A weekly look at golf courses open...

A weekly look at golf courses open to the public in Southern California.

Hidden Valley Golf Club

Address: 10 Clubhouse Drive, Norco.

Phone (909) 737-1010.

Green fees: $55 and $75, cart included.

Tee Times: 14 days in advance

The facility: Hidden Valley opened about two months ago in an area that used to be popular with motorcycle and horse enthusiasts. The course will take some time to mature; there isn’t a tree that comes into play anywhere. Instead, the up-and-down layout is dotted by boulders, some as tall as a two-story house.

The good: Despite its imposing looks, the course isn’t exceptionally long, 6,721 yards from from the farthest back of five sets of tees. Fairways are wide and sloped to help the players in most cases. The 18th is a top-notch finishing hole, a long par four on which the second shot must clear a ditch. The 15th, a 574-yard par five, has a 220-foot drop to the fairway.

The bad: It will take most a few rounds to feel comfortable and figure out when to be aggressive and when to lay up. Summer will be hot and smoggy, and the warnings of rattlesnakes apparently should be taken seriously--there are emergency phone numbers listed on the scorecard. Carts must stay on cart paths.

The score: The most demanding drives on this course might be on the cart paths, which snake up and down the two main valleys that contain most of the layout. This is the first completed course for Costa Mesa-based architect Casey O’Callaghan, who is only 30. Fairways are lush and the greens still roll true.

Overall course rating: 3 balls.

* One ball: No-frills golf.

** Two balls: Worth an occasional round.

*** Three balls: Like shooting four strokes under your handicap.

**** Four balls: Where the Publinx Golf Gods play.

*--*

Hole Back Tees Middle Tees M/W Par Front Tees 1 495 462 5/4 331 2 437 343 4/4 232 3 377 352 4/4 234 4 387 360 4/4 267 5 217 196 3/3 104 6 492 455 5/5 409 7 314 287 4/4 213 8 177 143 3/3 114 9 462 397 4/4 343 Out 3,358 2,995 36/35 2,247 10 376 286 4/4 240 11 556 468 5/5 421 12 362 286 4/4 258 13 172 118 3/3 87 14 312 288 4/4 232 15 574 532 5/5 476 16 188 174 3/3 152 17 384 296 4/4 254 18 439 383 4/4 282 In 3,363 2,831 36/36 2,402 Total 6,721 5,826 72/71 4,649

*--*

Rating/Slope: Back--73.3/140, Middle--68.2/128, Front--not yet rated