Trump National Golf Club LA

[Nick Pozaric]

I was trying to find thread on this but no luck.  Has anyone played there recently and have any thoughts on the course or its condition?  Im headed out to Cali late December and looking for a place to play between San Diego and Los Angeles.  Thanks in advance!

[Tim Leahy]

Trump LA is a joke of a golf course with great ocean views. Play Rustic Canyon and drive to the coast for dinner with an ocean view. If Rustic is too far out of the way then play Pelican Hill which is about the same green fee as Trump but a much better course with better ocean views.

[Nick Pozaric]

Trump LA is a joke of a golf course with great ocean views. Play Rustic Canyon and drive to the coast for dinner with an ocean view. If Rustic is too far out of the way then play Pelican Hill which is about the same green fee as Trump but a much better course with better ocean views.

I would love to play Rustic but just can't make it work schedule wise.  I stayed at Pelican this past February and would like something else.  Any other thoughts?  Thanks for the advice about Trump!

[mike_beene]

My nephew who is not a golf design guy played it last spring and loved it.

[Alex Miller]

Trump LA is a joke of a golf course with great ocean views. Play Rustic Canyon and drive to the coast for dinner with an ocean view. If Rustic is too far out of the way then play Pelican Hill which is about the same green fee as Trump but a much better course with better ocean views.

I would love to play Rustic but just can't make it work schedule wise.  I stayed at Pelican this past February and would like something else.  Any other thoughts?  Thanks for the advice about Trump!

Santa Anita for sure

[Doug Bolls]

I would take a look at Marine Memorial on Camp Pendleton.  Billy Bell design and open to the public.

[Chris Mavros]

In that area, Los Verdes would be where I'd go for public, or Terrenea which is an executive course.  If you're able to get on Rolling Hills CC, it is in that area and very very good.   

[Tim_Weiman]

In that area, Los Verdes would be where I'd go for public, or Terrenea which is an executive course.  If you're able to get on Rolling Hills CC, it is in that area and very very good.

Chris,


I remember Los Verdes to be very nice for a public course, but circa 1990 it was a pace of play disaster.

[Mike Treitler]

The golf course is super mediocre but the views are absolutely spectacular.  Worth playing once for the views but I wouldn’t want to play it again.  It’s also bizarrely difficult but the views.... are incredible.

[Alex Miller]

In that area, Los Verdes would be where I'd go for public, or Terrenea which is an executive course.  If you're able to get on Rolling Hills CC, it is in that area and very very good.

Chris,


I remember Los Verdes to be very nice for a public course, but circa 1990 it was a pace of play disaster.

It's better now, but not by much. I grew up in Palos Verdes - unless you're playing Terranea I think there are better options further inland. Really, check out Santa Anita. Also, PM me what day(s) you're looking to play.

[Tim Leahy]

Trump LA is a joke of a golf course with great ocean views. Play Rustic Canyon and drive to the coast for dinner with an ocean view. If Rustic is too far out of the way then play Pelican Hill which is about the same green fee as Trump but a much better course with better ocean views.

I would love to play Rustic but just can't make it work schedule wise.  I stayed at Pelican this past February and would like something else.  Any other thoughts?  Thanks for the advice about Trump!

If you take the 15 up from SD there is a cool course called Oak Quarry north of Riverside. Very unique with holes cut through quarry walls and a cliffside par 3. I also liked Tijeras Creek in OC if your sticking around the coast. Watch out for green aeration this time of year.

[John Foley]

Had a very good day at Arroyo Trabuco last summer. Very isolated back in a canyon off of I-5 in southern Orange County. Highly recommend.

[Pete Lavallee]

Camp Pendleton is a great choice but sadly the Marines have changed their Base access policy. You must stop at the pass and decal Office and get a 1 day pass; takes about 1/2 hour. You also can get a year long photo ID card at the main pass and decal at the I5 gate.


Barona Creek isn’t exactly on the way to LA but it is only 30 minutes from downtown SD and the course is in fabulous shape with all greens rebuilt with Pure Distinction bent grass within the last 2 years. Pricey before noon but well worth the $80 green fee after 12. The have abandoned the 20% discount with the Casino card. 

[Chris Mavros]

In that area, Los Verdes would be where I'd go for public, or Terrenea which is an executive course.  If you're able to get on Rolling Hills CC, it is in that area and very very good.

Chris,


I remember Los Verdes to be very nice for a public course, but circa 1990 it was a pace of play disaster.

Yeah LV is crowded no doubt about it but then again pretty much every SoCal public course, and many of the privates, are the same way right now.  That includes Rustic, Santa Anita, etc., from what I've been told. 

[David Ober]

I was trying to find thread on this but no luck.  Has anyone played there recently and have any thoughts on the course or its condition?  Im headed out to Cali late December and looking for a place to play between San Diego and Los Angeles.  Thanks in advance!

Avoid Trump National at all costs. This time of year it is generally a soggy mess. Or at least it was the two times I played it this time of year.

[Tal Oz]

I'd put Santa Anita, Los Verdes, and Goat Hill Park above Trump National LA. I haven't played the San Clemente muni that NLU did an episode on, but it looks like an enjoyable round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z41y_GWhByQ

And Chris is right, in the Covid golf boom LA publics and privates are filled at capacity weeks ahead of time. With so little daylight in December, be sure to book something a few weeks ahead!

[David Ober]

I'd put Santa Anita, Los Verdes, and Goat Hill Park above Trump National LA. I haven't played the San Clemente muni that NLU did an episode on, but it looks like an enjoyable round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z41y_GWhByQ

And Chris is right, in the Covid golf boom LA publics and privates are filled at capacity weeks ahead of time. With so little daylight in December, be sure to book something a few weeks ahead!

San Clemente? Uhhhhh. No.


Years ago? Yes, please. But if the greens are god awful as they were for five years+, No. Used to play in the San Clemente city there every year and always looked forward to it. Then, a couple years in a row with the greens just awful and ... no.

[Evan Fleisher]

Trump LA is a joke of a golf course with great ocean views. Play Rustic Canyon and drive to the coast for dinner with an ocean view. If Rustic is too far out of the way then play Pelican Hill which is about the same green fee as Trump but a much better course with better ocean views.

I would love to play Rustic but just can't make it work schedule wise.  I stayed at Pelican this past February and would like something else.  Any other thoughts?  Thanks for the advice about Trump!

If you take the 15 up from SD there is a cool course called Oak Quarry north of Riverside. Very unique with holes cut through quarry walls and a cliffside par 3. I also liked Tijeras Creek in OC if your sticking around the coast. Watch out for green aeration this time of year.

+1


I built a warehouse (for my former employer) in Riverside back in 2008-2009.  I've played Oak Quarry a number of times and it has some super-interesting holes on "difficult" terrain.  Worth seeking out!

[Tim Gavrich]

I'd put Santa Anita, Los Verdes, and Goat Hill Park above Trump National LA. I haven't played the San Clemente muni that NLU did an episode on, but it looks like an enjoyable round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z41y_GWhByQ

And Chris is right, in the Covid golf boom LA publics and privates are filled at capacity weeks ahead of time. With so little daylight in December, be sure to book something a few weeks ahead!

San Clemente? Uhhhhh. No.


Years ago? Yes, please. But if the greens are god awful as they were for five years+, No. Used to play in the San Clemente city there every year and always looked forward to it. Then, a couple years in a row with the greens just awful and ... no.

FWIW, I played San Clemente last September and found the course to be in very nice shape, greens included. I think the course is really cool the way it gradually winds its way up to the big-reveal Pacific Ocean view on the par-3 15th.


I second the recommendation of Arroyo Trabuco as well.

[Mark Kiely]

I've only played Santa Anita once, so take this with that in mind, but if someone steered me to play a "destination" round there I would seriously wonder if they don't like me.


Yeah, yeah, yeah... everybody says it has great bones and Geoff Shack loves it, but unless conditions are drastically better than they were a few years ago, who cares? There's some cool bumps and humps in some fairways and some nice elevated green complexes, but it's also surrounded by busy city streets and has no visual delineation to highlight any of the features that could make it special.


On another note... San Clemente's greens are back to normal. There was some issue a few years ago (I think a big rain storm right after aeration or something like that) that made them lumpy and slow, but they're good again now.

Also, recent reports say Covid-spaced tee times have vastly improved pace of play at Los Verdes.

One minor correction to an earlier post: Terranea is a nine-hole par 3 course, not an executive course.

[Alex Miller]

I've only played Santa Anita once, so take this with that in mind, but if someone steered me to play a "destination" round there I would seriously wonder if they don't like me.


Yeah, yeah, yeah... everybody says it has great bones and Geoff Shack loves it, but unless conditions are drastically better than they were a few years ago, who cares? There's some cool bumps and humps in some fairways and some nice elevated green complexes, but it's also surrounded by busy city streets and has no visual delineation to highlight any of the features that could make it special.


On another note... San Clemente's greens are back to normal. There was some issue a few years ago (I think a big rain storm right after aeration or something like that) that made them lumpy and slow, but they're good again now.

Also, recent reports say Covid-spaced tee times have vastly improved pace of play at Los Verdes.

One minor correction to an earlier post: Terranea is a nine-hole par 3 course, not an executive course.

Bumping this because historically when a poster on GCA says you should PM them, it tends to pay off...

In that area, Los Verdes would be where I'd go for public, or Terrenea which is an executive course.  If you're able to get on Rolling Hills CC, it is in that area and very very good.

Chris,


I remember Los Verdes to be very nice for a public course, but circa 1990 it was a pace of play disaster.

It's better now, but not by much. I grew up in Palos Verdes - unless you're playing Terranea I think there are better options further inland. Really, check out Santa Anita. Also, PM me what day(s) you're looking to play.

[Bill Seitz]

San Clemente and Santa Anita are good "if you're in the area" stops.  How far I'd drive to play either one depends on the company.  Of course, I've played Santa Anita probably more than any other course in Southern California, or maybe anywhere else, as it was two miles from where I grew up, and the home course for my high school and three other high schools in our league.  Great ocean views at SC.  Oak Quarry is also good, and if you're coming up that way and skip Temecula (Red Hawk, Cross Creek, what used to be the SCGA Member's course), then Goose Creek isn't that far out of your way.    Also agree with the Arroyo Trabuco recommendation. Haven't lived in the area in years, but Los Serranos in the Chino Hills area has (or had) two good tests.  Mountain Meadows in Pomona used to be pretty good as well, but I can't attest to current quality.


All of the public golf caveats with regards to conditions and pace of play apply, especially to Santa Anita and San Clemente, which are both munis (SA is county owned).