Griffith Park — Harding Golf Course

Harding is one of two 18-hole municipal courses at Griffith Park and the older of the pair, opened in 1923. Originally routed by George C. Thomas Jr. — architect of Riviera, Bel-Air and Los Angeles Country Club — and later refined by William P. Bell and William Johnson, it plays to a par of 72 at 6,714 yards. Slightly more forgiving than its neighbor Wilson, Harding is a tree-lined parkland course beneath the Griffith Park hills and one of the busiest municipal layouts in Los Angeles.

Quick Facts

Course History

Harding opened in August 1923 as Griffith Park's second municipal course, and George C. Thomas Jr. himself drove the first ball at the opening ceremonies of what was then a 6,420-yard, all-grass layout. The course took its name from President Warren G. Harding, who died the night before its planned official opening — the start of the Griffith Park tradition of naming its courses after American presidents. In 1932 the city hired superintendent William Johnson, who together with architect William P. "Billy" Bell remodeled and lengthened the Griffith Park courses into tournament shape.

That work paid off when Harding hosted the Los Angeles Open from 1937 to 1939, with titles going to Harry Cooper, Jimmy Thomson and Jimmy Demaret — and at the 1938 edition, Babe Didrikson became the first woman to compete in an official PGA Tour event. Bing Crosby organized his first tournament at Griffith Park in 1933. In the late 1950s, bulldozers for a new freeway cut into Harding despite public protest and court challenges, yet ten original Thomas-designed holes survive today. Up on the hill beside the first fairway you can still find the remains of a 193-yard Thomas par-3 that played as the 18th hole in 1923 and the 16th after 1927, before being abandoned in the 1960s.

The Layout

Harding shares the Griffith Park valley floor with the Wilson Course and is generally the more forgiving of the two — a touch shorter, with wide tree-lined corridors and gentle contours that make it a friendly walk for players of most levels. The two courses share a clubhouse, pro shop and lighted driving range, and together form one of the largest municipal golf complexes in the country.

Signature Holes

Harding's front nine plays to a par of 37 thanks to back-to-back par 5s at the 6th and 7th — the 555-yard 6th is the longest hole on the property. The scorecard's toughest test is the 3rd, a 405-yard par 4 rated the No. 1 handicap hole, while the 201-yard 13th is the most demanding of the par 3s. The round closes with a 496-yard par-5 18th that GolfPass reviewers single out as a memorable finisher, and the 360-yard par-4 10th has even earned its own "Help from the Pro" feature from CBS Los Angeles.

Know Before You Go

• City-owned; book through the L.A. City tee-time system or call (323) 663-2555.

• Shares its clubhouse, pro shop and lighted range with the adjacent Wilson Course — easy to pair the two in a day.