LAUNCHING PAD

The drive is worth it.

Standing on the 17th tee at Elkins Ranch Golf Course, 120 feet above the long, straight fairway, golfers can look around and see the entire Santa Clara Valley.

Tee shots launched toward the fairway fly high above the ground against a breathtaking backdrop of snow-capped mountains and bright, blooming orange groves.

Two years ago, it was voted the top public par-four hole in Ventura County, and hitting that drive on the 17th makes the 45-minute commute from the San Fernando or Santa Clarita valleys to this tiny farming community worth the trip.

Playing the rest of the course can be just as rewarding, especially since a one-year rebuilding project has been completed on holes 15, 16 and 17.

Some tight, tree-lined fairways coupled with an unpredictable breeze and some large, tricky greens make it a challenge for golfers of all abilities.

A relatively short layout (6,302 yards from the back tees) with some generous landing areas for tee shots can make it less frustrating for high handicappers.

“Some courses’ signature is their length,” said Daniel Hodapp, director of golf at Elkins Ranch. “But what we offer is a variety of holes, some challenging to the beginners and all the way up to top-level golfers.”

Though the course draws regular foursomes from as far away as Orange County and the Antelope Valley, it remains uncrowded.

Set among the orange groves of Fillmore, far from signs of urban life, and without a major freeway within earshot, it is a peaceful way to spend a day on the links.

“Most public courses in the area are buffered by a noisy freeway,” Hodapp said. “We offer a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the scenery in a quiet setting.”

For the past year, Elkins Ranch has not been playing to its full potential. The 15th green, 16th hole and 17th tee box were under construction.

The 15th, a 374-yard par-four, has been lengthened by about 10 yards and the rebuilt green has been elevated to attract more sunlight. The green was enlarged from 3,500 to 7,300 square feet.

The 16th, which used to be a steep, uphill 130-yard par-three, has been flattened in order to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“A lot of the senior citizens had a hard time crawling up that hill,” Hodapp said. “We cleared some space for the cart path and in doing so, it lost some distance.”

Now playing at 116 yards, the gully between tee and green was eliminated and the green is more than twice its original size.

“It gives us a lot more pin placements,” Hodapp said. “Now we can move it around so the ball marks get a better chance to repair themselves.”

And then there’s the 17th tee.

Sorely missed for the last year, the tee box has been enlarged and includes a set of elevated ladies’ tees, which used to be at the bottom of the hill, denying women the chance to enjoy a course highlight.

“We experimented by moving the tees up there a little and found that the ladies loved being up top,” Hodapp said.

The carry from the tee box to the beginning of the fairway is a mere 100 yards, reachable by even the shortest hitters.

There are five par-four holes that measure 361 yards or shorter from the middle tees so the average golfer won’t get too frustrated. But the course plays slightly more difficult from the back tees, with five par-four holes of 400 or more yards to challenge single-digit handicappers.

Water comes into play on seven holes, most notably on the par-four ninth (395 yards from the middle tees), where golfers have the option of cutting the corner of a huge lake. A successful gamble will cut about 50 yards off the approach.

“What I like about the course is that no matter how bad things are going, you always have the 17th tee to look forward to,” said Andrew Morris, a Northridge resident who plays Elkins Ranch about once a month.