Wilshire CC Hole-by-Hole

Hole 1, Par 4, 390 yards: A great opening hole with accuracy off the tee essential. A drive to the left-center of the fairway results in the best angle to the green. Keep the second shot below the hole.

Hole 2, Par 5, 527 yards: Off the tee, long hitters should avoid fairway bunkers on the right of this well-bunkered tee. Big hitters can reach the green in two but beware of the hidden bunker behind the mound fronting the green.

Hole 3, Par 4, 347 yards: Club selection off the tee is important. A long iron or a well-placed fairway wood gives the best angle to a green surrounded by the barranca and overhanging eucalyptus trees to the right. Avoid fairway bunkers off the tee.

Hole 4, Par 3, 170 yards: A unique 3-par with a Biarritz-style green measuring 63 yards from front to back that can play between 140 and 200 yards. The pronounced ridge in the middle of the green makes putting difficult if the flagstick is back and tee shot lands short of ridge.

Hole 5, Par 4, 378 yards: A bunker in the left center of the fairway dictates club selection. Avoid this bunker at all costs. Keep second shot below the hole when the flagstick is in the front half of green.

Hole 6, Par 4, 430 yards: A well-bunkered dogleg left requires a draw off the tee or a high fade over the eucalyptus trees on the left. The prevailing head wind makes the second shot play a club longer. Keep the ball below the hole. This is the trickiest green out there; big breaks in both directions are possible.

Hole 7, Par 3, 141 yards: Capricious winds and a long, narrow well-bunkered green make this hole a visually intimidating and interesting challenge. As often at Wilshire, keep the ball below the hole.

Hole 8, Par 4, 380 yards: A tight driving hole with a string of five bunkers on the left and the barranca guarding the right side. Keep it right center for a level approach lie. The green’s tricky, especially when the flagstick’s up front.

Hole 9, Par 4, 428 yards: Drive at the El Royale Hotel sign with a draw with your second shot left of the flagstick.

Hole 10, par 3, 155 yards: It’s anywhere from a wedge to a 6-iron depending on the flagstick placement and the left-to-right wind. Beware of a back-left placement: there’s a “bear trap” back there.

Hole 11, Par 4, 366 yards: A challenging driving hole with fairway bunkers on the left causing a bottleneck. Lay up with a fairway wood or hybrid leaving a short iron to a well-bunkered green fronted by the barranca.

Hole 12, Par 4, 406 yards: Another case in which the tee shot is a key. There are fairway bunkers and OB to the right and the barranca on the left. A smallish green guarded by bunkers short and left and a trench bunker behind require a precise approach shot to this tricky green.

Hole 13, Par 3, 185 yards: A mid-iron to a green with a false front that is deceptive to the eye. Avoid trench bunker on the left and be aware of prevailing wind pushing tee shots to the right.

Hole 14, Par 5, 513 yards: The fairway slopes in the direction of the slight dogleg left. Keep the ball right of center on tee shot to avoid hard kick into the left rough. A long, narrow green is accessible by long hitters but try to avoid bunkers guarding the left side of the green.

Hole 15, Par 4, 330 yards: A short par 4 that requires good decision making on the tee shot. Fairway bunkers await a wayward tee shot both left and right. A small pot bunker in the middle of the fairway about 270 yards from the tee requires proper club selection. A large hour glass-shaped green surrounded by bunkers and numerous flagstick placements can make this hole play completely different from day to day.

Hole 16, Par 5, 556 yards: A risk-reward 5-par. Big hitters will have a crack at this green in 2 if they avoid the slew of bunkers on the tee shot. The barranca meanders from in front of the green around the left and in back, requiring precise club selection. This hole should yield plenty of birdies and its fair share of double bogeys.

Hole 17, Par 4, 365 yards: The tee shot here is the most important play on the hole. Bunkers guard the left off the tee and it bottlenecks at about 240 yards. The green is elevated (rare at Wilshire) so it’s tough to see the flagstick placement. Keep away from the bunker to the right on approach, and stay left of the flagstick.

Hole 18, Par 4, 439 yards: This is one of Southern California’s great finishing holes. It’s essential to keep the drive in the fairway on this dogleg right which is bisected by the barranca. The second shot can be anything from a short iron to a mid iron, but keep it right. Players may be lured into going at a back-right flagstick, but be weary of a creek. Bail out to the front right. Not many birdies here.