest hole on the course) and had a bunker in the front lip of the green. Which looks like it could cause some issues if you landed into it.

The course looked well watered and grass lush. The greens were the issue for me. They were pretty small in size. The grass was really long and patchy. It was like putting on shag carpet (see video below). Also the greens were flat with little or no break. You just need to line up your putt and shoot it at the hole. At South Gate, like most small municipal par 3 courses you hit off mats and no tees provided. There is a bench at each tee box, but I only noticed two ball washers on the whole course.

Overall if you are a casual golfer and just occasionally play and enjoy a beer with your buddies, this course could work for you. If you are a serious golfer this is a course to miss. I am glad I tried it out, but I would not return to play here again. It is not worth traveling to and if you do live in the area, you have Maggie Hathaway close by in Inglewood. Maggie Hathaway is a much superior course for the same price.

Richie says… “Cheap and cheerful. Good for kids and casual players. Not for the serious golfer – better course options are located nearby. If you like to play early note that this course does not open until 8.30am each day.”