LOS ANGELES — The long private Los Angeles Country Club opened its doors this week for the 123rd US Open, marking by far the biggest event ever to play the course tucked away near Beverly Hills in Southern California.
The course is a mystery to many, including players who will compete in the third major championship of the season starting on Thursday.
With Bermuda grass, bent grass greens, no water and barranca (a narrow, winding gorge) running almost throughout the entire course, Los Angeles Country Club is bringing its own unconventional challenges to the US Open.
“That’s really all we’re trying to do. I don’t think it’s anything like any other major. It’s just letting what’s there, the brilliance of what has always been, be,” USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said Wednesday. “Make no mistake, we’ve made modifications here. There’s a lot of rough. It’s going to be tough. Just buckle up because there are going to be some lies where it’ll be a good ol’ fashioned US Open.”
Here’s a look at the five most unique holes at Los Angeles Country Club.
No. 6 — Par 4 | 330 yards
The first one on the list is the short par-4 tucked away on the back north corner of the course. At just 330 yards, this hole is very drivable — although that task won’t be easy. A trio of trees blocks the view of the green from the tee box, leaving those going for the very thin green with a totally blind shot.
Bunkers and barranca sit down in front and behind the green, too, so a miss could prove costly. The safe option is simply to lay up in the fairway and take a small wedge into the green. But there’s plenty of opportunity to make a move here.
“There will be people that go for it and make eagles, hit great shots, give themselves a lot of good looks at birdie, but I think it’s also the way you’re going to see the highest numbers,” Jon Rahm said Tuesday. “People who go for the green and put themselves in a difficult spot.
“I think if you hit the lay-up to the spot you want to every day, which isn’t the hardest lay-up, I think your scoring average will be lower than going for it every day.”
No. 7 — Par 3 | 284 yards
Golfers will be hit with another tough challenge immediately at the par-3 seventh. This long par-3 will play longer than 280 yards, and there aren’t many places to miss. Barranca winds all the way from the tee up to the green, although there is a short safe location just in front of the hole.
That, however, is about the only place to miss. Any shot long will land on the eighth tee box, which would leave you with a tough chip back into the green. Anything to the right lands in a tight bunker. Depending on the pin position, this hole could play very, very hard.
No. 11 — Par 3 | 290 yards
Like its counterpart on the front side, this par 3 is incredibly long.
This downhill hole with a great view of the Los Angeles skyline will play close to 300 yards, making it almost as long as a par 4 on the front. There are a pair of huge bunkers across the front of the green and another up the hill on the left side, leaving players very little room to miss. There’s a hill just off the back right side, too, meaning anything long will run well off the back and result in a tough uphill chip.
“11 is a little trickier,” Rahm said. “Everything rolls off that green, everything bounces away from that green except that little gap early on.”
No. 15 — Par 3 | 124 yards
Exactly opposite of the 11th, the 15th could play as one of the shortest par-3s professional golfers have ever seen.
The hole will play anywhere from about 140 yards at its longest to about 70 yards at its shortest. But just because it’s short doesn’t make it simple. The thin green is split with a big hill in the middle, leaving an upper and lower portion to it as it winds between bunkers on almost every side.
The USGA has all but said it will set up the shortest possible combination for the hole at one point this weekend, too. That’s left golfers taking a lot of time on the tee box there during practice rounds this week trying to hit from every angle.
“You have like a yard and a half to land it if you want to hit a good shot,” Collin Morikawa said Tuesday. “If not, you’ve got to play left and hopefully hit a good putt. Yeah, it’s frustrating because you can hit an okay shot and not get rewarded at all. Especially out here you can’t land it in the rough. It’s not going to bounce out. You’ve got to land it in the right spot.”
No. 18 — Par 4 | 492 yards
The 18th isn’t incredibly complicated. But the finishing hole won’t be easy by any means.
The nearly 500-yard par 4 starts with an uphill tee shot, and will need a spot-on approach to the small green that sits right in front of the big white clubhouse. Bunkers surround the green on both sides, too.
With the sun setting in the background and likely wind coming into their faces, the hole will make for a great ending. But it’s not the place to get any strokes back. That should be done well ahead of time.
“I was to choose a non-scorable stretch, it would probably be 16 through 18,” Scottie Scheffler said on Tuesday.