MountainGate Country Club

Course History

MountainGate occupies one of the most unusual sites in Southern California golf: a decommissioned landfill in the Sepulveda Pass, perched above the 405 freeway on the western flank of the Santa Monica Mountains. Ted Robinson Sr., the prolific Southern California architect, shaped the reclaimed hillside into a rolling, canyon-framed layout — course databases date the original holes to the mid-1970s, and the full 27-hole complex was in place by the early 1980s. The Los Angeles Times has cited MountainGate, long operated by American Golf Corporation, as a leading example of converting retired landfill acreage into playable green space, and later renovation work at the club is credited to Casey O'Callaghan Golf Course Design.

The club enjoyed a brief run in the professional spotlight as host of the Johnny Mathis Seniors Classic, a Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) event, in 1985 and 1986. Australian great Peter Thomson captured the 1985 edition during his record-setting nine-win season, and Dale Douglass took the 1986 title, which carried a $250,000 purse.

The Design & Architecture

Robinson routed three interchangeable par-36 nines — North (3,202 yards), South (3,202 yards) and Lake (3,248 yards) — across terrain that rolls along the ridgelines, with steady elevation change and fairways that tend to tilt away from the cart paths. The turf is kikuyu grass, the dense, grabby surface typical of west Los Angeles golf, and nearly every hole opens onto long views over the canyons and the city below. Played in any 18-hole combination, the composite course stretches to 6,765 yards with a 73.9 rating and 137 slope from the back tees.

Know Before You Go

• Private club at 12445 MountainGate Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049; call (310) 476-6215 for tee times and details.

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