City of Angels: The best golf public courses around Los Angeles

What do you think of when you hear the words 'Los Angeles'?

To some, the City of Angels symbolizes everything that's wrong with America - the crime, the traffic, the polution i.e. smog. The haves (the celebrities of Hollywood and fancy folk of Bevery Hills) live the American dream while the have nots (everybody else) struggle to make a living day to day. But Los Angeles is more than just what you see on TV, both in reality shows and on the news.

It's not all concrete jungle and chaos. The PGA Tour visits annually for the Genesis Open at long-time host, the Riviera Country Club. While it's unlikely most golfers will ever sink a divot into these hallowed grounds, there are plenty of other places to play around the city and its surrounding urban sprawl.

You can divide the L.A. public golf scene neatly into three distinct quadrants - the high class, the middle class and the municipal class. Most people play on the municipal courses like Balboa at Sepulbeda Golf Complex, Rancho Park and the two at Griffith Park. Bucket-list chasers can head toward the coast for Trump National Los Angeles and lavish resort courses such as Monarch Beach Golf Links, the two courses at Pelican Hill and the Links at Terranea, a unique par-3 experience with expansive views of the Pacific Ocean. The rest of the courses try to present a country-club-of-the-day experience for the masses: Black Gold Golf Club, Angeles National and Sand Canyon Country Club, for example. Rustic Canyon is perhaps the biggest outlier of them all - an affordable course that golfers love for its links characteristics.

This photo gallery isn't meant to be an all-inclusive list on where to play, merely a snapshot of some of the many options. There's a course for every taste and every budget around L.A.