LOS ANGELES — When the U.S. Open tees off on June 15 at the Los Angeles Country Club, it will be the first time in 75 years that the national golf championship is played in LA. The idyllic course is a private club, but it will open its manicured grasses to 60 professional players and 22,000 ticketed spectators for the 123rd U.S. Open.
Here are 18 things to know about the esteemed and otherwise members-only LACC hosting this year's competition:
1. The Los Angeles Country Club was originally called the Los Angeles Golf Club. Created in 1897 by fans of the nascent sport, its first location was on a 16-acre lot at the corner of Pico and Alvarado streets in Central Los Angeles.
2. The club moved two times before permanently relocating to its present site on Wilshire Boulevard just west of Beverly Hills in 1911.
3. The North Course that will be used for the 2023 U.S. Open was designed by club member and golf course architect George C. Thomas Jr. in 1928. It was rehabilitated in 2010 by architect Gil Hanse, who restored the course to its 1928 layout.
4. George C. Thomas Jr. also designed the nearby Bel-Air Country Club, Ojai Country Club and the Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga, as well as the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, which hosted the last U.S. Open played in Los Angeles in 1948.
5. The U.S. Golf Association selected the LA Country Club because “the U.S. Open is played on America’s greatest golf courses, demanding the ultimate performances on the greatest stages under the toughest conditions,” a USGA spokesperson told Spectrum News 1. “The Los Angeles Country Club exemplifies all of the qualities needed to host a U.S. Open.”
6. The Los Angeles Country Club ranks 16th on Golf Digest’s 2023 list of 100 greatest golf courses in the United States.
7. George C. Thomas Jr. was an avid rose breeder who cultivated 1,200 varieties, some of which are part of the landscaping at the LA Country Club.
8. The course boasts views of many iconic LA landmarks, including the Griffith Park Observatory, which can be seen from the Ronald Reagan Terrace in the clubhouse, as well as the Hollywood Sign, Mt. Baldy and the downtown LA skyline.
9. The LA Country Club clubhouse was renovated in 2016 and included a rededication of the Reagan Terrace overlooking the North Course in honor of former U.S. President and LACC member, Ronald Reagan.
10. Richard Nixon, Bing Crosby, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, James Stewart and Fred Astaire were LACC members.
11. The LA Country Club is one of the 10 most exclusive golf clubs in the world, according to Billionaire.com.
12. The Los Angeles Country Club has hosted a handful of amateur tournaments, the most recent of which was the Walker Cup in 2017.
13. For the 2023 U.S. Open, new tee boxes have been added to the LA Country Club’s North Course to increase the course length. Fairway widths have also been adjusted to match the course’s intended design, according to the USGA.
14. The USGA accepted more entries for this year’s U.S. Open than ever before: 10,187. The previous record was set in 2014 with 10,127 entries.
15. Seventy-two of the top 75 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are currently in the U.S. Open field, including 2022 U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick, two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scott Scheffler.
16. Conducted by the U.S. Golf Association, not the PGA Tour, the U.S. Open has not placed any restrictions on LIV golfers competing. Four have qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open: Sergio Garcia, Sebastian Munoz, Carlos Ortiz and David Puig.
17. NBC Sports will air almost 150 hours of the championship live on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and Golf Channel, starting June 15 with the first round of play.
18. The next major events taking place at the Los Angeles Country Club will be the U.S. Women’s Open in 2032 and the U.S. Men’s Open in 2039.