While golf is usually a quiet sport, players may be a bit distracted by the loud animal noises that they’re expected to hear at this year’s US Open.
On 15 June, the Los Angeles Country Club (LACC), located in Beverly Hills, will be inviting athletes and fans to its grounds for the start of the 123rd US Open. Due to where LACC is located, players at the event are only a short distance away from Hugh Hefner’s infamous Playboy Mansion.
In fact, once golfers hit the 14th hole of the course, that’s when they’ll come across the house. And while they may not be able to see the insides of the mansion, they are expected to hear some noise from the home’s zoo.
On 12 June, professional golfer Smylie Kaufman took to Twitter to show players what they could expect.
As heard in the background of his clip, there are a variety of animal noises, which appear to be coming from monkeys, peacocks, and other types of birds.
He poked fun at the sounds in the caption, writing: “Plenty of monkey business happening to the right of 14 tee.”
In the comments of the post, Twitter users went on to poke fun at the noises they heard in the video.
“That bird is laughing at you!” one joked, while another asked: “Tell us why there are monkeys there…”
A third quipped: “We hear you, loud and clear!”
Kaufman later posted a follow-up video of the many monkeys he saw at the Playboy Mansion’s zoo back in 2016. “It seems way more overgrown now and [I] have no idea if they are still back there,” he wrote in the caption.
In 2016, Daren Metropoulos, principal at investment firm Metropoulos & Co. and co-owner of Hostess Brands, bought the Holmby Hills, California, estate for more than $100 million. Hefner still continued to live in the home, up until his death in July 2017. In 2009, Metropoulos, the son of private equity investor Dean Metropoulos, also bought the property that was next door to the mansion for $18 million.
The Playboy Mansion, which has 29 rooms, is also one of the few private residences in Los Angeles with a zoo licence.
When asked what he was going to be doing with this zoo, after Hefner’s death in 2017, Metropoulos confirmed that he would be keeping the animals.
“Daren loves animals and the zoo and the animals will stay under his ownership,” Metropoulos’ representative told Page Six at the time.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Metropoulos for comment.
This year, the LACC is also hosting the first US Open to take place in LA in 75 years. The golf club was founded in the 19th century, and the North Course has been a respected, coveted venue since 1911. Along with being located next to the Playboy Mansion, the event is also happening right next to Lionel Richie’s house.
