Two 18-hole courses open to the public. Flat fee of $235.
I played Pelican Hill for the first time a little more than two years ago, a month or two before The Irvine Company closed the courses down for its just-completed renovations.
Shutting down Pelican Hill’s two courses seemed like a strange move. At the time I thought it was the best golf course I’d ever played. Shows what I know,it’s gotten much better since then.
Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren isn’t a golfer. But you wouldn’t guess that from the details put into the courses, the attention to service and the top-notch facilities at the clubhouse and restaurant.
I was part of a small group of media members who were invited to check out the course, perched in the hills overlooking Crystal Cove and Newport Beach.
We came away impressed. According to some of the attendees who have more experience than me playing some of the country’s best (and more expensive) courses, Pelican Hill likely is now one of top 20 courses in the country, and in the top five in the state. And you can’t beat the ocean views.
As an infrequent golfer whose main goal in a round is to keep his score in double-digits and not lose too many balls, I thought the Ocean North course was a beautiful challenge.
The fairways are plush and often wide open, so you can use a driver off most of the longer holes without too much worry, even if that’s not the smartest strategy (be sure to pick up a yardage book at the club house. A number of holes play a lot differently than you’d expect standing on the tee).
Not too much water comes into play, at least for the Ocean North course. There’s still plenty of danger to avoid, especially with your approach shots to the greens. Getting out of the rough can be a challenge. And as the Irvine Co.’s Bill Rams will attest, it’s a smart move to avoid the steep sand traps altogether.
While you can spend plenty of time warming up at the resort’s new driving range, if you’re focused on a good score, I’d recommend putting in the most practice time at the putting green.
As Mike Besack, editor of Crittenden’s Golf Business and Real Estate notes, there’s a school of thought that “resort golf” should be less challenging. That’s not the case with Pelican Hill, especially with the greens. They’re tricky to read and can quickly turn a good score into a bad one. You have to earn your birdies on this course.
,Mark Mueller
