Good courses near LA?

Specifically, near Culver City, CA?  I know traffic is tough so im looking to stay close to Culver City...

Thanks!

You're sort of staying in the wasteland of LA golf.    The closest is Rancho Park, which isn't bad for an overplayed muni.   They used to hold the LA Open there (the 18th is famous as a hole where Arnie shot a 12), and the layout is OK.      But Rancho gets a huge number of rounds per year, plays very slowly, and is usually in only fair condition.

Other than Rancho, there aren't a lot of decent options on the westside of LA.    If you want to find really good golf you need to drive an hour (or more depending on traffic) south, east, or north.

I've played a LOT of golf courses and Rancho is still one of my favorite courses to play. It's super busy there always. I've heard rumors that its the busiest golf course in America. But like Clambake mentioned, that's the only recommendable course in that area. You could always join LA CC, Bel Air, Wilshire, Brentwood or The Riviera!!

Try to get to Ventura County if you can. Rustic Canyon, Moorpark, Olivas Links are all very nice.

a 3rd comment that Rancho is really the only "true" golf course on the westside.  There's a decent par-64 executive course next to the airport called Westchester that I like to play, but I wouldn't recommend it if you only have time for 1 round.   Like the other said, Rancho is SLOW.. I've played a 6 hour round there before, and crowded.   Your options are a bit limited if you're going to be on the westside, unfortunately.    There are a few other places though:  Wilson-Harding, Chester Washington, and Links at Victoria.   They are all muni's though, so you get slow 5-somes and worn fairways.    If you take the drive further south, you can always play at Trumps -- its pricey but immaculate.  Los Verdes is down there as well, and while that's a slow muni, it does have exceptional views of the ocean.

I'd avoid the valley at all costs though, nothing ruins a trip more than commuting to and from the valley (much less the stink you'll develop being in there).   If you want to drive East though, Industry Hills has 2 top notch courses.  It can take 45-90 min to get there though depending on traffic.  Well worth it, IMHO.

If you're playing solo, and need a course guide, drop me a PM.

Cheers!

I dont want to hijack this for my first post, but I was going to ask the exact same question, so I hope the OP does not mind me chiming in.

I'll be back in LA in the middle of the year. I'll be travelling solo this time, so Im going to take the opportunity to play a round before flying on to my final dest. I have been in contact with someone at  Brentwood, but I want to have a few options when the time comes. I think Brentwood is private, but they are willing to let me book and pay for my round through my home club. Would like to play some nice though.

I havent played much in LA, Im from Long Beach and we have a few nice courses here. Skylinks, El Dorado, and Big Rec

are all good courses to play, weekends tend to get backed up but weekdays are great. Eldo being the toughest of them all,

Skylinks is really fun to play with some fun par 5's, Big Rec has a lot of hills but is also fun.

question for the OP:  did you have a chance to play?  if so, where?

..just curious..

Yes, I played Industry Hills (The IKE) really nice track! Green were a little bumpy, but I played late in the day. I would stay away from Rancho Park. I went there to hit a bucket of balls and the place was insane. Really busy and the course looked like a dog track. They even rent rubber tees instead of letting you use them...WOW.

That place looks pretty impressive...Im going to have to definitely make this an option.

No offense, but all three of those courses are crap!! Skylinks is the worst! I hated that course!

Im not a fan of any courses in LA County anyways. All the best courses are in Orange County, Riverside County (up & down the 15 frwy), or San Diego County for Southern California.

I want to move to Las Vegas, where almost all the course are tour quality…

I'm pretty much in agreement with you.     I actually got tired of playing golf in LA, and took what was going to be a six month hiatus that lasted 5 years.     Getting a tee time (especially on LA City courses) was always a phone crapshoot at 6am, the weekend rounds were often 6 hours or more, the courses aren't well maintained, and the traffic was always pretty miserable especially going home (I lived on the westside).    The LB courses weren't much better.     What was especially aggravating was to take the occasional day off midweek to play thinking that I could have a quick enjoyable round, but LA doesn't follow the usual pattern of being a lot less crowded on the weekdays due to the entertainment industry.     I once played Rancho Park on a Wednesday and when we reached the 4th tee we were the fifth group.   Not on the whole hole - there were a full 5 groups waiting on the #$@% tee!    We finished the front nine in a little over 5 hours, then left.

There are some better choices now in LA, but they're either in Ventura or Orange counties, a very inconvenient trip from the westside.    It wasn't until I moved to San Diego that I found out that public golf doesn't have to be torture and I learned to love golf again.