Design Changes Have Helped Anaheim Hills Improve Its Appeal

Bill Martin was a little ahead of the earth movers the first time he played golf at Anaheim Hills.

Martin, who was the second club president, was shown the layout by some city employees via a jeep before a shovel of dirt had been moved to create the course that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month.

Martin, who is still on the city of Anaheim’s advisory commission, said what he remembers most is the cactus that dominated the landscape and still populates the canyon walls above the course.

“They would tell me where the hole was supposed to be,” Martin said. “I would hit a golf ball but never find it. I figured you had to be three-quarters mountain goat to play here.”

Anaheim Hills took some getting used to. The course featured a couple of blind tee shots, extreme elevation gains and losses, and an overall difficulty unmatched by the other local flat courses void of intimidating shots.

But players no longer have to wrestle as much with the course because of construction improvements, the majority of which have to do with the creek that runs through it. The stream has been taken underground in a couple of spots to provide more fairway and eliminate forced carries. It also was diverted to form a lake in front of the par-three seventh.

“The course has come back in vogue,” said Bob Johns, director of golf at Anaheim Hills and its sister course, Dad Miller. “People have noticed that as the fairways get better, then the ball doesn’t run through the fairways and into the bushes and trees.”

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Just the facts: Louis and Margaret Nohl took over the land where Anaheim Hills Golf Course is in 1943 and used it as a cattle ranch for more than 25 years. The last sign of the Nohls’ ownership on the course is a chimney that sits near the ninth tee in the shade of a large oak grove.

“That was Nohl’s favorite spot,” said course superintendent Don Lewis. “He used to have barbecues for his ranch hands there.”

The Grant Corp., with the intention of building houses, bought the land from Nohl in 1970. Soon after, the city of Anaheim bought 300.8 acres for $2.3 million and hired architect Richard Bigler to design a golf course.

Construction started Aug. 12, 1971, and the course opened to the public Nov. 1, 1972. Back then, it cost $4 on weekdays and $6 on the weekend. Golf carts were another $7. During the first year, 35,000 rounds were played.

This year, the city is expecting around 90,000 with rounds costing $30 during the week and $35 on weekends. Both prices include a cart.

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Near miss: Professional golf is a notoriously tough way to make a living. Nothing is guaranteed--every hooked drive or flubbed putt means less prize money at the end of the tournament.

Dan Bateman knows better than most how thin the margin of error can be. Last month, Bateman, a Nike Tour pro from Huntington Beach, came tantalizingly close to winning golf’s ultimate promotion, a spot on the PGA Tour.

Going into the Nike Tour Championship, the final event of 1997, Bateman was in 11th place on the money list. The top 15 receive their 1998 PGA Tour card.

For much of the Nike Tour season, Bateman appeared to be a shoo-in to earn his card. He rocketed up the money list--to as high as third--by winning the Nike Carolina Classic and finishing among the top 10 four other times.

He was fifth as late as Aug. 3, with nine events remaining, after finishing third in South Dakota. But Bateman never believed his promotion was in the bag, even though friends seemed certain.

He was worried because pain from a bad back was intensifying. “I was just limping around,” Bateman said. “I could barely walk 18 holes, much less swing a golf club.”

In the eight tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship, Bateman missed the cut four times and withdrew after the first round once. His best finish was a tie for 17th in San Jose.

Still, he had a good chance if he could hang on and post a decent score at the Tour Championship Oct. 16-19 in Opelika, Ala. His first three rounds were fine--73-72-74--but his 83 on Sunday wasn’t. “I played horrendously,” he said. “It was my worst round of the year by a long shot.”

The $1,230 Bateman earned for tying for 42nd place gave him a season total of $101,310, but five moved past him on the list, including Bobby Watkins whose total beat Bateman’s by $407.

Watkins won the battle with a 10-foot putt on the 18th hole for a 76. If Watkins missed the putt, Bateman would now have his PGA Tour card.

Instead Bateman is preparing for another crack at Q School, the PGA Tour’s brutally tough qualifying tournament. Bateman already has qualified for the final round of the tournament, which is scheduled for Dec. 3-8 at Grenelefe Resort in Haines City, Fla.

Notes

Add Nike Tour: Two others with Orange County ties missed chances to make the big jump up. Dennis Paulson, a Costa Mesa High graduate who lives in Vista, finished 25th on the money list ($81,344) and Costa Mesa resident Esteban Toledo finished 29th ($71,424). . . . Fountain Valley’s Candie Kung was given the Ralph Miller Medal, a Southern California PGA award given annually to the top performer in national recognized events. Kung was runner-up to Beth Bauer in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Nicolas Bollini of Yorba Linda was named player of the year in the boys’ 14-15 division. The SCPGA also inducted three players into its Junior Golf Assn. Hall of Fame: Steve Pate, Gary McCord and Tiger Woods.

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The Orange County Golf Notebook runs monthly. Suggestions are welcome. Call (714) 966-5904, fax 966-5663 or e-mail Martin.Beck@latimes.com or Steve.Kresal@latimes.com