Aliso Creek Hidden, but Worth the Search

Aliso Creek is hardly the first golf course that comes to mind when people talk about the most scenic golf courses in Orange County.

Many instantly think of the courses at Pelican Hill and their views of the Pacific Ocean or the back nine at Tijeras Creek that works its way through a canyon of oak trees.

But Aliso Creek, a nine-hole course that sits just off Pacific Coast Highway, offers perhaps the most dramatic views in Orange County as it winds around a creek and through a steep canyon with brush-covered walls.

“It’s like a little Augusta in a way,” head professional Larry Brotherton said. “It’s really scenic back here. It’s a neat canyon and the course has been here about 40 years but a lot of people don’t know about it. But it’s not that we’re trying to keep the course a secret.”

Maybe not, but it’s sure easy to miss.

There is small sign off the coast highway just north of Aliso State Beach Pier that points the way to Ben Brown’s Aliso Creek Inn. It’s 365 yards up the canyon to the course, which draws a steady crowd of golfers, especially on weekends when it’s $22 for nine holes. Cost is $15 Monday through Thursday and $17 on Friday.

It costs $11 to play a second nine Monday and Thursday and $13 on Friday.

Few balk at the price and instead look forward to the chance to walk through the peaceful canyon where opera music can sometimes be heard drifting from some lavish homes high above the first green.

“People get the feeling like they are over in Hawaii on vacation,” Brotherton said. “There isn’t that feeling of hustle and bustle like at some other courses.”

Aliso Creek starts with a 300-yard par four that encourages a layup shot with a middle iron off the tee because the creek runs just in front of the green. The creek is a major factor on the course because it could come into play on every hole depending on how poorly shots are hit.

None of the five par fours are longer than 318 yards but all have small greens. The most difficult tee shot is the seventh, since a small hill makes the shot from championship tee a blind one.

“It’s best to play the course sort of like a senior citizen,” Brotherton said, “just trying to keep the ball down middle and out of the rough. A lot of the young guys that try to hit for distance are left with tricky little pitch shots.”

The true challenge at Aliso Creek is on the par threes. The second hole plays 177 yards (regular tee) or 201 (championship tee) and the creek runs along the left side with the canyon protecting on the right.

The fourth hole, which is 177 or 195, is lined with trees and the creek looms on the left near the green. The sixth hole is the shortest--120 or 102--but tee shots must clear the creek and hold a tiny, hard green. The most challenging shot of the day is the tee shot at eighth hole, which is 207 or 185 yards. The wide creek runs right in front of the green and offers many no opportunity but to layup since there is so little room to miss short, right or left.

“The par threes here would be a challenge for any of the tour players,” Brotherton said, “but we have a good variety of holes here.”

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Transplant: Brotherton’s Orange County credentials are impressive. He also worked at Monarch Beach as an assistant and head professional as well as at Newport Beach Country Club as an assistant professional starting in 1980 when it was known as Irvine Coast Country Club.

Before that, Brotherton had lived in Duluth, Minn., where he grew up. He played golf in the summer and skied in the winter and became an accomplished jumper.

He finished 10th at the 1980 Olympic qualifying, missing the team by three spots. Still, Brotherton got to go to the games in Lake Placid, N.Y., as a test jumper.

His job was to jump to make sure the conditions were safe for the competitors. While at the games, he was able to attend a couple of the victories as the U.S. hockey team won the gold medal.

He then returned to Duluth and said it stayed close to 10 below and decided it was time for a move. After getting married, he said he sold his skis and bought plane tickets to Southern California.

“I can out here sort of sight unseen,” Brotherton said. “I didn’t know a place like this existed with this kind of weather.”

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Strawberry Farms, an upscale 18-hole public layout is 90% complete and is on target for opening in mid- to late October, said John Reidinger, director of golf course development for DeCinces Properties.

A recent tour around the facility bears him out. Much of the course, which is at the corner of University and Michelson in Irvine, looks ready to play.

Significant work remains to be done on the 14th and 18th holes, which will be sodded and therefore require less time for grass to be ready.

Reidinger, who has helped build 32 courses, including Tijeras Creek and Dove Canyon, in a 15-year career, said Strawberry Farms will immediately be seen as one of the best courses in the county.

The Orange County Golf Notebook runs monthly during the school year. Readers are encouraged to suggest items. Call (714) 966-5904, fax 966-5663 or e-mail Martin.B[email protected]

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County Drives

Here’s a look at the features making one golf hole in Orange County stand out:

Course: Cypress Golf Club, 4921 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos; (714) 527-1800

Hole: No. 15 (par 5)

Length: 554 (championship), 545 (regular)

Description: Upon reaching the tee area, walk back to the black tee box, from which this mostly straight, flat hole measures 609 yards and consider this: Tiger Woods reached the green in two and made an eagle putt the day he set the course record of nine-under-par 62. For the rest of us, about the only significant trouble comes from a large tree that protects the right side of the fairway. There is also a trap in back of the green.

Pro’s advice: The tree on the right must be avoided, and head professional Terry Titus recommends fading the ball around it off the tee. “You should get to the left side on the second shot because there is a mound that catches shots on the right. If you have to make a mistake coming in, keep it short of the pin.”