Donning Civvies

The Marines are pulling out of El Toro next month, and it’s anybody’s guess when--or if--the first passenger airline flight will take off from the former Marine Corps Air Station.

One thing is certain, however: The county has landed another public golf course. El Toro Marine Memorial, for 50 years reserved for military personnel, veterans and their spouses, dependents and guests, will open to the public July 4.

It’s sure to be a busy Independence Day.

Marine Memorial will buck the trend of high-priced Orange County golf. Green fees haven’t been announced, but course officials say the cost will be comparable that of Mile Square, Costa Mesa, RiverView and Willowick courses.

The price range of those courses is $17-$33, and even if El Toro charges near the top of that scale, it will be a bargain compared with the last three public courses to open in the vicinity: Aliso Viejo, Strawberry Farms and Oak Creek, all of which charge at least $85 Monday-Thursday and $125 Friday-Sunday.

Of course, Marine Memorial isn’t as immaculately manicured as those courses or as difficult.

But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a user-friendly course, not too long (6,750 yards from the blue tees, 6,468 from the whites) and not too narrow. The slope rating is 114 from the blues.

However, Wally Bradley, head professional since 1964, warns that El Toro’s looks can deceive.

“People think because of the yardage that it’s going to be an easy course,” Bradley said, “but it’s very challenging.”

Mainly it’s the greens that trip up the unsuspecting. Subtle slopes can turn even a two-foot putt into a knee-shaking experience. The greens have all been rebuilt in the last 20 years and are in good shape.

Mature trees, heavy on pines, palms and eucalyptus, line the fairways. A picturesque English walnut tree sits in the middle of the fairway on the 417-yard, par-four third hole, a reminder of the area’s agricultural past. The farmhouse for a lima bean farm once sat nearby.

The fairways are generally flat, but a swale slices across several, including the challenging dogleg-left, 442-yard, par-four 18th. “It’s one of the toughest finishing holes in Orange County,” Bradley said.

All in all, it’s a course strong on character, much like the Marines who built the course in 1949 and have been enjoying it since.

Most active-duty personnel have departed the base, but about 500 remain in the men’s club and more than 100 in the women’s club. Most are retired.

Many retired in Orange County to be near the El Toro course, said 71-year-old Tom Gay in the clubhouse after shooting 85 recently. Gay, a retired master sergeant and the men’s club president for five years, plays five to seven days a week and says he will have to cut back for financial reasons when the course goes public.

The county and Cabaco Inc., which is managing the course for the county, have promised discounts and possibly early access to tee times for military users, but the deal is unlikely to match the $6 to $14 green fees, depending on military rank, they pay now.

Gay said more than a dozen members play six or seven days a week. Seven or eight regular players are 82 or 83 years old.

“If they get down to where they are playing less than they are playing now,” Gay said, “they are going to deteriorate. This is the only thing us old retired folks have to look forward to.”

Retired Lt. Colonel Mike Flynn says the camaraderie at El Toro is unmatched at any course he has ever been on. “And I’ve played golf all around the world,” said Flynn, 63, the men’s club tournament director.

“This is a golfers’ paradise,” Flynn said. “People play golf and talk golf all day long.”

Flynn fears the loss of a way of life.

“We’re all too old to make any radical changes,” Flynn said. “It’s come at a time in our lives where change is difficult to impossible. Our lifestyles center on golf and the Marine Corps camaraderie that we have here.

“I’m going to stay, but what we had here, the camaraderie, we are going to lose that, and it’s going to hurt.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Opening to Public

Marine Memorial Golf Course

Opening day: July 4

Green fees: To be announced

Reservations: Starting June 30 reservations can be made for July 4-8.

Phone: (949) 726-2577

Directions: I-5 to Sand Canyon exit; north to Trabuco Road; east to main gate; right on Perimeter Road to course.