Tijeras Creek to Cut Rates in Afternoon

Tijeras Creek, where for $125 you can play golf all day, is marking its 10th anniversary by reducing its Monday-Thursday afternoon rate.

The special rate, which started Monday and will be in effect until Oct. 3, is $80 and includes 18 holes of golf and a cart. The course’s regular price buys unlimited golf and use of the driving range and unlimited food and nonalcoholic beverages from the snack bar.

“For people who say, ‘I’m not going to spend $125 during the week, I don’t care what you give me,’ this is an option,” Tijeras Creek General Manager Jennifer Alderson said of the special rate.

The course, one of the first to tap into Orange County’s high-end golf market when it opened in September 1990, made the switch to the $125 unlimited rate last September, boosting its fee $50 Monday-Thursday and $15 Friday-Sunday.

Alderson said play has, as expected, dropped off during the week, but most of those who play are playing 36 holes. The weekends and Fridays are more crowded, and it’s not as easy to get on the course for a second round.

FEE INFLATION

Several of Orange County’s upscale courses raised their rates this month. Leading the way is Pelican Hill, already the priciest course in Southern California, which boosted its Friday-Sunday greens fee to $250 from $235. Its Monday-Thursday rate is now $175, up from $155.

Strawberry Farms, Oak Creek and Tustin Ranch each hiked its end-of-the-week rate to $135, an increase of $10 at Strawberry Farms and Tustin Ranch and $15 at Oak Creek.

Weekday rates at the three courses range from $85 to $100.

NOTEWORTHY

Eunice Choi of Dove Canyon shot 81-78--159 and did not make the cut in the Southwestern Bell Futures Classic last week in Richardson, Texas. It was the first missed cut of the Futures season for Choi, who is fourth on the money list with $8,793 . . . Candie Kung of USC, a Fountain Valley High graduate, had her fifth top-10 finish of the season at the Arizona State Invitational last week in Phoenix. Kung shot a team-best 74-70-76--220 and finished tied for eighth. The Trojans finished fourth. Kung moved up one spot in the national rankings to No. 3.

Staff writer Peter Yoon contributed to this story.