For much of Colin Morikawa’s life, the Los Angeles Country Club was a mystery.
The course was designed by George C. Thomas Jr. in 1921, and the North Course was restored by architect Gil Hans in 2010, but was off-limits to most. We even included Morikawa, the son of Southern California and one of his most promising golfers.
But he’s playing at this week’s US Open, and he’s one of the few pros to have meaningful experience at a club that hasn’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 1940 and hasn’t had a major tournament spotlight. The most recent high-profile competition was the He 2017 Walker Cup, an amateur his team his event held every two years. The United States won that year with a team that included Scotty Schaeffler and Morikawa, who first played the course when he was a student at UC Berkeley.
“It’s tough. It’s very different from what you’d expect from a golf course in Los Angeles,” Morikawa said in an interview. “The grass is completely different. The West Coast is known for Kikuyugrass and super sticky Poa Annua greens and bumpy greens in the afternoon. It’s not L.A. Country Club.”
Instead, players face a Bermuda grass course. The green has bentgrass, which Morikawa believes is similar to the PGA Tour due to its slope and design. This year’s Open will include five par-3 holes for the first time since 1947, when Lou Warsham defeated Sam Snead in an 18-hole playoff at the St. Louis Country Club.
Mr. Morikawa does not see it as a problem.
“The emphasis on par 3s at the LACC doesn’t mean it can’t be a great championship golf course,” he said.
No.6
Par 4, 330 yards
The club’s first five holes present a challenge, but in Morikawa’s mind, it’s the 6th hole when he realizes the course presents a terrifying risk-reward proposition. As a field, even a blind tee shot would look like a very driveable par 4.
But if the greens are as ferocious as the United States Golf Association expects, good luck. Morikawa said the greens are deep and require perfect distance control. The ideal landing zone is probably 5 yards in diameter, and a bad bounce will send the ball flying into the long rough.
“Let’s say 295, 300 yards,” he said. “From that distance, no one hits every drive within a 5-yard diameter accurately.” He said he expects to leave enough space on the green to test. (Morikawa said this week he was persuaded by his caddy to consider trying instead of laying up.)
“Once you’re on six, you’re going to be conscious of birdies,” he said. “But there will be a lot of bogeys because the strategy is very difficult.”
He said the 6th and 8th holes in Los Angeles (par-5 holes that are 547 yards long) are similar to the 2nd and 3rd holes at Augusta National Golf Club, where players are keen to score low. Told.
“I want to get out under par and I have to play smart and not be too aggressive,” he said.
No.9
Par 3, 171 yards
The par 3 9th hole is pretty scarce. The last time the U.S. Open had a par 3 on the ninth was in 2017 at Erin Hills, Wisconsin. However, on the way to the clubhouse, there is a hole that Morikawa judged to be “cheating”.
It may be 200 yards from the back pin, but Morikawa warned that the slope of the green is a challenge.
“The greens are fast, so if you’re in the back of the hole, you can expect a two-putt par,” he says. Being overly aggressive puts the player and their ball into the bunker and very likely to get a bogey.
“Most of the time you putt from the middle of the green,” Morikawa said. “If you get four pars, you’ll come out of there feeling very, very happy.”
No.11
Par 3, 290 yards
Overcome the Los Angeles skyline, at least on a clear day, to the downhill hole, the longest par 3 of the course. Due to its length, Morikawa expects to be able to play between 200 and 270 yards.
“You have to hit the ball in the right place, so it’s going to be difficult,” Morikawa said. I expected that I would hit a shot of . 40 yard pitch shot.
“If you take it off to the left, it will go away,” he said of Hall. The front of the green slopes and can cause headaches if the player is too aggressive towards the back pin. “If you miss it well, it will run away.”
The hole is officially a par 3, but its length predicted at least some high scores by Morikawa.
No.13
Par 4, 507 yards
When Morikawa imagines a typical par-4 hole at the US Open, he thinks of the 13th hole. You’re going to hit a long iron, but the tee box is miles away from the 12th green. “
Well, maybe not miles, but it might feel like it after 12 holes of championship golf.
And pretty much everyone, whether you’re a long hitter, a short hitter, or something in between, will need to keep your tee shot left.
“A slugger who hits to the right will be kicking down the slope into the right rough,” Morikawa said of the dangers in much of the modern open field. In Los Angeles, the challenge with proper rough is that players have to hit their second shot in very little visibility.
According to Morikawa, a 5-wood may be needed if you’re not good at driving.
In a test with lots of angles along the way, he expects a lot of ups and downs and lug putt after lug putt.
“It’s a very long hole, but I don’t think it’s going to be in regulation percentage,” he said.
No.14
Par 5, 623 yards
At the 14th, the only par 5 hole on the back 9, the player must first decide whether to carry the right bunker. Even if a pro hits the ball far from the tee, only a handful of players will be able to carry the bunker and challenge it with the knowledge that a drive of about 310 yards is required.
Morikawa said going to the left would push players further away from the hole and “it’s not the easiest layup because it makes the fairway very narrow.” He said the slope of the green makes it particularly troublesome to get stuck in the rough on the third shot if the right pin is in play that day.
“No. Number 14 will require a lot of precision,” Morikawa said. “On the 14th, if you’re a long hitter, you can aim and push it up, hit a little wedge shot and go for a birdie.”
As this hole is a par 5, it ends a 4-hole stretch that some Morikawa classifies as a ‘stupid bogey’ and he feels he can’t win, but could lose, the Open Championship.
“If I can get out of the hole at even par all week, I think I’ll be pretty happy,” he said.
