Best golf courses near Los Angeles, CA

It’s on the edge of Tinsel Town, but the architecture of the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club has been solid gold ever since its 2010 restoration by architect Gil Hanse, his associate Jim Wagner and their colleague Geoff Shackelford. It matters not that Hanse’s team didn’t replicate the bunkering style of original architect George C. Thomas, but rather the more visually exciting style of Thomas’s associate, William P. Bell. The first nine plays rustically up and down a shallow canyon with holes switching back and forth across a dry barranca, and the second nine loops across a more spacious upland section with one par 3 (the 11th) that can stretch to nearly 300 yards and another (the 15th) that often plays just 90 yards. The hole strategies reinstituted by Hanse will play sensationally when LA North hosts the 2023 U.S. Open.

Completing a George C. Thomas hat trick of designs (the others being No. 16 Los Angeles C.C. (North) and No. 18 Riviera) is Bel-Air C.C., a charming throwback design that winds through mansion-dotted canyons of Los Angeles, the topography so steep that golfers are guided from hole to hole via a tunnel, an elevator and the city’s most famous suspension bridge, which spans a gulch on the par-3 10th and serves as a dramatic backdrop for the 18th green. Bel-Air’s design had been altered over decades by, among others, Dick Wilson, George Fazio, Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Tom Fazio. But in 2018 Tom Doak erased every bit of their work, removing most of the phony water hazards and faithfully recapturing Thomas’s splashy signature bunkering. To complete a round amidst these Hollywood hills, you’ll definitely encounter a Hollywood star. Her name is Bel-Air.

Los Angeles Country Club's South course is one of the best courses in California. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information

A compact and shrewd design by George C. Thomas Jr. and associate William P. Bell, Riviera features everything from a long Redan par 3 to a bunker in the middle of a green to an alternate-fairway par 4. With its 18th green at the base of a natural amphitheater, and its primary rough consisting of club-grabbing Kikuyu, Riviera seems tailor-made as a tournament venue. It hosted a PGA Championship in 1995, a U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and a U.S. Amateur in 2017, but no U.S. Open since 1948. With the U.S. Open awarded to nearby LA Country Club for 2023, it doesn’t appear Riviera will get another Open (though it will host the 2028 Olympics). But it’s the site of an annual PGA Tour event, which is even better exposure to the golf world.

Lakeside is a classic old-school layout across the Los Angeles River from Universal Studios Hollywood. The course was designed in the early 1920s by Max Behr, a Yale graduate and the first editor of Golf Illustrated magazine. Lakeside has long been a favorite among Hollywood elite—Bing Crosby notably was a five-time club champion. The relatively short course is well bunkered, features tiny greens and receives high marks in conditioning from our course-ranking panelists.

Situated between Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, Rancho Park hosted the Los Angeles Open in the late 1950s and 1960s with Arnold Palmer, Charlie Sifford and Billy Casper all winning here. This Los Angeles muny also hosted the 1949 U.S. Amateur Public Links. With weekday rates under $40 and junior rates under $10, Rancho Park offers an accessible way to play a historic championship course.

One of the oldest courses in Los Angeles County, the Wilson layout at Griffith Park dates to the late 1920s. Babe Ruth famously signed to play for the New York Yankees after playing a round at Griffith Park’s original layout in 1920. The Wilson track hosted the Los Angeles Open from 1937-’39, with Babe Didrikson Zaharias playing in 1938. Today, the muny can tip out around 7,000 yards, with the narrow, sloped fairways providing a solid test.

One of the oldest courses in Los Angeles County, the Harding layout at Griffith Park was laid out in the early 1920s. Babe Ruth famously signed to play for the New York Yankees after playing a round at Griffith Park’s original layout in 1920. Today, the course remains an affordable public track—with weekday rates under $40—though much of the original design, including the greens and bunkers, have been altered over the years.