The 2023 U.S. Open Course, Los Angeles Country Club in California, is primed to challenge the world’s best golfers in Tinseltown June 15-18.
1. North Course Overview
While this superb parkland course debuted in the late 1920’s, it was adroitly renovated and updated in 2010 by Gil Hanse, his associate Jim Wagner and writer/golf history expert Geoff Shackelford in a five-year project. The front nine skirts up and down a shallow canyon and the back nine is laid out on a more wide open section. The 2023 U.S. Open course set up will play 7,421 yards, par 70 for the 123rd U.S. Open. It has a great mix of uphill/downhill and long/short holes surrounded in the distance by the urban landscape of downtown Los Angeles and the high rises of Century City across the street.
2. Most Notable Holes
Players can’t really ease into the course as the 2 through 7 hole stretch is magnificent and challenging. The short par-4 sixth at 330 yards with a downhill tee shot and longish par-3 seventh at 284 yards are two wonderfully designed gems that can make or break a round. Here’s what Hanse has to say about the sixth hole: “Someone could play ‘bombs away’ and just deal with wherever they end up, while others will play to the fairway and try to give themselves a better angle with a short club in their hands.” The beautiful 9th hole, a 171-yard par-3, is generally regarded as the signature hole and the 11th, a 290-yard par 3, features the downtown Los Angeles skyline as a backdrop. The three closing par-4’s, 16 (542 yards), 17 (520 yards) and 18 (492 yards) all require pinpoint accuracy off the tee and all have defensive bunkering fronting the greens.
3. Tournament History
The Los Angeles Country Club North Course has previously hosted three USGA championships – 1930 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1954 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2017 Walker Cup.
4. Location
Los Angeles Country Club is situated near Beverly Hills, California at 10101 Wilshire Boulevard.
5. Club History
In 1897, a group led by Joseph Sartori and Edward Tufts organized an association to address the increasing popularity of golf in California. After outgrowing three locations and years of planning, the club adjacent to posh Beverly Hills officially opened on May 30, 1911. Its beautiful clubhouse, tennis courts and golf courses have served as the club’s home ever since. The original 18-hole golf course was laid out by Sartori, Tufts, Norman Macbeth and Charles Orr. In 1921, British golf architect W. Herbert Fowler created two new 18-hole courses at the existing location. In the late 1920s, legendary golf course architect and club member George C. Thomas Jr. redesigned the North Course. The clubhouse was restored to its original grandeur with a 16-month renovation in 2015. The grand reopening in 2016 included the rededication of the Reagan Terrace in honor of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States and member of The Los Angeles Country Club.