Course near Universal Hollywood

[gogolfing]

Hi everyone

I just back from a week and a half holiday with the family to California. We went to Universal Studios last Friday and there was a course below the studios. Anyone know what course this is? It looked very nice, and I could see caddies on it, but was wondering what course it was.

Thanks in advance.

[Shindig]

Near Universal Hollywood would be Lakeside. I haven't played there, so I cannot comment on the presence of caddies.

[gogolfing]

Thanks; looked it up and it is a private course, which is what I thought when I saw it.

[Clambake]

Lakeside has a great storied history. It was also the site of the classic story of how John Montague beat Bing Crosby in a famous bet that was the basis for one of the scenes in "Tin Cup". From Smithsonian.com:

Already the country's most famous singer, not to mention a top movie star, Crosby was a constant and good golfer. He lived on Toluca Lake, sometimes played 36 holes in a day. Always looking for a match, one more round before sunset, he played against the Lakeside caddies, played against the members, played against Montague.

At the end of one encounter, sharing drinks in the bar, Montague the winner again, Crosby bemoaned his luck. A bad bounce here, a bad lie there had ruined his game. Montague disagreed. He said a turn of luck would not have changed the result of the match. To prove it, he bet he could beat Crosby without even using golf clubs. He said he could beat him with a baseball bat, a shovel and a rake. Crosby jumped at the offer.

Montague went to his car—and maybe Crosby should have suspected something if his opponent just happened to have a baseball bat, shovel and rake in the car—and returned with the implements. He then proceeded to hit a golf ball 350 yards into a sand trap with the baseball bat, shovel the ball to within eight feet of the hole, then get down on all fours and make the putt for a birdie using the rake handle like a pool cue. This beat Crosby's par 4, which was executed with a normal drive, chip and two putts, all with standard clubs.

"That was enough for me," the singer said. "I went back to the clubhouse for a little more conviviality."

[gogolfing]

Good stuff... thanks for the info. I figured when I saw the course and its proximity to both Universal and Warner Brothers that it may be a hang out for Hollywood starts.

[Ben]

Good stuff... thanks for the info. I figured when I saw the course and its proximity to both Universal and Warner Brothers that it may be a hang out for Hollywood starts.

Yeah, Lakeside is pretty legit. I've still yet to play there for some reason. A real golfer's golf club. No tennis, special dinning, swimming pool. Just straight up golf. Like mentioned with caddies. Quite a challenging course too, supposed to have some of the smallest greens around.

Another interesting fact. Those old time Bobby Jones instructional videos that Golf Channel runs in the offseason were filmed there. Lots of famous and Hollywood type members there.