Hillcrest Country Club

Hidden among the Hollywood stars, well known courses and the traffic of LA is an awesome course, Hillcrest Country Club. This has been on my radar for a long time. I have heard lots of great things.

We went off as a twosome early on a Tuesday morning. I was fortunate enough that Chris, the Head Professional, gave me a little tour and explained what they did and the changes they made. Kyle Phillips and the team at Hillcrest nailed it.

They made a beautiful teaching center and a par 3 course. They extended and moved the driving range. Lots of tree removal and some re-routing. The visual from the first tee made me chomping at the bit to play this course. At first look, it reminded me of another favorite of mine Cal Club, which Kyle renovated as well.

I couldn’t believe how hilly the topography was on the course. This lead to beautiful vistas of LA. I could see how different the course was without all the trees. I don’t have anything to compare to since I didn’t play the course before but I loved the new version. This is a course I wouldn’t get tired of playing. The mix of tees can challenge any golfer.

The course flowed well and it was an absolute joy to play. There was plenty of room to drive the ball but if you got caught in the fairway bunkers, you got penalized. The greens were rolling well and true.

I liked the 11th hole which is a drivable par 4 followed by a long par 3. If you could do any combination of 3, 4 on the card there, you are doing alright. I usually don’t talk about halfway houses but Hillcrest’s was amazing. I was ready to just camp out there and contemplate life with a tasty beverage.

It was a beautiful walk. I played well on this day with a couple of birdies and was cruising along until the last few holes. I got a little careless and didn’t finish strong. This gives me another reason to play Hillcrest. If you can, this is a must play in LA.