Westlake Golf Course's Remarkable Place In The Game

Sean Martin of PGATour.com returns to the course where he was introduced to the game that has produced a fascinating array of players and coaches despite having a short course and artificial turf driving range mats. Not only is it a fantastic look at how Westlake Golf Course succeeds without luxurious facilities, but how a place with an important part in the community can still also produce elite players (current headliners are Matthew Wolff and Danielle Kang).

From Martin’s piece, with images by Keyur Khamar:

I returned recently, as well, to tell the story of the course where I was introduced to the game. You may have caught glimpses of Westlake on Como’s show or in the pages of Golf Digest or on the Instagram feed of swing instructor George Gankas. The success of Gankas and his star student, Matthew Wolff, has brought attention to this tiny public course in Southern California.

There are other affordable and accessible courses in the country, but Westlake provides a unique case study. What it lacks in length, it makes up for with a communal atmosphere that nurtures players’, especially juniors’, passion for the game.

Westlake is a small course with a large footprint. Yard for yard, I don’t think another course has had a larger impact on today’s game. It may seem an audacious claim, but consider the evidence. Two of the game’s most influential instructors and several successful pros have called it home.