Los Angeles Country Club is set to take centre stage in the golfing world as the game’s biggest names descend upon the Hollywood venue for the 2023 US Open.
It is the first Major that will be held at the private club that is located in the mega-affluent West side of LA, meaning a new challenge awaits most players. It also means fans get the chance to see a course out with the normal rota.
With that in mind, here are a few things you might not know about LACC…
1. Designed in 1928, revamped in 2010
The current North Course was designed by George Thomas in 1928, who was also responsible for Riviera Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club, both of which are nearby. It features some trademarks of Thomas’s work, notably the gentle par-5 opener, not dissimilar to Riviera’s.
Thomas was said to like giving players easy passage into a round before offering up a variety of different challenges, designed to test every facet of the game and give players options as to how to tackle each hole.
Gil Hanse, an equally renowned course architect, was drafted in to lead the redesign project at the end of 2009 to restore the course to its former glory after some of the features had been softened by time.
The result is a 7,421-yarder that looks different to the atypical US Open venue. However, it is not to be taken lightly. The fairways may appear wide but hit them in the wrong spot and catch a rogue slope and untold trouble awaits. Thick rough will obviously feature while the barranca and scruffy bunkers will snare a few victims.
The size and shape of the putting surfaces mean there will be little respite. The commonly held belief is that LACC is a ‘second-shot golf course’ so expect to see plenty of fun and games around the greens.
2. The par-3 holes
LACC’s par-3s have received plenty of attention in the build-up to this year’s US Open. It’s easy to see why. The first picture to do the rounds was the 11th-hole sign that read 290 yards, making it the second-longest par-3 in the tournament’s history, but delve a little deeper and there’s a far more interesting proposition awaiting players this week.
The 15th is officially listed at 124 yards but due to the size of the tee and shape of the green, it can play as little as 78 yards. Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick described it as “amazing”, adding that standing with a lob wedge in hand will likely be more challenging than a fairway wood.
“I would argue that at 78 yards, stood there with a lob wedge in your hand, you’re going to be a…
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