Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course won’t play like most other U.S. Open host sites. Originally designed by George C. Thomas and opened in 1928, then restored in 2010, LACC will offer wider fairways with a greater emphasis on strategy than many recent Open courses.
The team of Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, Geoff Shackelford and several top assistants cleared out loads of trees during that 2010 restoration, allowing the course to play as Thomas intended. That means players must be on the proper side of a given fairway to attack flags on various portions of the greens – even a good swing from the wrong angle can result in a missed green.
Many holes feature greens with bunkers carved into the putting surface – it’s entirely possible to have to pitch from a putting surface, over a bunker and back onto a green, or to have to putt around the trap and accept your fate.
And don’t consider all that width off the tee to be necessarily easy. Many of the fairways feature dramatic slopes, forcing players to consider accuracy to a preferred high spot in the fairway over raw distance that might result in a steep approach shot.
Take a look at photos of all 18 holes below, with a brief description of each.
Par 5, 578 yards. The downhill opening hole will be reachable in two shots for most…Par 4, 497 yards. The defining feature of the hole is a normally dry ditch that…Par 4, 419 yards. A semi-blind tee shot sets up an uphill approach to a green…Par 3, 229 yards. The long downhill par 3, playing adjacent to Lionel Richie's mansion, requires…Par 4, 480 yards. The hole is straight but the fairway slopes steeply from left to…Par 4, 330 yards. One of the best short par 4s anywhere. Players can tee off…Par 3, 284 yards. This downhill par 3 can be stretched to enormous length, should the…Par 5, 547 yards. The landing area for tee shots in this fairway slopes hard from…Par 3, 171 yards. The third par 3 on the front plays uphill with the clubhouse…Par 4, 409 yards. The fairway drops steeply off the tee before climbing for several hundred…Par 3, 290 yards. With downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop, this downhill par 3 features…Par 4, 380 yards. The tee shot is blind uphill to a fairway curving left toward…Par 4, 507 yards. Playing directly toward the former Playboy Mansion on the other side of…Par 5, 623 yards. This brute doglegs left, with the tee shot over a cluster of…Par 3, 124 yards. This little gem features a green divided by a ridge, with bunkers…Par 4, 542 yards. Yes, you read that right, a 542-yard par 4. This hole plays…Par 4, 520 yards. With so much of the course feeling wide open, this downhill tee…Par 4, 492 yards. This uphill closer curves gently left as it climbs to a green…
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