Hillcrest Country Club

Opened in 1920 to a Willie Watson design, it was founded as the city's first Jewish country club and became a legendary gathering place for Hollywood's entertainment elite. In 2019 the golf course was comprehensively rebuilt by architect Kyle Phillips, giving the historic club a modern championship layout while preserving its classic character.

Course History

Hillcrest was established in 1920 as the first country club for Los Angeles's Jewish community, formed at a time when Jewish residents were routinely excluded from the city's other elite clubs. It quickly became the social home of Hollywood's most famous entertainers, and its members over the decades included Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, George Burns, the Marx Brothers, and Sandy Koufax. The club's fabled comedians' "Round Table" gathered for regular lunches to trade jokes and try out new material.

The course hosted the 1929 PGA Championship, won by Leo Diegel, and staged the Los Angeles Open in 1932 and 1942. When oil was discovered beneath the property in the 1950s, the resulting revenues famously enriched the membership. In later years the club broadened its rolls to include figures such as Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, and Sidney Poitier.

The Design & Architecture

The original layout was the work of prolific architect Willie Watson, who also shaped classic California courses of the era. In 2019 Kyle Phillips led an extensive renovation: six holes were retained in their original locations but substantially improved, six were rerouted along existing corridors, and six were built entirely new, all while carving out room for a six-acre practice facility. The result is a rolling parkland course framed by mature trees and the towers of Century City, with bold, sculpted bunkering and greens that reward precise approach play.

Signature Holes

The rebuilt Hillcrest is best known for its set of par 3s. The all-new second plays just 155 yards to a sunken green, while the new fourth enjoys a panoramic view of the Los Angeles skyline and the Hollywood Hills. The most talked-about hole is the twelfth, which can be stretched to 260 yards from the back tees and plays to a massive Biarritz green, and the fourteenth is another stout one-shotter that can play in excess of 200 yards.

Among the two-shot holes, the 330-yard seventh dangles the temptation of driving the green, and the closing eighteenth — a par 5 that can be pushed out to 600 yards — culminates in one of the most stunning green complexes on the course. Adjacent to the range, Phillips also laid out "The Five," a five-hole par-3 short course designed for family play and fun.

Playing the Course

Playing to a par of 71 and stretching to roughly 7,005 yards from the tips (course rating 73.4, slope 134), the modern Hillcrest offers a stern but strategic test. Its collection of par 3s is a highlight, including the point-to-point fourth with sweeping views toward West Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills, and a downhill twelfth that can be pushed out to some 260 yards and plays to a massive Biarritz green. Elevation changes and a drivable par 4 keep decision-making lively across the round.

Know Before You Go

• Access: Strictly private. Play is limited to members and their accompanied guests; there is no public tee-time access.

• Location: 10000 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064, in Century City adjacent to Rancho Park and across Pico from the Fox studio lot.

• Contact & amenities: (310) 553-8911. The club offers a full clubhouse with dining, a swimming pool, tennis, an 18-hole course, a par-3 short course, and a state-of-the-art practice facility.

• Tip: If you're fortunate enough to be invited, don't miss the par 3s and the skyline views back toward Century City that define the modern Kyle Phillips design.