OAK CREEK GOLF CLUB
6,850-yard, par-71 golf course. Five sets of tee boxes. Designed by Tom Fazio. Owned by The Irvine Company. General Manager Hans Maissen. Head pro John McCook. $95 Monday through Thursday; $135 Friday through Sunday (includes cart). Twilight, super twilight and senior rates available. At 1 Golf Club Drive, Irvine, (949) 653-5300; www.oakcreekgolfclub.com.
The Irvine Company’s other golf club and its most public (the company also owns pricier Pelican Hill, of course, and private Shady Canyon). Plays quiet, considering surrounded by development and traversed by an occasional passing train. Landscape design gives secluded, woodsy feel. No homes on the course. Named for the manufactured creek that runs through it. Oak Creek competes aggressively for corporate and charity events. The course is challenging but player-friendly,a trademark of Fazio, according to Duncan Simms, a patient and constructive assistant pro. Generous fairways on several holes offset by lengthy bunkers on others. Course generally kind to swings that fade, with rightward curves and slopping greens that keep an errant ball in play. Watch for water on right side of some holes. Also, lots of eucalyptus trees,if one hits a very errant ball, may not be able to see pin. A recent outing was warm in the morning but with some breezes in the afternoon. Revamped the breakfast menu, which is tasty. And with Pelican Hill set to shut down for two years for a resort expansion, Oak Creek will be the only way to enjoy the Fazio experience in OC unless you belong to, or get an invite to, Shady.
,Mathew Padilla
RATING:
FOUR BRIEFCASES (out of four)
