In my 20 years surfing in Gran Canaria I've never seen more than 3 feet out of this place. if you are with your kids and the boogie board for your 10 years old son, that's the best place!
Playa is the most ugly place on the island with lots of big tourist buildings. The beach of playa is sandy and if you look in the south direction you see "dunas the maspolomas" this is a natural phenomenon of sandy dunes. If you cross these dunes (do it from the "hotel riu palace" it's a short cut) you will get to a spot called "Punta" with a rising tide this can be real nice if the swell comes from a north easterly direction. In summer if the winds are blowing really hard on the east side of the island, Punta most of the time has an offshore wind. The winds on the east generate a wind swell that can get as high as 5-6 feet.
coldswell.com