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any "must plays" Los Angeles public courses

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huskie

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Just curious besides Trump course any high end publics??
 
Terranea is a pretty fun course. 9 holes par 3 course. The views are amazing though
 
Depends what you consider "Los Angeles."


As long as you're up for a painfully slow round, you should play Rancho Park. Lots of history there, and it's tough.

Everything else thats any good in LA is private. You need to venture out to the north, south, or east to get the good publics/semis

I live on the border of Ventura county, and there are some really amazing tracks out here. Rustic Canyon (a Golf Digest top 100) is an awesome test of golf (Gil Hanse design,) as well as Tierra Rejada which provides some amazing mountain golf.

Angeles National is a good track out in the Angeles National Forest. There are a lot of great courses if you're willing to drive.
 
huskie said:
Just curious besides Trump course any high end publics??
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In my opinion, Trump is not worth the cost. It's a nice course, and you get the feel of a high end club, but there's nothing REALLY special about it to justify the $200+ Last time I was there the greens were so slick it became more frustrating than fun.
 
I must admit I have not played in the LA area in a number of years now. But, when I lived there, one of my favorite courses was Los Verdes. On a clear day the views of the Pacific and of Catalina Island are spectacular. I hear the pace of play these days is pretty bad unless you play on a weekday and play early in the AM. A fun golf course.

I also liked the Eisenhower Course at City of Industry. Tough...slope rating is 140 and course rating is 74.8. All the golf you want there. Not so scenic but challenging golf.
 
Angeleno here.

Nothing in LA proper is really a destination. At all. The best courses are private, so you'll have to get out of the city for anything that isn't a goat track. You wanna play good golf in LA - go to Palm Springs.

Though, I won't hate on Griffith Park. The layouts on both the Harding and Wilson are OK though I prefer the Harding. And it has a cool old school layout and feel. Conditions aren't GREAT but they aren't terrible.

The Balboa at Sepulveda isn't totally awful. A buddy of mine loves it but I think that might be because he lives like 10mins from it. I don't mind playing there as it's a quick jaunt (for the 405) to get there.

Rancho has history but it's the slowest play you'll ever experience. Seriously. If you ever finished under 5 hours; you're lucky. Angeles National above Burbank is close-ish to LA but the conditions are terrible for the price. It's a great layout and I WANT to love that course but every time I've played there over the last year; the fairways are just dead. Greens are nice, though. And brutal.

My favorite courses are down in Orange County and San Bernardino. Though I'll give Los Robles props; which is about an hour north. That's a fun one.

Honestly, my favorite course right now is the Navy Destroyer (only recently played it with a buddy that grew up near there). Fun layout, well kept and good (and cheap) food at the clubhouse. About an hour south of LA downtown depending on when.

I have a love/hate relationship with Rio Hondo in Downey.

Coyote Hills in Fullerton is an interesting challenge. Many elevated tees that can look scary. But it's fun. Great greens. Really great greens.
 
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aenemated said:
Angeleno here.

Nothing in LA proper is really a destination. At all. The best courses are private, so you'll have to get out of the city for anything that isn't a goat track. You wanna play good golf in LA - go to Palm Springs.

Though, I won't hate on Griffith Park. The layouts on both the Harding and Wilson are OK though I prefer the Harding. And it has a cool old school layout and feel. Conditions aren't GREAT but they aren't terrible.

The Balboa at Sepulveda isn't totally awful. A buddy of mine loves it but I think that might be because he lives like 10mins from it. I don't mind playing there as it's a quick jaunt (for the 405) to get there.

Rancho has history but it's the slowest play you'll ever experience. Seriously. If you ever finished under 5 hours; you're lucky. Angeles National above Burbank is close-ish to LA but the conditions are terrible for the price. It's a great layout and I WANT to love that course but every time I've played there over the last year; the fairways are just dead. Greens are nice, though. And brutal.

My favorite courses are down in Orange County and San Bernardino. Though I'll give Los Robles props; which is about an hour north. That's a fun one.

Honestly, my favorite course right now is the Navy Destroyer (only recently played it with a buddy that grew up near there). Fun layout, well kept and good (and cheap) food at the clubhouse. About an hour south of LA downtown depending on when.

I have a love/hate relationship with Rio Hondo in Downey.

Coyote Hills in Fullerton is an interesting challenge. Many elevated tees that can look scary. But it's fun. Great greens. Really great greens.
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What courses do you like in OC? I’ve been wanting to try the Navy Destroyer course it looks great and very fair pricing
 
rickkimbrell said:
I must admit I have not played in the LA area in a number of years now. But, when I lived there, one of my favorite courses was Los Verdes.
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Los Verdes is great bang for the buck. Doubt you can find a pacific ocean view course for $40 anywhere else.

Funny story: I have never seen the first 3 holes at LV. In order to stave off a 6 hour round of golf I have always taken the first available tee times. Head mounted flashlights, and glow balls are the only way to play.

Sure you can't see anything, and to this day I am not sure what those holes look like, but it allows you to play there in just a few hours.
 
Papatortuga said:
What courses do you like in OC? I’ve been wanting to try the Navy Destroyer course it looks great and very fair pricing
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I haven’t been to the Navy course in many years, but it was a great course.

Ben Brown’s 9-hole course in Laguna is worth a look too.


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