LACC goes against traditional rulings, sort of, for U.S. Open

Mark Cannizzaro

Golf

By Mark Cannizzaro

June 13, 2023 | 2:02am

LOS ANGELES — A people’s U.S. Open this will not be.

Los Angeles Country Club, which is hosting the 123rd U.S. Open this week, will be the antithesis of a Bethpage Black U.S. Open in that it’ll be a glitz-and-glamor and be-there-to-be-seen event.

Virtually anyone who plays golf and lives in the New York metropolitan area has either played Bethpage or watched a pro tournament at the venerable public institution. Most people from L.A. don’t even know where LACC is, despite the fact that one of the busiest city streets — Wilshire Boulevard — bisects the club’s North and South courses.

Golf Channel on-air personality Damon Hack is a native of L.A. and went to college at UCLA, which is almost across the street from LACC, and had never been on the grounds before Monday.

That’s exactly the way the club has wanted it for years — to be hiding in plain sight. The club has welcomed publicity as much as it would disease on its emerald fairways and greens.

Until this week.

The club is a contradiction. It resides in Tinseltown yet has built a reputation for rejecting any prospective members with entertainment ties to Hollywood.

LACC is not a place for high-profile actors, directors or famous musicians. It’s a place where captains of industry roll putts and mingle — CEOs, lawyers and other such corporate bigwigs.

Bing Crosby famously lived alongside the 14th hole and wanted to become a member, but wasn’t welcome because of his ties to the entertainment business.

David Pavoni, who co-authored the book “Golf in Hollywood” with Robert Chew, once recounted a story about an actor who wanted in at LACC and was spurned.

He wrote: “There’s a funny story about actor Randolph Scott. He wanted to be a member there and they said we don’t accept actors and he said, ‘I’m not an actor and I have 50 films to prove it.’ ’’

The funny thing is that musician Lionel Richie has one of the most impressive houses on the course, a mansion previously owned by Cher overlooking the fourth green.

The famous Playboy mansion once graced the 13th hole at LACC, though it’s no longer. Lore has it that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner wanted to build a helipad at the house and the club wouldn’t allow it. When Hefner said he’d be happy to become a member if that would help, the club said, “No thanks.’’

So, Hefner, perhaps as a way to flip the proverbial bird at the club, built a zoo in the backyard adjacent to the 13th hole where noises of monkeys, cockatoos and other exotic birds could be heard through the fencing.

The former home of Aaron Spelling, the late film and TV producer, is on the course.

So, the course is surrounded by a who’s-who in the entertainment industry yet prefers not to have them as members.

Riviera, which hosts the Genesis Invitational, has the likes of Larry David, Adam Sandler and Sylvester Stallone as members, to name only a few.

Lakeside, which resides in the shadows of Warner Brothers Studios, is where Bob Hope played his golf back in the day and Justin Timberlake plays now. Amelia Earhart had a home on Lakeside.

Hillcrest is the famous Jewish club in L.A. and is where the Marx Brothers and George Burns were once members. Some scenes from “Tarzan’’ were filmed at Bel-Air Country Club, where a host of rich and famous play their golf.

This week, LACC, which for years rejected offers from the USGA to host a U.S. Open despite its world-class status (the North Course is ranked 16th on Golf Digest’s 100 greatest courses in America), will have its moment in the spotlight.

And ironically, many of the tournament attendees will be the very types the club has eschewed as members over the years.

Stan Kroenke, owner of the L.A. Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Arsenal of the Premier League, among other sporting franchises, bought out the entire LACC pro shop for the week as his own luxury suite overlooking the first tee.

There are differing estimates about ticket distribution for this U.S. Open, but it’s believed that about 75 percent of the 22,000 tickets per day this week are corporate-based, leaving a much smaller percentage to the common sports fans without the cash or connections to score one of the corporate tents.

That’ll undoubtedly make for a much quieter U.S. Open than, say, a Bethpage Black U.S. Open, which is a shame. This week is almost certain to leave us all longing for another people’s U.S. Open.