L.A. Country Clubs Taking More Than Their Share and Paying Less

Malcom Gladwell takes on the racial and environmental problems related to the game of golf, particularly as it relates to L.A. property taxes and the Ship of Theseus.

2 minute read

June 16, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Century City

The Los Angeles Country Club, site of the 2023 U.S. Open, is located adjacent to the Century City neighborhood in Los Angeles. | trekandshoot / Shutterstock

Malcolm Gladwell argues that Los Angeles country clubs have used special carve outs as well as a legal argument that makes their owners legally immortal to dodge millions of dollars of property taxes.

Rents and home prices are going up around L.A. and the homeless population is ballooning. This makes the land that the many golf courses take up in and around Los Angeles all the more valuable. The city also lacks public green space and its parks lag behind those of other big cities. But California golf courses are not subject to taxes at the rate of their highest and best use, in part because of a Bob Hope-backed campaign to give their special interest group special treatment. But that's just the first piece of the tax dodge for Los Angeles area golf courses. Proposition 13 allows that properties owned since 1978 remain taxed at the same value they held in 1978 until 50 percent or more of their ownership changes hands.

When journalists pointed out that country clubs are continually turning over ownership, because they are owned by members who can leave or simply die, many of these courses should no longer be taxed at 1978 levels. But the city reasoned that as only small bits of ownership are replaced at a time, the overall ownership is not changed. Gladwell points out that this argument recalls the Ship of Theseus.

Thursday, June 15, 2017 in Revisionist History

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight