Santa Anita Course
Arcadia, CA, USA
Santa Anita Golf Course, a municipal layout cradled against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains in Arcadia, is where Southern California golf ambition meets accessible play. Carved into the valley floor, the course’s flat terrain and mature trees offer a deceptively challenging round. Originally laid out in the mid-20th century, Santa Anita presents a classic, straightforward test. While lacking the dramatic elevation changes of other regional courses, its subtly contoured greens and strategically placed bunkers demand careful club selection and an exacting short game. The course favors neither the long hitter nor the finesse player; it rewards strategic thinking and consistent execution. While it hasn’t hosted major championships, Santa Anita has a strong local following. It remains a popular spot for area golfers and tournaments.
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Public column compares courses anyone can play.
Best in World
Unranked
Best in USA
Unranked
Best in CA
Public: #134
Golfers say Santa Anita is a strategic local gem built on remarkably engineered terrain, with one reviewer noting that the flat parcel was transformed into a course where nearly every hole presents choices between direct lines with hanging lies or safer angles with flat stances. Most praise the course's thoughtful routing and strategic interest, though reviewers acknowledge it lacks the length to be more than a neighborhood favorite. Ratings range from solid to good, with golfers finding it a pretty good public option that rewards course management over power.
Good public course
Pretty good
Whistling Straits is a marvel for being a flat army base transformed into a wild dunescape...in the 90's. Santa Anita was built LONG before that on a dead flat parcel of land in Arcadia by a one and done designer. The rumor has always been that they buried the old LA subway cars on the property and covered them. I believe it. This is one of the most strategic golf courses I've ever seen. You can hit it straight at the green and have a hanging lie in the fairway or give yourself a worse angle but a flat lie...on every single hole. Not long enough to have aspirations for more than local gem...but it's every bit of a local gem.
Public courses closest to Santa Anita.
FAQ
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Santa Anita has a Course Vaults score of 6.6 out of 10 based on 9 explicit golfer ratings.
Santa Anita was designed by James Harrison Smith.
Yes. Santa Anita is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Santa Anita is 71.
Santa Anita plays 6,412 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Santa Anita is 124.
