The 2023 U.S. Open will head to Los Angeles Country Club, marking the first-ever men’s major on the Southern California course. Teeing off Thursday, June 15, the event will bring together golfers from both the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf for the third major of the year.
The course is full of tricky and narrow fairways that demand precision drives from players. The natural barrancas that line the course have been painstakingly restored and managed, creating a unique hazard that winds throughout LACC. The dry gully can fill with water during particularly wet seasons in the normally arid southern California, turning them into a different hazard altogether.
Below we’ll take a look at a hole-by-hole breakdown of the LACC’s North Course ahead of the tournament. Check out this video below and our descriptions of the course.
1st Hole
Distance: 578 yards
Par: 5
This par-5 starts things off fairly easy, with a wide fairway that does not reflect the driving challenges to come as golfers advance down the course. Bunkers line the sides of the fairway and the front left corner of the green.
2nd Hole
Distance: 497 yards
Par: 4
This long par-4 heads right-to-left, and a barranca sits just far enough in front of the green to force golfers to determine whether they have enough firepower to push over or if they should pull up.
3rd Hole
Distance: 419 yards
Par: 4
This shorter par-4 has a fairway that tilts on a hard left as we start seeing the need for precision drives that this course is known for. Golfers will want to lean right here on their drives. The green pitches back-to-front and is lined with three bunkers.
4th Hole
Distance: 228 yards
Par: 3
The fourth green sits on a veritable island, plateaued among surrounding barranca, placing an extra challenge on this short par-3.
5th Hole
Distance: 480 yards
Par: 4
This fairway tilts right, opposite of the third hole. Bunkers line the right side of the green, as well, so golfers will need to stay left on driving and approaching to avoid falloff.
6th Hole
Distance: 330 yards
Par: 4
The sixth is a tricky hole, with an oddly-shaped fairway blocking any shot toward the green from an elevated tee box. If golfers go left on the fairway, they’ll have to clear a large barranca hazard and a bunker to get to the narrow green.
7th Hole
Distance: 284 yards
Par: 3
The 7th hole takes you back over the barranca, which crosses over the path of the ball just ahead of the flat green.
8th Hole
Distance: 547 yards
Par: 5
This par-5 works left-to-right on the drive, and then back from right to left on the approach to reach a small green surrounded by hazards on the right and left, but clear in the front and back.
9th Hole
Distance: 171 yards
Par: 3
The short hole heads across a ravine uphill toward the clubhouse to finish off the front nine.
10th Hole
Distance: 409 yards
Par: 4
The 10th hole appears to have plenty of room to play, but deep bunkers line the right side of the fairway and sit in front of the green, which is one of the smallest greens on the back nine.
11th Hole
Distance: 290 yards
Par: 3
This is one of the most iconic holes at the course. The par-3 features a green that falls away on three sides and is surrounded by bunkers.
12th Hole
Distance: 388 yards
Par: 4
The 12th starts with a blind drive over a hill before turning left onto a slightly elevated green flanked by complex bunkers.
13th Hole
Distance: 507 yards
Par: 4
Here, we begin the home stretch of a tough final six holes. Drive too far to the right on the 50-yard-wide fairway, and the ball will roll off into the rough on the tilt. The pin is in a back corner of the green.
14th Hole
Distance: 623 yards
Par: 5
Bunkers cut through the fairway here on the right, forcing tee shots to head toward the left and the rough that accompanies it. The pin sits at the front of the green, just past a wide bunker that is sure to cause some frustrations.
15th Hole
Distance: 133 yards
Par: 3
This short hole features an interesting O-shaped green with a large hazard right in the middle hole.
16th Hole
Distance: 542 yards
Par: 4
This hole encourages long drives onto the fairway with a firm and easy roll past a certain point, but the bunkers that dot the path force golfers to decide whether they can truly make it that far. There is a dangerous embankment just to the right of the green.
17th Hole
Distance: 520 yards
Par: 4
This unforgiving par-4 has an elevated tee box and a fairway narrowly lined with sycamores. The barranca makes another appearance on the right side, and the green is tucked behind a line of bunkers.
18th Hole
Distance: 492 yards
Par: 4
The final hole runs parallel to the first in the opposite direction, and the large green is flanked by bunkers to the left and the right.
