High Fees, Lack of Courses Handicap Most Golfers

It’s 4:45 on a Wednesday morning, and Don Huenger sits slouched behind the wheel of his vehicle, parked on the outskirts of Camp Pendleton. The smoke from his cigarette swirls and disappears into the predawn mist.

No, Huenger isn’t a Marine waiting for war games to begin, and he’s on post this morning without motivation provided by a drill instructor. Huenger, a retired real estate developer, answered his alarm clock’s reveille to play a waiting game of another sort.

He’s waging the battle for a tee time. And he isn’t alone.

By the time starter Sal Russo opens the San Clemente Golf Course pro shop at 5:30 a.m., 21 other cars are parked alongside Huenger’s. They are just some members of this south Orange County division of the golfing dawn patrol.

“I’m retired now, so this is no problem for me,” Huenger said. “I’m generally the guy in our foursome who gets the times because I live right down the street, and I like to get up early. This is a good course, considering the cost ($12 on weekdays) and the shape it’s in.”

Bernie Dorst, also of San Clemente, is second in line. The sign in front of his car in the golf course parking lot reads: “30-Minute Parking, 2 A.M to 5 A.M.” Obviously, it’s not enforced.

“Yeah, I’m just one of those nutty guys who comes here in the middle of the night,” he says, laughing. “But this is nothing. You should see it on weekends. I think they start getting here right after midnight. I’m retired now so I don’t play weekends. I’ll leave that nuttiness to the working class.”

It’s amazing what some golfers will do to get a tee time in Orange County these days.

“Last Sunday when I opened up, there were about 30 people here,” San Clemente weekend starter Harry Gibson said. “I talked to one guy who said he got here at 3:15 and was seventh in line. You’ve got to feel sorry for these guys.”

Clearly, public golf in Orange County is a case of tee and sympathy.

A recent survey compiled by the National Golf Foundation listed Orange County as 309th among 320 metropolitan areas in the number of golf holes per capita. And golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, with the number of participants increasing almost 50% in the past five years.

But such numbers can be deceiving, because so many wanna-be golfers have either given up trying to get a starting time or thrown their clubs into the garage, swearing never to play again after a round that took more than five hours.

“A lot of people around here are like me, they’ve turned into closet golfers,” said Don Marshall, course operations manager for Anaheim. “If you ask me in a survey if I play golf, then I would say yes. I play golf, I ride a bike, I play Ping-Pong.

“The last time I played Ping-Pong was when I was 25, and I ride a bike maybe four times a year. And now I play golf only on vacation.

“So, to start with, I think you have a lot of people in this area who simply no longer play golf. They just quit. They can’t get a tee time. They don’t enjoy it when they play because it takes 4 1/2 or five hours. I’m not saying there isn’t a problem and there isn’t a shortage, but I’m not so sure you have as many people out there dying to play as you might think.”

There’s still enough to clog phone lines and spawn waiting lines at courses that allow walk-ups to get starting times. The new computerized phone reservation system at H.G. Dad Miller and Anaheim Hills golf courses in Anaheim allows all the times to be scooped up each day in a matter of minutes.

The odds of getting a morning starting time on Saturday or Sunday at most courses are still better than those for winning the lottery. Really .

Most of the readily available public tee times in the county are at some of the smaller--and often shabbier--courses or new courses that feature country-club-like layouts and charge accordingly.

For instance, an early morning call one week in advance will often result in a weekend starting time at Tustin Ranch in Tustin or The Links at Monarch Beach in Dana Point or Tijeras Creek in Rancho Santa Margarita. But the fees are $75, $75 and $60, respectively.

For that kind of money, you ought to be able to join a private country club, right?

Wrong.

Initiation fees at Orange County’s private courses range from a low of $12,000 at Alta Vista in Placentia to about $145,000 at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. And private club membership doesn’t end with an initiation fee. Dues range from $220 to $375 per month, and that often doesn’t include mandatory food and beverage expenditures or golf carts.

But developers are continuing to bank on the growing demand for country-club courses as Orange County’s baby boomers reach their 40s and 50s. There are enough affluent professionals in that group to persuade the builders of San Clemente’s 3,500-acre Talega development to include two Arnold Palmer-designed private courses that are scheduled to open in the spring.

Those new courses will be competing for members with a host of other South County clubs--including ones in Coto de Caza, Dove Canyon, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano and the Gary Player-designed, 27-hole Pacific Golf Club layout in San Clemente--but supply is barely keeping up with demand.

At Marbella Golf and Country Club in San Juan Capistrano, fewer than 40 of the 700 full memberships that now cost $85,000 remain. The course opened just three years ago.

Three new public courses are being constructed in Orange County. Two, designed by Tom Fazio, will be part of the Irvine Co.’s new Newport Coast community. The site, overlooking the Pacific Ocean between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, should mean some spectacular views and an equally eye-opening price tag.

The Ocean Course is scheduled to open this fall. An opening date for the other Fazio layout hasn’t been determined.

And the new Cypress Golf Club, a design by Perry Dye (son of noted course architect Pete Dye) that is being built on the site of the old Los Alamitos Golf Course, should open for play early next year. Tied to a resort community, greens fees will probably rival the county’s highest.

So, county golfers with incomes of less than six figures will be left to choose between hitting off dirt fairways, paying the steep greens fees at the upscale public layouts or trying to hit the telephone jackpot with a lucky call to a popular, less expensive course.

There are two problems at the heart of the public golf crisis in Orange County, and at the bottom line of both is money. There is not enough affordable land, and cities can no longer afford to build and run golf courses.

The state has instituted a program called California Muni Golf, in which Arnold Palmer, Inc. will come to a city and do a feasibility study for a new municipal course. The firm will finance, design, construct and set up management, and they won’t build unless they can guarantee a profit.

“They give the whole grand plan, how they’ll use reclaimed water, how the open space will enhance the community,” said Marshall, Anaheim’s golf director, “but you read and read and read, and nowhere does it say how you’re supposed to come up with the land.

“In a place like Orange County, as fast as it grew, golf was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Obviously, we didn’t have the foresight to build enough freeways or even parks. We sure as hell weren’t worried about building enough golf courses.”

For much of the past quarter century, real estate dollars had most county landowners hypnotized, and as a result, most of the area’s courses are built only where you can’t build a house.

Although county planning officials will not allow home developers to substitute golf courses for required parkland in planned communities, they will count the courses toward general open-space requirements. So, aside from raising the property value of nearby housing developments, the courses wind up generating revenue from land that would not otherwise be developed.

“All the new courses are built on watershed, along flood control plains, in catch basins,” said Bob Johns, head pro at Dad Miller. “Even the private courses. I mean Gary Player came in and built that links course (Pacific Golf Club) out back in San Clemente, and there will never be any houses out there because there’s no land where you could build one.”

Only two new public courses were built in the county during the ‘80s and both--Tijeras Creek and Tustin Ranch--have steep greens fees.

The Tustin City Council insisted on construction of the showcase golf course as part of the 9,000-home Tustin Ranch development. Some council members complained that the course was too expensive for many Tustin residents but conceded they were getting a course far better than anything the city could afford.

“Twenty-two years ago, Mile Square (in Fountain Valley) opened up, and it was one of the first privately constructed public courses built strictly for profit,” said Johns, who was then head pro at Mile Square. “In 1969, it cost them $1 million for everything, including construction, equipment, clubhouse, every knife, fork and spoon. And they leased the land from the county for a small amount.

“It paid for itself in four years.”

Now, it costs at least $7 million to $10 million to build a quality course, and that’s exclusive of the clubhouse and, more important in Orange County, the land. So it’s easy enough to figure why anyone building a public course these days has to set greens fees about three times as high as a municipal course.

“We have 20 to 30 guys out here at 4:30 in the morning on weekends, waiting to get on the waiting list,” said Rick Yerzick, an assistant pro at Mile Square. “They might wait three hours or more to play. It’s kind of sad, but it’s part of life, part of being a golfer in Orange County.”

Bill Cunerty, Saddleback College golf coach and a member of the Southern California Golf Assn. ratings committee, says those predawn lines might demarcate the beginning of the end for a lot of golfers, especially young ones.

But he admits he doesn’t have the answers. Just questions.

“Where is a 15-year-old kid going to play?” he asks. “Tustin Ranch at $55 or even Tijeras Creek at $40? Places like San Clemente are great, but it’s so tough to get on.

“We just can’t eliminate the good public links player. We can’t let golf become a game where you have to make $100,000 to play it.”

Golfing a Round

A glance at the map would seem to indicate that where are plenty of places to play golf in Orange County. But while everyone lives close to a course, getting on them is another matter. It requires the luck of a lottery winner to secure a tee time at the most popular public courses, with easier access to others usually meaning a commensurate increase in fees. As for private layouts, you can be standing on the No. 1 tee tomorrow as long as you have 12,000 o 145,000 lying around for the initiation fee.

The Figures

Of all males in the United States, 17.5% played one round of golf last year; 4.6% of all females did. More than 40% of all golfers are women.

The largest age group for U.S. golfers is 20-29; 16.2% of all Americans in that age group played a round last year, accounting for 26.7% of all U.S. golfers. 31.8% of all golfers make less than $30,000 46.1% of all U.S. golfers are professionals/managers/administrators. 17.8% are in clerical work/sales. 27.3% are blue-collar workers.

Source: National Golf Foundation

A Quote If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf --Bob Hope

Public (numbers refer to map) 1. Course Name: Aliso Creek Golf Course Address: 31106 S. Pacific Coast Highway, South Laguna Phone: 499-1919 Par: 32 Length: 2,230 Dues and fees: $11 weekdays, $18 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Nine-hole layout sits in a picturesque canyon 2. Course Name: Anaheim Hills Golf Course Address: 6501 Nohl Ranch Road Phone: 748-8900 Par: 71 Length: 6,215 Dues and fees: $15 weekdays, $18 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Blind shots and hills can make for a long day 3. Course Name: Big Tee Golf Center Address: 5151 Beach Blvd., Buena Park Phone: 521-6300 Par: 27 Length: 1,150 Dues and fees: $3.50 weekdays, $3.75 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Nine-hole, lighted par-three course 4. Course Name: Birch Hills Golf Course Golf Club Address: 2250 Birch Street, Brea Phone: 990-0201 Par: 59 Length: 3,520 Dues and fees: $12 weekdays, $16 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: An executive course that has some water and hills 5. Course Name: Brea Golf Club Address: 501 W. Fir Street Phone: 529-3003 Par: 29 Length: 1,690 Dues and fees: $5 weekdays, $6 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: A nine-hole layout with two short par fours 6. Course Name: Casta del Sol Golf Course Address: 27601 Casta del Sol, Mission Viejo Phone: 581-0940 Par: 60 Length: 3,868 Dues and fees: $13 weekdays, $17 weekends Range?: No Comment: A chance to work mostly on your irons 7. Course Name: Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club: Mesa Linda Address: 1701 Golf Course Drive Phone: 754-5267 Par: 70 Length: 5,041 Dues and fees: $14 weekdays, $17 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Short with some character, was mostly redone in 1986 greens 7. Course Name: Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club: Los Lagos Address: 1701 Golf Course Drive Phone: 754-5267 Par: 72 Length: 6,233 Dues and fees: $17 weekdays, $20 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: The longer of the two, with some very tricky greens 8. Course Name: David L. Baker Memorial Golf Course Address: 10410 Edinger Ave., Fountain Valley Phone: 531-5885 Par: 68 Length: 5,191 Dues and fees: $11 weekdays, $16 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: A mostly par-three course that offers night play 9. Course Name: El Toro Community Center Golf Course Address: 23308 Cherry Ave. Phone: 859-1455 Par: 29 Length: 1,182 Dues and fees: $10 weekdays, $12 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Nine-hole upscale layout with lights and top-of-the-line practice area 10. Course Name: Fullerton Golf Club Address: 2700 N. Harbor Phone: 871-5141 Par: 68 Length: 5,191 Dues and fees: $11 weekdays, $15 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: The course plays up and down a valley and flood channel 11. Course Name: H.G. Dad Miller Golf Course Address: 430 N. Gilbert Phone: 748-8900 Par: 71 Length: 6,060 Dues and fees: $15 weekdays, $18 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: A mostly flat, straight course that’s good for the ego 12. Course Name: Imperial Golf Course Address: 2200 E. Imperial, Brea Phone: 529-3923 Par: 72 Length: 6,376 Dues and fees: $15 weekdays, $20 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Long enough to provide a good test, with some outstanding holes 13. Course Name: Links at Monarch Beach, The Address: 33080 Niguel Road, Dana Point Phone: 240-8247 Par: 70 Length: 6,072 Dues and fees: $50 weekdays, $75 weekends Range?: No Comment: Part of the back nine runs right up to the beach 14. Course Name: Meadowlark Golf Course Address: 16782 Graham Street, Huntington Beach Phone: 846-1364 Par: 70 Length: 5,671 Dues and fees: $14 weekdays, $19 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Short in places, but strong afternoon winds add to difficulty 15. Course Name: Mile Square Golf Course Address: 10401 Warner, Fountain Valley Phone: 545-7106 Par: 72 Length: 6,730 Dues and fees: $16 weekdays, $20 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Long, flat and mostly straight, but still a challenge 16. Course Name: Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course Address: 1 Sandburg Way, Irvine Phone: 786-5522 Par: 72 Length: 6,300 Dues and fees: $21 weekdays, $41 weekends, includes cart Range?: Yes Comment: Has improved a lot in recent years 17. Course Name: Newport Beach Golf Course Address: 3100 Irvine Phone: 852-8681 Par: 59 Length: 3,209 Dues and fees: $10 weekdays, $14 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Executive layout with lights and a close-up view of planes taking off 18. Course Name: Ridgeline Country Club Address: 1051 Meads Ave., Orange Phone: 538-5030 Par: 31 Length: 1,876 Dues and fees: $8 weekdays, $11 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Nine-hole layout has five par threes and four par fours 19. Course Name: Riverview Golf Course Address: 1800 W. 22nd Street, Santa Ana Phone: 543-1115 Par: 70 Length: 6,000 Dues and fees: $12 weekdays, $17 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Course plays along side, and in, the basin of the Santa Ana River 20. Course Name: San Clemente Golf Course Address: 150 E. Magdalena Phone: 492-3943 Par: 72 Length: 6,431 Dues and fees: $14 weekdays, $21 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Most putts break toward the ocean, and it’s usually in excellent shape 21. Course Name: San Juan Hills Golf Club Address: 32120 San Juan Creek Drive, San Juan Capistrano Phone: 493-1167 Par: 71 Length: 6,003 Dues and fees: $16 weekdays, $25 weekends Range?: No Comment: A somewhat hilly course with mostly open holes 22. Course Name: Shorecliffs Golf Course Address: 501 Avenida Vaquero, San Clemente Phone: 492-1177 Par: 70 Length: 5,796 Dues and fees: $10 weekdays, $20 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: A creek through the center of course can make for long day 23. Course Name: Tijeras Creek Golf Club Address: 29082 Tijeras Creek, Rancho Santa Margarita Phone: 589-9793 Par: 72 Length: 6,601 Dues and fees: $40 weekdays, $60 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: The best public course in Orange County; one of the newest 24. Course Name: Tustin Ranch Golf Course Address: 12442 Tustin Ranch Road Phone: 730-1611 Par: 72 Length: 6,376 Dues and fees: $55 weekdays, $75 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: Ted Robinson design has impressive waterfalls on Nos. 9 and 18 25. Course Name: Willowick Golf Club Address: 3017 West Fifth Street, Santa Ana Phone: 554-0672 Par: 71 Length: 6,073 Dues and fees: $12 weekdays, $19 weekends Range?: Yes Comment: A very flat course, but tree-lined fairways demand accuracy off the tee

Private (numbers refer to map) 26. Course Name: Alta Vista Country Club Address: 777 East Alta Vista Drive Phone: 528-1103 Par: 72 Length: 6,361 Dues and fees: $12,000 initiation, $240 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Rolls through the hills and oil wells of Placentia 27. Course Name: Big Canyon Country Club Address: One Big Canyon Drive Phone: 644-5404 Par: 72 Length: 6,699 Dues and fees: $145,000 initiation, $340 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: The name is accurate; it’s narrow and in a canyon 28. Course Name: Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club Address: 25291 Vista del Verde Phone: 858-2770 Par: 72 Length: 7,096 Dues and fees: $21,000 initiation, $265 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: It’s $26,000 to join if you don’t live in Coto de Caza 29. Course Name: Dove Canyon Address: 22682 Dove Canyon Phone: 858-2800 Par: 71 Length: 6,902 Dues and fees: $42,500 initiation, $375 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Jack Nicklaus design, considered one of best courses in area 30. Course Name: El Niguel Country Club Address: 23700 Club House Drive Phone: 496-2023 Par: 72 Length: 6,909 Dues and fees: $65,000 initiation, $255 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Course that’s in such fine shape, some find a divot embarrassing 31. Course Name: El Toro Marine Memorial Address: Marine Corps Air Station Phone: 726-2577 Par: 72 Length: 6,750 Dues and fees: Not applicable Range?: Yes Comment: There is plenty of help at hand to keep the course in excellent shape 32. Course Name: Laguna Hills Golf Club Address: 24112 Moulton Parkway Phone: 837-7630 Par: 71 Length: 5,849 Dues and fees: Not applicable Range?: Yes Comment: Course is associated with the Leisure World development 33. Course Name: Los Coyotes Country Club Address: 8888 Los Coyotes Drive Phone: 523-7780 Par: 72 Length: 6,965 Dues and fees: $31,000 initiation, $260 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: There are three nines at this LPGA tournament stop 34. Course Name: Marbella Golf and Country Club Address: 30800 Golf Course Drive, San Juan Capistrano Phone: 248-3700 Par: 70 Length: 6,157 Dues and fees: $85,000 initiation, $295 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Up and down course that is somewhat short 35. Course Name: Mesa Verde Golf Club Address: 3000 Club House Road, Costa Mesa Phone: 549-0522 Par: 71 Length: 6,745 Dues and fees: Negotiable initiation, $293 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Has hosted LPGA tournaments in the past 36. Course Name: Mission Viejo Country Club Address: 26200 Country Club Drive Phone: 582-1020 Par: 72 Length: 6,814 Dues and fees: $40,000 initiation, $265 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Local knowledge is a must on this demanding layout 37. Course Name: Naval Base Golf Courses Address: 5660 Orangewood, Cypress Phone: 527-4401 Par: 72 Length: 6,835 Dues and fees: Not applicable Range?: Yes Comment: Naval planes taking off and landing can be distracting 38. Course Name: Newport Beach Country Club Address: 3100 Irvine Ave. Phone: 644-9680 Par: 71 Length: 6,587 Dues and fees: $23,000 initiation, $275 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Great location highlights this somewhat easy layout 39. Course Name: Old Ranch Country Club Address: 3901 Lampson Ave., Seal Beach(213) Phone: 596-4611 Par: 72 Length: 6,581 Dues and fees: $20,000 initiation, $290 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Grand eucalyptus trees line many holes near the 405 40. Course Name: Pacific Golf Club Address: 200 Avenida La Pata, San Clemente Phone: 498-6604 Par: 72 Length: ---- Dues and fees: $17,000 initiation, $240 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Yardage varies depending on which of three British-links style nines you play 41. Course Name: Santa Ana Country Club Address: 20382 Newport Blvd. Phone: 545-7260 Par: 72 Length: 6,534 Dues and fees: $125,000 initiation, $285 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Old-fashioned test that requires shots from every club 42. Course Name: SeaCliff Country Club Address: 6501 Palm Ave., Huntington Beach Phone: 536-7575 Par: 72 Length: 6,480 Dues and fees: $25,000 initiation, $270 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: A purchase of a home is required 43. Course Name: Yorba Linda Country Club Address: 19400 Mountain View Phone: 779-2467 Par: 71 Length: 6,810 Dues and fees: $40,000 initiation, $220 monthly Range?: Yes Comment: Recently purchased by Japanese investors