Scholl Canyon Golf & Tennis Club – Executive (Glendale)

3800 E. Glenoaks Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91206
(818) 243-4100

18 holes (par 55)
Yardage: 3,039 yards
Hours: 6am-10pm
Green fees: weekdays $17, weekends $23 (cart $7-$12)

Scholl Canyon is nestled up in the mountains behind Glendale. From the 2 Freeway exit Holly and then head along Glenoaks all the way up until the end of the road. The golf course is clearly sign posted from the freeway. You will travel about 2 miles on a private road up until the top of the mountain. The road is recently surfaced and in great condition. Once you get to the golf course there is a large parking lot. There is a driving range, putting green, tennis courts and starter office. The starter office contains a small pro shop and a small snack bar.

I have nicknamed this course “Machu Picchu”. If you see an overhead picture you will see why. It is a canyon course and weaves around the mountain top with steep elevation changes. It is a short 18 hole course – just 3,039 from the back tees, 2,400 from the ladies tees. There are 6 short par 4’s. The longest hole being 324 yards. All the par 4’s could be reached with my 3 wood – with the exception of hole 13, which you have to lay up. There was a nice breeze that went through the course due to the elevation. Also I noted that it was 6 degrees cooler up there, than at the base of the mountain in Glendale.

There are lots of price variations in the green fees. If you play after 3pm it gets really cheap. You can also find great prices on www.golfnow.com. I booked through them to play a weekday afternoon. It cost me just $20 including the cart. Talking of which, you must rent a cart. You can not walk this course as there are a couple of holes where you have a long cart ride to get to the next. Also there are some steep inclines.

The pace was good – probably because everyone was using carts. It took me just under 3 hours to play the 18 holes. The front 9 were quick and then there were some hold ups on the back 9. I joined two other groups to play the last five holes and we sailed through them really quickly. Now remember this was a mid-week early afternoon. I would imagine that this course can get busy at weekends. So it may well be a 4+ hour round. But I would be interested to hear from others who have played Scholl Canyon at the weekend.

The course design was excellent. The designer did a superb job working the holes around the mountain. Great use of space! It is a true canyon course. Lots of elevation change. The first 9 holes are relatively flat. However after hole 10 you drive up a long steep road to play the rest of the holes. These holes are a good 200 feet higher than the rest of the course. I found the last 9 more challenging holes than the first. There are 30+ bunkers spread throughout the course. Also some holes hug the mountain, so you have to be straight otherwise the ball will fall hundreds of feet down. The standout hole for me was hole 13 (par 4, 289 yards). It was a dog-leg right. You have to lay up with an iron and then hit a wedge over a ravine into the green. Hole 15 was a lot of fun too. This is a par 4, 252 yard hole. But the green is a lot lower than the tee box. I used a 4 iron and almost made the green in one shot. In fact there were so many fun holes to play on this course.

The condition of the course was very good (above average). The greens were nice and the grass on the course was good. Although a little dry. The bunkers were nicely raked and in good shape, with the sand being of very firm texture. You hit off regular grass. No mats here!

Scholl Canyon was a treat to play. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it was one of the best, if not the best short course I have played in Southern California. The people working there and other golfers were friendly and there was a nice vibe.

It is a great transition to playing par 72 golf. My recommended strategy for beginners who want to play “full-sized” golf would be to start with the small and cheap municipal 9 hole, par 3’s. Then once you are comfortable with those play an executive course like Scholl Canyon or Van Nuys. Then from there you can step it up to the 6,000 yard par 72’s. Scholl Canyon is also great for females who can not hit 260 yard rockets. It is short, but not too short where you can enjoy playing your game and a multitude of different shots in one round.

Richie says…“One of the best, if not the best short courses in the LA area. Great layout and very fun to play. Amazing views of the whole LA basin and valley. It is a nice escape from the busy city – up in the mountains with no traffic or noise. A must play if you are visiting the Los Angeles area.”