A Riverbed Runs Through It

The research is incomplete, but I feel fairly safe in declaring that, as of this writing River View Golf Course in Santa Ana has the world’s largest bunker.

It’s really huge: several hundred yards long and nearly as wide as a par-3 fairway at its widest point. It yawns like the Great Rift Valley.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you land in it, you get a free drop out of it.

Actually, it wasn’t intended to be a hazard. It was intended, originally, to be the Santa Ana River. And, theoretically, that’s what it still is.

There was not a bit of question about that weeks ago when the heavy rains of late winter turned the normally green bottom land of the golf course into a torrent rushing toward Huntington Beach. It closed half the course (a jerry-built nine holes remained open after the rains stopped) until April 23, when the full 18-hole layout reopened.

And, barring any new succession of downpours, the course could be back to its sloping, verdant self by June, said course manager Jessica Hans. As soon as the bed dries out fully, it will be re-graded, smoothed and seeded, she said.

In the meantime, however, the river bottom remains in play and can be problematic if you land in it, free drop or no free drop. In fact, a full round will require you to hit over the bed no less than nine times.

This should give you an idea of the layout. Long and somewhat thin, River View is on both banks of the river, roughly between Memory Lane and 17th Street.

It’s a good beginner’s and learner’s course at a mere 5,288 yards, but the emphasis, Hans said, is on “target golf.” A big hitter is not necessarily going to be rewarded here, particularly if he or she tends to spray the ball. There is no distance of any consequence on the front nine (it’s only 2,287 yards long), but there are four par-5 holes on the back, the longest being the 513-yard 17th, which plays into the wind.

Particularly notable, Hans said, is the 381-yard, par-4 16th hole, where the golfer is obliged to hit a drive into the wind and over a tree conspicuously planted in the middle of the fairway.

River View’s par-3 holes are deceptively tricky, she added, even the puny 98-yard ninth hole over a small pond, one of only two on the course. The rest of the trouble comes in the form of mature trees that often encroach on rather thin fairways, or other trees that must be hit over in order to make it to the proper landing areas.

The course’s best-kept secret, Hans said, is probably the greens. They are kept in apple-pie shape, and they are always fast. They are, however, reasonably flat and won’t unduly frustrate the inexperienced or heavy-handed putter.

Yes, the course should be looking fairly normal by midsummer, but Hans said some golfers aren’t necessarily looking forward to that day.

“Everybody loves it when it’s like this,” she said of the course’s current formidable look. “It makes the game more challenging. I think (the river bottom) ought to be a bunker.”

A Matter of Course

* River View Golf Course, 1800 W. 22nd St., Santa Ana, 92706. (714) 543-1115.

* Distance: 5,288 yards.

* Par: 70.

* Greens fees: $12 Monday through Friday. Seniors, $10. 9 holes, $9. Seniors, $11. $17 Saturday and Sunday. Nine holes, $12. Twilight rate after 3 p.m., $12. No senior rate on weekends.

* Carts: $18 for 18 holes, $12 for nine holes.

* Lessons: $25 per half hour.

* Driving range: Mats. Large bucket, $5. Medium bucket, $4.

* Reservations: Ten days in advance, beginning at 5:30 a.m. (714) 543-1115.

Amenities: Pro shop, snack bar, putting greens, pitching green, practice bunker.

* How to get there: Garden Grove (22) Freeway to Bristol Street south. Right at Santa Clara Avenue. Continue about half a mile to the course.

Los Angeles Times