Rancho Park Golf Course is an 18-hole par 71 public golf course located in the Rancho Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. Rancho Park has hosted various tournaments for the PGA Tour, LPGA and Champions Tour (formerly Senior PGA Tour) including the Los Angeles Open (now known as the Northern Trust Open and the United States Senior Open. The course was designed by William P. Bell & William H. Johnson in 1947. The fairways are Bermuda Grass and the greens are Bent Grass.[1]
The site was originally a private club named Rancho Country Club. The club ran into some tax problems and the federal government took ownership to satisfy the tax debt and leased it back to the club. Several citizens spear-headed an effort to make the site into a city park. Their efforts were rewarded in 1945 with the creation of Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, a 40-acre (160,000 m2) park that included the golf course as well as tennis courts and baseball fields.[2]
A bronze plaque is located on the 508 yard par-5 9th hole, commemorating the occasion during the 1961 Los Angeles Open when Arnold Palmer carded a twelve after hitting four drives out of bounds.[3]