Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course won’t play like most other U.S. Open host sites. Originally designed by George C. Thomas and opened in 1928, then restored in 2010, LACC will offer wider fairways with a greater emphasis on strategy than many recent Open courses.
The team of Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, Geoff Shackelford and several top assistants cleared out loads of trees during that 2010 restoration, allowing the course to play as Thomas intended. That means players must be on the proper side of a given fairway to attack flags on various portions of the greens – even a good swing from the wrong angle can result in a missed green.
Many holes feature greens with bunkers carved into the putting surface – it’s entirely possible to have to pitch from a putting surface, over a bunker and back onto a green, or to have to putt around the trap and accept your fate.
And don’t consider all that width off the tee to be necessarily easy. Many of the fairways feature dramatic slopes, forcing players to consider accuracy to a preferred high spot in the fairway over raw distance that might result in a steep approach shot.
Take a look at photos of all 18 holes below, with a brief description of each.
No. 1 LACC North
Par 5, 578 yards. The downhill opening hole will be reachable in two shots for most…
Par 5, 578 yards. The downhill opening hole will be reachable in two shots for most of the U.S. Open field. The green is protected by a single bunker front-left and slopes from front to back, making it difficult to stop an approach with a long iron or fairway wood (the included photo was shot from behind the green). (Bill Hornstein/USGA)
No. 4 LACC North
Par 3, 229 yards. The long downhill par 3, playing adjacent to Lionel Richie’s mansion, requires…
Par 3, 229 yards. The long downhill par 3, playing adjacent to Lionel Richie’s mansion, requires a precise long iron or possibly a hybrid over a ditch to a green that slopes down from back to front and is protected by bunkers on either side. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 5 LACC North
Par 4, 480 yards. The hole is straight but the fairway slopes steeply from left to…
Par 4, 480 yards. The hole is straight but the fairway slopes steeply from left to right, favoring a draw off the tee. The green is cleaved in front by a bunker with another trap off to the right. It’s very likely the USGA will set pins into the small lobes on either side of the front/center trap. Players can bounce balls onto the putting surface from the left. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 6 LACC North
Par 4, 330 yards. One of the best short par 4s anywhere. Players can tee off…
Par 4, 330 yards. One of the best short par 4s anywhere. Players can tee off safely to the left, trying to set up an angle across a ditch to a green perched above and set into a hillside. Or players can attack off the tee, driving over a big hill and several trees to a green they can’t see. It’s possible to bounce a ball onto the putting surface with a drive or even a 3-wood, but a slight miss likely ends up in a bunker or, worse, the dry and gnarly ditch. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 7 LACC North
Par 3, 284 yards. This downhill par 3 can be stretched to enormous length, should the…
Par 3, 284 yards. This downhill par 3 can be stretched to enormous length, should the USGA so choose. The green is banked steeply from high in the back/right down to front/left, and the front right is guarded by a bunker (the photo above was shot from behind the green). Any flag on the right side of this green is an extremely difficult target. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 8 LACC North
Par 5, 547 yards. The landing area for tee shots in this fairway slopes hard from…
Par 5, 547 yards. The landing area for tee shots in this fairway slopes hard from left to right with a dry ditch crossing the fairway on a diagonal line. Players then must play across the ditch with their second shots. Several trees can block an attempt to reach the green in two. The fairway for the second shot is sloped right to left, and any miss left can find sand or any measure of gnarly rough. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 9 LACC North
Par 3, 171 yards. The third par 3 on the front plays uphill with the clubhouse…
Par 3, 171 yards. The third par 3 on the front plays uphill with the clubhouse as a backdrop (the included photo is shot from behind the green). The putting surface is flanked by bunkers and slopes hard from back/right to front/left. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 10 LACC North
Par 4, 409 yards. The fairway drops steeply off the tee before climbing for several hundred…
Par 4, 409 yards. The fairway drops steeply off the tee before climbing for several hundred yards to an uphill green, and the hole players longer than it shows on the card. A cluster of bunkers protect the right side of the fairway, and the perched green – sloped from back to front – is protected by sand to the front, left and right. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 11 LACC North
Par 3, 290 yards. With downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop, this downhill par 3 features…
Par 3, 290 yards. With downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop, this downhill par 3 features a tongue of fairway short and left of the green that can provide a bounce-up beyond three bunkers and onto the green. Any shot that misses long and left can run down a hill, well beyond the green. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 12 LACC North
Par 4, 380 yards. The tee shot is blind uphill to a fairway curving left toward…
Par 4, 380 yards. The tee shot is blind uphill to a fairway curving left toward the green. The front and left of the putting surface is guarded by two deep bunkers (the included photo was shot from left of the green). Players will have to decide to lay back off the tee to try to set up a good angle depending on the flag’s location, or blast a driver up the hill as far as possible to set up a short wedge. The green features high shoulders on either side with a bit of trough feeding balls from the right and the left toward the front between the bunkers, and its extreme slopes demand careful consideration on the approach shot. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 13 LACC North
Par 4, 507 yards. Playing directly toward the former Playboy Mansion on the other side of…
Par 4, 507 yards. Playing directly toward the former Playboy Mansion on the other side of a giant hedge and wall, the 13th is uphill with a fairway that slopes from left to right in the landing area. The best angle is from the left side of the wide fairway, allowing players a view of the green. Any tee shot that bounces down and to the right will present a blind second shot over a bunker some 45 yards short of the putting surface. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 14 LACC North
Par 5, 623 yards. This brute doglegs left, with the tee shot over a cluster of…
Par 5, 623 yards. This brute doglegs left, with the tee shot over a cluster of bunkers while trees and out of bounds guard the right side. The front of the green is cleaved by a deep bunker, and the USGA likely will put the flag into the right lobe of the green at least once (the included photo is from behind the green). With a helping wind, the longest players might be tempted to take a swipe at this green in two, but the green slopes away and to the right, likely sending long-iron and wood approaches into a bunker or down a hillside. Even with a wedge in hand after laying up in two shots, this green is no easy target. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 15 LACC North
Par 3, 124 yards. This little gem features a green divided by a ridge, with bunkers…
Par 3, 124 yards. This little gem features a green divided by a ridge, with bunkers on all sides and behind. The front/right tongue of the green is less than 10 yards wide, and the USGA will surely put the flag up there at least once. It’s possible the USGA might move the tees forward for one round, presenting a par 3 of less than 100 yards to that front/right pin with just a sliver of putting surface perched above sand. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 16 LACC North
Par 4, 542 yards. Yes, you read that right, a 542-yard par 4. This hole plays…
Par 4, 542 yards. Yes, you read that right, a 542-yard par 4. This hole plays steeply downhill to a green protected front/right by a large bunker with a much smaller trap farther short and left, and a steep dropoff to the right (the included photo was shot from behind the green). The front of this green slopes toward the back, while the back of the green slopes toward the front, making it difficult to gauge the bounce on an approach shot. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 17 LACC North
Par 4, 520 yards. With so much of the course feeling wide open, this downhill tee…
Par 4, 520 yards. With so much of the course feeling wide open, this downhill tee shot can feel almost claustrophobic with bunkers left and a ditch, trees and even OB to the right. The long and skinny green sits at a diagonal to the line of approach, curving beyond a series of traps from the front/right and away to back/left. It makes for a very precise target where even good shots can go long and down a hill. (John Mummert/USGA)
No. 18 LACC North
Par 4, 492 yards. This uphill closer curves gently left as it climbs to a green…
Par 4, 492 yards. This uphill closer curves gently left as it climbs to a green in front of the gorgeous clubhouse. The green is guarded on both sides by sand, and the putting surface slopes steeply from the back to the front. Players might be able to bounce an approach shot from the right rough between the bunkers greenside bunkers, but to really stand a chance on this hole, players need to be in the fairway. (John Mummert/USGA)
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