An afternoon in Orange County

[Mark Johnson]

Due to a business trip, I will have an open 6 hours in Orange County in a couple of weeks.  

Any recommendations for a Thursday afternoon.  If I recall correctly, pickings are slim.   I have played Monarch Beach and one of the Pelican Hill courses  which i thought was so-so and overpriced, but heard a few years ago that this orange was the best of the bunch in the area.

[PCCraig]

Mark,

I played Strawberry Farms in a similar situation which is very close to John Wayne Airport and pretty good. 

[John Kavanaugh]

I love Santa Anita.  The new HBO series Luck is being filmed with the race track next door as a back drop.  A daily double. A trifecta if you call Tommy.

[Jim Eder]

Shady Canyon is rather close to the airport and a good course. Not sure about the guest policy though if one doesn't know a member. Worth it to think about it.

[Kalen Braley]

I've only played Black Gold in Yorba Linda.

It has a few neat holes, but also a few wtf!! holes as well.

Overall though, it was nothing to write home about!!   

[Jim Franklin]

I've only played Black Gold in Yorba Linda.

It has a few neat holes, but also a few wtf!! holes as well.

Overall though, it was nothing to write home about!!   

Thank you...you've been helpful.

[Jim Eder]

Be aware of the traffic.  Things can get backed up very easily.  I would try to stay very close to the airport if you only have 6 hours.

[Alex Miller]

Having 6 hours and playing golf in socal is cutting it close. Seriously. Where in orange county are you? I ask because you'll need drive time to be minimal if you have only 6 hours to play with.

[Mark Johnson]

depending on sunset, its probably closer to 7 maybe 8.

Flight gets in around 10:30 and dont have to be anywhere until 7.

[John Mayhugh]

I love Santa Anita.  The new HBO series Luck is being filmed with the race track next door as a back drop.  A daily double. A trifecta if you call Tommy.

Santa Anita is fun, but not do-able with the constraints mentioned. Mark could get there from SNA in about an hour, but might need two to get back (depending on where in Orange Co he needs to be) and no one's playing Santa Anita in three hours.  Maybe 9 holes.

Now going to the track that day might be a good idea. Still lots of traffic to deal with, but from what I hear beats most of the accessible golf in Orange Co.

[Bill Seitz]

Yeah, Santa Anita is probably way too far, and the round itself would probably take you close to five hours.  As for the track, it would be open on a Thursday (dark M-W) so if you like the horses, that's an option.  In a bit of foreshadowing I suppose, I was actually born at the hospital that sits right between the golf course and the race track.

In all seriousness, Arroyo Trabuco was pretty decent when I played it last summer.  It's in Mission Viejo.  Not as expensive as Pelican Hill, but probably not as scenic.  I seem to recall looking up a thread or two here before playing it which was/were pretty complimentary.  Conditions were very good last summer.  It may be carts only, if that's an issue, but I'm not sure. 
http://arroyotrabuco.com/

[Tim Leahy]

Costa Mesa Country Club(Muni) has 36 holes and is similar to Santa Anita and is alot closer to the JW Airport.

http://www.costamesacountryclub.com/

http://www.golfnow.com/course-directory/california-golf-courses/costa-mesa-golf-courses/costa-mesa-country-club---los-logos-course

[Patrick Kiser]

William P. Bell (Billy Bell, Sr.) fans interested in seeing some solid bones might be interested in hitting Willowick in the SNA area.

http://willowickgolf.com/

[Yancey_Beamer]

Arroyo Trabuco
20 minutes from  the airport

[Jim Nugent]

Costa Mesa Country Club(Muni) has 36 holes and is similar to Santa Anita and is alot closer to the JW Airport.

http://www.costamesacountryclub.com/

http://www.golfnow.com/course-directory/california-golf-courses/costa-mesa-golf-courses/costa-mesa-country-club---los-logos-course

This is the only course I walked off after two holes.  Not because the course is so bad -- it's a decent muni, I would say.  But it took us close to an hour to play those first two holes, and six groups were backed up on the 3rd tee. 

That was on a weekend, back in the early 1990s.  During the week, probably much better.  But you might want to call ahead of time, and see how busy it is. 

[Pete Lavallee]

Meadowlark, in Huntington Beach has a lot of Max Behr's original Long Beach CC remaining. Very challanging at 5500 yards, there are some greens reminiscent of Royal Dornoch. Changes by Billy Bell Jr have been made, mostly around the driving range. But for someone with an interest in GCA, this is a must see.

[SL_Solow]

I flew into Sant Ana and played Oak Creek in Irvine that afternoon.  A pretty good Fazio with an interesting routing problem caused by a railroad right of way.  I can't say it is an architectural gem but it is more than acceptable.  Depending on your tastes, you may not love the Fazio approach but you get a quality product.  this doesn't rise to the level of his best but it is a fine place to play.  Very short drive from the airport.

[Patrick Kiser]

Meadowlark, in Huntington Beach has a lot of Max Behr's original Long Beach CC remaining. Very challanging at 5500 yards, there are some greens reminiscent of Royal Dornoch. Changes by Billy Bell Jr have been made, mostly around the driving range. But for someone with an interest in GCA, this is a must see.

Pete,

Good call on Meadowlark.  I have yet to see it myself and have heard the same from the SoCal crew.

[Jon Spaulding]

With 6 hours...

Private - have your pro call Santa Ana CC, a short cab ride from the airport and good golf, you will play quickly. There are some outstanding golf holes there, including some remnants of the JD Dunn course.

Public - Meadowlark. Just be sure not to walk off after the first 3 holes. Your round will likely take 5+ hours.

[Tim Leahy]

Just thought of another one nearby that would be fun and not too crowded,  Tigers first home course is now open to the public.

http://www.navygc.com/golf_course/downloads/DestroyerScorecard.pdf

I haven't played there recently but they used to have great greens and it was pretty tough from the back tees. Flat but wiith lots of sand and water. First course where Tiger beat his dad for the first time.

http://www.navygc.com/

[Bruce Bearer]

Mark,

I am a member at Santa Ana CC and would be happy to set you up to play or play with you if I'm around that day.  Send me a PM if you're interested.

[Rees Milikin]

Wanted to bump this thread (and not start a new one) because I will have an afternoon free on Sunday, November 10th.  I fly into John Wayne and staying in Huntington Beach, so anywhere with a close cab ride to those areas would be great.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

[Tim_Weiman]

Rees,

For starters, I would recommend renting a car.  There isn't much within cab distance of Huntington Beach.

[John Cowden]

Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo is a Lehman design, a good public track, hard and firm, in the rolling hills with no houses on th fairways,, good strategic shot values, and well-priced.  Let me know if you're interested and I'll join you at a discounted price.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

San Clemente is a very fun course with a few intact Bell Sr. holes and the rest by his son.  Tends to get a lot of play, so it might affect your timing.  Strawberry Farms might be far from great, but is definitely among the best Orange County publics; this pretty much puts the state of public golf in perspective.  Depending upon your open time, Goose Creek might work, and that is a really well designed Schmidt/Curley.  This is near the worst LA basin traffic, but at the right time you can get from Goose Creek to John Wayne Airport in 35 minutes, but at wrong time it can take up to an hour and half.