Wilshire Country Club

On a layover en route to Danzante Bay in Loreto, Mexico, I had the opportunity to play Wilshire Country Club with one of its members. From the carne asana quesadilla before the round to the phenomenal golf course to the drink on the clubhouse veranda as the sun set, it might have been the comprehensively best day of my year in golf.

The course gets overshadowed by the likes of L.A. star courses Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club, but it's a fun test of golf on a property dominated by a winding barranca that comes into play on almost every hole. Even though the total course property is on less than 100 acres, it never feels cramped, due to the ingenious routing and Kyle Phillips' renovation work, which removed hundreds of trees and opened up long-range views throughout the property, including of the Hollywood sign on a handful of holes. If you get the chance to play Wilshire, do not pass it up.

As you can probably imagine, an 18 hole private golf course in the heart of Beverly Hills is going to attract some of the most wealthy and elite executives, CEO's, celebrities, and even a few tour pros in LA and the surrounding areas. Wilshire is an old school, very private, exclusive country club that operates as walking only and members and guests alike are required to take caddys for every round. It sits in the middle of Beverly Hills and actually has Beverly Blvd running between the nines. On many of the holes, you can actually see the Hollywood sign off in the distance.

The mens locker room has everything you may need going from the office to the course and even houses its own barber shop! The food was delicious and was made-to-order just off the 10th tee box. The course has had a few renovations, but most recently, the club converted much of the rough to waste area for water conservation purposes, giving the land a more natural feel. The fairway and tee boxes were flat and in perfect shape. The POA greens were well-manicured, soft, & receptive but putts were VERY tricky to read. Luckily my caddy pointed me in the right direction, and a few times, we were yards apart on which way the putt would break...obviously I always went with what he suggested, which was a wise choice! The course wasn't all that long but it definitely wasn't easy. The bunkers were plentiful and a creek that meandered throughout the course made accuracy a priority. Overall, Wilshire is a beautiful place and its hard to believe you're in the middle of Beverly Hills. Getting to play here was quite a privilege but if you ever have the opportunity, don't pass it up!