Lakeside or Wilshire Country Club in LA

Hi guys. I've recently moved to LA and I'm thinking about joining a country club for the first time. I've done the rounds and have whittled it down to Wilshire and Lakeside. Wilshire has a Diplomat program for people who don't know any members so no problem there but unfortunately Lakeside doesn't. You need to know a member. So my question comes in two parts. Anyone out there played both the clubs and would lean towards one for a permanent memberships ? I'm in the entertainment business and I understand the majority of us lunAtics join Lakeside. And two, are there any members of Lakeside here that would like to befriend a 33 year old Scotsman so he could come check out your club. I mean I think it's only fair seeing as it's my people that invented the game :)

All the best

Daz

I'm a member at 2 clubs in the Los Angeles area. For me, it's not even close. Lakeside would be the place for me. Wilshire is a nice place as well but from the golf perspective as well as the comraderie and banter. You just have to make sure that your drive to either club is within reason. Otherwise you won't be happy with either.

Thanks mate. So just to confirm, golf course at Lakeside more elite but banter and comradrie better at Wilshire ? Which two clubs are you a member of? Is there another you would recommend over either of these two ?

Cheers

Banter and comraderie I think are much better at lakeside as well as a better golf course. I'm sure there will be a few that will disagree but I've played both many times and have several friends at both clubs. To be honest, It really comes down to how much you would like to fork out. Lakeside is roughly 35,000 for a full. Wilshire is much higher. They are probably over the 100 mark.

Lakeside is the place to join but be prepared to wait to get in. If you don't already know a member, you have some work to do. You will need to network.

Isn't Alfonso Ribeiro a member at Lakeside? Just learn how to Carlton, bring your Tom Jones tape and boom box and wait for him in the parking lot. Should go over real well.

I'm a member at one and belong to another not mentioned
I think a few huge differences. Both are good places for sure. Shoot me an email if you want some help.

Can't help with Lakeside, but pretty familiar with Wilshire. Both courses are very good, Wilshire has
embarked on a huge turf removal program and the "natural" areas look pretty stark right now. When they
fill in, the improvements throughout the course will be staggering.
Ric Reilly is the head pro at Wilshire, and with no commentary about anybody else, he is one of the very
best club pros you could have.

I live an hour+ away, and from everything I've heard, you won't go wrong with either

I have played Lakeside a bunch of times but never Wilshire CC. Lakeside remodeled some of the holes a year or so ago and it plays/looks great. Every time I go there the greens and course are in perfect condition. They have a nice little practice setup with a range and a short game area. Seem to always play with interesting people from the entertainment industry when I am out there and the caddies have always been real nice too. From what I have heard you will have to wait a while since they base membership off referrals and that takes some time to approve once you get one.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Tough choice

@darrenmac, what did you end up going with? anyone know if wilshire has any type of membership break / initiation reduction for members under 35?

I used to play golf with a guy from the Somerset area (lake Cumberland) of Ky. He was a home builder and has since passed on of cancer. He graduated high school in the 1950s and moved to LA and worked for the airplane industry. He was a member of Lakeside. He told us great stories of the place, and how they had a traveling bus and a whole group of 40 or 50 golfers would travel to other clubs and play in big gambling games. He had nothing but great things to say about Lakeside. By the way his name was Larry and as long as I knew him, and everyone that knew him his nickname was LA.

@darrenmac, what did you end up going with? anyone know if wilshire has any type of membership break / initiation reduction for members under 35?

There are only a handful of clubs in the US (the old "exclusive" courses in certain towns (e.g. SFGC, Chicago Golf, NGLA, SHGC, LACC, etc) and the nationally well-known top echelon clubs (ANGC, CPC, Seminole, PV, etc) where a call to the club about membership would be given a polite brush off (with no path to success). In all other situations, a call to the club will usually get you the information you desire. Wilshire for sure is in that category.

It appears that the OP hasn't been on the board since mid-2017.

@darrenmac, what did you end up going with? anyone know if wilshire has any type of membership break / initiation reduction for members under 35?

Yes they do. You can send me an PM on here and I can direct you/help you with any question

Keep in mind that you have stereotypes about the membership that is well known.

Brentwood and Hillcrest are heavily Jewish traditionally.

Lakeside & Bel Air are more entertainment

Riviera is entertainment as well.

LA has non entertainment, non jewish

Wilshire is non jewish traditionally.

I don't know where you will live, but don't forget about El Caballero and Sherwood which are both in teh San Fernando Valley (Sherwood past actually).

If I had my pick it would be LACC hands down followed by Riviera closely.

1. LACC

2. Riviera

3. Bel Air

4. Lakeside

5. Sherwood

6. Hillcrest

7. El Caballero

8. Wilshire

9. Brentwood

There are other things to consider like $$$$$. :taunt:

@darrenmac, what did you end up going with? anyone know if wilshire has any type of membership break / initiation reduction for members under 35?

 

Yes they do. You can send me an PM on here and I can direct you/help you with any question

tried PM'ing you lacoste guy and i says you aren't able to receive new messages. will try again later

@darrenmac, what did you end up going with? anyone know if wilshire has any type of membership break / initiation reduction for members under 35?

 

Yes they do. You can send me an PM on here and I can direct you/help you with any question

Hey @lacosteguy, tried PMing you as well but says you can't receive any new messages.

Hello Golfdummy, are you still holding the membership of Wilshire CC? PM me if possible. I am really interested in joining! Thanks!

Anyone end up joining either? Looking around LA and these are two options. Have friends at both but would love to hear some opinions here.

If you have friends at both why would you need anymore information from an anonymous internet poster? Doesn't make sense.

I prefer Wilshire

but the answer to the OP

is yes

can't go wrong either way

Just relocated to LA county from TX and looking to join a club. Not looking to use the club to network - rather just want to find a friendly club for decent golf (12 handicap), camaraderie, and not a stuck-up environment. I've seen the discussion about Wilshire and Lakeside. Any feedback about Oakmont CC in Glendale? I should also say that I'm flying blind without any references. So, not sure if that makes a difference as I'm ready to pull the trigger on a membership and would rather not be on a long waiting list.

Just relocated to LA county from TX and looking to join a club. Not looking to use the club to network - rather just want to find a friendly club for decent golf (12 handicap), camaraderie, and not a stuck-up environment. I've seen the discussion about Wilshire and Lakeside. Any feedback about Oakmont CC in Glendale? I should also say that I'm flying blind without any references. So, not sure if that makes a difference as I'm ready to pull the trigger and I'd rather not wait a few years on a waiting list.

I have not played Oakmont but a friend raves about it as one of the slept on clubs in LA. Supposed to be a pretty good track that is kept up really well.

Huge factor is where do you live and work?

I'm a member at Oakmont. I've lived in LA for the past 15+ years and have played most of the private clubs in the LA area. All of them have their pros and cons obviously. If you are deciding between Lakeside/Wilshire, golf-wise it's not a contest, Lakeside wins. Wilshire is limited in it's location, which isn't its fault. However, if you are a index under 12, you will always play the tips and it only gets out to about 6600-6800 yards at most. They protect themselves with slick, small greens. The membership crowd at Wilshire has gotten much better in the past 5-10 years (they have had an influx of younger people). Also, as others indicated, it's all about where you are located. LA traffic is no joke (even during the shut down). You don't want to join a club that you have to spend an hour or more to get to each way. At one point Wilshire had some amazing prices to join, but that was 5+ years ago and it has gone back up.

I must say, those are interesting courses/clubs to narrow it down to. They are in completely different areas. I recommend you go play both at least 2-3 times before joining and decide if it is worth the chunk of change each will run you, time to get to and from, and if you can really see yourself playing the course over and over on a regular basis.

Thanks for all the feedback - much appreciated. I've settled in Pasadena so Oakmont is one I hadn't considered but should due to location. Any membership information on Oakmont would be appreciated as well.

On 7/16/2020 at 7:01 AM, Guest said:

Thanks for all the feedback - much appreciated. I've settled in Pasadena so Oakmont is one I hadn't considered but should due to location. Any membership information on Oakmont would be appreciated as well.

 

 

Same.  And in particular, does anyone know the cost for the junior executive and full memberships?  Thank you!

I would contact Oakmont membership person as I'm sure they would provide any figures needed to interested parties.

BTW don't rule out San Gabriel CC as I like that course. Also Hacienda is a little further south.