Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Moorpark, CA.
Rustic Canyon Golf
Golf in Los Angeles is abundant and affordable. As a grizzled veteran of the area for more years than I’d care to admit, the one upside to life in the slow lane—yes, traffic is still a nightmare—is the ability to morph from freeway to fairway with the flick of a turn-signal. Within an hour of the city center in all directions, good golf beckons the weary traveler to relinquish the customary road rage and save one’s ire for the game that takes at least a lifetime to master and then some.
As a touristic destination, Southern California still sees hordes of non-golfers flock to soak up the sun, walk in the footsteps of cinema legends (literally, at TCL/Grauman’s Chinese Theater) and do the required studio tours and theme parks. But for those of us who consider a walk of over a half-mile a squandered opportunity to knock a golf ball hither and yon, Los Angeles offers a bewildering array of worthy courses to explore for players of all levels.
Rustic Canyon, A Tribute To Scottish Golf Architecture
At the top of the list for those shallow-pocketed types like myself who can’t afford a private club membership is the above-pictured Rustic Canyon Golf Course in Moorpark, a 40-minute drive from the city. This nationally-ranked design is the handiwork of vanguard modern architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, whose minimal philosophy involves using the existing topography without tons of earth-moving or tricked-up features.
Rustic has no trees or water hazards, just hard-rolling fairways and large, contoured green complexes. But for those hard-to-hold putting surfaces, the course might be a cinch, but not so fast: Three putts and more await those who don’t wield the wedge and flatstick with utter confidence. On top of all that, the fees are quite modest for a course of this pedigree. If you like the traditional links-style, Scottish version of the game, Rustic Canyon is the closest thing to the Old Course in the region.
A Day Trip To Ojai In The Topa Topa Mountains
Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai, CA.
Soule Park Golf Course
While we’re talking Hanse and Wagner, another half-hour behind the wheel delivers you to Ojai, California, a new-agey town better known for classical music festivals than golf. Soule Park Golf Course was reconceived by the dynamic duo in 2005 from William F. Bell’s original 1962 design, and it still features generous fairways and ample green complexes, making it eminently playable for golfers of all levels. To boot, it is nestled in a serenely quiet valley and surrounded by the Topa Topa Mountains, so it’s one of the more scenic getaways in the area. The even better news is that you can play on a weekday for around $40, a true steal in an age of inflatable greens fees.
Quality Municipal Golf Within Los Angeles Proper
Charles Sifford of the United States during the Ralph’s Senior Classic golf tournament on 21 October … [+] 1994 at the Rancho Park Golf Course, Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Allsport/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The city of Los Angeles has a robust roster of first-rate public courses, including the historic and bumblebee-busy Rancho Park Golf Course, right across the street from the Fox Studio complex on Pico Boulevard. This rolling and tree-laden track was once home to the PGA’s Los Angeles Open, and if you don’t believe it was a challenge for the pros, there is a plaque on the 18th tee commemorating the 12 strokes it took Arnold Palmer to finish the last hole in 1962. Tee times are nigh impossible to secure at Rancho since the pandemic, but well worth the effort—it is easily regarded as worthy of mention with neighboring Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club, but at a fraction of the price.
Across town in sprawling Griffith Park are a pair of worthy public 18-holers, the Wilson and Harding courses, where there as many deer and coyotes scampering about as there are golfers on a given day. Harding has narrower fairways and challenging approach shots into sand-surrounded greens, while Wilson is one of the longest city courses at over 7,000 yards from the back tees. Sloping fairways and abundant trees make for a variety of shot choices, and the finishing holes abut the Los Angeles Zoo. If you miss a birdie putt on 18, you can always blame the noisy orangutans next door.
Terranea Resort’s Stunning Short Course
The Links at Terranea at Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
Terranea Resort
If you prefer a sea-breezy place to hang your golf cap for a day, there is no better place in the area than Terranea Resort, a luxury destination with a pocket-sized 9-hole, par 3 layout right on property. Some such short courses are afterthoughts for serious golfers, but the Links at Terranea is rife with elevation changes, undulating greens and an ever-shifting menu of winds that keep the very best players on their toes. Green fees aren’t the cheapest, but conditions are top shelf—fairways and greens are lush and well-maintained. And a critical FYI: A quick, 90-minute round should be immediately followed by chicken and waffles at the resort’s Catalina Kitchen. And of course, 102 acres on the Pacific Ocean just screams location, location, ad infinitum.
The Saticoy Club: Often Overlooked But A Must-Play Private Course
View of the 6th hole at The Saticoy Club.
The Saticoy Club
For serious students of the game, pulling a few strings and playing 18 holes at The Saticoy Club in Somis–some 45 minutes northwest of the city–is well worth the effort. Avocado trees surround the course, perched on a bluff above Ventura County’s rich farmland, and views of the Channel Islands and Pacific Ocean are available on a clear day from the practice range. But it’s the ingenious Billy Bell Jr. design that attracts determined golfers to join the club, a nail-biting journey through rolling hills and tree-lined fairways. A gentle warning: the putting surfaces can be like greased lightning and demand precision approach shots, otherwise you may card a number only Stephen Hawking could love.
