The best classic golf courses in the western U.S.

Our series on America's best golf courses continues with a look at three of the best classic fairways in the West, as determined by Golfweek  magazine's handpicked panel of 385 course raters. The raters, who are students of architecture, attend national workshops and each evaluate 15 to 20 courses per year.

Here's what distinguishes the top classic courses in the West. We've also included
information on the most convenient places to land your business jet near each course.

Look for a report on some of the best classic courses in the Southeast U.S. in our next issue.

Los Angeles Country Club (North Course), Los Angeles, Calf.

The 315 acres straddling Wilshire Boulevard that comprise this course just might be the most expensive real estate in all of golf. The 36-hole facility has a pretty good South Course that sits literally at the foot of Century City. But it's the North Course-featuring a 1921 Herbert Fowler design that was transformed into its current incarnation by George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell in 1927-that rightly claims national fame and a No. 18 rating on the Golfweek list of best classic courses. The land has loads of slope and kick, nowhere more memorably than at the par-3 11th hole, a reverse Redan. The club is rare in L.A. in that it's not impressed with glitz and fame. In fact, it shuns Hollywood types. The folks here know a good thing and they know to keep quiet about