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The 18th hole on the South Course at Pelican Hill is a great way to finish a round, and entice you back to tee it up there or at the equally beautiful North Course.
The 18th hole on the South Course at Pelican Hill is a great way to finish a round, and entice you back to tee it up there or at the equally beautiful North Course.
Randy Youngman Staff columnist mug for The Orange County Register
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Picking Orange County’s best 18 holes is a difficult list to narrow down, let alone compile. I’ve played every public and private championship course in the county several times – some hundreds of times – but I’m restricting this to holes from public courses I consider the most distinctive, picturesque, challenging and/or fun to play. My biases tilt toward long, intimidating and difficult holes with elevation changes and forced carries. I’ve also included six par-4s, six par-5s and six par-3s, plus a few ties. (I told you it was tough.) Let’s tee it up:

No. 11, Tustin Ranch, 170 yards, par 3: The course’s “island” green is actually a peninsula, but that doesn’t make the signature hole on this Ted Robinson-designed course any easier. Club selection is always difficult in the typically swirling winds, and it’s trickier than it looks. First, there’s no bail out area to play it safe and, second, you’re hitting over water to a two-tiered green framed by palm trees and waterfalls, a Robinson staple. Suffice to say, the water hazard gobbles up a lot of Titleists.

Nos. 5, 7, 14, 16, Tijeras Creek, 185, 225, 195, 172 yards, par 3s: Collectively, this Santa Margarita course has the best set of par-3s in the county, with water coming into play on three of the four. My favorite is No. 5, which requires you to carry a water hazard and is the site of my only hole-in one. There’s more water on No. 7, which usually plays into the wind. The 14th hole plays downhill and features another forced carry, as does No. 16. All are picturesque, challenging and fun.

No. 16, Pelican Hill South, 219 yards, par 3: Looking out and up toward the ocean, this breathtaking hole requires an uphill tee shot over a canyon and plays into the prevailing breeze, to the crest of a hill, with bunkers left and right of the green and a lone Toyon tree acting as a sentry left of the green. There’s gnarly rough surrounding the green, too. If you like short par-3s, there’s none better than No. 13 (131/125/113), featuring a postage-stamp green surrounded by sand bunkers.

No. 4, Arroyo Trabuco, 230 yards, par 3: One of the longest par-3s in the county, this hole plays downhill and usually downwind, but that doesn’t mean you can step up to the tee and ace it the first time you play it, as course co-designer Tom Lehman did with a 5-iron on opening day in 2004 (with me as a witness). When there’s a back-left pin position, it can play as long as 245 yards, so if you like to hit driver on a par-3, miss it right and you just might get a friendly kick onto the green.

No. 8, Ben Brown’s, The Ranch at Laguna Beach, 205 yards, par 3: Yes, I’m putting a par-3 from a nine-hole executive course on my list. Don’t scoff until you’ve played the hole and course, a hidden gem and made-for-walking layout in a spectacular natural setting framed by the Aliso and Wood canyons. If you think you’re a stick, try hitting a long iron or hybrid over the creek onto this small green. And if you love nature, deer sightings are common and part of the course’s charm.

 

No. 5, Talega, 225 yards, par 3: No matter which tee box you play from, this par-3 is a huge challenge. There’s water left of the green and in front, as well as two bunkers guarding the left side of the putting surface and another back right. The designers, Brian Curley and Fred Couples, didn’t give you much of a bail out area, either – short and right of the green is about it, and it’s still a tough up and down from there. So why do I like it? It’s difficult, and I’m a golf masochist.

No. 18, Pelican Hill South, 442 yards, par 4: This dogleg-left is the best hole, the best finishing hole, the most difficult hole and among the most picturesque holes in OC. From an elevated tee box that provides panoramic ocean views, it’s a visually intimidating hole that requires an accurate tee shot over a canyon preferably to a landing area between two bunkers on the left and then a second shot over a deep grass valley to a steeply sloped green. No wonder it’s called “Double Cross.”

No. 12, Arroyo Trabuco, 495 yards, par 4: This downhill brute looks like a par-5 from the elevated tee box and requires two long, precise shots – the first a forced carry over a huge ravine to reach a massive green sloped back to front. If you play it safe and steer your tee shot to the left side of the fairway, it’s not uncommon to have 230 yards or more to the green, which is guarded by a cavernous bunker short and right. Like No. 18 at Pelican Hill South, a par feels like a birdie here.

No. 16, Talega, 461 yards, par 4: From the back tees, it usually plays longer because of the prevailing wind. From the blue tees, it’s a challenging 439-yard dogleg-right, requiring your best tee shot to the left side of a fairway that slopes left to right, sometimes making it difficult to see the green. If you don’t drive it far enough, you might want to lay up over a hazard on the left side or risk a long-iron or hybrid approach to a green guarded right by a deep bunker and thick vegetation.

No. 3, Monarch Beach Golf Links, 315 yards, par 4: This slight dogleg-left hole (also 295 and 278 yards) is the quintessential, risk-reward par-4 that dares you to try to drive over the bunkers on the left toward the green. Even if you lay up – the prudent play, by the way – take your time to soak up the ocean views and sounds. Depending on pin placement, a 2-putt on the elevated and sloping two-tiered green is an accomplishment in itself. Don’t forget to take a photo on the green.

No. 7, Coyote Hills, 403 yards, par 4: On a smog-free day, they say you can see the L.A. skyline from the elevated tee box on this breathtaking hole that makes you feel like king of the world above the fairway nearly 200 feet below. It plays so downhill that the grass-filled barranca at the end of the fairway 280 yards away is reachable with a driver, especially from the closer two tee boxes. Phone a friend to brag about your drive on the long, winding cart ride to reach the fairway. You’ll have time.

No. 9, Pelican Hill North, 423 yards, par 4; No. 17, Tijeras Creek, 404 yards, par 4; No. 9, Oak Creek, 456 yards, par 4 (tie): The first features a downhill tee shot to a fairway that narrows, leaving a challenging uphill approach shot; the second is a dogleg-left that requires a long tee shot through a narrow chute to set up an approach over a creek; the third – formerly Oak Creek’s 18th hole – dictates a draw around a towering oak at the dogleg for a long approach to a huge, elevated green.

No. 12, Strawberry Farms, 630 yards, par 5: Playing from the tips, not even Dustin Johnson could get home in two on this gargantuan dogleg-right that plays into the wind and then uphill to the flag. If you don’t hit your tee shot far enough, or too far right, you’ll have to hit your second shot over a mountainous out-of-bounds hazard on the right to get to the fairway. The fun concludes when you reach the undulating green with a valley in the middle. Whew!

No. 7, Monarch Beach, 612 yards, par 5: It’s the No. 1 handicap hole on this Robert Trent Jones Jr. course and absolutely diabolical. Ask the PGA, LPGA and Champions tour pros that played here in the Hyundai Team Matches 15 years ago. It’s a dogleg-left with two forced carries over brush-filled ravines. Unless you can hit a draw around the corner on the tight fairway, a long straight tee shot likely will be gobbled up by one of two bunkers in your sight line. The smart play is to lay up at the end of the fairway, short of a second ravine, and wedge in.

No. 18, Oak Creek, 500 yards, par 5: Called “Fortitude,” this risk-reward par-5 will test to see if you possess it. A well-struck drive down the right side leaves the best angle for your second-shot layup, enabling you to play away from the water hazard that borders the fairway on the right the final 200-plus yards. If you go for the green in two, challenge the left edge of the fairway near the dogleg. No matter where your ball is when you attack the green, there’s plenty of anxiety because of the water.

No. 18, Black Gold, 535 yards, par 5: It’s a scenic, uphill hole that can lead to trouble if you get too greedy with your second shot. A well-struck drive to the throat of the fairway can tempt you to hit a long iron, hybrid or fairway wood toward a narrow green fronted by a lake, with rocks and waterfalls long right, two pot bunkers left and OB stakes long and left. A swale in the middle of the green and its front-to-back slope makes it difficult to stick an approach. How daring are you?

No. 17, Pelican Hill South, 570 yards, par 5: Tom Fazio’s twin masterpieces at Pelican feature long and challenging penultimate par-5s. The South’s version is a true three-shotter, requiring a long tee shot to a wide fairway bordered by bunkers on the right, then an uphill second shot to avoid more bunkers left and right and, finally, an uphill third shot to a green bordered by sand left and right. It’s difficult sometimes not to be distracted by the ocean views beyond the green.

No. 18, Arroyo Trabuco, 513 yards, par 5: The final two holes at this Tom Lehman/Casey O’Callaghan design were built around an old mining lake that was reshaped during construction. The finishing hole is a dogleg-left with a water hazard on the left from tee to green, with two bunkers also guarding the landing area on the left. There’s also a plaque at the 140-yard mark where Phil Mickelson hit his tee shot in 2009. Yes, that’s 373 yards. Mortals aspire for mere pars and birdies.

HONORABLE MENTION

Par 3s: No. 8, Coyote Hills (205 yards); Shorecliffs (195); No. 15, San Clemente Municipal (196); No. 8, Oak Creek (211); No. 8, Black Golf (203); No. 5, Monarch Beach (217); No. 13, Arroyo Trabuco (188).

Par 4s: No. 10, Strawberry Farms (369 yards); No. 11, Mile Square, Players Course (433); No. 9, Tijeras Creek (414); No. 2 (446) and No. 8 (436), Monarch Beach; No. 18 Tustin Ranch (395); No. 9, Pelican Hill South (455); No. 10, Arroyo Trabuco (345); No. 18, Talega (428).

Par 5s: No. 6, Oak Creek (541 yards); No. 9, Tustin Ranch (533); No. 11, Tijeras Creek (511); No. 6 (549) and No. 11 (558), Talega; No. 8, Pelican Hill North (540); No. 1, Anaheim Hills (484).