Lakeside CC, Nov 2012

[Aidan Bradley]

Sometime in the past 12 months there was a thread about the changes made to Lakeside. I just finished a shoot there recently and thought I would share a few images. Happy New Year to all.

Aidan.



#5



#6 Green



#6 Tee



#9, Clubhouse



#9



#12 Bunkers



#12



#15 AM



#15



#17



#18

[Gib_Papazian]

Many years ago (2004?), Neal was summoned by the GC at Lakeside to have a look and brought me along for a secondary opinion. We went over every inch of the golf course and poured over routing plans and memorabilia from the club's archives.

I recall the head professional being absolutely horrified at our gentle suggestion that Lakeside could be drastically improved immediately with a some tree removal and reconfigured rough lines, which had turned the layout into a maddening obstacle course featuring putting surfaces that had shrank to tiny dots, surrounded by U.S. Open cabbage.

It was a par-70 and the head professional puffed out his chest crowing that the competitive course record was 68 - enumerating all the nationally ranked SoCal amateurs who were unable to decode its mysteries. It looked like 18 holes of hemorrhoid surgery. I've had that experience and would not pay dues to suffer through it every damned time I wanted to play. There is no "Ocean Course" option at Lakeside - which made me wonder if the senior members had been pushed aside or fully emasculated.

When I was young, my view of the older members and their concerns were viewed through the prism of my arrogance as unreasonable, obstructionist nonsense. Serving on the committee that redesigned Poplar Creek opened my eyes . . . . . the youngsters need some perspective, lest a membership get another Rees Jones Lake Merced.

I love Bo Links as a man, a friend and as a writer, but the last human being on the planet I'd have chosen to rethink my home track was that guy. It looks to me like Lakeside is finally on the right track; so often the messenger who delivers the news that your golf course sucks is executed, only to be replaced by the next expert who gets the job because the offended membership has had their angry lust for revenge and blood satisfied.

            

[Tom_Doak]

I have always been curious about Lakeside, but seeing these pictures makes me wonder why I would want to see it.  Hard to pick up on much of anything of great architectural interest.  I know its reputation was that the design was brilliantly subtle, but that seems to be lost under the trees and the bunkering.

[Aidan Bradley]

Tom,

Please do not judge the architectural merits of Lakeside based on my photography. I was not hired by an architect to document the finer points of his/her design but moreover by a club who wanted a collection of images to use for various purposes. As an avid golfer I would love to have played the course but the constraints of time did not permit. I hope you get the opportunity to visit the club and I am sure you will find the architecture much more interesting than my photographs.

Aidan.

[Peter Ferlicca]

I have been invited to play here numerous times and never seem to work it into my schedule.  When you are at Universal Studios looking down on the course, it looks to be very nice.  One thing I do know, when you look at the aerial of it from google earth, the greens look sooooooo small.  The total square footage of the putting greens here has to be the smallest of any course.  You better be one hell of a ballstricker to compete at this club. 

[mike_beene]

I think the course is a lot of fun but would really improve if a little green size was recaptured and if the green surroundings were fairway height.It would then be a great chipping course.I guess the original layout is not a possibility with the flood control on the river.Isnt the course just 6500 yards from the back?

[Bob_Huntley]

I hope this works.

See:

www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=28277.30;wap2

Bob

[Bill Seitz]

I have been invited to play here numerous times and never seem to work it into my schedule.  When you are at Universal Studios looking down on the course, it looks to be very nice.  One thing I do know, when you look at the aerial of it from google earth, the greens look sooooooo small.  The total square footage of the putting greens here has to be the smallest of any course.  You better be one hell of a ballstricker to compete at this club. 

The greens are indeed tiny. Probably the smallest set of greens I've ever played. I don't recall the course being incredibly difficult. I do remember walking off feeling like I'd just put on my greatest display of short game prowess ever, but that's because once you're on the green, pretty much every putt is makeable.

[Lynn_Shackelford]

The course isn't the problem, the membership is.  They have an annual event there, Kelly Cup, and are determined that the scores remain high.  So the rough becomes silly.  Over the years the greens have been reduced in size, something the members think will help "keep the scores high."  A tree removal program, which is badly needed, would in the opinion of the members, allow for lower scores.  Thus with a fine routing, the course remains a bit goofy to play.  Tight, small greens, deep rough, and the members are not understanding what changes should and could be made.  The membership is part Burbank, part Hollywood, part SF Valley crowd.  As a Burbanker I am embarrassed to blame the members, but they are the problem not the solution.

[BCrosby]

MacK in Sof SA called Lakeside one of the great courses in the world. He raved about Behr's design. Old photos from the '20's show it to have been a very different sort of course, famous at the time for its wide fw's, limited rough and relatively few bunkers. Jones filmed some of his intruction shorts at Lakeside. He was impressed. I've wondered if the course influenced what Jones/MacK built at ANGC a year or so later.

There were massive floods in the mid '30's that wiped out several original holes. The replacement holes were, by all accounts, much inferior. (The long absent Tommy Nac. knows more of the details.) There's an interesting story yet to be told about Lakeside. What was arguably Behr's best course devolved into something less than special.

I had hopes that the recent changes would bring back some of the original Behr. I don't see that in any of Aidan's pictures. A shame. And a lost opportunity.

Bob

 

[Neal_Meagher]

The photos by Aidan are lovely and very well done, and I am sure exactly what his client, the club, wanted.  And I am sure that the exquisite emerald presentations with pristine bunker edging with nary a blade of finely manicured turf out of place is also exactly what his client, the club, wants.

Gib is correct, some years ago we were treated to a round of golf there playing alongside the green chairman at the time and the long-time head professional.  They were quite proud of the course and its historical lineage.  It is just a real experience to wander through the locker room and to see the likes of such disparate individuals as Bob Hope and Dweezil Zappa having lockers that practically touched.

We both left exhausted and headed straight away to the nearby Smoke House restaurant to repair to its cozy bar replete with red leatherette seating and heavy low ceiling beams that have probably been privy to so many conversations of intrigue and delight through the years, given its location so close to many of the major studios.  We left hours later fully sated by both the fine food and very cold cocktails, a true salve to the self-inflicted wounds we had suffered all afternoon marching single file down the center lines of Lakeside's very defined fairways.

But oh, what was and what could be........................for evidence of what it shouldn't be I would point you to the above photo of the par 3 6th hole and the offending overhanging pine tree pushing in from the left like a true Hollywood diva searching for the attention that she had long ago but, mercifully for the public, no longer has.  Think Lindsey Lohan.  Come to think of it, there is much of this course that can be compared with Lindsey Lohan.  I echo what Lynn said, that the course is in dire need of a major contract with the nearest local tree removal outfit.  

But, from what I hear, they are in the capable hands of Mr. Todd Eckenrode, Associate Member ASGCA.  Todd will get them set straight if anyone can.  Over time.  With patience.  And with perseverance.  Todd is a student of the game, its traditions and history and surely wants to get more of Behr's philosophy brought more fully to to-day's course (ancient spelling of today done on purpose).

[Jeff_Mingay]

The course isn't the problem, the membership is.  They have an annual event there, Kelly Cup, and are determined that the scores remain high.  So the rough becomes silly.  Over the years the greens have been reduced in size, something the members think will help "keep the scores high."  A tree removal program, which is badly needed, would in the opinion of the members, allow for lower scores.  Thus with a fine routing, the course remains a bit goofy to play.  Tight, small greens, deep rough, and the members are not understanding what changes should and could be made.  The membership is part Burbank, part Hollywood, part SF Valley crowd.  As a Burbanker I am embarrassed to blame the members, but they are the problem not the solution.

Wow, sounds like it would have been a blast to consult at Lakeside, Neal

[David_Tepper]

"As a Burbanker I am embarrassed to blame the members, but they are the problem not the solution."

I think it is a little unfair to single out the membership at Lakeside in this regard. My guess is the majority of memberships at the majority of golf clubs in the U.S. are very reluctant to entertain the benefits of a tree trimming/removal program. While there have been some memberships that have seen the "light," (figuratively and literally), many club memberships still have not.

Likewise, many club memberships, for better or worse, take pride (misplaced though it may be) in the "resistance to scoring" at their clubs. Such is human nature.   

[John Kavanaugh]

I found Lakeside to be one of the most pleasant quick walks of a golf course I have ever played.  If you are not a Californian never miss the chance to play this gem.  Playing with a member is like being on the Love Boat during happy hour.

Please note:  Everywhere I play the greens are perfect, the rough just cut and the sun is shining.  I'm just lucky that way.

[Mike Hendren]

Don't people LIVE in trees in California?

Bogey

[Lynn_Shackelford]

"As a Burbanker I am embarrassed to blame the members, but they are the problem not the solution."

I think it is a little unfair to single out the membership at Lakeside in this regard. My guess is the majority of memberships at the majority of golf clubs in the U.S. are very reluctant to entertain the benefits of a tree trimming/removal program. While there have been some memberships that have seen the "light," (figuratively and literally), many club memberships still have not.

Likewise, many club memberships, for better or worse, take pride (misplaced though it may be) in the "resistance to scoring" at their clubs. Such is human nature.   

In general I agree with what you say.  However this membership has a chance to shine above the "many club memberships."  They have a former USGA President as a member.  This club has always been split on types of grass and many other activities.  I was just hoping with a  Max Behr heritage(I don't think many have read his writings) and a quality routing there might be some golf educated folks to step up.  I think however it is too close to la-la land for some serious perspective.  They are not alone in SoCal.  Todd Eckenrode "gets it" but no doubt has to tread lightly with this membership, especially the Burbankers.

[David Ober]

I just wanted to chime in here: I love Lakeside, and the tree removal they did (along with a complete firming up of all run-up areas on every hole) was needed and done very well, IMHO.

The Kelly Cup is one of the highlights of my golfing year, and I will play in it every year until they no longer invite me. The rough for the Kelly Cup is, indeed, deep and the course plays remarkably difficult, but if you hit fairways and greens, you can shoot around par. You better have a GREAT short game if you miss greens, though, as the greens usually run in the 12.5 to 13.5 range and are FIRM for the tournament.

[Lynn_Shackelford]

I have heard that the Kelly Cup is a nice event.  However why is rough required?  Something created by the USGA to punish errant shots in their championships because the design of the course doesn't.

One of the best lines I have ever read in a club newsletter was from Lakeside:
"Despite the lack of color provided by the gardeners this year, the annual women's member-guest was held last week."

[Jim Eder]

Aidan,

Great pictures, very well done.

Lakeside is very special to me.  I love the design, I love the challenge. Everytime I am fortunate to play there I always enjoy it and look forward to the next opportunity.

Mike Beene,

From the blues the course is slightly over 6500 yds and is a par 70. There is some length on the front 9 (4,5,7,8,9) while the back 9 has 1 par 3, 2 short 4s and the other 4s in the 400 range. The greens are small, well bunkered. It is a fun test imo.

[Dan Kelly]

I don't believe I'd ever heard of Lakeside until my noontime constitutional today, during which I read a terrific 2008 article from Smithsonian magazine, about The Mysterious Montague (a.k.a. Montague the Magnificent).

It's part of my continuing (and perhaps eternal) effort to tidy up my papers.

And then I glance, a few minutes ago, at the front-page threads at gca.com, and there it is again: Lakeside.

My column calls that sort of coincidence a Baader-Meinhof. (Don't ask.)

Here's the article, which I sent to the Minnesota GCA contingent (and a few others) about an hour ago. It's worth reading, if you don't know of "John Montague": http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/montague-the-magnificent.html?c=y&story=fullstory