Los Angeles Country Club
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°04′08″N 118°25′23″W / 34.069°N 118.423°W |
| Location | 10101 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Elevation | 370 feet (115 m) |
| Established | 1897 1911 (current) |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 69 |
| Events hosted | Los Angeles Open (1926, 1934–1936, 1940) Walker Cup (2017) U.S. Open (2023) |
| North Course | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,200 yards (6,580 m)[1] |
| Course rating | 75.7 |
| Slope rating | 143[2] |
| South Course | |
| Par | 70 |
| Course rating | 71.1 |
| Slope rating | 129[3] |
The Los Angeles Country Club is a golf and country club in Los Angeles, California. The club is noted for being very exclusive.[4] It hosted the 2023 U.S. Open on its North Course.
History
[edit]In the fall of 1897, a group of Los Angeles residents organized the Los Angeles Golf Club, and a 16-acre (6.5 ha) lot was leased at the corner of Pico and Alvarado streets (now part of the Alvarado Terrace Historic District) for a nine-hole golf course. Called "The Windmill Links," the course was named for a makeshift clubhouse crafted from the bottom of an abandoned windmill. Through the middle of 1898, this site served as the club's home until the course became too crowded.
The club was removed to Pico Heights, at Hobart and 16th streets, and was named "The Convent Links" for its location behind a convent near Rosedale Cemetery. Again, nine holes were laid out for play, but by the spring of 1899, this course and clubhouse had also become too restricted for play.
The search committee for a new site, consisting of the club founders Joe Sartori and Ed Tufts, found the club's new home just 0.2 miles (0.3 km) west, on the northeast corner of Pico and Western. The clubhouse was transported intact to a new site in Beverly Hills, and it was expanded there. The club also laid out an 18-hole course, reopened on May 30, 1911, expanded to 36 holes, and added tennis courts.
The original golf course was laid out by Sartori, Tufts, Norman Macbeth, and Charles Orr. The courses were redesigned by Herbert Fowler and George C. Thomas, Jr., and again by Thomas with William P. Bell in 1927–28.
From 2019 to 2023, Los Angeles architecture, urban design & planning, and interiors firm, Johnson Fain, along with its consultant team, restored the LACC's 80,000 square foot clubhouse. The original landmark clubhouse, designed by Sumner Hunt and constructed in 1911, was renewed and expanded including the interiors, gardens, and golf pro shop in a multi-year project.
The club has been criticized for the extraordinarily low tax rate it pays – around $300,000 annually despite land valuations calculated between six and nine billion dollars, which would ordinarily draw a tax bill of $60 to $90 million annually.[5] This is because of a series of specific measures passed in the 1970s that provided preferential treatment to golf courses, as well as its status as a federal non-profit.[6]
Hosts national and international championships
[edit]The club hosted the 1930 United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship; Glenna Collett Vare defeated Virginia Van Wie in the final match. The club hosted the 1954 U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship; Foster Bradley defeated Al Geiberger in the final match. The club hosted the 2017 Walker Cup, won by the United States.
In 1996 and 1997 an extensive renovation of the North and South courses was completed. In February 2010, an extensive restoration of the North Course by Gil Hanse and Thomas biographer Geoff Shackelford took place to return the course to George C. Thomas, Jr.'s design from 1921. The course reopened in October 2010.[7]
Hosts PGA Tour events
[edit]The North course hosted the first Los Angeles Open 98 years ago in 1926, and it returned four times:[8] 1934, 1935,[9] 1936, and 1940.[10][citation needed] The most recent in 1940, won by Lawson Little, was plagued by heavy rains.[10]
2023 U.S. Open
[edit]On July 22, 2015, the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced that Los Angeles Country Club was selected to host the 123rd U.S. Open in June 2023.[8] The first major championship held at the club, it was the first men's major in the Los Angeles area in 28 years, and the area's first U.S. Open in 75 years.
Tournament history
[edit]| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) |
Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Lawson Little |  United States
|
282 | +2 | 1 stroke[10] |  Clayton Heafner
|
1,500 | 5,000 |
| 1936 | Jimmy Hines | United States
|
280 | E | 4 strokes | Henry Picard Jimmy Thomson
|
1,500 | 5,000 |
| 1935 | Vic Ghezzi | United States
|
285 | +5 | Playoff[9] | Johnny Revolta
|
1,175 | 5,000 |
| 1934 | Macdonald Smith | Scotland
|
280 | E | 8 strokes | Willie Hunter Bill Mehlhorn
|
1,450 | 5,000 |
| 1926 | Harry Cooper | United States
|
279 | −7 | 3 strokes | George Von Elm
|
3,500 | 10,000 |
- The playoff in 1935 was 18 holes and was won by two strokes, 73 to 75, and both earned the same amount.[9]
- U.S. Open
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up | Winner's share ($) |
Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Wyndham Clark | United States
|
270 | −10 | 1 stroke |  Rory McIlroy
|
$3,600,000 | $20,000,000 |
Notable members
[edit]- J. Win Austin, Los Angeles City Council member, 1941–1953[11][12]
- Robert L. Burns, Los Angeles City Council member, 1929–1945[13]
- Arthur Letts, department store founder[14]
- Ronald Reagan[15]
- Stan Kroenke, NFL owner[16]
References
[edit]- ^ James, Mike (August 28, 2014). "L.A. Country Club planning to host 2023 U.S. Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database™ - Los Angeles Country Club - North Course". USGA. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database™ - Los Angeles Country Club - South Course". USGA. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "No social media posts, no denim. One of the world's most exclusive golf clubs is opening its doors to host the US Open". CNN. June 17, 2023. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023.
- ^ Aron, Hillel (July 5, 2017). "We Should Raise Taxes on These 3 Things to Pay for Healthcare and Parks - LA Weekly". www.laweekly.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "The Los Angeles Country Club Owes L.A. More Than Just A Good U.S. Open | Defector". defector.com. June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "North Course Commemorative Edition" (PDF). Los Angeles Country Club. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2012.
- ^ a b Wharton, David (July 22, 2015). "L.A. Country Club to host 2023 U.S. Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Ghezzi takes golf title from Revolta". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 16, 1935. p. 13.
- ^ a b c Myers, Robert (January 9, 1940). "Lawson Little wins Los Angeles Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 6.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1939, page A-2
- ^ "Every Council Post at Stake," Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1941, page 2
- ^ Los Angeles Public Library reference file
- ^ McGroarty, John Steven. Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea, American Historical Society, 1921
- ^ "The 2023 U.S. Open will give a rare look at the mysterious Los Angeles Country Club". Yahoo Sports. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Corrigan, James (June 15, 2023). "Inside the LA Country Club so exclusive even these A-listers did not make the cut". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 28, 2023.