Chester Washington Golf Course

Washington and a home course of trailblazer Charlie Sifford.

Course History

Chester Washington Golf Course opened on March 28, 1928 as the Western Avenue Public Golf Course, and over the following decades it grew into the epicenter of Black golf in Los Angeles. Charlie Sifford — who broke the PGA's color barrier as its first Black tour member in 1961 and entered the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004 — made it his home course, and the street leading to the clubhouse is now named Charlie Sifford Drive in his honor. Fellow pioneers Bill Spiller and Ted Rhodes also called Western Avenue home while campaigning against the PGA's "Caucasian-only" clause, which finally fell in 1961, and the course's regulars over the years included Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jim Brown, Maury Wills, Lee Elder and a young Tiger Woods.

The course also produced a landmark in civil-rights history. In 1955, activist Maggie Hathaway challenged the whites-only women's golf club operating on the county-owned land, and Supervisor Kenneth Hahn responded by expelling the group and banning racial discrimination at every Los Angeles County course — making this the county's first integrated golf course. William F. Bell redesigned the layout in 1970, and in 1982 the county renamed it for Chester L. Washington, the longtime editor of the Los Angeles Sentinel, the city's largest Black-owned newspaper. In April 2020 the course was designated a Los Angeles County Historical Landmark — the only course in the county's golf portfolio to hold that distinction.

The Design & Architecture

William F. Bell's 1970 redesign rolls gently across level South Los Angeles terrain, with two tranquil lakes framing select tee boxes and a pocket of natural coyote habitat alongside holes 6 and 10. The turf is classic Southern California municipal golf — grabby Kikuyu grass on the tees and fairways with Poa annua putting surfaces — and the tight greens put a premium on accurate approach play.

Playing the Course

At 6,286 yards and a par of 70, Chester Washington is not long by modern standards, but its 70.6 rating and 124 slope tell the real story: thick Kikuyu punishes offline drives and the tight greens demand precise iron play. It is a friendly, walkable municipal track where good scores come from position rather than power, with a driving range, putting green and chipping area on site to warm up before the round.

Know Before You Go

• Public course at 1818 Charlie Sifford Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90047; call (323) 756-2516 for tee times and details.

• More info and booking at https://www.chesterwashington.com/.