Better Than Par for This Course : Golf: Tijeras Creek offers public the quality of a country club in Rancho Santa Margarita.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — Most golfers can only dream about the luxuries of country club membership. Thousands of dollars in membership fees and hundreds in monthly dues separate the masses from the elite in this sport.

Every golfer would like to play an immaculately manicured, interesting course that tests skill and is pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, many public courses are laid out with speed of play and inexpensive maintenance in mind.

All of which explains the instant popularity of Orange County’s newest links, Tijeras Creek Golf Club, a public course with a private feel and an affordable price tag. Weekday green fees are $30; weekends, it’s $55, and both include a cart. The experience becomes less affordable March 1, when the prices are raised to $40 and $60.

At 6 a.m., they begin taking phone calls for starting times seven days in advance. Ten to 12 minutes later, the book is filled. It has been that way since the course opened Oct. 1. This time of year, about 52 foursomes can play the Ted Robinson course between first light and dusk each day.

“I think Santa Margarita Co., which owns the development, wanted to give the people in this area something special,” said Doug Booth, head golf professional. “That’s the philosophy here. We’re trying to bring the private club atmosphere to the whole community.”

The clubhouse is airy and expensively furnished. You can hit off real grass at the 30-spot driving range. And everywhere service comes with a smile. But Robinson’s design and course superintendent Tim Deutscher’s dedication to detail are the most significant factors in achieving the country club ambience. The layout measures 6,601 yards from the championship tees with a slope rating of 125. It’s 6,220 from the white tees (slope rating 118) and 5,130 from the red.

Actually, Tijeras Creek is almost two courses in one. The front nine, with a trademark Robinson aqua-scape highlighting the par-three No. 5, is generally open and bordered by corral fencing and tile-roofed, early California-style housing. The back nine, which weaves through the steep washes of Tijeras Creek lined by oak, sycamore and native chaparral, is target golf at its most picturesque.

“I don’t know of anywhere around here where you can play a course that’s this beautiful, both in terms of the condition of the fairways and greens and the scenery, for 30 bucks,” said Geoff Robinson of Laguna Hills. “The back (nine) is more spectacular, but the front has all those planted hillsides and flowers.”

The combination is clearly part of the lure. Some golfers--usually long hitters who spray it around a bit--insist they prefer the domesticated, ornately manicured order of the front side. Others--often the straight shooters who might lack distance--argue that the untamed beauty of the back, which looks much like it must have 100 years ago when the O’Neill family bought the land, is unsurpassed.

“I don’t apologize for the upper nine. I think it far exceeded our expectations,” said Bill Donovan, whose management company runs the course. “It’s a nice nine holes. The back nine, of course, is unlike anything you’ll find around here. The 14th hole could be a picnic spot. It’s so pretty, it’s unbelievable.”

The 165-yard par-three No. 14 is the centerpiece of the back nine, an elevated tee carved into the face of the canyon looking down through a hole in the trees to a green surrounded by bunkers. All the par threes are scenic holes, though. The two on the front are reached over water and No. 16 is similar to No. 14.

The most interesting hole on the course has to be No. 17, a 399-yard par-four dogleg left with a fairway that slopes toward a hazard on the left. The hole requires a low, accurate tee shot under overhanging trees and a high, accurate second shot onto an elevated, two-tiered green protected by a stone wall and Tijeras Creek in front.

Deutscher, who has a degree in ornamental horticulture from Cal Poly Pomona, left Newport Beach Country Club to help supervise the construction of Tijeras Creek last spring. He worked 100 hours a week for seven months, deciding on the location of every drain and sprinkler head and supervising the planting of every tree, bush and flower.

Now, he says he’s working a more normal schedule and enjoying the chance to show off the course.

“When I got here, there was nothing but me and dirt,” he said. “It was kind of weird for a guy who was used to grass, sprinklers, equipment and employees. But it’s been a tremendous opportunity. They want the course maintained at a country club level and I’ve been given everything I need to make it right.”

Despite some obvious built-in and nature-provided perils, most agree Tijeras Creek is a golfer-friendly course. Most of the greens are fairly level and there is very little out of bounds. And, while some fairways are narrow, most are bordered by red stakes indicating a lateral hazard. That means an errant drive can be dropped about where it exited the course with a one-stroke penalty, far less severe than the stroke-and-distance penalty that goes with an out-of-bounds shot.

“There was a conscious effort to make the greens fair,” Donovan said. “That was the philosophy of the Santa Margarita Co. from the outset and Ted did a great job of making sure the greens were level enough to be fair and undulating enough to keep it interesting.

“And most of the really intimidating shots aren’t that tough. The first time you go out, it looks like you can’t play the course. But once you’ve played, you realize a lot of the shots aren’t as tough as they appear.”

Deutscher said Robinson’s original plan had nine two-tiered greens with a difference in elevation between the tiers of a foot or more. The number eventually was reduced to four and two of those have only a 6-inch variance in elevation.

“It’s kind of funny because people see PGA West on TV and they think they want to play on these multitiered, undulating greens,” Deutscher said. “But then they get on one and realize it’s not much fun. We didn’t want the greens to be super difficult.”

At the moment, Deutscher’s biggest battle is keeping those greens at country-club quality. Private courses don’t have more than 200 people walking on their putting surfaces every day. But, judging by the smooth greens and lush landscape, the groundskeeping crew is staying a step ahead of the golfers.

Most golfers aren’t worried about the deterioration of the course, but some wonder if Tijeras Creek really is too good to be true. There have been a persistent rumor that the course will soon become private.

“It’s just that, an ugly rumor,” Donovan said. “You can expect a modest price increase, because of the costs of this level of maintenance. But there is absolutely no intention to turn it into a private course.”

Even if it looks, feels and plays like one.