This course is located in in Griffith Park, by the Greek Theater. You can reach it by heading up Vermont Ave, north of Los Feliz. Roosevelt is regarded as one of the better executive golf courses in the LA area. The course is built into the hills, so you get plenty of exercise walking up and down the slopes of the various holes. Roosevelt is a scenic course and there is also a good chance you will see wildlife, such as deer or coyotes on the course. 

Roosevelt is a long executive course at 2,478 yards, with the shortest hole being 156 yards. Due to the length this course is probably best played by a golfer with intermediate ability, rather than a beginner. I suggest that you are able to consistently hit the ball 200 yards off the tee before playing at this course.

As it is a City of Los Angeles course it is relatively reasonably priced. We went during the week. We walked straight up and started with no wait. But there started to be a backlog around hole 3. At each hole there was about a 5 minute wait to tee off. The whole round took the two of us about 2.5 hours to complete. I have read other reviews of people who play here at the weekends and they say it can get very busy. It is probably advised to book a tee time for peak times and plan your playing time accordingly. 

The course itself was very enjoyable. As mentioned earlier it was long, but the fairways on most holes were wide, so it is forgiving if you are not totally accurate. It is deceptive as when you start the first hole you can not see anything else of the course. The course twists around the hillside with good separation between each hole. There are several dog legs and very few straightforward holes. There are no water hazards on the course, but a few bunkers spread throughout. Each bunker was well placed and in a challenging location.

For me one of the best holes was hole 6. It is 310 yards, straight but drops down significantly in elevation. This hole is actually quite narrow and tree lined. I have pictures and a video of this hole, further down in the post. Hole 8 has a nice view of the Griffith Observatory in the background.

There is a putting green and chipping area at the course. There is also a little cafeteria by the starters office. I did not go in, but they had a neon beer sign in the window. Which indicates that they most probably sell alcohol. The parking lot is not all that big, but there are plenty of other parking spots in the local vicinity.

Richie says… “I enjoyed playing here. It is really long for an executive course. You get a great workout as this a hillside course. My heart was really pounding and I was sometimes breathing heavily walking some of the holes! They have a good twilight special, just $8.50 during the week.”. 

Albino says… “It’s a good course. It is a big course and you get to use all of your clubs. Also it is well maintained. It’s awesome.”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 275 yards

Hole 1 – green

Hole 2 – 392 yards (green is about 150 yards over brow of hill)

Hole 2 – second shot (200 yards out)

Hole 3 – 156 yards

Hole 4 – 340 yards (dog-leg right)

Hole 4 – 2nd shot (130 yards out)

Hole 5 – 339 yards (dog-leg left)

Hole 5 – 2nd shot (150 yards out)

Hole 6 – 310 yards

Hole 6 – 2nd shot (80 yards out)

Hole 7 – 158 yards

Hole 7 – the green is behind the bunker

Hole 8 – 346 yards (dog-leg right, note Griffith Observatory in background)

Hole 8 – 2nd shot (130 yards out)

Hole 9 – 162 yards