River View Gets Storm Proofing

After nearly two years of nine-hole golf, River View in Santa Ana reopened its 18-hole layout late last month, just in time for a substantial winter storm.

Anyone who has played River View knows what heavy rain means to the course that is situated adjacent to and in the Santa Ana River--inundation is not out of the question.

But co-owners Steve Hart and Bob Keane weren’t worried as they showed off the newly completed portions of the course during a steady rain last Wednesday.

“It would have to be an incredibly strong storm,” said Keane, “to do any real damage.”

Despite hard rain the night before, the waters were low and calm. Hart said the course was then playable, but was closed to be safe.

“The rain will affect us less than in the past,” Keane said. “We can be back open tomorrow after the rain stops.”

As it turned out, it took a few days longer. Hart said because it was one of the first major storms of the season, there was more debris in the runoff and cleanup took longer than expected. The full course is likely to open today.

River View has undergone an amazing transformation in the last two years. In May, 1994, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working on a flood-control project, tore into the fairways that lay in the riverbed. River View salvaged its greens, adding an 18-hole putting course near the club house.

The Army Corps wasn’t insensitive to the course’s needs. Instead of a concrete-lined channel, which exists along much of the $1.3-billion project, the agency left dirt with gently sloping banks.

“It’s a good use of what would be an eyesore, just a graffiti lined channel,” Hart said.

Even so, after the Corps was finished, the course was faced with a big repair job.

“It didn’t look anything like a golf course,” Keane said.

It didn’t help that last winter was a wet one. Runoff washed away much of the earth needed to build the fairways. But after the waters subsided, the course made steady progress.

The owners says they spent nearly $1 million to rebuild the course and the transformation is impressive.

The course now plays 6,176 yards from the blue tees, about 150 yards longer, and is par 71 instead of 70.

It’s a lush looking layout with much better landing areas in the river bed. Previously, on some shots from the fairway, golfers could count on poor lies--sometimes the grass was so thin it was like hitting out of a huge sand bunker.

Tee boxes have been greatly expanded, in some cases they are three times as big, making it more likely that golfers will have better grass to hit off. Greens, which have been a strong point of the course recently, are still good.

During the wet season, the course has a nice feature--golfers have the extra challenge of hitting over water on certain holes. For example, the par-four seventh hole, which is 355 yards from the white tees, plays over what looks more like a lake than a river. After clearing the water, you face an uphill shot to the green.

The owners say the response to the improvements has been positive. “People say they like it a lot better than before,” Keane said. “It looked good to us but we really couldn’t tell what it was going to be like until people played it. We are kind of relieved.”

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Classic spots: Golf is one of the few sports in which everyday people have a chance--albeit a slim one--to compete with professionals. An opportunity to win such a chance will present itself next month when the Toshiba Senior Classic holds local qualifying.

Four spots for the Senior PGA Tour event will be up for grabs in the one-day qualifying event March 11 at Marbella Golf and Country Club in San Juan Capistrano. Anyone 50 and over can enter.

“[It] allows the top local players and any pros that aren’t exempt into the regular field a chance to play for a spot,” said tournament director Michael Carey in a release.

The Toshiba Classic will be held March 15-17 at Newport Beach Country Club. Deadline for entries to the qualifying tournament is March 8. For more information call (714) 646-9007.

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Temecula treasure: Golfers headed for Redhawk in Temecula need to be sure to take a few things--a collared shirt and pants other than jeans--and leave something at home--their egos.

Redhawk is 6,310 yards and has a slope rating of 125 from the white tees, which offers ample challenge for most. The course goes up to a slope of 137 and is 6,755 yards. From the black tees, which aren’t open except for tournaments, the course is 7,180 yards with a slope of 149.

To put it in perspective, San Clemente golf course has a slope of 118 from the championship tees.

The temptation is strong to play from the blue tees at Redhawk, but course officials suggest first-timers use the white tees unless they have a single-digit handicap.

The challenge of Redhawk isn’t obvious from the tee. Most fairways, which are dormant this time of year allowing for extra roll, are generously wide in the traditional landing areas. The real trouble is found around the greens, which are well protected by traps, deep depressions and large mounds.

The eighth hole, which usually plays at about 150 yards, offers a chance to hit to an island, albeit a rather large, green.

The 12th hole (a par three of 145 yards) is another island green, but this time it is surrounded by a large waste area. The afternoon wind is usually a factor, especially on the back nine because the first four holes play into the often stiff breeze.

Golf notes

With the exception of the Toshiba Senior Classic, the professional golf tours don’t stop in Orange County, but the PGA and Nike tours both are landing nearby this month. Thursday, Peter Jacobsen is scheduled to start defending his Buick Invitational title at Torrey Pines in San Diego County. The Nike Tour will be Feb. 29-March 3 at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club. It is the second stop on the Nike Tour, which is essentially the PGA’s triple-A circuit.

The Orange County Golf Notebook runs monthly. Readers are encouraged to suggest items. Call (714) 966-5904, fax 966-5663 or e-mail Martin.Beck@latimes.com.