Opinions on MountainGate CC (Westside LA)?

I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on the club, facilities, membership, etc. at MountainGate CC in Los Angeles?

I'm looking to join a private club since I'm playing regularly again (have only missed two weekends from rain and the flu in the last 6 months!) and really getting tired of the public golf scene here (overplayed conditions, hard to get tee times, the 5+ hour rounds, you know the drill), and would be great to join somewhere so that I can hopefully get my daughter (almost 4) playing and having fun in a couple of years as well. Also, don't really have any serious golf buddies so would be great for the social aspect as well hopefully (and wouldn't be losing out playing with my "regular" group since I don't really have one!).

Unfortunately, since I live in Santa Monica I don't have a lot of great/realistic options. Sure Riv, Bel-Air or LACC would be great to be a member at, but I don't have an easy $150k+ for the initiation fee that those places need (or any close connections to members anywhere other than Bel-Air). I got some basic info from MountainGate in the fall that seemed much more reasonable and realistic for me to swing ($10k-$20k initiation but even that sounded like it was still somewhat flexible). Also, like the idea of having three different nines to be able to get some variety of play.

Possible there is somewhere else that I missed to look at but I don't really think so. Biggest bummer about MountainGate from a family perspective is the lack of a pool (really, that seems messed up for LA), but otherwise it seems attractive on paper but figured I'd reach out here to try and do my diligence a bit more before I reach out to the folks there again to schedule a tour and round of golf. My biggest concern is that I've heard (like third hand) that the "Full" Junior Executive isn't really a full membership and has some limitations with respect to golf/tee times. Obviously will want to ask more about that since at 35 years old I'd love to take advantage of the ~33% lower dues and initiation until I hit 40. However, a big part of joining a private club for me is to able to get regular and reasonable pace of play rounds at early-ish times on the weekends (see above about having a toddler).

Anything else y'all think I should know / ask about? Any members on here care to chime in (also, I've only emailed with them once so happy to hold out somebody as my "referral" in case that could get anybody any benefits for referring a new member, I think AmericanGolf has a program like that)?

I hope that it is no longer an issue there, but when I last played there about 15 years ago the methane gas issue was still a problem, and some people who were more sensitive to it suffered from headaches and occasional nausea when on the course. The whole thing is built on top of what used to be one of LA’s main dumps, and there are gas vents scattered all over. I’d hope that most of the underlying decomp is gone by now, but you might want to discreetly inquire among some members to see if they still have issues. I doubt the management would give you a straight answer.

Have played there a handful of times as a guest. Course is fun and usually in very good shape. Definitely not the best use of land and some silly holes but that’s expected given the terrain. Only so much room for good holes. I found the practice facilities particularly lacking which was disappointing unless there’s some secret short game area no one told me about.

Not sure what they’ve got going now but the redo at Brentwood was excellent and should be significantly more affordable than the big boys nearby.

You aren’t going to save much time versus a public on the weekend. The place is packed.

Brentwood is at roughly the 200k Mark as well to join. As a junior member, you dues will obviously be less. How far are you willing to drive?

Thanks for the info and thoughts all, definitely will want to look into inquire about the methane thing, hadn't heard about that from anyone else so hopefully less of an issue now (I'm also thankfully not a person generally sensitive to stuff like that).

Have played there a handful of times as a guest. Course is fun and usually in very good shape. Definitely not the best use of land and some silly holes but that’s expected given the terrain. Only so much room for good holes. I found the practice facilities particularly lacking which was disappointing unless there’s some secret short game area no one told me about.

 

Not sure what they’ve got going now but the redo at Brentwood was excellent and should be significantly more affordable than the big boys nearby.

Yeah, I've heard the practice facilities aren't amazing but that they are fine. Hopefully there is some kind of short game area somewhere, will definitely need to ask about that. I'm guessing lots of stuff in LA has that problem though (for better or worse, lack of land) -- was shocked by the tiny range, mats only for irons, and reduced flight range balls they had at Bel-Air the first time I played there! Big difference from the clubs I grew up with in suburban Chicago (and the place in Arizona my dad is a member at now)!

You aren't going to save much time versus a public on the weekend. The place is packed.

When have you played that you've had particularly problems? I'm currently a pre-7 am dew sweeper and so was hoping to at least be able to get decent pace of play at like 7-8 am still with the hope I can start taking a proper warm up and still have a decent pace to get around. I have heard that it can get slow in the weekend afternoons (less serious golfers? I don't know), but hopefully morning rounds in general (instead of just first out rounds) are still decent pace. I mean nothing can be worse than the every 8 minutes 5-somes they do at Rancho Park, right?

Brentwood is at roughly the 200k Mark as well to join. As a junior member, you dues will obviously be less. How far are you willing to drive?

Yeah, Brentwood would be the most convenient for me by far (literally less than 10 blocks from my place!) but I've heard the same re the initiation there. Also, wouldn't be my first choice since a few of the top guys at my office are members there and I feel like that could negatively impact my ability to sneak out for weekday afternoon nines (although they aren't serious golfers, I also know their families and hear that they are around and at the pool and other facilities pretty regularly)!

I'd like to keep it to under ~30 minutes and avoid major freeway time if I can to be able to get out for weekday afternoon 9 hole rounds and practice from time to time and still make it home for dinner. I'm on the north side of Santa Monica so the 405 is a bit of a reverse pattern for me in the afternoon (aka, northbound at 3 pm isn't the worst and then 5-6 pm coming home going south is doable) and it helps that MountainGate isn't so far north that just staying on surface streets to Sepulvada and Sunset isn't that bad either. I've looked into El Cab and Braemar a little bit -- at least Braemar would be cheaper I think -- but that is getting to be a bit too much of a drive on weekdays I think (not bad on weekend mornings) and I haven't heard amazing things about the course there.

Have played there a handful of times as a guest. Course is fun and usually in very good shape. Definitely not the best use of land and some silly holes but that’s expected given the terrain. Only so much room for good holes. I found the practice facilities particularly lacking which was disappointing unless there’s some secret short game area no one told me about.

 

Not sure what they’ve got going now but the redo at Brentwood was excellent and should be significantly more affordable than the big boys nearby.

I can assure you Brentwood is NOT cheaper than the big boys, price wise they are with the big boys.

I played MountainGate and didn't particularly like the hilly courses there, but you have to compare that to the alternative. For the money it is a reasonably good value. You would have to break your 30 minute window to drive to Braemar/Woodland Hills for a reasonably priced private club. West side of LA is just very expensive obviously. I played Riviera, LACC, Bel-Air, Sherwood this last year and my favorite was Riviera, then LACC. Bel-air is improved, but the layout of the course itself isn't as difficult as LACC/Riviera. Sherwood was very hilly as well, but great facility overall.

Lakeside and Hillcrest are both very expensive as well 150 plus easy, but Hillcrest is undergoing a renovation and should be open mid year. Looking forward to seeing that. A darkhorse of a private club is El Caballero up in Tarzana which also breaks your 30 minute rule. Really liked this layout, don't know the financial situation there but solid course.

Have played there a handful of times as a guest. Course is fun and usually in very good shape. Definitely not the best use of land and some silly holes but that’s expected given the terrain. Only so much room for good holes. I found the practice facilities particularly lacking which was disappointing unless there’s some secret short game area no one told me about.

 

Not sure what they’ve got going now but the redo at Brentwood was excellent and should be significantly more affordable than the big boys nearby.

 

I can assure you Brentwood is NOT cheaper than the big boys, price wise they are with the big boys.

 

I played MountainGate and didn't particularly like the hilly courses there, but you have to compare that to the alternative. For the money it is a reasonably good value. You would have to break your 30 minute window to drive to Braemar/Woodland Hills for a reasonably priced private club. West side of LA is just very expensive obviously. I played Riviera, LACC, Bel-Air, Sherwood this last year and my favorite was Riviera, then LACC. Bel-air is improved, but the layout of the course itself isn't as difficult as LACC/Riviera. Sherwood was very hilly as well, but great facility overall.

 

Lakeside and Hillcrest are both very expensive as well 150 plus easy, but Hillcrest is undergoing a renovation and should be open mid year. Looking forward to seeing that. A darkhorse of a private club is El Caballero up in Tarzana which also breaks your 30 minute rule. Really liked this layout, don't know the financial situation there but solid course.

Always thought Brentwood was closer to Mountaingate than Riviera but what do I know? Interesting to learn.

El Cab is a great suggestion I enjoyed that course quite a bit. Hillcrest was a nice course interested to play it once it opens back up.

Someone mentioned Braemar earlier. The networking is fine there but a total waste of wonderful terrain. Weird course I’d hate to play regularly.

Have played there a handful of times as a guest. Course is fun and usually in very good shape. Definitely not the best use of land and some silly holes but that’s expected given the terrain. Only so much room for good holes. I found the practice facilities particularly lacking which was disappointing unless there’s some secret short game area no one told me about.

 

Not sure what they’ve got going now but the redo at Brentwood was excellent and should be significantly more affordable than the big boys nearby.

 

I can assure you Brentwood is NOT cheaper than the big boys, price wise they are with the big boys.

 

I played MountainGate and didn't particularly like the hilly courses there, but you have to compare that to the alternative. For the money it is a reasonably good value. You would have to break your 30 minute window to drive to Braemar/Woodland Hills for a reasonably priced private club. West side of LA is just very expensive obviously. I played Riviera, LACC, Bel-Air, Sherwood this last year and my favorite was Riviera, then LACC. Bel-air is improved, but the layout of the course itself isn't as difficult as LACC/Riviera. Sherwood was very hilly as well, but great facility overall.

 

Lakeside and Hillcrest are both very expensive as well 150 plus easy, but Hillcrest is undergoing a renovation and should be open mid year. Looking forward to seeing that. A darkhorse of a private club is El Caballero up in Tarzana which also breaks your 30 minute rule. Really liked this layout, don't know the financial situation there but solid course.

 

Always thought Brentwood was closer to Mountaingate than Riviera but what do I know? Interesting to learn.

 

El Cab is a great suggestion I enjoyed that course quite a bit. Hillcrest was a nice course interested to play it once it opens back up.

 

Someone mentioned Braemar earlier. The networking is fine there but a total waste of wonderful terrain. Weird course I’d hate to play regularly.

Re Brentwood, I think when it comes to quality of the golf itself that may be true. The difference is that Brentwood is a traditional equity club sitting on a tract of uber-premium land and so the initiation reflects that compared to MountainGate which is corporate owned and on a much less expensive (but still of course crazy expensive, this is LA!) piece of land.

Lakeside is one of my favorite clubs in all of LA. Great membership and great golf course. It's around 60k right now for a full membership but it is not easy to get into. It's going to take some effort to meet the members, get letters, etc. You will also have a waiting period after all of that is done. El Caballero is a good spot as well. For your budget, it might be a great way to go. El Cab has decent practice facilities, good clubhouse, pretty good food, and a solid golf course. I played us open sectionals out there a couple of times. I personally wouldn't do mountain gate but I can understand with cost restrictions and proximity.

If you expanded your search area I'd say Sherwood followed by El Caballero. Sherwood is in pristine condition and the clubhouse and facility are very impressive.

If you expanded your search area I'd say Sherwood followed by El Caballero. Sherwood is in pristine condition and the clubhouse and facility are very impressive.

Thanks, Sherwood is definitely nice but too far. I think I will look into El Cab a bit more though before I make a final decision. Good recs here and is pretty much the first place in the valley so not as bad of a drive from the westside.

Almost forgot because it flies under the radar is Rolling Hills CC down in Palos Verdes so you would have to go south obviously. Recently reopened after a wonderful renovation by David McLay KIdd. Haven't seen it in person, but has rave reviews on GCA. Probably longer drive than El Cab, but you are closer to many things traveling south as well.

Rolling Hills is definitely fantastic. Their junior program is full right now but they're national and full membership are available. The drive might make you kill yourself from Santa Monica tho.

Rolling Hills is definitely fantastic. Their junior program is full right now but they're national and full membership are available. The drive might make you kill yourself from Santa Monica tho.

Do you know the details of the junior program? Was thinking of joining the waiting list depending on how old the limit is.

Rolling Hills is definitely fantastic. Their junior program is full right now but they're national and full membership are available. The drive might make you kill yourself from Santa Monica tho.

 

Do you know the details of the junior program? Was thinking of joining the waiting list depending on how old the limit is.

No I don't. A buddy played there as a guest after the renovation and really was impressed and he is pretty architecture savy. I don't know if they are full or not, but I would shoot them an email I would think they are pretty amenable for inquiries.

I believe their junior is around 25k and half dues so maybe 600. I'm not sure what their junior wait list looks like. Reach out to Pich (pronounced Peach), as he is part of their membership group there. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in LA to play. Very Bandon like with great practice facilities and an entirely new clubhouse. The whole place is pretty good.

Does no one on this thread drive in LA? Unfortunately, I have to schlep my kids around...and it involves driving from Beverly Hills to Playa and Pali High. Traffic is infinitely worse now then it was even 10 years ago...

So...to answer the OPs question. Brentwood is ideal from a geographic POV...unfortunately, it is 200K+ (not to mention the 20K+ annually and the various assessments...well over 50K the past 15 years). And, most important, IMHO, it is a Jewish club (as is Hillcrest). Unless you are part of the tribe, you will feel really out of place there. Most of the non-Jewish members are part of the entertainment world. Finally, the course is sort of boring...very difficult and fast greens, but just not very interesting on a regular basis. Tough to score on.

As for Mountaingate, I've played there many times over the years. I've never smelled anything up there, so I wouldn't worry about that. POP is terrible...last time I played it was midweek, around 11am...took over 4.5 hours to play lake/north. It's basically a semi-resort course, IMHO. Not much of a "club". Better than Rancho however!

I really like El Cab (again, Jewish, but not sure if it's like Brentwood/Hillcrest)...but Tarzana can be a real trek from Santa Monica. And three to four months a year it's over 100 degrees.

Haven't played Rolling Hills, but that is one drive I wouldn't want to do. Lakeside is a great choice, but again a real drive from Santa Monica.

Unfortunately, unless you're loaded, the Westside of LA is a golf wasteland.

The drive to Rolling Hills would absolutely be awful.

. . .

Unfortunately, unless you're loaded, the Westside of LA is a golf wasteland.

Spot on info in general, and matches with most of what I've found and heard as well...

Sadly this last bit is the most on point. I mean, I like to think I do pretty well and manage to live out here pretty comfortably... and I still can't join most of the clubs out here. Just trying to figure out the best to make of a not ideal situation!

(Although maybe I need to reevaluate the wife's idea that we should just sell our place and move down to the South Bay... commute up to SM for work would be total balls but Rolling Hills would be nice if their Jr. Exec waitlist isn't years long..)

. . .

Unfortunately, unless you're loaded, the Westside of LA is a golf wasteland.

 

Spot on info in general, and matches with most of what I've found and heard as well...

 

Sadly this last bit is the most on point. I mean, I like to think I do pretty well and manage to live out here pretty comfortably... and I still can't join most of the clubs out here. Just trying to figure out the best to make of a not ideal situation!

 

(Although maybe I need to reevaluate the wife's idea that we should just sell our place and move down to the South Bay... commute up to SM for work would be total balls but Rolling Hills would be nice if their Jr. Exec waitlist isn't years long..)

Well there are other considerations in life than golf (or maybe not, ha). If your wife is suggesting it already, half the battle is fought although it sounds like you would have to commute which would suck for sure depending on when you left in the AM. Manhattan Beach is pretty nice living and not too far south where your commute would be crazy long.

If you do get into RH, it would be possible to have your pro call Brentwood perhaps to get on or play with your buddies as well after work. I don't think pro calls would work at Riviera, Bel Air, LACC.

The wait list for a junior at Rolling Hills isn't terrible. I'm not sure how long it would be before you have to pony up the 175k for the full membership. You also need to make sure it's a place that your going to feel comfortable. You need to like the course but also the membership and the facilities.

Also, not sure you want to make the drive from Southbay to Santa Monica every day for work.

If you’re considering RHCC at all, I’d suggest you also check out Palos Verdes CC. I like their course better than RH, and most people I know on the hill who play both regularly feel the same. PVCC used to require home ownership in PV but I’m pretty sure that’s not the case anymore, and membership costs there are much lower than RH and almost an order of magnitude less than Brentwood, Bel Air, etc. There are certain times each week that PVCC allows public play, so it would be easy to go check them out.

Mountaingate is fun. Hear you on the pace but quite honest when I’ve played, it’s been fine. Flying in and alcohol might be involved too ?

Three nines and since you’re a dew sweeper, the weekdays are fine.

The weekends are busy but so is every course in LA.

Mountaingate is fun. Hear you on the pace but quite honest when I've played, it's been fine. Flying in and alcohol might be involved too

 

Three nines and since you're a dew sweeper, the weekdays are fine.

The weekends are busy but so is every course in LA.

Thanks, that is kind of how I'm starting to feel about pace. I don't know if anything outside of Riv (which seems very little play) is that quick in LA. I've had effectively 4.5 hour weekday afternoon rounds at Bel-Air cause they can get backed up since they don't have formal tee times.

I'll obviously ask them and should be a simple question, but do you know how they structure tee times with the 3 nines? Are two of the nines set as the 18 holes for the day with the other just being open for 9 hole rounds that day? Or they do they try and stagger people out on all of them in different combos to keep up pace -- I could imagine that being more efficient if you had a really good system and real time info on where groups are... but that sounds really complicated.

They keep two nines as 18 for the day or two and then rotate.

Keeping the 3rd nine for 9 hole play.

But I imagine you do have the option with the 3rd nine if pop is slow

Lots of good information in here guys. Thanks for the read. OP did you end up making any decision? Maybe you need to open up a satellite office in Del Mar and come south.

I don't know why WRX doesn't just have a Country Club section of the site given how many threads are always started about private clubs in various parts of the country (I'm noting this idea and going to suggest it to the editors!). Trying to find information on country clubs can be exhausting between querying and searching the forums, google searching, calls/emails to various clubs, etc. I'm contemplating a move back to LA from NorCal, so starting to do some research. I've seen a fair amount of negativity about Braemar but from the visuals I've seen, it looks pretty good to me - I'll have to play it for myself next time I'm down there and make my own judgment. I'm leaning towards doing a ClubCorp membership since the price is right, and at least it gives me a few options within driving distance. The one area where NorCal has SoCal beat is in the golf department. It's insane how much better the public golf is in the Bay Area as opposed to LA.

> @duke2001j said:

> I don't know why WRX doesn't just have a Country Club section of the site given how many threads are always started about private clubs in various parts of the country (I'm noting this idea and going to suggest it to the editors!). Trying to find information on country clubs can be exhausting between querying and searching the forums, google searching, calls/emails to various clubs, etc. I'm contemplating a move back to LA from NorCal, so starting to do some research. I've seen a fair amount of negativity about Braemar but from the visuals I've seen, it looks pretty good to me - I'll have to play it for myself next time I'm down there and make my own judgment. I'm leaning towards doing a ClubCorp membership since the price is right, and at least it gives me a few options within driving distance. The one area where NorCal has SoCal beat is in the golf department. It's insane how much better the public golf is in the Bay Area as opposed to LA.

Yeah it's pretty good up there. If you can make it out to Ventura County the golf is a little better. I'm talking Rustic, Olivas, Soule, etc. You're still looking at slow play though.

I think Mountain Gate is lovely and challenging with lots of breathtaking views. I also found the practice facilities totally fine - it’s not like you’re hitting off mats on the range. Also, I haven’t heard anyone mention Wilshire - that’s a good track too.