The land occupied by El Caballero Country Club was once owned by Brig. Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the original publisher of the Los Angeles Times and a Civil War veteran who played a role in supporting Abraham Lincoln’s presidential bid. After Otis’s death, his ranch was sold to Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of the Tarzan novels. Burroughs moved into the Gray Otis home and renamed the area Tarzana.
Burroughs conceived the idea of a golf course on the property and used his hilltop home as the clubhouse. The Roaring Twenties gave way to the Great Depression and Burroughs eventually lost the estate. Ownership changed hands several times until 1955, when Bernie Shapiro acquired the property. Shapiro envisioned a non-restrictive club open to everyone. That inclusive spirit, aligned with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, shaped the modern El Caballero.
Renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the layout, incorporating many of his hallmark features: tight fairways, challenging doglegs and significant greenside bunkers. The course winds through varied elevation, mature trees and alongside the gentle El Caballero Creek, much of which has been channeled beneath the course in Southern California’s long-standing efforts to manage water.
Global Traveler Globility board member and subscriber Steve White invited me to play the course and kindly allowed me to bring Bill Noonan of Asiana Airlines and my talented nephew, Haydn Sonnad, who plays for Agoura High School’s golf team. Given the club’s publishing connections, it felt appropriate to tee off at El Caballero.
Hole 1 | 497 yards, par 5
Trent Jones eases golfers into the round with a fairly straight par 5. Accuracy off the tee is crucial due to out-of-bounds left and a row of mature trees on the right. Steve and I found the fairway with solid drives; mine favored the right. Our caddie, Mike, assured me of a clear second shot. Haydn and Bill were caught in the trees on the right and hunted for improbable recoveries through the branches. My second shot was straight as planned, but I misjudged the length to the uphill green and carded a bogey. Steve secured a tidy par to start his round.
Hole 6 | 174 yards, par 3
An elevated tee frames the elevated green, which sits surrounded by trees and guarded by four bunkers. Steve produced a superb shot that rolled to within inches of the cup. The rest of us hit decent shots but missed birdie opportunities and settled for bogeys. Steve recorded his first of two birdies on this hole.
Hole 7 | 501 yards, par 5
This long par 5 features a sharp dogleg right with out-of-bounds risk for those tempted to cut the corner. Haydn ignored the danger and hit a perfect drive toward the left side. The green is heavily bunkered with four traps protecting every angle. Haydn and Steve played consistent, nearly flawless sequences to reach the green for pars. Bill and I struggled; I found myself in a cluster of trees on the left where my ball ricocheted unpredictably.
Hole 10 | 141 yards, par 3
This pretty par 3 features a water hazard in front and to the right of a kidney-shaped green, with two bunkers behind ready to punish an overhit approach. Steve’s well-struck shot finished at the center of the green for a comfortable par. Bill matched that effort with a solid par of his own. Haydn and I missed left, chipped on, and two-putted for bogeys.
A pond bordering a green © El Caballero
Country Club
Hole 11 | 381 yards, par 4
Another Trent Jones dogleg right, with trees on the right side of the fairway that can block your approach. I found myself near a distant left tree and battled a mental image of hitting that tree squarely. Opting for a bit more club, and with Mike’s confirmation of yardage, I struck a clean shot that turned slightly right and finished on the green about 15 feet from the hole. My playing partners had mixed fortunes: Bill lost a ball, Steve’s approach disappeared left, and Haydn’s drive carried impressively far. I settled for one of my few pars that day.
Hole 17 | 421 yards, par 4
The second-to-last hole can make or break a round. Steve’s strong run toward par and birdie stalled with a bogey here. Haydn’s long drive found trees on the right. The hole slopes gently downhill to a green flanked by a pond in front and to the left. My tee shot lacked distance, but a solid 3-wood left me short of the green on the pond bank. A decisive chip holed out, prompting cheers from Steve, Haydn and Bill. It was a memorable finish to a day of golf at a course rich in Southern California history. Steve recorded a 74, one of his lowest rounds.
El Caballero Country Club
18300 Tarzana Drive
Tarzana, CA 91356
tel 818 654 3000
elcaballerocc.com