I was fortunate enough to get an awesome invite to Lakeside Golf Club this week and it was everything that I thought it would be. This classic LA private club has been around since the 1920s and boast... Continue »

I was fortunate enough to get an awesome invite to Lakeside Golf Club this week and it was everything that I thought it would be. This classic LA private club has been around since the 1920s and boasts members from its heyday like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope, along with many of today's biggest stars, but thankfully I didn't see any of them when I was out on the course as it likely would have made it much tougher to take pictures.

The course is currently 'walking only' which was fine with me as it allowed more time to take in the beauty of the course. They recently re-seeded the rough all around the property which is why carts are not allowed at this time. But clearly they know what they're doing because Lakeside is in pretty pristine condition and every hole was a joy to play, although it's a quirky scorecard and layout with a par 70 and eight par 4s on the back nine. In fact, the only par 5s are the 2nd and 4th holes, then you'll not see another for the rest of the day.

The course is not overly long, but plays longer than the yardage because there are so many hilly undulations in the fairways and strategically placed trees and bunkers that really squeeze your landing areas. Once you do get onto the greens, they're in perfect condition and roll super fast. Nothing gimmicky about them at all, just very subtle lines and breaks and the speed will really take anything not struck perfectly right past the hole. It's also very difficult to land the greens unless your approaches are near perfect.

Conditions are superb all around as one would expect. Thick, lush rough bordering perfectly mowed down fairways, but a one-rating-point knock for a lot of divots that have been left out there because they will be re-seeding the fairways in the next week or two so they're letting them heal on their own that this time. The bunkers are also in perfect shape with ample sand that makes playing sand shots quite fun. The tee boxes would probably be the only aspect not garnering a 9 or 10 in the ratings since they were generally very good and of course flat but had slight damage as you will see in some of the photos.

I also got to do a tour of the clubhouse and dining areas and it's really very old school and not ostentatious at all which was what I was expecting. We had drinks after in the lounge and everyone seemed to be quite nice and inviting. They also pour very generously!

So very thankful to get to check this destination course off the bucket list and appreciative of my old friend that put the date together. I always say that I would never be interested in joining a country club and having to play the same course every time out, but I think with Lakeside I would potentially make an exception! Now I just have to work out that tricky cash problem!