LACC on GSPro? Here's How

Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course burst into the public eye during the 2023 US Open, where Wyndham Clark held off Rory McIlroy on a routing that confused and captivated viewers in equal measure. George Thomas built this course in 1921, Gil Hanse restored it in the 2010s, and the result is one of the most strategically complex designs in America.

LACC is available on GSPro as a community LIDAR build. The course exists in the community library because of the public interest generated by the US Open and the upcoming 2028 Olympics at Riviera (LACC is expected to host the women’s event).

Finding LACC on GSPro

Search the GSPro course database for “Los Angeles Country Club” or “LACC North.” The LIDAR build was created by a community builder who specializes in California private clubs. The course identifier references the North Course specifically, so make sure you download the right one.

The LIDAR Quality

LACC sits on some of the most valuable land in Los Angeles, sandwiched between Wilshire Boulevard and rich Beverly Hills real estate. The terrain is rolling and the course is heavily bunkered, with Thomas’s trademark flashed sand faces visible from every tee.

The LIDAR data for this area is excellent because urban LIDAR coverage tends to be high-resolution. The course’s bunker complexes, which are the primary defense, are captured accurately in terms of position and shape. The green contours, which Thomas designed to be severe and deceptive, are also well-captured.

What Makes LACC Unique on Sim

The 2023 US Open was memorable partly because the course looked so different from a typical US Open venue. Fairways were 30 to 40 yards wide. Bunkers were visible but not always in play. The defense was the angles, not the rough.

On GSPro, LACC plays the same way. The fairways are generous but the approaches are demanding. You need to be on the correct side of the fairway to hold the green. If you hit it to the wrong side, the green slopes reject your ball and you end up in a collection area that requires a delicate up-and-down.

The par-3s are the stars. The 6th hole, a short iron over a canyon to a narrow green, is one of the best par-3s on GSPro. The 11th, a long one-shotter that played over 280 yards during the US Open, requires a perfect strike. The 15th, with its dramatic false front and bunker short right, punishes anything short.

The Controversial 8th Hole

The par-3 8th at LACC generated endless conversation during the 2023 US Open. It played as a 70-yard wedge that required precision more than power. On GSPro, this hole is a fun change of pace. You hit a wedge or a gap wedge and try to throw darts at a green that has more surface area than it looks like from the tee.

The 8th is a reminder that golf does not need to be long to be good. Thomas designed it as a short pitch shot because the land dictated it, and the result is one of the most discussable holes in modern championship golf.

The Closing Stretch

Holes 16 through 18 at LACC are a brutal finishing run. The 16th is a long par-4 that plays uphill to a green with a false front. The 17th is a drivable par-4 that tempts you into a bad decision. The 18th is a 452-yard par-4 that requires a perfect drive and a precision approach.

The LIDAR build captures the uphill nature of 16 and 18, and the green contours on all three holes are accurate enough to make the finishing stretch play as difficult as it should be.

Verdict

LACC on GSPro is an essential download for anyone who watched the 2023 US Open and wanted to understand the course better. The LIDAR build is solid, the strategic complexity of the George Thomas design is preserved, and the course offers something different from the target-heavy courses that dominate most sim libraries.

It is not an official build, so the quality is not at the level of the GSPro premium courses. But for a LIDAR conversion of an elite private club, it is well above average.

For a full guide on everything GSPro has to offer, read the best courses on GSPro guide.