SoFi Stadium in Englewood has a few nearby municipal and par 3 courses available, but if your in town for the Super Bowl and looking for quality golf, one must head south 20 miles to Rancho Palos Verdes in the hills atop the Palos Verdes Peninsula high above the Pacific and literally a world away from Englewood’s density and traffic.
- There you will find a Billy Bell classic, Los Verdes Golf Course, providing some of the better views of the Pacific of any golf course in the state, and certainly the least expensive. It’s a parkland style layout with a slight change in elevation along fairways defined by trees above the cliffs of Rancho Palos Verdes. From the tips it plays to 6,617 yards, 72.2/121, course/slope ratings with four shorter tees.
A little further south and out on the tip of the Peninsula is Terranea, a 9-hole, par-3 oceanfront layout and part of the Terranea Resort.
The course features views of the Pacific and Catalina Island from all the holes as it flows over a scenic setting once occupied by Marineland. There’s a good amount of elevation change with the greens well protected by sand bunkers. On the third tee you’re aiming at the Point Vicente Lighthouse, with the next hole overlooking Point Fermin, and the finishing holes along a bluff overlooking the Pacific. The course was designed by Todd Eckenrode and accommodates players of all levels with tees ranging from 50 to 180 yards with a total of 1,239 yards, par 27 from the tips.
Alternatively, if money is no object, then head over to the Trump National Golf Club on a bench overlooking the Pacific. The course, formerly Pete Dye’s Ocean Trails Golf Club, is a faux links style layout with views of the Pacific from every hole and Catalina Island on a clear day. The broad, undulating fairways are bordered by a variety of conventional, pot, and long waste area sand bunkers filled with crushed marble in addition to multiple water features in play including a 45 foot waterfall on the way to the 17th green. From the tips it’s 7,242 yards, 75.0/146, course/slope ratings with three shorter tees, designed by Tom Fazio.