Skylinks at Long Beach

Intro to Skylinks at Long Beach

Built to serve as a buffer between residential areas and the Long Beach Airport, Skylinks was designed by William F. Bell and opened in 1959. The layout was changed in 2004 by architect Cal Olson and the greens were greatly enlarged. With a faux waterfall at the entrance, large, undulating greens and huge bunkers, it seems the designer was trying to give Skylinks an upscale country club vibe. But look around: it's in the middle of LBC suburbia. 

The course has several water hazards, huge bunkers (including many fairway bunkers) and large tiered greens. Additionally, the course has contoured fairways with bowl-like areas that can collect your ball and steer it away from a hazard or the rough. Knowing about these collection points will help you plan your approach shot for a good angle into the green. Another strong course feature is the sequencing of the holes, typically providing several tough holes followed by a breather hole. This keeps players in the game and allows you to erase past mistakes with a string of pars or even a few birdies.

Playing Skylinks

The first hole, a short par-4 with water protecting the green, presents you with a choice — hit a 160-yard tee shot and a 120-yard approach, or bomb your drive over the water and maybe make a birdie. The former is advisable because the green, like so many on Skylinks, is well bunkered, large and tricky. A third choice is to take more club and aim to the right of the water hazard. The ball will roll into one of the collection areas described above and provide a shorter approach shot that doesn't have to carry the water. Putt out and cross busy Spring Street — watch out for cars! — to play the rest of the front nine.

The second hole is a man-sized par-5, 546 yards from the blues. On your tee shot, if you avoid the bunker on your left, you’ll get plenty of roll and be able to hit your second shot close for a flip-wedge approach. Distance control is important since it is a long, narrow, three-tier green, and you definitely want to be on the same tier as the pin.

On the short par-4 third hole, arguably Skylinks' most memorable, there's a pond straight ahead that you'll likely have to hit over on your approach. The pond itself is in play for big hitters or even average golfers when the fairways are dried out and running, which is common. Fortunately, a backstop helps put the brakes on your iron into the wide green.

The fourth hole, which is the number 1 stroke hole, is a long par 4 with bunkers down the left side. But playing too far away from the sand might put you in the trees to the right. The approach shot to the elevated green is a pretty one, trees framing the flag and quite possibly aircraft trundling by above.

You get a bit of a breather on the fifth, an easy par 3 at 155 yards with a green sloping from back to front. A birdie is a distinct possibility, as is being buzzed by planes with the runway right behind you. The sixth hole is a short par 5, but don't be fooled — a gaping bunker in front of the green makes it nearly impossible to run it on in two, meaning you'll either have to hit a big drive and fly the bunker or else lay up for a short approach. The green is another tricky one thanks to a steep hill running from the left side of the green down to the right.

The seventh hole is another long par 4 with a dogleg to the left. Avoiding the traps on the right and the trees on the left greatly increases your chances of getting on in regulation. It's a sneaky-hard hole. The short par-4 eighth has bunkers down the entire left side. But a well-placed tee shot will leave you a short approach to a rolling green. The ninth hole is a straightaway par 3 playing about 200 yards, often into the wind.

Making the Turn

The tenth hole, a short par 4 with a sharp dogleg left, offers an interesting choice. You can play a 3-wood or hybrid straight out, or try to launch one left over the trees and maybe drive the green. 

Next up, the eleventh is a long par 5 with sand in play on every shot. A set of rearing bunkers blocks your view on the approach shot, so make sure you have your distance right. The twelfth hole is a par 4 with deep fairway bunkers down the right side. The green is large and undulating, providing yet another challenge. 

The thirteenth hole is a tricky, medium-length par 3 with treacherous bunkers on both sides of the green. Heading back toward the clubhouse, the fourteenth presents another risk-reward choice. You can play it straight out with a hybrid or, again, go over the trees left to maybe drive the green. Similarly, the par-5 fifteenth hole tempts big hitters to cut the corner of the 90-degree dogleg left off the tee, with little risk involved here. The second shot, though, has to avoid bunkers on the left and right, leaving a short approach shot to the elevated green. The sixteenth plays only 141 yards but has a water hazard to the right that swallows more than its share of tee shots. 

Hopefully you've saved your energy and mental fortitude for the final two holes, which are long and tough. Playing 397 yards, the seventeenth feels longer than that, its narrow fairway framed by trees on the right and bunkers down the entire left side. If you're lucky enough to hit the green in two, you might still have a challenging two-putt on the steeply sloping green for your par. The eighteenth hole is 421 yards from the blues with bunkers and trees down the left side and trees on the right. Unless you really send your tee shot, you might not want to try to hit your approach shot over the water to the elevated, shallow green. Laying up to the right will leave you a short pitch onto the green and keep hopes of par alive. 

Parting Thoughts

While Skylinks has little natural beauty, and the condition of the fairways can deteriorate in summer, it's an interesting layout with large, tiered and sloping greens. Perhaps the best feature is that several holes allow you to gamble by cutting doglegs or taking an aerial route over trees. You could say that this public course is true to its Southern California roots in both the best and worst sense—a product of 1950s urban sprawl but playable nonetheless.

  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.