LA Country Club (US) Opens up

LOS ANGELES — What, you didn’t know there was a Los Angeles Country Club? The members would be pleased. Ecstatic really. The place is so private it makes Cypress Point seem like the local muni.

The name isn’t even posted at the vehicle entrance. Just the address. It’s on Wilshire Boulevard in a neighborhood where no one is likely to stop by to borrow a cup of sugar.

Or a pencil to keep score on the back nine.

But this is all about to change. The U.S Open will be played at LACC starting Thursday — specifically on the mysterious North Course — and the masses will be swarming over a hunk of the property said to be worth between $6 and $9 billion.

A hunk of land that seems as much rumor as reality.

In an area that, in addition to sunshine and orange trees, owes its existence to the art of promotion as well as the development of cinematography.

The movie business.

But you wouldn’t have found anyone in the entertainment biz on the LACC membership roster. Until recently no Jews, no producers, no actors.

Randolph Scott, who appeared in numerous Hollywood westerns in the 1950s was rejected when he applied for membership because of his profession. 

“Anyone who’s seen my movies knows I can’t act," protested Scott.

There are dozens of apocryphal stories about people seeking to get into LACC and failing despite seemingly impeccable credentials.

A wealthy Texas Oilman who had everything in his favor except his name, Rosenberg, which made him appear to be Jewish even though he wasn’t.

It was then suggested he apply at nearby Hillcrest, which in turn passed him off (remember this is apocryphal from Hollywood folk), and told him sorry, it didn’t accept Gentiles.

“I’m an SOB,” gasped Rosenberg. Then tried Riviera he was informed.

Which has nothing to do with the fact the only time the Open was held in Los Angeles. It was at Riviera, in 1948, and the winner was Ben Hogan. A long time ago, 75 years. The Open has been held in San Francisco (Olympic), Pebble Beach, San Diego (Torrey Pines) but not LA. Until now.

There’s a saying that if you delay drinking a wonderful bottle of wine too long it’s like turning a Picasso to the wall. Better to get a taste. So it is with a famous golf course.

The late Sandy Tatum gets at least some of the credit. Maybe most of it. Tatum grew up in Los Angeles and had access to LACC.

An NCAA champion at Stanford in the 1940s, Tatum believed in what some call the “growing of the game.”

He was the force behind the improvement of San Francisco’s Harding Park, where the clubhouse carries his name. This Open at Los Angeles Country Club carries his spirit.