Step onto Willowick Golf Course and you’ll find that the largely flat layout with well-groomed trees and the Santa Ana River running along its east side looks much as it did in the 1950s.
Business as usual has dominated the golf course – within Santa Ana’s boundaries but owned by Garden Grove since the city bought the 102.1 acres in 1964 – even as it’s weathered land purchase talks. And another offer may be on the horizon for the course, still beloved as one of the most affordable in the Southland.
“People tend to like it – it’s kind of an old-fashioned golf course, built in 1928, so not a lot of golfers get to play golf courses that are that old,” said Mike McNeary, the course’s head professional. “It’s got a traditional design to it where it’s not too tricky at first glance but it can get tricky.”
About a decade before Garden Grove assumed ownership, the land was seen as a potential spot for Disneyland. That didn’t happen, but alternative ideas kept coming. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2008 held conversations with Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA to build fields there; a developer proposed theme parks the year before; and a handful of other developers have expressed interest in housing projects. None of the ideas materialized.
But chatter about Willowick has surfaced again, with Santa Ana’s Development and Transportation Committee recently discussing purchasing the land from Garden Grove and potentially turning it into a public park – the largest in Santa Ana.
“It would be just amazing – if you look at Google Maps on satellite, you’ll see that it is a very big, green spot in the middle of a very big, urban area,” said Gerardo Mouet, executive director of Santa Ana’s Recreation and Community Services Agency. “So you would be talking about a big, beautiful emerald that suddenly would be open not just for one sport, golf, but cater to lots of different sports.”
Along with sports fields, Mouet envisions a trail adjacent to the Santa Ana River for residents to explore riparian and native plant habitats.
“It could be a special place where sports and ecology can come together in one of the most urban spots in the country,” he said.
Garden Grove hasn’t gotten wind of specific bids, but the city isn’t opposed to selling if the price is right, said Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Kingsley Okereke. At a suggested $2 million per acre, Willowick’s valuation would hit upwards of $200 million.
“Nobody has ever written me a check for that – I’ll take it,” joked Okereke, adding that the golf course is “doing OK” by generating roughly $500,000 annually for Garden Grove through a contract with operator Donovan Inc. that ends in 2020.
But the mere thought of Willowick being transformed into a public park disturbs some of the course’s regulars
“We’re against that. Uh-uh. It’s a tradition here,” said Irvine resident Cedric Sutton, 57, who has played at Willowick since 1990. “It would be a big mistake; this is also for the youth.”
Added Kenneth Batiste, 61, one of Sutton’s playing partners that day: “They can find another golf course to shut down.”
BY THE NUMBERS
319 – Difference, in yards, from the forward (5,742) and back (6,061) tees
67.7, 110 – Course rating and slope from the back tees on the par-71 layout
541 – Length, in yards, of the par-5 11th hole, the longest on the course
$26, $38 – Standard rates for weekdays and weekends
20 – Stations on the driving range
$5, $10 – Cost for a small and large bucket of range balls
