The clubhouse of The Los Angeles Country Club in the Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, April 25, 2022. (Copyright USGA/Bill Hornstein)
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTRY CLUB HISTORY
In 1897, a group calling themselves the Los Angeles Golf Club led by Joseph Sartori and Edward Tufts organized an association to further the cause of one of Southern California’s newest sports. After outgrowing three locations and years of planning, the club bordering Beverly Hills officially opened on May 30, 1911. Its stately clubhouse, tennis courts and golf courses have served as the club’s home ever since. The original 18-hole golf course was laid out by Sartori, Tufts, Norman Macbeth and Charles Orr.
In 1921, British golf architect W. Herbert Fowler created two new 18-hole courses at the existing location to address the increasing popularity of the game of golf and The Los Angeles Country Club. In the late 1920s, legendary golf course architect and club member George C. Thomas Jr. redesigned the North Course, later called his greatest design. In 2010, the North Course was unveiled after a five-year project led by noted architect Gil Hanse restored Thomas’ 1928 layout. Balancing the unique architectural vision of the North Course and the functionality necessary to sustain its design well into the future, Hanse achieved what Thomas himself envisioned when he said: “In golf course construction, art and utility meet. Both are absolutely vital; one is utterly ruined without the other.” Archived photos, written documents and physical unearthing of landforms provided the framework for a finished product that reflects the past.
In March 2015, the club undertook a significant 16-month renovation of the historic 106-year-old clubhouse (designed by architect and club member Sumner Hunt) to restore its original grandeur. The reopening in August 2016 included the rededication of the Reagan Terrace in honour of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States and member of The Los Angeles Country Club.
In late 2015, Hanse began a renovation of the club’s South Course, designed to provide a different but complementary experience from the North Course. The South Course reopened in July 2016.
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTRY CLUB NOTES
►The 123rd U.S. Open will be the first conducted at The Los Angeles Country Club
►Los Angeles will host its first U.S. Open in 75 years; it was played at The Riviera Country Club in 1948
►LACC will host its fourth USGA championship and first since the 2017 Walker Cup Match
►The 2023 U.S. Open will be the 86th USGA championship held in California, second-most of any state (Pennsylvania, 90)
►In 2023, the U.S. Open Championship will be played in California for the 15th time
►The course for the U.S. Open Championship will have five par 3s for the first time since 1947 when it was played at St. Louis (Mo.) Country Club
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT LACC
The Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course has previously hosted three USGA championships. Glenna Collett (Vare) won the fifth of a record six U.S. Women’s Amateur titles when she defeated Virginia Van Wie, 6 and 5, in the 1930 championship final. In 1954, Foster Bradley defeated Al Geiberger, 3 and 1, in a battle of two Southern Californians for the U.S. Junior Amateur title. In each case, it was the first time that the championship was contested on the West Coast.
In 2017, Collin Morikawa was one of three Americans to win all four of his matches in leading the United States to a convincing 19-7 victory over Great Britain and Ireland in the 46th Walker Cup Match. Two-time major champion Morikawa was joined by Maverick McNealy and Doug Ghim with perfect marks as the USA recorded the Match’s second-largest margin of victory. The Americans entered Day 2 of the two-day competition with an 8-4 advantage and went on to post a 3-1 record in foursomes and a 7-1-2 mark in singles. GB&I’s Jack Singh Brar, of England, went 3-1 in his matches. It was the second Walker Cup to be contested in California.
1930 U.S. Women’s Amateur: Glenna Collett (Vare) def. Virginia Van Wie, 6 and 5
1954 U.S. Junior Amateur: Foster Bradley def. Allen Geiberger, 3 and 1
2017 Walker Cup Match: USA def. Great Britain and Ireland, 19-7
OTHER EVENTS AT LACC
1926 Los Angeles Open: Harry Cooper by three strokes over George Von Elm, 279-282
1934 Los Angeles Open: Macdonald Smith by eight strokes over Willie Hunter, Bill Mehlhorn, 280-288
1935 Los Angeles Open: Vic Ghezzi def. Johnny Revolta, 285 (73) – 285 (75)
1936 Los Angeles Open: Jimmy Hines by four strokes over Henry Picard, Jimmy Thomson, 280-284
1940 Los Angeles Open: Lawson Little by one stroke over Clayton Heafner, 282-283
