LA City Composite 18
The best 18 hole composite course consisting entirely of holes from Los Angeles municipal golf courses!
Posted on October 8, 2020
The LA City Composite 18 – The best 18-hole composite course consisting entirely of holes from LA’s municipal courses.
Click here for a scorecard of the composite 18!
Hole 1 – Griffith Park (Wilson)
- Pictured above, this is a reachable par 5 with a super friendly fairway (great for opening tee jitters), but it requires a precise drive (must be on left side) in order to reach the green in two due to the large trees and kink in the fairway about 300 yards up on the right.
- The strategy hitting into the green is simple: don’t be long. Like many LA City courses, the green slopes severely from back to front.
- What makes this the best opening hole among all LA City courses is the setting. It’s surely the most viewed teeing box at any course, with the clubhouse, practice greens and semi-permanent food truck all within 50 yards.
- The food truck and its accompanying diners just behind and to the left of the tee box evoke the setting of the first at Merion.
- If you happen to tee off late in the day, you might see coyotes walking through the mini forest to the left of the fairway.
- This hole was featured in Nike’s first Tiger Woods ad campaign, the famous, “I am Tiger Woods.”
Hole 2 – Rancho Park
- The longest par 4 at Rancho Park (467 yards from back tees), this hole is straightforward but requires an early round bomb off the tee.
- The fairway slopes moderately from right to left, which causes most balls landing in the middle of the fairway to roll just off the left side. If you do find yourself off the left side, you will enjoy a great view of the Rancho Park Par 3 Course. LA’s best course for beginners runs the entire length of the 2nd hole and is great place for a quick 9 holes after work (or after a round on the big course).
- Even with a big drive, you’re still left with a tough second into a small green with a severe lump middle right.
- This hole sits at the northeast corner of the property and has some famous neighbors. From the green you’ll get an OK view of the entrance to the Fox Studio Lot on Pico Blvd, and you’ll be a pitching wedge away from Hillcrest Country Club across Motor Ave.
- A par here is hard work.
Hole 3 – Griffith Park (Wilson)
- A longish, moderately uphill par 3, this is one of the few uphill par 3s among LA City courses.
- The challenge in this hole comes from its shallow, two-tiered green. The tier effectively shrinks the green size in half. Hit the wrong tier, and you will be grinding for par. The green’s shallowness heightens the need to be accurate.
- This is a sneakily tough par 3 and very fun to play.
Hole 4 – Griffith Park (Wilson)
- A short par 4 with an elevated tee box, the green is protected by a small pond short left that looks so concrete and unnatural it’s somehow charming. The longest hitters can reach the green with their best drive, but the pond version of the LA River will swallow any ball more than 10 yards left of the green.
- The hole also presents a great birdie opportunity for short hitters and those who choose to lay up, as a layup basically takes the pond out of play for the second shot.
- The front half of the green slopes severely toward the front, so don’t be long (evergreen advice on LA City courses).
- Make sure to check out Max Homa’s playing of this hole in an episode of No Laying Up’s Strapped, where he drove the green and putted for eagle. His putt is a perfect example of the brutal front-half slopes on LA City courses.
- Honorable mentions: Harding and Rancho Park.
Hole 5 – Rancho Park
- This hole is an uphill dogleg right par 4 that requires a long and accurate drive. From the tee you are presented with an uphill landing area that clearly requires a fade. Long hitters can hit driver straight through the fairway and into the maintenance yard/archery range. Very tall trees along the right side (bordering the 10th fairway) prevent any corner cutting, which presents two clear options: hit a precise fade with driver or hit a straight lay up with a hybrid or fairway wood.
- Because the hole is longish (401 uphill yards from the back tees), a layup leaves the golfer with a mid/long iron into a narrow green with moderate slope from back to front. Left and long of the green is down a slope and dead.
- The approach is very satisfying to hit, as the fairway rests on the course’s high point. Just a little bit of tree removal behind the green would open up some awesome views of the property.
- This is a very fun hole and a satisfying par.
Hole 6 – Sepulveda (Balboa)
- A long, straight par 4, this is the hardest hole at Balboa and the longest par 4 (429 yards from the back tees).
- Tall trees lining both sides of the fairway can capture errant drives and leave them far from the green. The green is guarded by a large bunker in front, which collects many balls, making par a very good score here.
- A medium length par 4, the 7th at Rancho Park features a super fun approach shot. Usually hitting a short iron, the golfer is faced with a suddenly downhill green after a flat fairway. The fairway slopes rapidly down to the green (maybe 50 feet) over the last 50 yards of the fairway. This slope allows for balls to bounce and roll up onto the green, but also makes judging distance difficult.
- Of course, the green slopes heavily from back to front, making distance control crucial. A super long hitter might try to hit driver and catch the slope, but the fairway is narrow, making hybrid or fairway wood off tee the right call usually.
Hole 8 – Griffith Park (Harding)
- The 8th at Harding has a very visually appealing fairway. A smooth, curved dogleg left, the right edge of the fairway is bordered by a moderately sloped hillside that catches errant drives and preserves a shot into the green.
- With a green that slopes front right to left, however, your angle into the green from that hillside will be awful. In contrast, from the middle of the fairway or the left side, the shot into the green is fairly easy.
- Because of the green’s slope, balls that miss right or long of this green will struggle to get up and down for par.
- Water short and left of the green is mostly for show. Only very errant shots can find it, making its addition a few years ago kind of a head scratcher.
- Honorable mention: Sepulveda (Encino)
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Hole 9 – Griffith Park (Wilson)
- A long, smoothly curved dogleg left par 5, this hole slopes gently uphill from tee to green. The longest hole at any LA City course, this is a true 3-shot par 5 for all but the longest hitters.
- There is nothing tricky here; just hit it far. The green is big, undefended, mostly flat, and welcoming to fairway wood approaches. Grip it and rip it.
Hole 10 – Griffith Park (Wilson)
- With probably the coolest green in the LA City system, the 10th at Wilson is a long dogleg right par 4. The drive is straightforward: keep it on the right side of the fairway and hit it long.
- The fun really starts when you hit the green. Sloping greatly from left to right, the green also features a big bowl in the middle. After playing the same smallish green with back to front slope on so many holes at LA City courses, this hole is refreshing.
Hole 11 – Sepulveda (Balboa)
- Maybe the most drivable par 4 at any LA City course, this hole requires little strategy. This one makes the list because it’s so easy and fun. With the 12th at Balboa being a medium length par 5, this hole can be the start of a low stretch.
Hole 12 – Rancho Park
- A long downhill par 3 (213 yards from the back tees), this hole is one of the toughest pars at Rancho Park.
- Like most long par 3s in LA, this hole is typically backed up, allowing the golfer plenty of time to grab a hot dog at the snack shack located next to the tee box.
- When it’s your time to hit, grab a long iron and hope you get your distance right. Bunkers long, left, and right make this the most heavily bunkered green at Rancho Park.
- Big numbers are common here, so hopefully you grabbed a cold beer at the snack shack.
- No driver is needed here; a hybrid or fairway wood will leave a short shot into the green.
- The green is not visible from the tee on this straight hole, because it sits a good 40 feet below the fairway. The fairway slopes hard down to the green over the last 60 yards.
- The flag is extra tall to be visible to those hitting their approach shots. Distance control is a must but also very difficult to judge.
Hole 14 – Sepulveda (Encino)
- This hole dares long hitters to hit a shot they shouldn’t. Measuring 361 yards from the back tees, the hole doglegs hard right (nearly 90 degrees), so a straight path from tee to green measures only about 315 yards. The problem is that there are about 280 yards of trees between the tee and green. That doesn’t stop many from going for it, and pulling it off makes for one of the most satisfying shots at any LA City course.
- The green is protected by a couple of friendly bunkers. A layup off the tee leaves a short shot and good birdie opportunity.
- This is a very fun hole.
Hole 15 – Sepulveda (Encino)
- A very long par 3 (232 yards from the back tees), the 15th at Encino requires a precise hybrid or fairway wood. Making the shot harder is a large tree about 50 yards short left of the green that can catch wayward shots and drop them straight down. Two bunkers next to the green catch shots just short, requiring a full carry unless you are able to thread the needle between them.
- The green falls off on the left and right and slopes moderately from back to front, making two-putts from the wrong side of the green difficult. This hole is the start of a brutal 3-hole stretch at Encino.
Hole 16 – Rancho Park
- Most golf holes have one green. The 16th at Rancho has two. The greens sit about 50 yards apart, but both measure 180 yards from the back tees.
- The greens are very small (extremely narrow), making accuracy crucial.
- It’s rare to find holes with alternate greens, especially at a municipal course. Enjoy it because it could be a while before you play another one.
Hole 17 – Rancho Park
- Or not! The 17th hole at Rancho, a 522 yard par 5, also features alternate greens!
- The drive is straightforward and fairly risk-free: hit it straight and long. Errant drives will find light rough or an adjacent fairway.
- The approach shot obviously depends on which green is in play, but both greens sit about 20 feet downhill and feature large bunkers short that catch balls trying to roll up.
- Both greens are large but not difficult. This is a really fun birdie hole that reveals its green only once you have walked 200 yards down the fairway.
Hole 18 – Griffith Park (Harding)
- Few holes in America abut a zoo, even fewer abut a zoo with a history of mountain lion attacks on its koalas, and only one that abuts a zoo with a history of mountain lion attacks on its koalas also embodies everything that makes a great par 5.
- From the tee you are presented with a beautiful view up into the hills, with the green and clubhouse moderately uphill and to the right from the tee. The hole is not quite a dogleg right, but more like a crooked finger that juts to the right at the knuckle before straightening out. It’s this crookedness that presents a challenge off the tee. Long hitters can hit driver though the fairway if they aim dead straight, blocking any view of the green and forcing a layup. So the natural thought is to aim over the knuckle. Pull it off and you have a good angle for your second shot (albeit still long). But miss to the left and you are on a native hillside through the fairway; miss to the right and you are in the zoo.
- The shot into the green is not easy either, as the green is very narrow with a heavy slope from back to front. Shots left of the green are short sided on a hillside and shots way right can again find the zoo.
- This hole is a great par 5: strategy on each shot; two great shots are rewarded; poorly executed risky shots are punished; the views are wonderful; and is has the coolness factor of the adjacent zoo.
- Honorable mention: 18th at Rancho.
Scorecard:
