Scholl Canyon Golf Course

The compact par-60 layout mixes twelve par 3s with six short par 4s, climbing and falling across a dramatic 57-acre site with long views over downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley. City-owned and operated by American Golf, it pairs an unusually scenic short course with a large, lighted practice range.

Course History

Scholl Canyon's history is inseparable from the ground beneath it. Landfill operations began in the canyon in 1961, and filling ended in the northern tributary canyon in 1975. That closed portion became the site of Glendale's municipal golf facility, which opened in 1981 as a roughly 40-acre, nine-hole course. Built high above the city, it immediately had the views that still define Scholl Canyon, but subsidence and methane escaping from decomposing waste damaged turf, pipes and playing surfaces. Regulators closed the course around the end of the 1980s.

Glendale and American Golf agreed in 1993 to reconstruct and operate the property. The approximately $4 million project installed methane collection infrastructure, redistributed more than 300,000 cubic yards of soil, capped the old course with additional soil and expanded the routing onto an adjoining 20-acre mountaintop parcel. The rebuilt 18-hole course reopened on November 13, 1994, drawing about 300 golfers on its first day. The City of Glendale still owns the 57-acre public facility, while American Golf remains the operator.

Design & Architecture

The course and major directories credit William F. Bell—often listed as William Bell Jr.—while contemporary trade reporting identified Williams, Gill & Associates with the 1994 reconstruction. The distinction matters: the original facility was nine holes, but the present course is an 18-hole rebuild over a larger footprint. Its scorecard is compact but varied, with six par 4s from 252 to 324 yards and twelve par 3s from 83 to 167 yards from the Blue tees. The front nine measures 1,587 yards and the back 1,452.

Elevation changes, hillside corridors and native vegetation give the short card more consequence than its yardage suggests. The par-4 3rd is the longest hole at 324 yards and carries the No. 1 handicap; the 289-yard 13th is rated No. 2. Bentgrass greens and Bermuda fairways climb toward the course's highest ground, and the routing repeatedly opens broad views across the basin before ducking back between slopes and trees.

Playing the Course

Scholl Canyon is built for scoring clubs, but it is not an 18-hole pitch-and-putt. The short par 4s tempt players to attack, yet tight angles, elevation and sloping surrounds make position more useful than raw distance. On the par 3s, changing elevation can make the listed number deceptive, and missing toward the native edges brings the course's lateral-hazard rules into play. Accuracy and distance control are the recurring tests; the payoff is one of the most expansive public-golf views in Greater Los Angeles.

Know Before You Go

• Access: Public daily-fee play. Reserve through the course's online tee-time system or call the pro shop at (818) 243-4100.

• Practice: The fully lighted 34-bay range has TrackMan at 20 bays, plus putting and chipping areas. The published range schedule is sunrise to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and noon to 10 p.m. Monday; confirm same-day hours before traveling.

• Terrain: The course is short but distinctly hilly. Power carts, push carts and rental clubs are available; official rules keep carts on paths near tees and greens and on all par 3s unless otherwise marked.

• Facilities: The clubhouse includes a pro shop and café. The City of Glendale also lists ten lighted paid tennis courts at the complex.