Rancho Park Golf Course

John Edmond Jr., a popular longtime instructor at the storied Rancho Park Golf Course in West Los Angeles whose threatened job loss in 2003 sparked a flood of protest, died Monday at a West Hills hospice. He was 67. The cause was complications of lymphoma, said his daughter, Victoria Edmond-Davis. Edmond, who trained hundreds of players during his 37 years as a teaching pro at the city-owned course, was known for his ability to instill confidence and improve his students' games with hands-on instruction, uncomplicated advice and a buoyant outlook about life as well as about golf.

Nothing against beverage-cart service, pinstriped fairways and clean carts, but there is more to classic course design than vanity-driven amenities. This is also not a list of the longest, toughest and roughest public layouts in the region. Instead, this is a list for those who like their golf fun, affordable and harking to an era before developers jammed golf courses onto mountaintops: Brookside Golf Course No. 2 (Pasadena): The No. 1 course was the site of the 1968 L.A.

For 15 years, Elliott Gorin has played at least once a week at the Rancho Park Golf Course. But when he and his three partners arrived at the West Los Angeles course Friday, they saw a course damaged by last Sunday's heavy rain--and a bit of an oil spill. Several holes at the popular course, which has been the site of several L.A. Open tournaments, were soaked by a mixture of water and oil from nearby wells caused by last weekend's rain.

After winning the Players Championship, more than $650,000 and rookie-of-the-year honors last year on the Senior PGA Tour, Dave Stockton's comment was, "I'll do better next year." The former USC golfer from San Bernardino is some prophet. With the 1993 season winding down, Stockton has won five tournaments and more than $1 million. Stockton and left-hander Bob Charles are engaged in a spirited duel for the money title. With only three tournaments remaining, Stockton leads by $38,000.

Unlike many of American golf's established hotbeds, Southern California has seen a great deal of history played out over its private and public courses, giving even the humblest muni player numerous opportunities to walk, literally, in the footsteps of the game's giants. Profiled here are 10 of the Southland's most historic layouts, a group that includes the old, the very old and even, surprisingly, the new.

Are the courses getting too easy, or are the old fellows getting too good? Rancho Park Golf Course, which for many years withstood the assault of PGA Tour players, is staggering under a barrage of birdies from the Senior PGA Tour. On a perfect day for golf Friday, Jim Albus, Jim Colbert and Larry Zeigler fired eight-under-par 63s to share a one-shot lead after the first round of the $650,000 Ralphs Senior Classic. Sub-par rounds were the order of the day.

John Edmond Jr., a popular longtime instructor at the storied Rancho Park Golf Course in West Los Angeles whose threatened job loss in 2003 sparked a flood of protest, died Monday at a West Hills hospice. He was 67. The cause was complications of lymphoma, said his daughter, Victoria Edmond-Davis. Edmond, who trained hundreds of players during his 37 years as a teaching pro at the city-owned course, was known for his ability to instill confidence and improve his students' games with hands-on instruction, uncomplicated advice and a buoyant outlook about life as well as about golf.

Carolyn Glassman's smile broadens into a full-blown grin as her solidly struck iron shots ascend against the morning sky. She steps away from the ball as though she can't believe what's happening. But her next swing is yet another foray into that transcendent realm of pure pleasure that golfers feel when their club sends the ball on a long, arcing flight. "I've learned more in one lesson than I have in 12 years of golf," Glassman says of her first session with John Edmond Jr.

Unlike many of American golf's established hotbeds, Southern California has seen a great deal of history played out over its private and public courses, giving even the humblest muni player numerous opportunities to walk, literally, in the footsteps of the game's giants. Profiled here are 10 of the Southland's most historic layouts, a group that includes the old, the very old and even, surprisingly, the new.

Carolyn Glassman's smile broadens into a full-blown grin as her solidly struck iron shots ascend against the morning sky. She steps away from the ball as though she can't believe what's happening. But her next swing is yet another foray into that transcendent realm of pure pleasure that golfers feel when their club sends the ball on a long, arcing flight. "I've learned more in one lesson than I have in 12 years of golf," Glassman says of her first session with John Edmond Jr.

Are the courses getting too easy, or are the old fellows getting too good? Rancho Park Golf Course, which for many years withstood the assault of PGA Tour players, is staggering under a barrage of birdies from the Senior PGA Tour. On a perfect day for golf Friday, Jim Albus, Jim Colbert and Larry Zeigler fired eight-under-par 63s to share a one-shot lead after the first round of the $650,000 Ralphs Senior Classic. Sub-par rounds were the order of the day.

After winning the Players Championship, more than $650,000 and rookie-of-the-year honors last year on the Senior PGA Tour, Dave Stockton's comment was, "I'll do better next year." The former USC golfer from San Bernardino is some prophet. With the 1993 season winding down, Stockton has won five tournaments and more than $1 million. Stockton and left-hander Bob Charles are engaged in a spirited duel for the money title. With only three tournaments remaining, Stockton leads by $38,000.

For 15 years, Elliott Gorin has played at least once a week at the Rancho Park Golf Course. But when he and his three partners arrived at the West Los Angeles course Friday, they saw a course damaged by last Sunday's heavy rain--and a bit of an oil spill. Several holes at the popular course, which has been the site of several L.A. Open tournaments, were soaked by a mixture of water and oil from nearby wells caused by last weekend's rain.

In the early years of the Senior PGA Tour there was little competition. Only a handful of players were deemed capable of winning. All that has changed. As the tour for the 50-and-older golfers mushroomed, so did the number of potential tournament winners. In any given week, there are at least 25 with a shot at the top prize. Already there have been 20 different winners this year, and the competition has made it difficult for anyone to repeat in an event.

They arrive long before sunrise, that rare time in Los Angeles when the freeways are clear and so, it seems, is the air. The golf courses are enshrouded in darkness, making it difficult to see, let alone make par. But that doesn't keep die-hard golfers from coming out as early as 4 a.m. in order to play a few early-morning rounds. "Golfers," said Burt Lippman, a starter at Rancho Park Golf Course, "are a strange breed." They might be strange, but they certainly are not rare.

Nothing against beverage-cart service, pinstriped fairways and clean carts, but there is more to classic course design than vanity-driven amenities. This is also not a list of the longest, toughest and roughest public layouts in the region. Instead, this is a list for those who like their golf fun, affordable and harking to an era before developers jammed golf courses onto mountaintops: Brookside Golf Course No. 2 (Pasadena): The No. 1 course was the site of the 1968 L.A.

Amid fairways that wind around lush sycamores and greens tucked among prized redwoods lies the beauty of Rancho Park Golf Course in West Los Angeles. Tradition-rich, it was here on the 18th hole that Arnold Palmer shot a 12 during the 1961 Los Angeles Open, the PGA tournament that has been held at Rancho Park 17 times. Today, Palmer is here again, playing in the second consecutive men's PGA Senior Tour event to be held at the course.

He doesn't admit it and his legion of followers won't hear of it, but the man most responsible for making golf what it is today may be on his thanks-for-the-memory tour. Arnold Palmer, 61, might have started the journey when he made his final appearance in the British Open in July. Palmer had revived interest in the dying tournament 30 years ago. And when he strode up the 18th fairway at St. Andrews this summer, there were tears and raucous cheers.