3 SoCal jewels make list of top munis in the country

Triple play

8/5/2020

Desert Willow courtesy Christopher Hurdzan/CC BY-SA

3 SoCal jewels make list
of top munis in the country

With the PGA Championship taking place at San Francisco’s city-owned TPC Harding Park earlier this month, there’s been a lot of buzz in the golf world surrounding the merits of municipal golf courses.
And after coming across a recent piece from golf.com's Josh Sens spotlighting 14 of the best municipal golf courses you can play in the United States, it’s easy to see why. As Sens puts it about his picks…

They are courses that stand out for their quality, their history, their affordability or their good old-fashioned muni quirks. Or some combination of all of the above.

While any of the tracks he selected certainly could be considered bucket-list worthy, we were especially delighted to see that three 36-hole Southern California gems made the cut…

> The Wilson and Harding courses at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Both layouts were originally designed by renowned architect George C. Thomas, who also crafted Riviera, Bel-Air and Los Angeles country clubs, and have been around for nearly 100 years. In fact, the Wilson course played host to the Los Angeles Open back in the day, while both it and the Harding course are currently the site of the L.A. City Golf Championships.
> The Mountain View and Firecliff courses at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert. These two award-winning courses stand out in a region rife with top-notch tracks. Spectacular scenery, immaculate conditions and challenging yet fun layouts lead the list of reasons why they are must-play for locals and visitors alike.
> The North and South courses at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. Situated on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and site of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open as well as Tiger Woods’ improbable 2008 U.S. Open victory, our national championship will be returning to the seaside muni in 2021. And while the South course gets most of acclaim due to its storied history, the North Course, redesigned a few years back by Tom Weiskopf, is equally praiseworthy.
Be sure to check out all 14 of the best municipal golf courses you can play in the United States.