The Greens at Park Place - The History

The Greens at Park Place was a truly unique golf facility - a real grass, 18-hole putting course located near the corner of Jamboree and Michelson in the city of Irvine.  The course was loved by many,  including a tight group of co-workers who took ownership and pride in the course.  As the years have gone by,  I have found that The Greens is quickly fading away from the memories of the golfing public.  Whenever it comes up in conversation, I often have to give a lengthy description of what a "putting course" really was and what we did at The Greens.   However, I have also found that those who have experienced The Greens either loved it, miss it, or wonder what happened to it.   I was lucky enough to be a big part of this project and I decided that someone needed to preserve its memory.  After all, who is better qualified to be the historian than a guy who helped run the place for eight of the nine years it was open?

The Concept
A group of avid golfers and entrepreneurs once played in a golf tournament at Angel Park Golf Course in Las Vegas.  Angel Park is home to 36 holes of regular golf, a 12 hole short course, and a real grass putting course.  After the tournament, legend has it that they decided to try the putting course.  They had so much fun playing skins, having a few drinks, and goofing around that they asked the question - why can't we build one of these at home in Orange County? Included in the group were Jack Hopkins and Ron Chamberlain, the two major forces behind the creation of The Greens.  Both were members of Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach and brought different things to the table.  Hopkins has an incredible background as an entrepreneur, a CPA, a commercial real estate broker, and he was well known as the founder of the retail giant Pacific Sunwear (PacSun).  Chamberlain brought a deep golf background to the mix along with many connections who would ultimately become investors.  The duo invested heavily in the concept themselves and collected a group of investors to raise the money needed to build the course under the name Putting Courses of America.
 
Most people think of miniature golf as an activity for kids, with

Angel Park Putting Course

windmills, clowns, and an 18th hole that takes your golf ball.  The Greens adopted a philosophy which later became the main slogan for the business - "Golf in Miniature".  The idea was to create a real golf experience and shrink it down to a smaller scale.  Hopkins envisioned The Greens as a way to bring golf to the people - to take a game that was expensive, difficult, and required a lot of time, and make it affordable, easier, and took about an hour to play.  "One Ball, One Club, One Hour" was another marketing slogan and philosophy.  The course would appeal to the masses, as anyone of any age and any skill level could putt a golf ball and enjoy an hour the beautiful greens.  On the other hand, the sense of realism would be attractive to real golfers who were looking for something fun to do with their friends, or who had a golf itch and some spare time.

To ensure the realism that was the key to the concept and to add a sense of credibility,  famous golf course designer Ted Robinson was brought in to do the design.  Robinson had designed putting courses before, most notably at Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert.  He also had designed over 160 regulation golf courses worldwide including local favorites Tustin Ranch and Tijeras Creek.  When the course opened, it was believed to be the first and only "stand alone" putting course business in the world.  Others were part of a larger golf facility, hotel, or resort, but none existed solely as a putting course.

The Design
Robinson's designs were well known for three major design elements that he described as "flexibility, memorability, and natural beauty".   Many of his courses also prominently feature elaborate water hazards and waterfalls.  The finished product at The Greens at Park Place truly showed all of these characteristics.  Three waterfalls added drama to the course and created a relaxing ambience for the adjoining patio area.  Koi and goldfish filled ponds, large rocks, pampas grass, iceplant, and flower beds often also created hazards and strategically came in to play.  Natural landscaping separated many of the holes which created a beautiful setting that made playing feel like a walk in a nice park.

The design itself was a major factor in what made the course entertaining.  Hopkins and Chamberlain insisted that the holes were laid out to play similarly to a regular golf course.  Most holes had some form of dogleg, or required a strategically placed shot from the teeing area.  The second shot would be an approach toward the cup, and a short third or fourth putt was needed to finish the hole.  Several of the holes offered multiple options, where taking a risk through a narrow opening or going for the hole in one shot created a risk/reward opportunity for the player.  Sand bunkers were also in place but designed to be shallow and puttable.

Alcatraz - The Greens Signature Hole

Each hole had a unique name that would usually match the characteristics of the hole.  The signature hole was called Alcatraz, which was inspired by the 17th Hole at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta.  The green was completely surrounded by water, and a sloping fairway served as a "ramp" to launch the ball over a 12 inch moat and onto the island.  The hole was certainly the most talked about and it was common for people to try it over and over until they finally made it safely on.  Ironically, despite being the most difficult hole, it yielded more holes-in-one than any other.  The entire course came to a par of 56, with three par fours, one par two, and 14 par threes.  Holes were measured in feet instead of yards and ranged from around 55 feet to 130 feet in length.

One of the most thoughtful design elements was the reversibility of the putting course.  Each hole was designed to be played in two different directions, in essence creating two tees and two greens on every hole. Robinson felt that this was an important element to keeping the course in great shape.  On a typical golf course, superintendents move the hole to different locations every day to keep foot traffic from stressing the delicate turfgrass.  Since these greens were so much smaller than a typical course, it was difficult to move the holes far enough each day to prevent high traffic areas from becoming worn.  The layouts were called the Red Course and the Green Course, and every Monday the direction of the holes was reversed.   This allowed the teeing grounds and hole locations to rest for an entire week before being used again.  The added benefit was that regular players were able to get variety, as each setup had very unique and different challenges.

The putting surface itself was one of the finest in Orange County.  The greens were formed with Crenshaw bentgrass, which is known for density and responding well to being mowed.  Bentgrass is widely accepted as the best putting surface in the world for moderate climates, and is used at places like Augusta National, Cypress Point, and Pinehurst.  Most courses on the west coast start out with bentgrass greens but lose them after about ten years due to the encroachment of Poa annua.  Famous courses like Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, and Riviera have Poa annua greens, which are not as smooth or as true as pure bent grass surfaces.  The Greens put a lot of time and effort into preventing Poa annua from taking over and the course conditions showed it.  The greens were also constructed to meet USGA research specifications released in 1993.

The course sat on about three acres of land and cost approximately $3 million to build.

The Greens at Park Place - 1998

The Greens from Above - Golf In Miniature

First Impressions
The Greens officially opened in September 1995.   One day I was driving by the site on Michelson and I wondered why there were golf flagsticks spread around the landscape.  I pulled in and took a look and was amazed by what I saw.  I was unsure if the course was open to the public or some kind of recreational spot for the people who worked in the huge Fluor offices that once existed next door.  A few weeks later, my golfing friend Garry and I found a two for one coupon in a local newspaper and we decided to give it a try.  We loved it, and played the course twice that day.  That was my only experience as a customer, as I was living and working in Saugus at the time.  Little did I know that I would move to Huntington Beach in the summer of 1996, and I learned of a job opportunity as the Golf Manager of The Greens.  I interviewed and began working there around October of 1996.

Day-to-Day Operations
The Greens originally ran like a regular golf course.  It was open early in the morning so that people could play before work.  The golf shop took tee times and reservations and ran things like a regular golf course would.  Within the first year, it was determined that there wasn't enough demand to keep these hours, so the business started to open at 9am and close at 9pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends.

In 1996, I worked for a General Manager named Erik Rogers.  He had a strong golf background and I believe he did a lot of great things for the property.  He truly understood the concept and the importance of creating the golf vibe that we were going for.  He was detail oriented, had amazing people skills, and understood the golf business very well.  He simply had a flair for what made a business a desirable place, and I believe that his influence really turned The Greens in the right direction.  Erik left sometime in 1998, and I was asked to take over as GM, and I help the position until we closed the doors in 2004.

The Greens initially expected to survive on regular play, golf shop sales, and some food and beverage sales.  There was a small retail golf shop that carried a wide selection of top of the line putters, popular golf clothing, and logo merchandise.  A membership program for families and individuals that offered discounted rates, a newsletter, and access to the course's handicap and score history system.  Lunch business was very good for several years, as local businessmen would often play in shirt and tie while waiting for their lunch to be made or served on the patio by California Pizza Kitchen.  A wide selection of beer was offered and proved to be popular on weekends and date nights.

However, the biggest revenue producer started to evolve early on.  Corporate events starting becoming very popular and became the major source of income for the business in 1997.  The large outdoor patio was heated, seated 90 guests, had a scenic view, and served as a great venue for a party.  Agreements with Sodexho Catering and California Pizza Kitchen were in place so that groups could order a complete catered meal and entertain their guests all in one place.  Most groups had putting tournaments, which were fully run by a tournament host provided by The Greens. Typical events would start with dinner, followed by a putting lesson for beginners, an introduction to the course, a shotgun start, and a closing awards ceremony with dessert.  Beverages were available for the entire round, and many groups enjoyed this aspect immensely.

The local corporate community was an ideal market for The Greens and the group business.  These companies wanted an upscale place to take their guests or employees that was close to their offices, offered a unique and fun activity, and was cost effective.  The Greens had a great location, and had a lot of benefits that were appealing to large groups.  Instead of playing in a regular golf tournament, a company could have a putting tournament instead, which allowed them to include more people (non-golfers), in less time, and for a fraction of the price.  At its peak, The Greens did an astounding 300 events per year.  Major clients included Bank of America, Pacific Life, Black and Decker, Taco Bell, Comerica, and Allergan.  The largest event held entirely at The Greens was hosted by the Assistance League of Santa Ana, who had four flights of golfers and over 350 people in attendance.

Other events were also held for members such as the yearly Club Championship.  For this tournament, members played both courses in one morning, and the greens were sped up to 11 or 12 on the stimpmeter for an extra challenge.  Gross and net champions were named for bragging rights and their name on the Hopkins Cup, a trophy that was introduced in 2002. Glow Ball and Stogies and Bogeys were also popular regular events.  A regular skins game was held on Wednesday nights for several years, which was frequented by local golf professionals and putting wizards from all walks of life.  In 2001-2002, we had a quarterly contest that gave one person a chance to make an 80 foot putt for $10,000. 

Challenges and Decline
The Greens ownership had a tumultuous relationship with the landlords and operators of the Park Place office and retail development.  Initially, The Greens was an ideal tenant for the land owner.  The city of Irvine asks business parks and shopping centers to maintain a certain amount of greenbelt for aesthetic purposes. Normally, these areas have to be maintained by the land owner and exist as space that cannot be developed for profit.  The Greens was approved as greenbelt space, allowing the land owner to get rent from a space that normally would be unusable, which was a big advantage to having a putting course on the site.  In addition, The Greens was one of the first tenants to occupy the Park Place retail center, and would be a selling point to new businesses looking to move there.  After a few years, Park Place became a bustling center with restaurants, a movie theater, and specialty stores filling up most of the retail space.

Ritz Carlton emerged with in the late '90's with plans to build a small hotel at the Park Place center. As a result, construction began which drastically hampered the operations of The Greens.  Without notice, fencing was erected along the border of two of the course's boundaries, which cut customers off from the best parking for the course.  Customers of The Greens now had to park much farther away in two hour parking or in a parking structure where they would have to pay.  Many people also believed that the business was closed or closing as a result of the fencing and the construction that eventually began.  The parking lot in front of The Greens was completely demolished and an empty lot remained when Ritz Carlton pulled the plug on the project in 2002.  It was widely believed that the Ritz had wanted to use the land that The Greens sat on for a grand entrance and driveway.  Theories followed that the landlord stood to make a lot more money on the Ritz than they did from The Greens, so they made efforts to disrupt the business and drive The Greens out.  This view is pure speculation, but based on logical facts and events.  These changes dramatically affected business, because parking was inadequate for the whole center, making it inconvenient for people to visit.  In addition, public perception was that the closure of The Greens had already happened or was imminent.

In 1999, Putting Courses of America opened a second location - The Greens at Valencia.  The Greens at Park Place had seen a certain amount of financial success, but also had a lot of limitations.  The new location was intended to be bigger and better with ways to capture more revenue.  The Greens at Park Place relied on caterers to provide meals for group events, did not have any indoor seating, and had a capacity of about 90 golfers at one time.  Valencia was created with the vision of including everything that Irvine was missing.  The new property featured a full sized restaurant that was open for lunch and dinner, a sports bar, a larger outdoor patio, and 27 golf holes instead of 18.  It opened to much fanfare but never seemed to capture the same magic that Park Place had.  While Irvine was kitschy, cute, and a hidden gem, Valencia felt more sterile and had less character.  Group events were expected to fuel the Valencia property but the area did not yield the numbers that were originally forecasted.  In addition, the restaurant and golf course were slow and property started to become known more for its sports bar than the golf course.

The slow start in Valencia combined with the landlord trouble in Irvine took a toll on the company.   In January of 2004, Hopkins sold the Valencia property to a group of investors and arranged an agreement with the Park Place landlord to walk away from the property.  Sadly, Valencia attracted a lower end clientele and the course quickly started to fall apart.  The putting course was poorly maintained and virtually abandoned before the restaurant and bar were eventually closed in 2009.  

With the Ritz Carlton project now in the rear view mirror, the landlord initially had planned on making some changes to the building at Park Place and continuing operations.  However, shortly after they re-acquired the land from Hopkins, they sold the entire Park Place shopping center to a new company who had no desire to save The Greens.  A parking lot now exists where The Greens once stood, which is a true travesty. 

Coming Soon - Part 2:  The Greens at Park Place - The Course, The People, and Memorable Moments

"What a great round! Are you kiddin' me?"

The cameras zeroed in on a private moment between Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy in what has become a very familiar scene. She whispered to Phil: "What a great round! Are you kiddin' me?" as the two embraced in a prolonged hug near the 18th green.  Many memorable hugs have been had between the two at the end of a PGA Tour event when Phil has come out on top.  Few will forget the scene at the 2010 Masters, when Amy rushed onto the final green while still fighting a public battle with breast cancer after Phil secured his third career green jacket.  This year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am happened to be milestone win number 40 for Phil. He has now passed passed greats Gene Sarazen and Tom Watson on the list of career victories and has tied Cary Middlecoff for ninth, making him only the tenth player to reach this plateau in a lifetime.  To top it off, he did it in style by winning this iconic event for the fourth time, dusting his arch rival Tiger Woods in a head-to-head pairing, and by shooting a smooth 64 to erase a six stroke deficit to third round leader Charlie Wi.

The Famous and Picturesque 7th

Phil and Amy Mickelson

The blow-by-blow: Amy couldn't have said it any better.  What a great round.  Phil came out of the gate hot, making birdies at 2, 4, and 5.  Third round leader Charlie Wi, playing behind Mickelson, made a devastating double bogey by four putting the tricky green at the first hole.  The six shot lead that he had built over Mickelson was basically erased by the time Phil had reached only the sixth tee.  On the sixth, Phil made a 20 foot eagle putt that he said made him feel as if he was now in control of the golf tournament.  The putt may have been aided by Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo, who was playing in the group as the amateur partner of Tiger Woods.  Romo's ball had been on a similar line and Phil seemed to get a good read from his putt.  Phil then navigated the tough stretch of holes from 7-11 with five straight pars.

The world was eagerly watching Woods, playing with Phil, and starting just four shots off the lead.  Tiger's start did not match Phil's, but he made par on the first five holes, and birdied the sixth, moving to within one stroke of the lead thanks to the early collapse of Wi.  Woods' putter let him down all day, missing short birdie putts under ten feet at the second and the fifth.  He also made a three putt bogey on the seventh, capped by a missed three footer, and also missed a short putt for par at the eighth.  On the ninth, he found the sand greenside after a bad drive into the rough, and made his third straight bogey, putting him five strokes behind Mickelson at the turn.

The difficult par-3 twelfth may have been the final tipping point for the tournament.  Woods hit his tee shot into the front bunker and Phil hit a poor tee shot that was well short and left of the green.  Phil played his second shot well past the flag and stopped at 25 feet, which looked like a sure bogey.  Woods responded by holing his bunker shot, hoping to make up two shots on the leader in one swoop.  Mickelson responded by knocking in his long putt to keep the lead at four.  Add birdies at 13 and 14, combined with Woods making bogey at 14 and Phil had little left to do but cruise to the finish.  Tiger added insult to injury by missing a two foot par putt at 15 after a nifty pitch shot from behind the green.  On the 18th, Phil stuffed his approach shot to three feet and holed out to finish off the final round 64 and post a -17 score for the week.  In his wake, Tiger fittingly three putted 18 for par, blowing a two foot birdie putt four feet past the hole.  Wi would end up making birdie on the last three holes to finish in second alone at -15, two shots ahead of Ricky Barnes.  Tiger carded a final round 75, getting trounced by 11 shots against Phil, and finishing T15 for the week.

Phil birdied the fourth hole on his way to a 64.

What does this mean for Phil?   Mickelson seems to be on track for a stellar year on tour.  Personal and health problems have plagued him and his family for much of the last two or three years.  Amy's well documented battle with breast cancer and his own bout with rheumatoid arthritis both seem to be in the past.  There were also wild and unsubstantiated rumors about gambling debts, Phil having an illegitimate child, and Amy having an affair with Michael Jordan that now seem to have lost all credibility.  Phil told reporters following his round that he felt like the worst was behind him and that the was starting to enjoy life again.  Perhaps this will translate into better results on the golf course.  Phil posted only one win in 2011, and was a non-factor at three of the four majors.  He is at an age now where PGA Tour pros generally start to lose some of their game before reaching out to the Champions Tour, but he has shown that he still has the length, short game, and experience to beat the best.  He has now beaten Tiger five straight times when they have been paired together in a final round.  Fans used to say that Tiger "owned" Phil, but it seems now that he relishes and thrives in this scenario.  His career is winding down but he has a chance to make one last three or four year push to put the cap on a celebrated resume.  It starts in 2012.

What does this mean for Tiger?  Overall, this week was looking as if it was going to end in a positive way for Woods.  He played solid golf for three rounds, worked his way into contention on a course that he feels very comfortable on, and seemed poised to make a run at a victory.  However, he came wildly undone when his putting stroke completely failed him on Sunday.  In recent events, he has had similar problems.  He is able to play three good rounds, but seems to put out one stinker that costs him the tournament.  Glimpses of greatness are still there, such as the holed bunker shot on 12 in the final round.  The old Tiger may have used that shot as a springboard to gain momentum and go on a birdie run.  He also hit several close iron shots but could not convert those opportunities with the putter.  What Tiger desperately needs is a win.  A real win, against a full PGA Tour field.  It has now been 29 months since his last win on the PGA Tour.  It is obvious that he is pressing and that he wants to get the monkey off his back.   Once he is able to break through, look for him to break off a few wins in a short period of time.  The distractions regarding his infidelity and divorce seem to have diminished.  We have also heard no mention of his surgically repaired knee being a factor in his play.  He is healthy and focused and poised to make a dent this season.

What does this mean for golf?   Pebble Beach was a special place on Sunday.  It always is, but this time, it was the venue for yet another memorable day of golf.  The AT&T has been plagued by bad weather and bad luck for so many years.  There have been Monday finishes, three round events, and we even missed a whole year in 1996 after El Nino rains wreaked havoc on the Monterey Peninsula.  Many of the top players in the world have been absent from Pebble over the years, choosing not to play because of the weather issues and the challenge of playing with celebrity partners for three or four days.  Tiger had not played in an AT&T at Pebble since 2002.  Sunday was different.  Perfect weather, and a duel between the two biggest stars on the PGA Tour for the last 15 years.

CBS reported that this year's event was the highest rated AT&T in over 15 years.  The network said Monday the overnight rating from final round was 5.1 with a 10 share, which was up 96 percent from last year.  It should come as no surprise to golf fans that any event with Tiger in contention will get better ratings.  Add in the majestic setting at Pebble Beach and Phil Mickelson and you have television gold.  Nothing captivates the general TV audience like Tiger Woods in contention.  When you add in Phil, it makes things even more exciting for the more avid golf fans.  Let's face it, last year was a bore with major winners like Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley taking center stage.  None of those players are a household name.  All of them were first time major winners and three were European. The American golf public typically does not embrace European players when it comes to viewership and overall interest in the sport.  When Phil and Tiger did not have prominent seasons last year, the void was not filled by Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler. Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, or Matt Kuchar.  All are likeable in their own way, but none have that heroic quality that golf fans crave.

Augusta National, Olympic Club, Royal Lytham, Kiawah Island, Medinah Country Club.  There could very possibly be five epic golf events this year with Phil and Tiger leading the way.   Tiger had four wins at The Masters and Phil has three.  Imagine a final round with both of them in contention.  Phil trying to equal Tiger.  Tiger trying to get one closer to Jack Nicklaus, who has six green jackets.  The stage is set.  Phil has never won a U.S.Open despite coming agonizingly close.  He finished tenth at Olympic in 1998.  Tiger of course played college golf at Stanford and has played a lot of golf at Olympic.  He will have a home field advantage and a win there might be extra special in his mind.  Kiawah Island has never hosted a major, but was the site of the "War on the Shore" in 1994, one of the most dramatic Ryder Cup events in memory.  And lastly, Medinah, where Tiger became the only player to win two PGA Championships on the same course, will serve as host to the 2012 Ryder Cup matches.  We will all be tuned in to see if  Tiger and Phil can erase the demons of 2010 and snatch the cup back from the Europeans on home turf.

2012 should be a great year for golf.  Let's hope for more days like Sunday!

 

Wake Me Up When You Win Something Important

It has been a few months (my last entry was in June) since I have written anything here, mostly because I haven't been playing too much golf, but also because nothing has inspired me enough to write anything until now.  Sure, the President's Cup was nice, but odd television coverage and a rather easy win by the United States team made for a pretty "uneventful event" so to speak. Darren Clarke's win at the British Open was gutsy and surprising. Although the PGA Championship was exciting, the match up of Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner down the stretch was far from historic.  I'm guessing that in five years you will be hard pressed to remember either of their names.

Last year around this time, I wrote my first blog entry after watching the 2010 Chevron World Challenge.  Tiger Woods battled Graeme McDowell down the stretch and eventually lost in extra holes to the reigning U.S. Open champ.  On Sunday, after my Broncos dispatched of the Vikings in overtime (Tebow! Tebow!) I tuned in to the 2011 version of the event to catch Tiger and Zach Johnson battling it out on the last few holes.  Zach, who is almost a polar opposite of Tiger in terms of how they play the game, looked to have the advantage when both players laid up on the par-5 16th. Many people forget that Johnson got the better of Woods at the 2007 Masters when they were both in contention on Sunday during the pre-surgery, pre-scandal, pre-fallen idol years of Tiger history.  Johnson is thought to be the only player who has ever won the Masters after laying up on every par-5 for all four rounds.  His strong wedge game and putting skills allowed him to play those 16 holes in an astounding 11 under par that year.  Fast forward to Sunday at the Chevron. Both players had wedge in their hand for the third shot on 16. Advantage Johnson, who wedged on and drained a birdie putt to move one ahead of Tiger, whose birdie chance narrowly slid by the hole.

It appeared as if this was going to be another near miss for Tiger.  Johnson has proven to be reliable and unflappable in situations like this.  But Tiger pulled even by making a clutch deuce on the par-3 17th. On the final hole, Johnson answered by putting the pressure back on Tiger, sending his approach within 15 feet of the flag.  Tiger responded by putting his own shot to a cozy 6 feet.  After Johnson weakly missed his birdie try, Woods sank the short putt to win and broke out his familiar fist pump to the roars of the biased gallery.  Another major win for Tiger! Wait, did you say the Chevron World Challenge? Judging by the celebration, you would think he had just won another green jacket.

Someone tell Tiger this isn't the Masters. And aren't you supposed to wear black shoes with black pants?

What a great win! Tiger is back! - Wrong and Wrong.  Tiger beat a field of 17 other players at his own tournament.  On the very same day, Rory McIlroy won in Hong Kong over a field of 130 players and Lee Westwood won in South Africa, besting a small field of 12 that included Luke Donald (Ranked #1 in the world), Martin Kaymer (#4) and three recent major winners in Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke, and Graeme McDowell.   Tiger's win is certainly not any more impressive than either of those, yet they received little to no fanfare.  One tournament win in an unofficial event over a small and mediocre field does not mean that the comeback is complete.  One win in 749 days and 26 tournaments is unacceptable by the standards of any great player.

Tiger himself has always placed a special importance on majors. Until he shows that he can win another one of those, he can never be considered the same player he once was.  It has been well over three years since his last major win at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.  Since then, he was beaten late in the 2009 PGA Championship by Y.E. Yang after blowing a two shot lead and shooting 75 on the final day.  He was a non-factor in the 2010 and 2011 Masters despite being near the lead and finishing tied for fourth in both tournaments.

Ah, but the golfing public has an obsession with Tiger Woods.  After all, how can I complain when I am guilty of writing this blog only when I want to complain about Tiger and Tiger lovers everywhere?  Despite the fact that I am openly critical of Woods, he does seem to make things more interesting, even if it does mean rooting against him. 

Golf fans need to step it up.  Can we try showing more interest in other parts of the game in 2012?  There should be some great majors, including the U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco and the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, home to the famous "War on the Shore" Ryder Cup in 1991.  In fact, the Ryder Cup itself returns to the United States in September at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.  As of this post, American golfers only hold four of the top 10 places in the World Golf Ranking - will that change in 2012?  How will Rory McIlroy defend his record setting U.S. Open win?  Will Lee Westwood, Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Steve Stricker or Dustin Johnson finally win a major?  I'm looking forward to the 2012 season, whether Tiger is dominant or not.

The List - My Golf Travels

I always thought it would be fun to create a "golf resume".  I'm not talking about putting together a list of skills, work experience, education, or career accomplishments (although I do have one of those).  I think every avid golfer should have a list - a summary of their golf travels that can be used to share their golf life with others and to help them re-live their own travels.  I have created mine and decided to share it with the world.

124 golf courses.  Some you will find rate highly as some of the greatest courses in the world.  Others you may never have heard of, and some that are so small they barely show up in most golf course directories.  One rule that I made is that I have to have played at least nine holes at each of these courses.  If I included golf courses I have simply been to, or visited for other purposes, my list might be double the size.

I would encourage all of my golfing friends to make their own list.  Just doing so made me think of memories, matches, partners, scenery, great shots, and great times.  If anyone would like their list to be posted on my blog, I will post them if they are sent to me at rsaturday@yahoo.com. I know there are people out there who have a bigger and better list than mine, but everyone should be proud of their own list and what each golf round has meant to them.

Some things I find interesting about my list.  I have only played golf in three states, although I believe that despite its Nevada address, Palms Golf Club in Mesquite might actually be in Arizona.  It is definitely right on the border.

I have played at several courses designed by the most famous historical architects

• Alister MacKenzie (Pasatiempo)
• Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (Spyglass, Mission Viejo, Valencia CC, Spring Valley Lake, LakeRidge and SCGA Members)
• Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (Poppy Hills, Coto de Caza North, Desert Dunes, Monarch, Spanish Bay)
• Pete Dye - (La Quinta Mountain, PGA West Stadium, Lost Canyons, Moreno Valley)

Several courses that have hosted some kind of relevant golf tournament worth noting.  I am positive there are some that I might have missed in this category.

• U.S. Open - Pebble Beach (5 times)
• PGA Tour events - Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Poppy Hills, Spanish Bay, Valencia CC (1995), PGA West Stadium Course, Torrey Pines North, Las Vegas National, La Quinta Mountain, Hesperia (1950's and '60's), Brookside (LA Open 1968). 
• Senior Tour events - Valencia CC, Coyote Canyon, TPC Las Vegas (Canyons).  
• President's Cup - Harding Park. 
• USGA Women's Am - Pasatiempo.
• Nike/Nationwide/Hogan/Buy.com Tour - Moreno Valley Ranch, Empire Lakes. 
• PGA Tour Q School Final Stage - La Purisima.
• The Skins Game - PGA West, La Quinta Mountain, Terra Lago.

I have given some of the courses special recognition by awarding them with various titles.  Read on to see
which courses hold a special place in my heart.

The List

The Elite (14)
Pebble Beach Golf Links - Pebble Beach, CA *Most Historic, Most Memorable, Most Beautiful*

Pasatiempo #11

Spyglass Hill Golf Course - Pebble Beach, CA *Most Difficult*
Poppy Hills Golf Course - Monterey, CA *Best Public Course*
The Links at Spanish Bay - Monterey, CA
Pasatiempo Golf Course -Santa Cruz, CA *Most Difficult Greens*
Harding Park Golf Course - San Francisco, CA
PGA West Stadium Course - La Quinta, CA
La Quinta Resort Mountain - La Quinta, CA *Best Desert Course*
TPC Las Vegas (Canyons) - Las Vegas, NV *Best Vegas Course*
Torrey Pines Golf Course (North) - La Jolla, CA
Cascata Golf Club - Boulder City, NV *Most Extravagant, Best Condition*
Pelican Hill Golf Club South Course - Newport Coast, CA *Best Local Getaway*
Pelican Hill Golf Club North Course - Newport Coast, CA
Valencia Country Club - Valencia, CA *My Personal Favorite, Best Design*

Private Golf Courses (16)
Big Canyon Country Club - Newport Beach, CA *Best Private Club*
Dove Canyon Country Club - Dove Canyon, CA
Coto De Caza Country Club - Coto De Caza, CA
Mission Viejo Country Club - Mission Viejo, CA
Yorba Linda Country Club - Yorba Linda, CA *Most Underrated Private Club*

Los Coyotes Country Club - Buena Park, CA

Yorba Linda CC

Marbella County Club - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Mesa Verde Country Club, CA - Costa Mesa, CA
Seacliff Country Club - Huntington Beach, CA
Lomas Santa Fe Country Club - Lomas Santa Fe, CA
Woodland Hills Country Club - Woodland Hills, CA
Sunset Hills Country Club - Moorpark, CA
Antelope Valley Country Club - Palmdale, CA
Crystallaire Country Club - Llano, CA
Spring Valley Lake Country Club - Victorville, CA
Southshore Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV *Unknown Gem*

Notable Resorts or Golf Courses (13)
La Purisima Golf Course - Lompoc, CA
Bayonet Golf Course - Fort Ord - Seasisde, CA
Terra Lago (Formerly Landmark Golf Club) - Indio, CA
Monarch Beach Golf Links - Dana Point, CA
Bali Hai Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
Presidio Golf Course - San Francisco, CA *Best Urban Course*

Presidio Golf Course

TPC Valencia - Valencia, CA *Most Overrated*
Lost Canyons Golf Club - Simi Valley, CA
Brookside Golf Course (Number One) - Pasadena, CA
Industry Hills Zaharias - Industry, CA
Industry Hills Eisenhower - Industry, CA
Oak Valley Golf Club - Beaumont, CA *Most Underrated*
The Golf Club at Rancho California (SCGA Member's Course) - Murrieta, CA *My Lowest Score*

Los Angeles Area Golf Courses (16)
Vista Valencia - Valencia, CA *Most Times Played*
Robinson Ranch - Canyon Country, CA
Elkins Ranch - Fillmore, CA *Best Cheeseburger, Most Secluded*

Elkins Ranch

Lake Elizabeth Golf Course - Lake Elizabeth, CA
Olivas Park - Ventura, CA
Buenaventura - Ventura, CA
Simi Hills - Simi Valley, CA
El Cariso - Sylmar, CA
Hansen Dam - Pacoima, CA
Knollwood - Granada Hills, CA
Marshall Canyon - LaVerne, CA
Los Verdes - Palos Verdes, CA
Whittier Narrows - Rosemead, CA
Chester Washington - Los Angeles, CA
China Lake Naval Air Station - China Lake, CA *Boondocks Award*

Orange County/Riverside (35)

China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station

Oak Creek Golf Club - Irvine, CA
Rancho San Joaquin - Irvine, CA
Strawberry Farms - Irvine, CA
Tustin Ranch Golf Club - Tustin, CA
Los Serranos North - Chino Hills, CA
Los Serranos South - Chino Hills, CA
Anaheim Hills - Anaheim Hills, CA
San Clemente Municipal - San Clemente, CA
Shorecliffs - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Casta Del Sol - Mission Viejo, CA
Costa Mesa Los Lagos - Costa Mesa, CA *Best Value*
Costa Mesa Mesa Linda - Costa Mesa, CA
Tijeras Creek - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Talega Golf Club - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club - Mission Viejo, CA
Moreno Valley Ranch (Mountain 9, Valley 9, Lake 9) - Moreno Valley, CA
Eagle Glen Golf Club - Corona, CA
Green River Orange Course - Corona, CA
Trilogy Golf Club - Corona, CA
Cross Creek - Temecula, CA
Redhawk Golf Club - Temecula, CA *Most Unique Design*

Redhawk

 

Empire Lakes Golf Club - Ontario, CA
SCPGA Golf Course - Beaumont, CA
Coyote Hills Golf Club - Fullerton, CA
Diamond Bar - Diamond Bar, CA
Westridge - La Habra, CA
Willowick - Santa Ana, CA
El Dorado Park - Long Beach, CA
Skylinks - Long Beach, CA
Meadowlark - Huntington Beach, CA
David L. Baker - Fountain Valley, CA
Mile Square - Fountain Valley, CA
Cypress Golf Course (extinct) - Cypress, CA
Quail Ranch - Moreno Valley, CA

Desert Dunes - Note the Bending Flagstick

 

Hesperia Golf Club - Hesperia, CA

San Diego (5)
Carlsbad Crossings - Carlsbad, CA
Mission Trails -San Diego, CA
Coronado Island - San Diego, CA
Meadow Lake - Escondido, CA
Pala Mesa - Fallbrook, CA

Palm Springs (5)
Desert Dunes - Desert Hot Springs, CA *Windiest*
The Golf Club at La Quinta (Formerly Trilogy Golf Club) - La Quinta, CA
Desert Falls - Palm Desert, CA
Heritage Palms - Indio, CA

Northern California (4)

Bodega Harbor Golf Links

Franklin Canyon - Hercules, CA
Bodega Harbor Golf Links - Bodega Bay, CA
Chardonnay Golf Club Shakespeare Course - Napa, CA
Coyote Canyon Tournament Course - San Jose, CA

Nevada/Utah (10)
LakeRidge Golf Course - Reno, NV
Las Vegas National Golf Course - Las Vegas, NV
Rhodes Ranch Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
Badlands - Las Vegas, NV *Worst Design*
Royal Links - Las Vegas, NV *Coolest Design*

Entrada at Snow Canyon

Revere at Anthem (Lexington) - Henderson, NV
Silverstone - Las Vegas, NV
Oasis Palmer Course - Mesquite, NV
Palms Golf Club - Mesquite, NV
Entrada at Snow Canyon - St. George, UT *Best Scenery*

Par-3's and Miscellaneous (6)
Lake Forest Golf Center - Lake Forest, CA *Best for Beginners*
Vista Valencia Chica - Valencia, CA *My First Golf Round*
Bixby Village Golf Course - Long Beach, CA
Hyatt Newporter - Newport Beach, CA
Driftwood Golf Course (closed) - Huntington Beach, CA *Wackiest*
Angel Park Cloud Nine Golf Course - Las Vegas, NV

So, that's it.  My history as a golfer.  In creating this list, I realized that there are so many courses that I have always meant to play, yet for some reason, I have never made the tee time.  Look out Torrey Pines South, Rancho Park, Half Moon Bay, Paiute, Primm, Trump National, Maderas, and La Costa - you're next to make "The List".

Rory McIlroy - The Anti-Tiger?

It was only three years ago when Tiger Woods finished off Rocco Mediate at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.  The win marked Tiger's 14th major championship victory, and moved him to within four of Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 titles are the most in history.  Since that day, there have been twelve majors.  Many would have predicted that Tiger would have caught Jack by now, but there are very few who would have guessed that he would come up completely dry. Yes, an "oh-fer" for Tiger in the last 12 majors.  Tiger is a polarizing figure. You love him or you hate him, but the bottom line is that he makes golf interesting to the masses.  Since Tiger's personal problems, swing changes, and his knee injury, there has been a void.  The golf world has seen nobodies like Charl Schwartzel, Loius Oosthuizen, and Lucas Glover win majors since that memorable day.  No Tiger versus Phil, or Jack versus Watson, or Jack versus Palmer rivalries.  Nobody at the top of the world rankings who anyone REALLY tunes in to see - Luke Donald? Lee Westwood? Martin Kaymer? Certainly, they are good players, but I don't know a single person who is waiting to see how Matt Kuchar is going to do at the British Open in a few weeks.

But something odd happened at Congressional Country Club last weekend.  A new star has emerged.  Someone shot 16-under par at the U.S. OPEN and his name was not Tiger?  He won by eight strokes?  Are you sure it wasn't Tiger?  We may have found the next in the line of "one namers" - Arnie, Jack, Seve, Tiger, and now....Rory?  Although it may be too early to say that Rory McIlroy is among golf's elite, he certainly has created quite a buzz.  At only 22 years old, he was the youngest U.S. Open winner in over a century.  He did more than just win on the golf course, he seemed to earn the respect and admiration of the gallery at Congressional and golf fans all around the world.

McIlroy did it all in a manner that we are not used to seeing.  Tiger has a presence and an intimidating air about him.  He has always been private, short and stoic with the media, and sometimes bordering on arrogant, even when he was just a 21 year old winning The Masters for the first time.  Rory was open, engaging, and talking candidly about the collapse he suffered at The Masters a few months ago.  On the course he looked like he was out for a walk in the park - relaxed, enjoying himself, yet confident.  Tiger stalks the golf course intensely and sometimes angrily.  He did not give canned answers and cliches as Tiger typically does.  He won people over with his honesty and good nature.  Other players like last year's winner Graeme McDowell, were quick to root for him and to compliment his demeanor and character.  When was the last time you heard a tour player gush about wanting Tiger to win?  There were no fist pumps or miraculous shots that are Tiger trademarks.  Rory just cruised, hitting 62 of 72 greens in regulation.  He made only three bogeys and one double-bogey in four days.    

In 2010, Rory was quoted as saying he wanted a piece of Tiger at the Ryder Cup, which apparently fired up Woods quite a bit.  My new wish is for Tiger to get healthy, get his game back on track, and to see these two go head-to-head at the top of the golf world. Although there are some obvious similarities in the two, I see a lot of things that make McIlroy "The Anti-Tiger".

Tiger:  Born and raised in Southern California, land of sunshine, beaches, movie stars, and gang riots.
Rory:  Born and raised in Northern Ireland - land of fog, castles, the IRA, and Guinness.

Tiger: Complexion of a bronzed god.  Chiseled physique.

Any resemblance?

Rory:  Complexion of mayonnaise.  Reminds you of the cowardly lion from Wizard of Oz.

Tiger:  Main sponsor - Nike - a global giant
Rory:  Main sponsor - Jumeriah - whatever that is

Tiger:  Sunday attire - Bright red - reminds you of blood, passion, and intimidation.
Rory:  Sunday attire - Light blue - reminds you of clouds and cotton candy.

Tiger:  Sees Jack Nicklaus as a bulls eye, shuns Memorial tournament with regularity
Rory:  Openly befriended by Jack Nicklaus, and thanked him for his advice

Tiger:  Robotically gives answers to press room questions.
Rory:  Speaks from the heart about collapsing in The Masters.

Tiger:  Hair is closely trimmed - all business
Rory:  Curly locks reminiscent of Bobby Clampett or Danny Noonan.

Rory  - Noonan

Tiger:  On-course f-bombs "F**k!"
Rory:  Aww shucks.

Tiger:  Self-proclaimed sex addict.
Rory:  Seemingly chaste.

Tiger:  Agent - IMG, sports powerhouse.
Rory:  Agent - Some guy named Chubby Chandler.

Tiger:  Father Earl Woods grooms Tiger from a young age to become a professional golfer.
Rory:  Father Gerry stands to win a bet of 200,000 Pounds if Rory wins a British Open before 2014.

Tiger:  Tiger Woods Foundation and First Tee
Rory:  UNICEF


Most important comparison!
Tiger:  14 majors, 623 weeks as number one on the world golf ranking
Rory:  1 major, 0 weeks as number one on the world golf ranking

I will give McIlroy credit for what he did at Congressional. It was an amazing display of golf and a historic victory.  He also gave people a reason to be excited about golf again.  Even casual fans of golf were talking about this kid over the weekend.  As incredible as it was, we should not be so quick to anoint Rory as the game's next great hero.  Love him or hate him, there really is only one Tiger Woods, and Rory has a long way to go before he can claim his resume is that good.  The British Open should be interesting.  Royal St. George's awaits.

Readers:  Have any Tiger and Rory comparisons of your own?  Leave your comments below!

San Clemente Municipal

I got a text from my friend Sweet Pete late on Friday night.  Peter lives in San Clemente, blocks from the course and we are always talking about going to play the local muni. For some reason, we never seem to hook up, but I suddenly found I had no plans on Saturday and his 2:30 tee time sounded just perfect.

Peter and I usually play to about the same handicap.  Peter is one of my best friend's wife's sister's husband, in other words, my friend's brother-in-law.  We were to be joined by Chicago Bill, who had grown up with my best friend's wife.  We have a tradition of playing in a foursome around Christmas every year (see Holiday Golf - Meet the Brookside Butcher) but he was in town for a spring vacation.  Bill has always shown that he has a lot of golf ability. This time, however, we got to see him at his full potential.  When we play at Christmas, Bill generally hasn't played for months because it is the middle of winter where he lives.  In addition, he has been playing us with his backup set of dusty clubs that only leave his parents' garage once a year.  He had his gamers with him this time.

The weather was perfect on the first tee, warm, about 70 degrees with a slight breeze.  The great thing about San Clemente Municipal is that it is set on the bluffs a few miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.  The air is usually fresh and the vibe is very relaxed.  We picked up a fourth player on the first tee and off we went.  On the third tee, we finally discussed what types of games we were going to be playing for the day.  I suggested baseball, a great game for three players that involves the division of nine points for every hole.  There are a few possible combinations in this game.  If each player ties, they each get three points, or 3-3-3.  If one player has the low score (par for example) and the other two are one behind (bogeys) then the scoring goes 5-2-2.  There is also a 4-4-1, a 5-3-1, and the deadly 9-0-0, which means that one player has beaten both the other players by at least two strokes (birdie and two bogeys for example).  Since there are 81 points possible per side, we generally play for a small and friendly amount, such as $.25 per point.  We also decided to play $1 skins, and after some grumbling, my partners gave me credit for the skin I won on the first hole with a par.  Little did I know, this was the ONLY skin I would win all day.

An ocean view from behind #15 green

Another funny thing happened on #3 that was a topic of conversation all day.  Peter has a brand new Taylor Made R-11.  Yes it has that odd but intriguing white paint job, and it is one of the hottest clubs on the market and the tour today.  Our fourth player, a total stranger, could not resist and nervously asked Peter if he could try his driver.  Peter was a little uncomfortable about it but handed it over to him.  After all, it was cherry new and he just spent about 300 smackers for it.  The guy teed it up and put an ugly swing on it, topping the ball and taking a four inch divot, sending the drive dribbling about 60 yards down the left side of the tee box.  In his recoil, Peter swears that the guy smacked the club on the ground in disgust.  When we were in the fairway waiting for the green to clear, Peter turned to me and asked me if I had seen what happened.  He also asked me if I would have let a stranger try my club if I was in his shoes. I know better. I once let my FRIEND try my Biggest Big Bertha back in the day and he put the ugliest sky mark on the TOP of the club near the toe.  Every time I addressed it from that moment forward, I had to think of his ugly mug and the tee shot that went about 100 yards high and about 40 yards long. Never again! Try my putter, try my irons, my wedges, that's fine, but not my brand spanking new driver.  What is the etiquette?  Who is out of line in that situation?  The guy who oversteps his bounds or the guy who is selfish and won't share his toys? Discuss!

San Clemente's greens gave me trouble all day.  They had been aerified about three weeks ago and I could tell that there had been some recent verti-cutting on most of the surfaces.  Putts were coming off a little bit bumpy but the worst part was that the greens seemed to all be different speeds.  I generally play well at San Clemente and putting is usually a big part of that, but on this day I was having a tough time getting the speed.  However, I did not make things easy on myself, as I found that my poor iron play left me area codes away from the hole on many birdie putts.  I didn't make a birdie all day and I had several three putts.  On a short course like San Clemente, those short iron and wedge shots need to be close to the hole to have lots of birdie chances and make easy pars.

Bill took all nine points from us and four skins on Hole #5.  I made a mess of the hole and made bogey.  Peter had his own adventures and also made bogey while Bill played the hole to perfection and made birdie.  Although I was not playing well, I was holding it together until it all started falling apart at Hole #8.  I hooked an awful drive up against a tree and had to punch out 30 yards.  I still had over 200 yards to the hole on this par-4 and wound up making triple.  I was the only player to hit the green on the par-3 ninth hole.  With a chance to win a few skins on the line, I managed to leave a 40-foot downhill birdie putt 10 feet short.  I missed the par putt and the wheels were officially off of the wagon.  Needless to say, I got drummed in our betting games.  Bill shot a 37 on the front side, Peter shot a 40 and I shot a disgraceful 45.

Behind #12 green - my ball is in the foreground.

The back nine was no better.  I hit a great approach shot about 15 feet behind the hole to a tucked pin on #10.  I three putted after an aggressive birdie try, leaving me steamed.  The next two holes are the easiest on the course - 488 and 483 yard par-5's back to back.  I hit a great drive on 11, and totally stymied myself by hitting my second directly under a tree on the left side of the fairway.  I was 60 yards from the green, with tree branches blocking my ideal trajectory.  I could not go under the tree because a deep bunker fronts the green.  I decided to go over with a super nuked flop shot, made it over the branches but came up way short into the bunker.  I hit a bad bunker shot, chipped on, and made double bogey.  Ouch.  On 12, I hit another good drive, a perfect layup to about 60 yards to a back pin.  This shot is right in my wheelhouse, and I like to play a low spinner that usually takes a big hop and checks nicely.  Vokey Spin Milled grooves are the only way to go.  I hit what I thought was a perfect shot, the ball landing 15 feet short of the flag, but to my dismay there was no "check check" and the ball rolled over the green, across the collar and nestled up right against the rough.  I did manage to make par, but I had to work awfully hard for it.

I missed a 5 footer on 14 for par, left a 15 foot birdie putt short on Hole 15, and then I made my worst mistake of the day.  Hole 16 is the most challenging hole on the course.  The hole measures 405 yards and is a sharp dogleg left.  You can cut the corner, but there is out of bounds on the left.  You want to hit your ball as close to the corner as you can without going in.  You must also drive your ball over a ravine, which isn't far, but still visually intimidating.  In addition, the fairway has a steep downslope in the landing area which makes it difficult to get the ball up to a somewhat blind and elevated green.  Well, I hit a big hook and ended up in the out of bounds area.  After making triple, I was mentally checked out for the last two holes.

Bill played well, but had a bad back nine and shot a 76 or 77.  Peter shot around 82 and I fired an embarassing 90.  I won one skin, (the first hole) Bill won 10, and Peter won 5.  Two were left on the table.  I lost the baseball game by a wide margin.  I have played San Clemente maybe five times and I think I have shot in the 70's three times.  90 was an awful score there.  I am not sure I was mentally into the round from the start.  I probably took the course too lightly and was not concentrating from shot to shot, which is something that I tend to do from time to time.  Maybe it was the perfect weather and the picture taking that threw me off.  I'm definitely not feeling comfortable with the new Callaway X-22's in my bag. Or, maybe I'm just a bad, bad golfer?

San Clemente will be in great shape for a municipal course weeks once the greens are completely finished healing from aerification.  This little gem is one of the best golf values in Orange County and I would highly recommend it to value driven players out there.  This is a great track to play when you are looking for a mellow day out on the links where having fun and the weather sometimes seem more important than the numbers on the scorecard.  I know that despite my hideous play, I enjoyed my day.

A few years ago, the course got a new clubhouse building, pro shop, and restaurant.  I never realized how nice the restaurant and bar really were.  Called "Irons in the Fire", the 19th hole had a nice bar, plenty of seating for dinner or lunch, 4 flat screens, and even an outdoor fire pit.  There was a birthday party on the balcony but we stopped inside for a small dinner.  I paid for Bill's tab to take care of my debt, and we enjoyed a light dinner that was very tasty, especially Peter's Hawaiian style steak.  We watched the Canucks beat the Bruins only 18 seconds into overtime of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals and I headed home, licking my wounds.  I feel a rematch coming.....SOON!

A perfect day in San Clemente

Sweet Pete in the trees

Hole #14, a short, narrow, and uphill par-4.

Ahhhh Talega - Late afternoon match and course review

If you have lived in Orange County for the last 10 years or so, you might remember the local cable commercials for the budding, mega-supreme, premium housing development and neighborhood in San Clemente called "Talega".  Each commercial would wax poetically about a blissful way of life and would end with the female voice-over artist saying "Ahhhhhhhh Talegahhh". I can't argue that living in Talega or anywhere in South Orange County isn't a great way to live, but the commercials seemed a little ridiculous at times.

Luckily for golfers, the housing development came with a championship caliber 18-hole golf course.  It  opened for play in 2001 and was designed by Schmidt-Curley with help from Fred Couples himself.  Over the years it has seen a number of different owners and management groups, but it has always been a beautiful property.  I had a chance to tee it up at Talega on May 23rd, which was a picturesque Monday afternoon.  My friend and Talega employee Nick Gomez called me at 2 pm to see if I would be interested in a last-minute super-twilight round.  I hemmed and hawed over rushing to make the 30 mile drive from my Tustin bachelor pad to deep behind the Orange Curtain in South County, but decided to get out of the house and give it a go.  After all, a round of golf with Gomez always ends up producing a few good laughs.

I arrived at Talega around 4pm.  Nick greeted me at the parking lot after coming from the driving range, which oddly is quite a distance from the clubhouse and the rest of the golf course.  I paid my green fee and we were off and running.  Nick is a very good player, a former junior college player who is still active in competitive golf and probably carries around a one or two handicap.  He also plays the course regularly so any match we were going to have was going to require some serious adjustments.  He decided to give me four strokes per side, which I felt was pretty fair, and I was adament about playing from the blue tees, which would negate his length advantage.  We decided to play a straight 18-hole match and allowed our favorite "press when pissed" option for a friendly yet undisclosed amount.

On the first tee, I told Nick that I wanted to try out a Scotty Cameron Laguna 2.5 putter that I had purchased from eBay about a year ago but never had used during a round.  I had always wanted one of these because they closely resemble the old Ping MyDay design that I used to roll the rock with in the late 90's.  I had one MyDay that was about 33.5 inches and I putted great with that club for years.  One day I slightly tweaked it somehow and it never was the same for me.  I tried other MyDays from Ping but they never looked or felt as sweet as my old gamer.  I was hoping the Scotty Cameron copy would somehow bring the magic back.    I reserved the right to switch back to my latest standby, a Taylor Made Rossa that I have been using for the last three years or so.  Nick agreed to my terms.

Talega's 7th Hole -183 yards.

I started off hitting the ball very well.  I had a 15 footer for birdie on number one but using the Laguna I blew it 5 feet by the hole and ended up missing the comebacker to make bogey.  Hole #2 is a shortish par-5 at only 495 yards.  I laid up and hit a nice wedge to about 10 feet behind the hole but my birdie putt didn't even sniff the cup.  After I missed I started looking at the grip of the Laguna.  I had one of my golf pro buddies put a new grip on it for me but when I put my hands on the club, the face was wide open.  I showed it to Nick and he agreed that it was not right. Note to self: always re-grip your own clubs!  I three putted 3 and 4 and decided to bury the Laguna for the day.  Despite bogeying three of the first four holes I was still in the match because Nick got off to an equally slow start.  I think I even had him down a hole or two at one point on the front nine.  I turned at 39, not a bad score for me.

On the back nine, I got to see an awful lot of scenery.  I had been striping my driver pretty much all day but as the day wore on I found myself in some awkward places.  On 11, I drove my ball right to the right edge of a fairway bunker.  I had no stance whatsoever because the face was so steep, so I had to slap it down the fairway using a bundled up stance and swing.  My drive trickled through the fairway on 13 and ended up right at the base of a tree.  I had to punch this one out off of a hefty root.  On 15, I had a severe downhill lie with the ball below my feet.  I played a great hybrid shot out of there to put me in a great position for my third shot into the par-5.  Nick is insensitive and found my misfortunes to be comical (as I would if HE were hitting the rescue shots) but I get the sense that he was impressed by my scrambling ability.

The match was getting heated on the back nine and we both played some UGLY golf coming home.  On the 296 yard 14th we were both about 70 yards out after our drives.  It was a pivotal hole because I had gotten behind after chopping my way through the first few holes of the back side.   I was down and I had some stroke holes coming so I knew I could flip the script on this match very quickly.  I used my 52 degree Vokey for this shot and when the ball left the club I thought it was all over the stick.  I called for it to "be right" but it flew the flag in the center of the putting surface - about 20 yards too long and into the rough.  Nick got a good laugh at that one but wasn't looking so happy when he did the same exact thing but worse only moments later!  I believe we both made bogey so no harm was done, but I wasted an opportunity to get back in it.  I made things worse by hitting an awful iron shot on the long par-4 16th and a woeful tee shot on the par-3 17th that landed in a fried egg in the greenside bunker.  The real fun came on #18.

As I said, we play "press when pissed".  Needless to say when I reached the 18th tee, I was a bit steamed.  So, I put the press on.  I had to win the hole to come out dead even, if we tied the hole, I would lose two ways, but if I lost the hole, I would lose four ways.  After some chit chat on the tee about something completely not related to golf, Nick hit a nicely placed tee shot that avoided a huge bunker in the middle of the fairway and also laid up short of a huge lake looming in the distance.  I knew I needed a good tee shot.  Now, it isn't really like me to choke, but I hit my drive off the heel of the club.  A grounder to third base that traveled a grand total of about 40 yards.  I did not pass the forward (ladies) tees and of course I had to withstand the usual jokes (golfers know what I'm talking about).  I could not reach the green from where I was so I tried to rip it down there as close as possible and hope for a miracle.  However, I ended up rolling my ball through a bunker about 100 yards from the green and just onto the grassy lip at the top of the steep face.  As we reached my ball, Gomez was delighted.  Here I was, hitting my third shot, ball sitting about waist high, 100 yards out, water on the entire left side of the green with bunkers and junk to the right.  Channeling Al Czervik from Caddyshack, I offered odds.  "Nick, 500 to 1 I hit the green from here?"  He hesitated like he was going to take the long odds but declined. "OK, how about 100 to 1?  I'll put down a buck. Easiest dollar you will ever make."  Again, he declined after some debate.  So, I decided I would just go for broke regardless.  I choked up on a 19 degree rescue club and literally took a baseball half-swing.  It was more like chopping wood with a hatchet than taking a golf swing.  I made really solid contact and the ball came out starting at the flag with a little draw.  It actually landed on the putting surface but barely rolled through the green and stopped on the collar just before reaching the lake. Nick could not believe the shot that I had just pulled off and we laughed because if he had taken one of those bets, he would have been shaking in his spikes as my ball slowly rolled inches away from me collecting on those long odds.  Unfortunately, I made bogey, which was no help, and I lost four ways.  

Talega's 11th Hole - Dogleg Left Par-5

Course review - I have played Talega several times in the last five years and I have always had mixed feelings about the course conditions.  Courses that charge $80 weekday and $100 weekend at rack rates should usually be in prime condition.  Orange County courses have the advantage of being in an affluent area where people can afford to pay those types of green fees.  However, I know of a lot of OC golfers who would rather travel to areas like Corona or Temecula to play a course in spectacular condition at 50-65% of the price.  In past years, I have seen Talega's greens suffering from turf loss, patchiness, and an overall poor look.  In my latest round, I felt that the greens were very much improved.  They certainly had better color, were much more smooth, and rolled true.  However, I do feel that in order to reach that elite level of golf course, that they need to speed up their greens just a touch.  I would say that they were rolling in the 8.5-9 range on the Stimpmeter, which isn't bad for a public course, but Talega would benefit from getting them up to around 10+ in my opinion.  The fairways, tees, and bunkers were mostly in great shape.  I was a little surprised to find an awful lot of grass overgrown in one of their bunkers on the back nine, but that was a relatively small detail issue.

Overall, the golf experience was wonderful. The views at the course are incredible. Many holes on the back nine providing vistas and elevated vantage points that provide golfers with a chance to soak in the rolling hillsides of San Clemente.  One benefit of the location is that there are typically not a lot of players late in the day.  As a twosome, we played in just under three hours and we weren't rushing one bit.  If you are looking for a quick super-twilight round on a really nice course, this is your place.  The fresh air and the peace and quiet are well worth the green fee of $45 after 4pm during the week.  In the summer, players should be able to play all 18 holes if they are quick enough.

The course is a very fair test of golf for golfers of all skill levels.  The design has a good mix of long and short holes, and offers birdie opportunities in many places while also putting up a strong defense on several difficult holes.  Water comes into play on at least six holes, including the two challenging par 3's on the front side.  At 6600 yards, 71.1 rating and 129 slope, the blue tees are just about right for most players.  The tips jump up to 6900 yards and the extra yardage adds to the difficulty of the shorter par-4s and the par-5's.

I have not spent much time at Talega's restaurant or bar, but I have heard good things about their Signature Grille.  Sunday Brunch is supposedly excellent.  In the shopping center that is basically connected to Talega's parking lot, there is a great little restaurant and bar called Sundried Tomato Cafe.  They offer a buy one, get one free on beer if you bring a Talega Golf Club scorecard.  I enjoyed calamari with curry aioli, and I think Nick had some sausage penne, which were both delicious.  Stop in for a nice place to relax, settle your bets, and unwind after your round. 

I have a feeling I may be seeing more of Talega this summer.  Ahhhhh Talegahhhh.