LA golf scene

[Peter Ferlicca]

I used to live in San Diego, Palm Desert and Orange County back in the late 2000s and early 2010s.  Making the trip to play some good golf in LA was few and far between.  It was really just trying to get on Riviera and that was it, as getting on LACC is pretty darn hard.  As of the last ten years I feel like LA golf has made a huge turnaround making it a very desirable city for private golf.  Combine that with the perfect year round weather, there is a lot of middle of the road private clubs that now following a restoration, renovation, etc. and are taken into serious consideration when mentioning the greats in each city.  Obviously there is the top 3, but after that a lot of clubs that have been improved significantly.  What made me think of this was the recent renovation of Hillcrest, that course is on a fantastic piece of property and I am sure Kyle Phillips did a great job.

LACC North (Restored by Hanse/Shackelford)
Riviera Country Club (Fazio, constant changes being made)
Bel Air (Doak)
Wilshire (Kyle Phillips)
Hillcrest (Kyle Phillips)
Brentwood (Todd Eckernode)
Rolling Hills (DMK)
Lakeside (Harbottle)
Annandale (Brian Silva)
Oakmont (Brian Curley)

[David Kelly]

Also


Palos Verdes Country Club (Todd Eckenrode)
Santa Ana Country Club (Jay Blasi)
Lakeside (Eckenrode)

[Alex Miller]

Idk if we're focusing only on private but Rustic continues to be a gem.


Terranea is also a world class par 3 course.


Hacienda CC ain't no slouch either.


Also... LACC SOUTH !!!

[Lynn_Shackelford]

I used to live in San Diego, Palm Desert and Orange County back in the late 2000s and early 2010s.  Making the trip to play some good golf in LA was few and far between.  It was really just trying to get on Riviera and that was it, as getting on LACC is pretty darn hard.  As of the last ten years I feel like LA golf has made a huge turnaround making it a very desirable city for private golf.  Combine that with the perfect year round weather, there is a lot of middle of the road private clubs that now following a restoration, renovation, etc. and are taken into serious consideration when mentioning the greats in each city.  Obviously there is the top 3, but after that a lot of clubs that have been improved significantly.  What made me think of this was the recent renovation of Hillcrest, that course is on a fantastic piece of property and I am sure Kyle Phillips did a great job.

LACC North (Restored by Hanse/Shackelford)
Riviera Country Club (Fazio, constant changes being made)
Bel Air (Doak)
Wilshire (Kyle Phillips)
Hillcrest (Kyle Phillips)
Brentwood (Todd Eckernode)
Rolling Hills (DMK)
Lakeside (Harbottle)
Annandale (Brian Silva)
Oakmont (Brian Curley)

"You cannot have progressive without change, but not all change is progress."
John Wooden

[Pete Lavallee]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Virginia CC in Long Beach; have they gone down the restoration route yet? The big plus there is they have one of the best Teaching Pros on the planet!

[Jim Hoak]

Peter--Why do you say all those clubs have been improved?  Just because they were changed?  I agree with Lynn's comment (from John Wooden) that all change is not progress.  I agree that LACC's redo made LACC North a better course--and I understand that the changes at Bel Air are quite good, although I haven't played it yet.  But what tells you that the rest of the redos have improved things?

[V_Halyard]

Peter--Why do you say all those clubs have been improved?  Just because they were changed?  I agree with Lynn's comment (from John Wooden) that all change is not progress.  I agree that LACC's redo made LACC North a better course--and I understand that the changes at Bel Air are quite good, although I haven't played it yet.  But what tells you that the rest of the redos have improved things?

Not to answer for Peter but I will testify the Wilshire, LACC North and South, Riv'sbunker work, and Rolling Hills DMK are in fact improved, as is the Wilson Correction ROOOSEVELT Muny. And Rustic Canyon remains a national treasure. (Yes, Played each of them)
It is also time for the City to stop siphoning Golf Revenue and reinvest in more courses such as the Griffith Park duo and especially the cash cow at Rancho. Those courses generate revenue multiples above expenses, including water. (Yes, Play all the Munys as well, including Chester and Penmar)

[Tal Oz]

I can testify that Wilshire's reno has been very well received. Home course bias, Rustic continues to be a gem and since they swapped over to reclaimed water roughly two years ago the course is in fantastic shape for the skeleton crew they run.

Haven't gotten to see the updated Bel Air or Lakeside yet, but by all accounts they have been improved. The Hillcrest video circulated here a few days ago shows a drastic improvement over what was in the ground before, very curious to check it out.

[Adam G]

At Hillcrest just taking out the Kikuyu grass (which destroys the ground game) and a bunch of trees would have been a big improvement. They went way beyond that and it looks to be amazing.


My sense is after the LACC renovation was so well received a lot of courses are bringing back barancas and more native looking areas and hazards that were originally designed and lost (e.g. Wilshire, Brentwood, Bel Air). Courses feel a lot more like being out in nature in Southern California than before.

[Alex Miller]

Brentwood and Palos Verdes both have been improved to some degree as well - the work there having been less invasive.


I'm less a fan of Rolling Hills than some in its current form, but it went from a Doak 0/1 to a Doak 5/6.

Lakeside is miles better too. One cool thing with all these courses, especially the tier behind LACC and Riv, is that they all seem to offer very different vibes both on and off the course. Far be it from me to judge which is better in any way but you'll no doubt get a unique experience at each. L.A. golf does not lack in variety or quality now!

[Jeff Schley]

Although not LA, El Cabellero is underrated in valley as well as Sherwood which went through a total regrassing a couple years ago by Nicklaus.  El Cabellero doesn't get as much attention as I think they deserve.
Also I believe San Gabriel CC has a nice vibe although I haven't been there in 15 years.

[Chris Mavros]

Glad San Gabriel CC was finally mentioned.  I played it this season and was impressed.  The routing is terrific on a tight piece of property while the bunkering and angles into the greens are very good.  It flies under the radar with all the LA heavyweights for out of towners but is certainly worth being in the discussion with them.  It's also the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi.  I just put up a hole by hole review on my site.

[Joe Hellrung]

I'm playing Wilshire over Thanksgiving week and trying to get on at Bel Air.  I'll post photos if I manage to make it happen.

[Carl Nichols]

Any word on how the redesigned Rolling Hills has been received? 

[Kalen Braley]

So which courses are supposedly worse then, or at least not improved?

[B.Ross]

not sure where line on LA proper's being drawn (as in what's too far from the city's geographic center to not be considered LA) but saticoy club underwent a major renovation/restoration last year (brett hochstein design i believe) and eckenrode did work down at el niguel in the last 2 years as well. given that saticoy club is about 20 minutes from rustic while el niguel is about 20 minutes from santa ana, figured they were worth including.

[Matthew Petersen]

Peter--Why do you say all those clubs have been improved?  Just because they were changed?  I agree with Lynn's comment (from John Wooden) that all change is not progress.  I agree that LACC's redo made LACC North a better course--and I understand that the changes at Bel Air are quite good, although I haven't played it yet.  But what tells you that the rest of the redos have improved things?

Not to answer for Peter but I will testify the Wilshire, LACC North and South, Riv'sbunker work, and Rolling Hills DMK are in fact improved, as is the Wilson Muny. And Rustic Canyon remains a national treasure. (Yes, Played each of them)
It is also time for the City to stop siphoning Golf Revenue and reinvest in more courses such as the Griffith Park duo and especially the cash cow at Rancho. Those courses generate revenue multiples above expenses, including water. (Yes, Play all the Munys as well, including Chester and Penmar)

What was done at the Wilson muni?

[Alex Miller]

So which courses are supposedly worse then, or at least not improved?

Pretty much all of the publics outside of Wilson (haven't seen, played the old a bunch) and Roosevelt. Trump LA is also arguably worse than it was in 2005 even though it only had 15 holes at the time! They added water falls and hazards and then later removed some. Still it is definitely not improved.


For the privates, I'm not sure which ones haven't done some sort of work. Braemar closed 9 of their 36 holes but I can't imagine that the course has changed all that much. El Caballero might not have changed either, really.


Other high end publics that are largely the same include Industry Hills' Ike and Babe courses, Oak Quarry, Angeles National, Moorpark CC. Lost Canyons in Simi Valley is now abandoned and was 36 holes of interesting but not necessarily good golf.

[V_Halyard]

Peter--Why do you say all those clubs have been improved?  Just because they were changed?  I agree with Lynn's comment (from John Wooden) that all change is not progress.  I agree that LACC's redo made LACC North a better course--and I understand that the changes at Bel Air are quite good, although I haven't played it yet.  But what tells you that the rest of the redos have improved things?

Not to answer for Peter but I will testify the Wilshire, LACC North and South, Riv'sbunker work, and Rolling Hills DMK are in fact improved, as is the Wilson Muny. And Rustic Canyon remains a national treasure. (Yes, Played each of them)
It is also time for the City to stop siphoning Golf Revenue and reinvest in more courses such as the Griffith Park duo and especially the cash cow at Rancho. Those courses generate revenue multiples above expenses, including water. (Yes, Play all the Munys as well, including Chester and Penmar)

What was done at the Wilson muni?

Typing too fast with bad thumbs and a foggy brain. Should read Roosevelt.
https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/richardson-restores-roosevelt-course-in-las-griffith-park

[V_Halyard]

So which courses are supposedly worse then, or at least not improved?

Rancho Park inhales golfers every day starting at Sunrise on split tees. It prints money like a counterfeiter with the first color copier.
It sees little of the revenue it generates.  Most LA courses run non-stop, yet reinvestment into conditioning and upkeep, let alone any sort of renovation is marginal.  It appears that that most positive revenue is evacuated into the general fund.

[Matthew Petersen]

So which courses are supposedly worse then, or at least not improved?

Rancho Park inhales golfers every day starting at Sunrise on split tees. It prints money like a counterfeiter with the first color copier.
It sees little of the revenue it generates.  Most LA courses run non-stop, yet reinvestment into conditioning and upkeep, let alone any sort of renovation is marginal.  It appears that that most positive revenue is evacuated into the general fund.

According to a recent email I received, the most recent investment the LA munis have made was on ... golf carts that feature the Shark Experience.

[Tim Leahy]

Didn't see Santa Anita muni mentioned. Fun course with interesting gca and remnants of the original Santa Anita race track visible.

[Adam Lawrence]

not sure where line on LA proper's being drawn (as in what's too far from the city's geographic center to not be considered LA) but saticoy club underwent a major renovation/restoration last year (brett hochstein design i believe) and eckenrode did work down at el niguel in the last 2 years as well. given that saticoy club is about 20 minutes from rustic while el niguel is about 20 minutes from santa ana, figured they were worth including.

Saticoy was Thad and Brandon from Palmer Design

[Todd Eckenrode]

We've had the pleasure of working with a lot of wonderful clubs in LA greater area.  Many noted above...Lakeside, Palos Verdes, Brentwood, San Gabriel, Virginia, El Niguel, and the short course in PV, Terranea.  I personally think all are improved, but I am quite biased!  I think the same for the most part of all the other clubs mentioned, however, that we haven't worked on.  Some moreso than others of course.  LA North being the cream of the crop, for sure.  Rivy not so much.

[Jeff Schley]

We've had the pleasure of working with a lot of wonderful clubs in LA greater area.  Many noted above...Lakeside, Palos Verdes, Brentwood, San Gabriel, Virginia, El Niguel, and the short course in PV, Terranea.  I personally think all are improved, but I am quite biased!  I think the same for the most part of all the other clubs mentioned, however, that we haven't worked on.  Some moreso than others of course.  LA North being the cream of the crop, for sure.  Rivy not so much.

Todd great to have you stop in.  A couple questions if you don't mind:
1. As Brentwood is landlocked, is there much more than can be done to the course for improvement in your mind?2. I think San Gabriel is under the radar good, what is your opinion of the course if not having to be compared to the other great privates?  Sort of like trying to get attention on Long Island, i.e. a Westhampton, Bridge, Piping Rock compared to NGLA, Shinny, Friars etc.

Really think you have done fine work and members I know have complemented your efforts at a couple of your various stops.