Things are different in Los Angeles. The weather, the food, the lifestyle. Heck, even the sidewalks are bedazzled. So you may think you know the US Open, but the truth is you don’t know Jack (he’s the guy sitting courtside at the Lakers game). Don’t worry, though, we’re here to help, breaking down all the West Coast wordplay at this year’s tournament. Just memorise your lines and you’ll be speaking like a native Californian (if there is such a thing) in no time.

Kale cleanse — An up—and—down from the rough
Traffic on the 405 — A backup on the tee box
Walk of Fame — The leader’s stroll up the 18th fairway on Sunday
Barranca — A really fancy ditch
Marine Layer — Really fancy fog
Nip-tuck — The LACC restoration
“Avocado Toast!” — What the idiots yell instead of “Mashed Potatoes!”
Red Carpet — Burnt greens
Box-Office Flop — A perfect flop shot from just off the green
An Anthony Davis — A WD with injury
The Real Housewives of Orange County — Rickie Fowler’s fan club

Four birdies in a row for @RickieFowler. ????

He's -6 on the day. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/qzLZz8aomz

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023

Mulholland Drive — A high, arching tee shot into the wind
Hollywood Bowl — A long birdie bomb
Ensemble Cast — A stacked Sunday leaderboard

The post A very LA US Open glossary appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The story goes that on a visit to Los Angeles Country Club years ago, Ben Crenshaw was playing the North Course’s 17th hole, and then wandered over to the thick growth of brush and trees to the right of the fairway. Like an explorer who had heard rumours of long-lost treasure, he pulled away the branches and peered into the darkness.

“Here is this two-time Masters champion, pushing through the brush,” says Geoff Shackelford, his face lighting up to match the wonderment of the tale. “But that speaks to how iconic it was.”

“It” was a mysterious golf hole whose lore was spread over 90 years. Shackelford, a golf writer and historian, whose research was instrumental in the North Course’s restoration in the 2010s by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, is a popular witness this week about all things LACC as the club hosts its first US Open.

Dubbed “Little 17”, the par 3 was part of the LACC layout designed by W Herbert Fowler in the early 1920s. With a small, severely sloped green from back to front, it could be onerous, and its infamy grew in the 1925 California State Open played at LACC when a Santa Ana wind blew, and players found it impossible to hit the green. The event’s winner, Macdonald Smith, heroically managed to “only” bogey the hole.

A year later, the first Los Angeles Open was staged at LACC, and Shackleford said much of the pre-tournament chatter was about how difficult the 17th might play.

But, ultimately, when George C Thomas performed a significant overhaul of the North Course in the late 1920s, “Little 17” had to go. It simply didn’t figure in Thomas’ vision, and he created an entirely new par 3, the 11th, which is now the course’s most recognisable hole.

Curiously, however, the green at “Little 17” green was not destroyed, but simply allowed to be overgrown to the point where, decades later, it was invisible to golfers playing down the new par-4 17th.

During LACC’s committee talks about the restoration, Shackelford recalled that it was jokingly mentioned that a resurrection of “Little 17” could be done. That idea stewed with the committee for a while, until one day, Shackelford said, Hanse’s team was told it would be building 20 greens — the additions being “Little 17” and a re-establishment of the second green after Hanse chose to move the No. 2 green to the left of the existing green. (That decision was controversial, and for a time, some members of the club played to the old second, though it was eventually abandoned and now is used as a practice area.)

Hanse and Co were excited to do the work, because not only would the members have a unique hole to play, but it would carry on Thomas’ desire to create “loops”. In this case, golfers could go out in the afternoon and play the first hole, “Little 17” and 18th hole. It’s said that has been done as a derby before the club’s member-guest, and the hole is available much of the time. “Little 17” plays at 120 yards from a flat spot created near the No. 2 tee.

“It was fun for us,” Shackelford said. “It was a way to pay homage to the old course, and it didn’t take anything away from the big [17th] hole.”

Mike Davis, the USGA’s CEO and set-up man at the time of the 2017 Walker Cup at LACC, loved “Little 17” so much that he considered using it for a round during the matches. But, Shackelford said, it was decided that because the hole would have to sub for another short par 3, the 15th, that that just wasn’t doable because the 15th was deemed to be too good.

On Tuesday, “Little 17” got plenty of attention and TV airtime because players were encouraged to play it as part of a charity event. The day before, Shackelford said he was walking with Rory McIlroy during his first practice round when coach Brad Faxon pointed over to the gorgeous hole. “Whoa!” McIlroy said, stunned by the hidden gem.

This time, a major champion didn’t have to go hunting for it.

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Snooty or civilised? Stuffy or genteel? In an era in which many private country clubs have relaxed their rules to allow jeans in the dining room, untucked shirts on the course and the use of electronic devices pretty much everywhere, Los Angeles Country Club, host of this year’s US Open, is having none of it.

Long known as club with strict rules for members and guests alike, a look at LACC’s rules for guests reveals a club comfortable in its reputation for being buttoned up on such things. The club’s website has a guest information page that is 1,071 words long, nearly half of them tied to the use of technological devices.

The section starts with a seemingly innocuous introduction: “We are pleased to welcome you to The Los Angeles Country Club. Since 1897, we have established a series of customs and traditions in order to enhance your experience at our Club. We take pride in making every one of our guests feel like a member during your visit with us.”

Cool. But let’s read further.

Under men’s attire, things start off fine. Shirts must have sleeves and collars and be tucked in. No problem. Then comes: “Men’s slacks must be of a tailored nature.” Excuse me? First, I’m not wearing trousers, I’m wearing shorts. And my slacks are what I won using shop credit, not tailored.

Except golf shorts aren’t allowed. Ever.

As for hats, caps and visors, no dice inside the clubhouse (which is how it should be), but they may be worn on the uncovered patio. Mighty nice of them to not want to fry my bald spot.

Oh, and if you have a late tee time, bring a sport coat. After 6pm it is a requirement for being in the clubhouse.

As for women, they don’t catch much of a break. Shirts and blouses must be worn inside slacks or skirts, unless designed to be worn outside. Slacks must be of a tailored nature and be ankle length or longer. Skirts are OK, but may be no shorter than four inches above the knee. Who is charged with measuring this is not mentioned. The same rules regarding headwear for men apply to the women, although they may wear brimmed hats (not golf caps) that coordinate with their outfit inside the clubhouse.

As for the evening hours, after 6pm, a dress, dressy skirt and blouse, suit, tailored pants suit, pants and blazer or evening pants outfit are all acceptable provided they follow the length guidelines.

You didn’t think we forgot about the kids, did you? The rules are straightforward but a little draconian for juniors. Those under seven years old “must maintain a conservative and modest attire in keeping with the Club’s tradition”. Those above seven? Same as mum and dad. Seriously. Because, you know, every eight-year-old is dying to have dinner in a jacket and slacks or pants suit.

There are other no-no’s regarding attire. Don’t bother wearing clogs or flip-flops. And if your apparel has a slogan on it, sorry. Like to change your shoes in the parking lot? Nooooooooooo.

There are some exceptions, however, to the attire policy. Namely, shorts (exercise or Bermuda), athletic-type T-shirts and denim pants of any colour may be worn from the parking lot to the locker rooms or vice versa, the idea being to accommodate those coming in with their hair on fire and needing to change. The rules, however, make it clear no one is going to pull a fast one, as it is accompanied by this gem: “Loitering in the locker room (including card play, TV watching, drinking) while in shorts, T-shirts or denim pants of any colour is not permitted.”

As for your phone, well, get used to doing without. On the course you can discreetly check messages (not voicemail) “on both the North and South Courses and Course Cafes, excluding areas immediately surrounding the Clubhouse.” No phone use at the pro shop, cart barn or putting green and absolutely no headphones or ear buds. An exception to the phone rule is you may use one to videotape your swing on the range.

But what if you need to make or take a call? Well, you can do it, just make sure it’s from inside your car in the parking lot, in the phone room (yes, they have a phone room) or in phone booths inside the locker rooms.

OK, OK, no talking on the phone. But you can still use it to snap some fab photos of the course, right? Um, not so fast. Bring a camera if you want that, but be aware “staff may, at any time, decide cameras may not be permitted if it is perceived as a disruption to the member experience.”

But seriously, why bother with a camera at all. It’s not like you’re going to be able to post those killer photos to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. That’s right, take a look at the club’s social media policy:

Dissemination through social media of personal photographs or videos identifying The Los Angeles Country Club is not permitted. The publication for commercial purposes of any pictures taken anywhere on the Club’s property identifying The Los Angeles Country Club is not permitted.

Any written references to The Los Angeles Country Club, its members, activities, and practices that are or might become accessible by the public is not permitted (e.g., hash tags, comments, posts, location check-ins, etc.).

Members and guests of the Club may not discuss the Club’s membership, events, policies, rules, by-laws or activities using social or professional media platforms.

Please note: if the use of technology is not specifically addressed in this policy, then it is not permitted at the Club. Compliance with this policy is essential to the enjoyment and privacy of the membership. Staff will enforce our technology policy. As a reminder, members will be held responsible for the actions of their guests with regard to all policies of The Los Angeles Country Club.

In other words, LACC doesn’t really care if you feel that if it’s not on Insta it didn’t happen at all.

On the plus side, not to worry if you forgot to bring cash. Members are responsible for all charges guests incur, as there is no cash allowed and no having the bill sent back to your home club. And since there is no cash allowed (other than to pay caddies), there is no tipping, either.

But, yes, welcome to Los Angeles Country Club!

The post US Open 2023: The member/guest rules are strict at LACC, so forget about wearing shorts or using a cellphone appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

For the second year in a row, the business of golf and upheaval in the game is preceding the US Open. Last year, it was the launch of the LIV Golf League. This time, it’s the news of the PGA Tour merging with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the entity that backs LIV Golf, striking an historic joint operating arrangement.

For NBC Sports, which will be providing a record 200-plus hours of coverage next week from Los Angeles Country Club across NBC, USA Network and its Peacock streaming service, the distraction really is no distraction at all. The first US Open in Los Angeles since 1948, conducted in the shadow of Hollywood, on the challenging North Course at LACC, supersedes anything else going on in the golf world.

NBC golf anchor Dan Hicks said the US Open comes “at the perfect time on the perfect course,” because it enables viewers to shut out the ongoing news surrounding the future of the game—crucial because that future right now has so many unknowns.

“I’m really rooting for this US Open to rescue us all, even for a few days from the story that I think everybody knows has been so divisive,” Hicks said from Paris, where he is covering the French Open tennis championship, during a conference call previewing the championship. “And I think that the LACC North Course is just the place to do that.

“We’ve all been immersed in this story, and frankly, it’s been pretty exhausting. Speculation … I don’t think anybody knows how this is going to go. I really believe that this golf course, this US Open come at the right time for us to be distracted by everything that’s going on and really enjoy the game. It will be interesting. The vibe will be different, no doubt about it. The guys, when they come to town, they’re going to be asked about it. When the gun goes off on Thursday, I think that’s going to be a relief for everyone.”

Hicks was joined on the call by lead analyst Paul Azinger, and commentators Brad Faxon and John Wood. Reporters were permitted to only ask questions about the US Open, so the four did not delve into Tuesday’s explosive news. Except to say that coverage of the year’s third major won’t delve into the explosive news. And probably what viewers want.

“When [Masters chairman] Fred Ridley had all these players from LIV come in and compete against the PGA Tour players for the first time [in a major], he said, ‘Look, we’re going to all get along. There’s going to be no distractions here,’’’ said Faxon, the former tour player added to NBC/Golf Channel this year. “And I think the USGA has the ability to do that as well. Say, ‘Let’s make this about the US Open, let’s not make this about two different tours.’ … The message is going to be the same as what Fred Ridley said at the Masters—let’s play golf and let’s all get along.”

Azinger, the network’s lead analyst, said that producer Tommy Roy will set the tone for the team, so he wasn’t worried about coverage getting off track. Not one bit.

“When we show up, trust me, it is all business and it is all live golf,” said Azinger, who shot 73 at LACC to qualify for his first US Open in 1983. “Everything that Tommy Roy and Tommy Randolph and their crew … there are too many people to name … the preparation and the scouting that went into showcasing this golf tournament, Thursday is when that all clicks into gear. The second we see Tommy Roy’s face, we’re going to know what our priority is and that’s live golf. Not opinions and not innuendos. We know we have the two best producers in the world trying to produce a US Open to the best of their ability and we’re going to try to call it and it is going to be a relief to everybody because it’s live golf.”

Wood, the former tour caddie, added, “All the outside noise is going to go away once you’re inside the ropes; hitting shots or calling shots, that noise just goes away.”

Ben Hogan won the last US Open in L.A., in 1948 at Riviera Country Club. And it was at Riviera in early 1950 that he made his miraculous comeback to golf less than a year after his near-fatal auto accident in 1949. It was the stuff of Hollywood—which, of course, turned into exactly that with a movie, “Follow the Sun.” Nothing so dramatic is likely to unfold next week as Matt Fitzpatrick defends his title, but that doesn’t mean a great story isn’t waiting to be told.

“Sports is the best reality show on television,” Hicks said. “Again, this US Open, I think it comes at the perfect time. Sports has a way of winning the day. I think our game needs it now more than ever. It’s the perfect venue to deliver all of that. We’re right in the middle of Hollywood. Let’s write a great Hollywood script. I think that’s the best way to counter everything we’ve seen in golf.”

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The US Open’s identity is largely tied to, well, being “Open”. The USGA proudly holds nearly half the spots in the 156-man field for amateurs and pros earning their spots through 36-hole Final Qualifying, making it the most “democratic” of men’s major championships.

Three of the 13 Final Qualifying tournaments have already taken place, with the remainder scheduled this week at nine sites in the US and one in Canada in what the governing body has lovingly dubbed “Golf’s Longest Day”.

In preparation for players earning their chance to compete at Los Angeles Country Club in less than two weeks, here are some golfers to keep an eye on as they could be the next class of “Cinderella” stories playing their way into

Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg becomes the first PGA Tour University rankings winner to earn full status on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2023 and 2024. David Cannon

Final qualifier: Lambton G&CC, Toronto
The 23-year-old Swede will be playing his first official rounds as a professional when he competes at Lambton in Toronto after finishing a decorated college career at Texas Tech by winning all three major national player-of-year awards. By finishing the college season No. 1 in the PGA Tour University, he earned a PGA Tour card for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and will be making his first tour event as a pro later in the week at the RBC Canadian Open.

Tegan Andrews

Final qualifier: Brookside G&CC and The Lakes G&CC, Columbus, Ohio
The 21-year-old from Agoura Hills, California, claimed the one spot in the local qualifier held in Palmer, Alaska. The only reason CSU-Fullerton golfer was playing there was he waited too long to file his entry to get into any of the Southern California local qualifiers. He shot a 72 in 50-degree weather with strong winds and was three strokes clear of the 16-player field. His grandfather, Gene, was a two-time USGA champion who competed in three US Opens and was a member of the 1961 USA Walker Cup Team.

Michael Block

Michael Block. Jason Allen

Final qualifier: Lambton G&CC, Toronto
Most golf fans had no idea who the 46-year-old from Mission Viejo, California, until last month when he was the Cinderella story of the PGA Championship, finishing tied for 15th at Oak Hill. Many golf fans then wondered if they knew too much about the teaching professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club after the dozen of media appearances he made the next week ahead of the playing in the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge (where he finished last). Block now tries to qualify for his third career start in a US Open, after playing his way into the championship in 2007 and 2018.

Dylan Block

Final qualifier: Hillcrest CC, Los Angeles
Michael Block’s son just might be … wait for it … a chip off the old Block. The 18-year-old high-schooler worked his way through local qualifying and a recent video showed him hitting ball speeds of 198 miles per hour. The Block party could be twice the size at LACC.

Stewart Cink

Steward Cink. Cliff Hawkins

Final qualifier: Brookside G&CC and The Lakes G&CC, Columbus, Ohio
Calling an eight-time PGA Tour who has played in 23 US Opens a Cinderella might be a stretch, but what a story it would be if he could pull off qualifying for a 24th Open. In 2003, he set the US Open final qualifying 36-hole scoring mark with rounds of 62 and 61 in Columbus, Ohio.

Raymond Floyd Jr

Final qualifier: Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, New Jersey
The son of the World Golf Hall of Famer, now 48 and living in Tunbridge, Vermont, has played in 11 USGA championships.

Tom Gardner

Final qualifier: Hillcrest CC, Los Angeles
Since 2015, Gardner has been the director of golf at Los Angeles Country Club after also being an assistant pro at Bel-Air Country Club in LA.

Ian Gilligan

Final qualifier: Hillcrest CC, Los Angeles
The 20-year-old sophomore at Long Beach State was the Big West player of the year this past season. At age 15, he battled anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, going through seven rounds of chemotherapy.

Stewart Hagestad

Stewart Hagestad’s card. Stewart Hagestad

Final qualifier: Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, New Jersey
A two-time US Mid-Amateur champion, Hagestad has played in four US Opens, but is anxiously hoping to make it five since he’s a member at LACC and once shot a 59 at the course.

Carson Herron

Final qualifier: Brookside G&CC and The Lakes G&CC, Columbus, Ohio
A sophomore at New Mexico and a Minnesota native, the 20-year-old is the son of tour pro Tim Herron and would be the fourth generation golfer from his family to play in the US Open if he qualified. His grandfather, Carson, and great-grandfather, Clee, competed in 1963 and 1934, respectively, while Tim played in 11 US Opens, with his best finish a tie for sixth in 1999.

Spencer Levin

Final qualifier: Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham, North Carolina
It’s already been a turn-back-the-clock season for the 37-year-old Californian, won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship in April and is on track to return to the PGA Tour, then advanced through U.S. Open local qualifying nine days later. He qualified for his fourth U.S. Open through the Columbus, Ohio, final stage in 2016 and went on to tie for 65th at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. His best Open finish was in 2004, when he tied for 13th and was low amateur at Shinnecock Hills.

Jaden Soong

Final qualifier: Hillcrest CC, Los Angeles
A 13-year-old seventh grader from Burbank, California Soong is trying to becoming the youngest player in the LACC field. He shot even-par 72 in his local qualifying and survived a 3-for-2 playoff at Brentwood Country Club by making a 12-foot putt to earn one of five spots. He will attempt to qualify for his first US Junior Amateur on June 22.

Ryan Wilkins

Final qualifier: Hawks Ridge Golf Club, Ball Ground, Georgia
The 32-year-old from Woodstock, Georgia, emerged from an 8-for-1 playoff for the last spot in the Kennesaw local qualifier in April. Wilkins, was a pitcher on North Carolina State’s 2013 College World Series team who played minor league baseball.

The post US Open 2023: 13 potential Cinderella stories to watch for at Final Qualifying appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Strege
It was, more or less, an afternoon victory lap, a means by which to assign a number illustrative of the U.S. Walker Cup team’s dominant performance.

The number was 19, equalling the most points ever scored in a Walker Cup, and its 19-7 landslide victory over the Great Britain & Ireland team was the second widest margin of victory in the history of the event.

Victory had become a formality by virtue of the lead the U.S. had established from Saturday afternoon singles and Sunday morning foursomes.

It took an 11-5 lead into Sunday’s singles and deftly completed its task, winning eight of 10 matches, to avenge a seven-point loss for U.S. captain Spider Miller and one of his players, Maverick McNealy, in 2015.

“It’s not easy to lose,” a jubilant Miller said, “and Mav was there with me. We had a choice to be either the 2017 Walker Cup team or the winning 2017 Walker Cup team. and it was up to them and how they played and their performance, and they chose to be known as the winning team and they did that. And it’s a memory for these guys. These guys, when they’re my age, they will have the defining moments in golf in their careers, and it’s going to be a number of things that will define them, but they will always remember the Walker Cup and they will always remember being a part of this winning team. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s why it is so special.”

McNealy went 0-2-1 in the ’15 Walker Cup, but more than made amends this time, when he went 4-0 in the final tournament of his amateur career.

“I think it starts with the U.S. team getting that big trophy, and that was our goal at the beginning of the week. I’m so excited to be part of the 2017 winning Walker Cup team,” McNealy said. “That’s what’s most important to me. I’m so glad we could win this for our team, win this for Captain [Spider] Miller, and win this for the country.”

McNealy, in fact, was only one of three U.S. players to go 4-0, a first in the Walker Cup. Doug Ghim, the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur, and Collin Morikawa also went 4-0.

Ghim defeated Matthew Jordan, 3 and 1, to complete his sweep. Only a few weeks ago, Ghim was on the wrong end of a match in these parts, losing the U.S. Amateur Championship to Doc Redman on the 37th hole.

“Well, the Monday after the U.S. Amateur, I was on Twitter and it kind of just hit me,” he said. “Yeah, certainly I was disappointed that I didn’t get the W at Riviera, but I played great and I just ran into a really tough competitor.

“But I was really excited for the Walker Cup, and I really wanted to play well. And, more than anything, it wasn’t so much that I wanted to get redemption for the U.S. Amateur, it was more like I really wanted to win for Cap [Miller]. I know how much this means to him and I’m just so happy that we could pull it through and win for him. He’s such a great guy.”

Morikawa, meanwhile, defeated Harry Ellis, 2 and 1, after which he called his performance “a dream come true.

“I’ve never really gone undefeated in one of these team events,” he said. “And just to have some momentum to know that I can do it against these guys, these guys are the best [amateur] players around the country and the entire world, really. So just to come out here and I just had a great time with everyone. I’m just glad we can come out with a win.”

It was close only for a short time, on Saturday morning, when GB&I played the Americans to a 2-2 tie. After that, it was all red, white and blue. the U.S. won the next three sessions, 6-2, 3-1 and 8-2, its most dominating victory since it beat GB&I, 19-5, in 1993.

“I guess back home we call it a bit of a hedgehog day,” GB&I acting captain Andrew Ingram said. “We couldn’t get anything moving forward. And it is just wonderful for these guys to play at the very top of amateur golf, it’s great for their career.

“The Americans are amazing. What a team.”

The post U.S. delivers dominating performance, wins Walker Cup, 19-7 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Who says it’s all about the long ball in golf these days?

At the Walker Cup on Saturday afternoon, the USGA moved up the tee on the par-3 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club’s North course from the 133 yards it played in the morning to 78 yards, making it the shortest recorded hole ever in a USGA championship.

That’s not to say the hole was a push over. The pin position on the right side gave players a landing area of only seven yards, requiring plenty of touch to have a realistic chance at making a birdie. Plus players had to decide just how hard to actually swing given that it was less than a full wedge for all of them.

RELATED: U.S. dominates Saturday singles, opens 8-4 lead on Day 1 of Walker Cup

“Half the battle was trying to decide whether to use a tee or put it on the ground,” said U.S. team member Doug Ghim, who halved the hole with a birdie before defeating David Boote of Great Britain & Ireland in their afternoon singles match.

“I don’t recall ever playing a hole that short since I was like maybe 6 years old, and I used like a 7-iron then. But, yeah, that was pretty wild. I was just lucky enough to just barely get it over the bunker and have enough spin to keep it on the green. But, yeah, it’s a cute little hole; really enjoyed it. It’s just a little unnerving to have 80 yards off a tee box.”

The hole turned out to be a pivotal one in the anchor match of the afternoon singles session. American Maverick McNealy saw his wedge shot just stay on the back of the green and then spin down to just off the front right of the green, while his opponent, GB&I’s Scott Gregory saw his ball bound over the green into a back bunker. McNealy used a putter to roll in a 15-footer for birdie to take a 1-up lead. McNealy then won the next to holes for a 3-and-1 victory that gave the U.S. team a decisive 8-4 overall lead entering Sunday play.

? for @MavMcNealy, curling it in on the right side to go 1 up. #WalkerCup https://t.co/H0L3gibs9f

— The Walker Cup (@WalkerCup) September 10, 2017

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Attention historically has been anathema to the membership of the Los Angeles Country Club, one of the country’s most exclusive clubs featuring one of its greatest courses. It has not even wanted anyone to know it’s there, two nondescript signs, one on either side of its entrance, revealing its address, but not its identity.

Yet is has largely succeeded in keeping the public at bay and scrutiny to a minimum. For more than half a century, Los Angeles C.C., for reasons understandable and maybe less than honourable, has resolutely protected its privacy, resisting any overtures that might expose it to the outside world.

Until now.

Finally, the public will be allowed to see what’s behind the curtain, the North Course at LACC hosting the biennial Walker Cup matches between a team of U.S. amateurs versus counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland this weekend.

RELATED: How was the college player of the year left off the U.S. Walker Cup team?

FS1—yes, even television—will be allowed inside to showcase the club’s first tentative step in advance of truly opening the doors to the public when it hosts the U.S. Open in 2023.

Kirk McKoy
The entrance to the Los Angeles Country Club, site of the 2017 Walker Cup. Note no signage revealing its identity, just its address, 10101 (Wilshire Blvd).

This is not the first time LACC will have ventured forth timidly. In 1954, it hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur, a trial run of sorts to its agreement to host the U.S. Amateur in 1956. But the membership had not anticipated a final between two Los Angeles kids, Al Geiberger and Bud Bradley, that attracted more than 3,000 spectators onto its heretofore inaccessible premises.

The club recoiled, “horrified,” the great Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray wrote, “when the public showed up in [ugh!] shorts and no shirts … and, in general, showed little respect for the musty old place, actually looking in the windows and disturbing the members dozing in front of their cribbage games.”

The club promptly withdrew its agreement to host the U.S. Amateur, essentially shutting off the outside world from a course that had hosted five Los Angeles Opens, the last in 1940.

In the wake of its Amateur withdrawal, LACC stubbornly resisted USGA efforts to take the U.S. Open to LACC’s North Course, No. 23 in Golf Digest’s latest ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and the crown jewel of architect George Thomas’ Los Angeles portfolio that includes Riviera and Bel-Air.

Thomas’ North Course design was a complete redesign of architect Herbert Fowler’s uninspired layout from 1920 and eventually stamped it U.S. Open-worthy. He had “injected some strategic unpredictability by establishing ‘courses within the course,’ ” architect Gil Hanse and Geoff Shackelford wrote in The North Course Commemorative Edition, following their 2010 restoration of the course. “Captain Thomas felt this idea of ‘supreme diversity’ within each hole would add great interest to playing the course and prevent it from ever becoming predictable.”

Copyright USGA/John Mummert
The 11th hole of the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, with downtown L.A. in the distance.

A former USGA president, Sandy Tatum grew up there, his father a member, and was a passionate advocate on behalf of a U.S. Open being played at LA North. In 1982, the club came close to relenting on its opposition to the USGA’s courtship, reportedly involving a 1986 U.S. Open bid.

It even had the endorsement of the club president, Judge Charles Older (the presiding judge, incidentally, in the Charles Manson murder case). Older, Eddie Merrins, the Little Pro from nearby Bel-Air CC, once said, foresaw the Open as “a big lawn party, with the public invited in, so they could see that the members of the club weren’t so bad after all.”

Ultimately, Judge Older was unable to persuade enough board members to side with him and the Open was rejected by a vote of five to four.

“I find it so regrettable,” Tatum said. “Just once I would have liked to have had the Open experience that course. It was an absolute marvelous test of golf.”

The run-up to a U.S. Open causes disruptions to its course that include limiting play, to which many members paying steep monthly dues understandably have an aversion. Tatum speculated that LACC’s decision to reject the USGA’s offer in 1982 might also have been influenced by an aversion to unwanted scrutiny.

RELATED: When today’s pros played the Walker Cup

LACC, renowned for excluding entertainers from joining, had no Jewish members until 1977 or so, and no African-Americans for some time after that. Its exclusion of Jews was alluded to in a legendary anecdote about Los Angeles’ private club scene at one time.

It involved a Texas oil man, Frank Rosenberg, who was rejected for membership at LACC. “They probably thought you were Jewish,” a friend said. Rosenberg was advised then to try Hillcrest, a club founded by Jews who were unable to join LACC. So he applied there, but made the mistake of telling the club he wasn’t Jewish.

“Oh, dear. I’m sorry. We don’t admit gentiles,” a Hillcrest member said.

“Well I’m an SOB,” a frustrated Rosenberg replied.

“If you can prove that,” he was told, “you can get in Riviera!”

Bradley, a USC stalwart who defeated his future Trojan teammate in the ’54 Junior Amateur, called LACC “the most gentile club in California.”

The club absorbed the criticisms quietly, privacy prevailing over protest, and over time made the necessary amends that erased the tarnish from its history.

And no, as Judge Older hoped to demonstrate three decades ago, the members aren’t so bad after all.

Let the big lawn party begin.

Courtesy of Los Angeles CC

The post With Walker Cup, Los Angeles Country Club finally lets down its guard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Strege
U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman and runner-up Doug Ghim both were named to the 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team that will face a Great Britain & Ireland team at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, Sept. 9-10.

USGA president Diana Murphy made the announcement in the immediate aftermath of Redman’s victory over Ghim on the 37th hole of the Amateur at Riviera Country Club.

RELATED: Doc Redman rallies to win ‘an incredible match’

Joining Redman and Ghim are Maverick McNealy, Stewart Hagestad, Braden Thornberry, Norman Xiong, Cameron Champ, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.

McNealy is No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and the only player on the U.S. roster with previous Walker Cup experience. Thornberry is No. 3 in the world after winning the NCAA individual title and the Sunnehanna Amateur this summer. Hagestad is the reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion who in April became the first Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut in the Masters.

The captain is Spider Miller.

“It’s a committee decision,” he said, “but the committee has always held a spot for our current U.S. Amateur champion. But Doc went out and earned that spot, and I’m very proud of him. I’m looking forward to a great competition. I have a wonderful team and I’m very excited.”

Missing from the U.S. team was a second mid-amateur representative, with Scott Harvey believed to be on the short list for the team. Also on the outside looking in was LSU’s Sam Burns, college golf’s Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year honoree in June who announced he would turn pro in September in hopes of still having a chance to play on the U.S. team; Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke, the 2016 U.S. Amateur runner-up, Illinois’ Dylan Meyer, who won the 2016 Western Amateur, was a semifinalist at 2016 U.S. Amateur and is currently ranked No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

The post U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman, runner-up Doug Ghim selected to U.S. Walker Cup team appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.