LOS ANGELES — While this week may be just another seven days in Los Angeles for most in the city, for golf fans it’s a whole lot more.
The famed Los Angeles Country Club, which ranks as the No. 2 private course in California, is making its debut as a U.S. Open host, ending a 75 year drought for the U.S. Open in L.A. since Riviera hosted back in 1948. The ultra-exclusive club off Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills has been hesitant to open its doors to the outside world for years, let alone for major championships attended by tens of thousands.
But hosting an event of this magnitude comes at a cost. Here are some pros and cons of hosting the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Pro: Different type of U.S. Open
Players have been gushing over the course and the unique test it will offer compared to usual U.S. Opens. Count 2021 U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm as one of them.
“It’s a design that I like. It makes you think,” he explained. “It’s very intricate green complexes. You’ve got to play the angles a little bit, and especially if you miss the greens, you’re going to find yourself in some interesting spots to get up-and-down.”
U.S. Open: Three holes illustrate strategy in play at LACC
“There is certain flow to the golf course in a U.S. Open that we haven’t seen before. That I haven’t … Yeah, I think it’s a bit different, and it’s fun. You’ll see a lot of birdies, and I think you also you see some high numbers come out of nowhere.”
There are five par 3s on the course, wide fairways and a strong mix of getable holes (as seen by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele). Sound like a normal, kick-your-teeth-in U.S. Open to you?
Con: Lacking atmosphere
USGA CEO Mike Whan noted how this year’s build is the largest in U.S. Open history. Members and hospitality venues have claimed a lot of the space and tickets, which have already been capped to 22,000 per day.
Members rarely walk the course, and why would they with a record hospitality build at their disposal? As for the general admission fans, wide fairways and limited access, especially around the 1st and 18th holes, had a negative impact on the atmosphere throughout Thursday’s first round.
“Just walking down the first hole, it didn’t quite feel like, because you don’t have a lot of people around you on the first tee, so it didn’t quite feel like a major and I was still nervous but it wasn’t quite as heightened,” said Max Homa, who also referred to the morning as “subdued.”
The hype will most likely pick up as the week goes on, but the first round lacked a bit of juice.
Pro: Visually stimulating
The course is in the shadows of Hollywood and is surrounded by Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Westwood and Century City, a setting fans have never seen at an event like this. The Playboy mansion is off the 14th hole and Lionel Richie’s massive estate is just off No. 4 green. While the course may not be ideal for fans on the grounds, those watching from home are in for a real treat.
Not to mention, who doesn’t love some primetime golf?
MORE: Celebrity homes at the U.S. Open
Lionel Richie has **spared no expense with his house here at Los Angeles Country Club.
** except for this basketball hoop from 1983 pic.twitter.com/g4Qp8ZAfF6
— Adam Woodard (@AdamWoodard) June 13, 2023
Con: Pace of play
It wasn’t a matter of if play was going to backed up on the course, it was a matter of when and how often. The front nine was destined to provide some challenges for players who enjoy getting in a rhythm after the opening stretch of holes, and that was true a few times on Thursday, especially for the group of Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama.
PHOTOS: Los Angeles Country Club, hole-by-hole
First there’s the lengthy par-3 fourth, followed by No. 5, a par 4 that has a tricky molar green (shaped like a tooth). Then there’s the par-4 sixth hole that is drivable for some, which leads to the 284-yard par-3 seventh. No. 8 can be a sure-fire two-shotter of a par 5 if the wind is right, and the cherry on top is another par 3 at No. 9.
It’s an insanely good stretch of holes that could also cause more backups and traffic jams than the nearby 405 freeway.
Pro: Bomb and gougers beware
As California native Collin Morikawa put it, “it’s just a big-boy golf course.”
Fairways and greens are important no matter what golf course you’re playing, and its cliché to say that’s the key to success, but it’s also true at a place like LACC. With its slight undulations, penal bunkering and Bermuda rough, playing from the short stuff carries a considerable advantage compared to a worse lie closer to the green.
With a pair of record-setting 8-under 62s on Thursday, LACC proved its a gettable course if you’re in position off the tee and dialed with your approach. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just a different sort of U.S. Open test.
MORE: Wide fairways don’t make LACC easy to navigate
“I guess we’re used to that kind of really thick, juicy rough. It’s a little bit different here,” explained Cameron Smith. “I think the Bermuda rough, I think you can get kind of lucky or unlucky. There’s patches out there where they’re actually quite thin and you can get away with kind of a bad shot and other patches where if you’re in there it’s no good at all. I think that’s a little bit different.”
“I think the way you go through the hills there a few times, there’s lots of shots where you almost have to work the ball into the hill,” Smith continued. “It’s a really good challenge. But I think that Bermuda rough is definitely a little bit different. Typically we’re playing in the northeast and get that really dense kind of wet rough.”
