TALEGA GOLF CLUB
New 18-hole golf course at 990 Avenida Talega, San Clemente (three miles east of I-5 off the Avenida Pico exit). Owned and operated by Heritage Golf Group. 6,951 yards from the back tees, with four tee settings. Resident rates are $125 Monday through Thursday, $155 Friday and $185 on Saturday, Sunday and holidays; certain discounts available. Spanish Colonial-style clubhouse scheduled for summer opening. Call (949) 369-6226.
No question, Talega is a great addition to OC’s golf scene. In fact, it may be the second-best public golf experience in the county, after ocean-blessed Pelican Hill. (Talega is close to the coast, but you can’t see the ocean beyond the hills, although the hills are inspiring in their own right.) This is a course that lets the big dog hunt,rip that driver with little fear of finding an unfriendly tree or OB marker. On the other hand, an errant tee or approach shot is a good bet to find one of the many bunkers that surround the greens and line the fairways (and, in some cases, interrupt the fairways). Coursing over rolling terrain and down through tree-lined canyons, with the ongoing housing development at a safe and unobtrusive distance, this is a unique OC golf adventure,a bit of Strawberry Farms rustic, and a little bit of Aliso Viejo “new resort.” It’s another Southern California coup for architect Brian Curley, whose Schmidt-Curley Design also created a buzz in recent months with the PGA of Southern California Golf Club in Beaumont, Goose Creek in Ontario and Oak Quarry in Riverside. Fred Couples added his advice and signature to the Talega design effort. My only quibble is with the 14th and 15th holes, a respective par 4 and par 5 squeezed into a downhill ravine that are too easy to birdie or eagle when the wind is friendly (which it isn’t always). But, hey, after the uphill 600-yard No. 13, maybe a little relief is called for. I’ve never seen a new course more ready to play,the fairways and bent-grass greens are impeccable. The catch to all of this? As you may have already heard, it’s the price, which is likewise OC’s second-highest (to Pelican Hill, of course). That’s why a briefcase gets knocked off of the rating. Only time will tell whether Talega can get away with a prime-time rate of $185 a round (it’s even more, $225, for people from outside of OC and San Diego County). But if and when price is not an issue, check this baby out.
