Bel-Air Country Club Course Review

When you think about flair, panache and private LA golf clubs, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? You're right: LA starts with the Riviera and ends with the Bel-Air Country Club, which is the brain child of George Thomas, a famous architect and a wealthy oil businessman who financed the whole shebang. Even if the Bel Air country club is not listed in my personal top one hundred ever I must give it to George and his partner William Bell, as they did a great job building a beautiful course across the valleys and the hills of West LA county. The Bel-Air Country Club was opened for golf players way back in 1927 and it's built like a snake crawling through 4 different canyons, weaving its way in and out smoothly. This wonderful piece of real estate is renowned for its nothing short than amazing bunker complex and its great greens. Being built in the 1920s, the Bel Air country club features that old school Ross, MacKenzie feel to it, while various revisions to the course were performed by Robert Trent Jones, George Fazio and Dick Wilson over the years.

Truth be told, the Bel Air country club is a very nice place where I always enjoyed playing and despite the alterations made by the people mentioned above, the bunkers are still in their original condition, as they weren't tampered with. Most of the modifications were cosmetic in nature and most importantly, the best part of what Thomas did with the Bel Air is still intact, namely the routes, which are absolutely world class and spectacular. Bottom line, the Bel Air makes for a very interesting walking course, one of the best in the world if that's your cup of tea actually. Playing here, you'll have to walk through 4 tunnels and even cross a bridge, not to mention taking an elevator from inside of a tunnel. Also, this place feels like a Zen garden, due to the beauty of the trees and the overall harmony of the environment. Those who live here and play regularly are really living a charmed life.