Members Hope Par Is a Good Score

Regis Malone and his golf buddies have a regular 9:30 a.m. foursome every weekend on the lush fairways at Valencia Country Club.

This week when Malone shows up at the club, instead of playing partners Corky Knight, Bob Manley and Jim Larocca, he’ll find the course has been taken over by Tiger Woods, Fred Couples and John Daly in the PGA Tour’s Nissan Open.

“Even though we can’t play the course for 10 or 12 days, I’m excited about those guys coming here to play,” Malone said. “We just hope the course is tough enough for them.

“The talk through the men’s lounge is that we’re anxious to see how the pros do on our course, but we don’t want them to tear it up and shoot 22 or 23 under par. I think Nick Faldo won at eight under (actually it was 12 under) last year at Riviera. I hope it’s somewhere around there.

“But everybody I’ve talked to thinks it’s going to be great.”

Rick Smith, head pro at Valencia, said that seems to be the consensus of the membership. He has not heard a discouraging word.

“There may be some people who aren’t happy because they can’t play for 10 days, but I really haven’t heard anything negative,” Smith said. “The membership has been really good about it, probably because it’s something new and exciting.

“They know not very many courses get to host a PGA tournament.”

Smith has made it easier for the members, giving them the best of both worlds. They can show up and watch the pros and/or play themselves at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale or Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley through reciprocal agreements set up by the pro.

Mike Miller, head pro at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, knows what it’s like.

Riviera has been the site of the Nissan Open since 1973, with the exception of 1983. That year the club hosted the PGA Championship, and the then-Los Angeles Open was moved to Rancho Park Golf Course.

The club has a policy not to host more than one pro tournament in a calendar year, and the U.S. Senior Open will be played there in July.

The Nissan Open and the PGA Championship were played at Riviera in 1995, but only because officials at the club committed to the Nissan before the chance to hold the PGA came along. The results of holding both were less than satisfactory.

So the club that told O.J. Simpson not to come back asked the Nissan not to come back until next year.

“We have some elements in our membership that would prefer not to have a PGA Tour event at all,” Miller acknowledged. “It’s a disruption in many ways.

“Opinion is divided and I’m sure that’s true of any club. Some people would rather not be bothered, but I think most of them enjoy it. They’re proud that their club hosts a PGA Tour event and many of them take part as volunteers.”

A course hosting a tour event begins to make changes months in advance, as course superintendent Wayne Mills and the membership at Valencia learned.

The course must be tailored to the demands of the PGA Tour, which wants the rough long and the greens short and fast.

Mills had to grow a different type of grass on the fairways at Valencia to suit PGA officials.

Even the driving range is affected, with the prime areas off limits to members for several weeks before a tournament to ensure it is in top shape when the pros arrive.

“Despite the rain, the course is in the best condition I’ve ever seen it,” Malone said. “Wayne has done a great job. The rough is high and it’s tough to get out once you’re in there. Some people have complained, but that’s the way [the PGA Tour] wants it.

“They’ve cut the fairways to 3/16ths of an inch because that’s the way the pros like it. It’s not too tough for hitting fairway woods or long irons, just chip shots around the green. You really have to hit down on the ball. You’re just afraid you’re going to hit it fat.

“But I’d say conditions are just about perfect.”

Valencia has been considered among the best and most difficult courses in Southern California since the Robert Trent Jones layout opened in 1965.

But Faldo, the 1997 Nissan champion, laughed when first asked about defending his title at Valencia, saying, “It’s not Riviera,” even though he had not seen the course.

Recently, Faldo said he was looking forward to playing Valencia after hearing it is a challenging course. Duffy Waldorf, a Valencia member, has been spreading the word to his fellow pros.

Actually, Valencia compares favorably to Riviera, going strictly by the numbers.

Valencia plays to 7,076 yards from its championship, or gold tees, a bit longer than Riviera’s 6,947. Valencia has a course rating of 74.7, with a slope of 138, while Riviera has a course rating of 74.3 and a slope of 139.

“It’s going to be fascinating to see if the club gets the reputation the members think it deserves,” said Tom Edwards, a Valencia member who plays for the club in Southern California Golf Assn. Thursday Team Play. “I know Faldo pooh-poohed it, but Fred Couples played it and said he liked it.

“We feel Valencia is one of the best courses around, especially with the condition Wayne Mills keeps it in. We feel this should elevate the status of the club and the course in Southern California and around the country. It will be interesting to hear the pros’ perspective.

“The only disappointment is that the third hole, our signature hole, won’t be played all the way back. That’s probably our best hole. I heard they felt it would cause traffic problems on the course to play from the back tee.”

The third hole is an absolute monster at 237 yards, but the pros will play it closer to 180.

With water to the right of the green and sand to the left, the pros probably will be glad the extra yardage is one thing the members will get to keep to themselves.