PUTTING AROUND

Put a golf club in a beginner’s hands and strange things start happening.

Normally relaxed hands clutch the club with white knuckles, loose muscles instantly achieve inflexible status and a slew of swing thoughts flood the brain.

Unless, of course, that club is a putter. Even the first-timer feels comfortable with a putter in hand. There aren’t left arms to keep straight or heads to keep down or knees to flex with the putter.

There’s no need to get the ball airborne under the pressure of your playing partners’ watchful eyes. All you have to do is get the ball rolling toward the hole. And the best part is if you miss, who cares? Even pros miss putts.

Thus the appeal of The Greens, an 18-hole putting course in Irvine complete with sand traps, water hazards and rolling fairways. It’s designed by golf course architect Ted Robinson, who also designed county gems Tijeras Creek and Tustin Ranch.

It’s also a course where the only club you’ll need is that trusty putter because the longest hole is 127 feet.

The Greens opened at Park Place in September 1995, and has since become a favorite destination for corporate outings, birthday parties, Saturday night dates and Sunday afternoons with the family.

But unlike its forefather, miniature golf, The Greens also has appeal to the serious golfer because of its level of difficulty and because the grass is real and so are the putts.

“It fills a void,” said Jack Hopkins, owner of The Greens. “It’s recreational, but it’s also entertainment. It’s competitive but fun. It appeals to golfers and non-golfers. It’s participative, but it’s not anything anyone gets intimidated by.”

That isn’t to say it’s easy.

The holes range in length from 53 to 127 feet and are made of Penncross Bentgrass--a popular golf course blend. Many fairways have severe slopes with multiple hazards protecting them and most holes are not reachable from the tee.

Of the 18 holes, 14 are par-three, three are par-fours and one is a par-two, though pars are tough to come by and birdies are even rarer. On the 123-foot, par-four sixth hole, given the name “Colossus” for its resemblance to the famed Magic Mountain roller coaster, you must knock your tee shot up a steep embankment that bends sharply to the left while avoiding the left-side bunker that seems to suck your ball.

If you stay on the fairway, you must keep your second shot in the narrow, steep downhill fairway, which continues curving left. If you play it right, you’ll have an eight to 10 footer left for birdie, but more often than not, you’ll find the thick rough, the surrounding flower beds or a second bunker that protects the pin.

The strategy on most holes entails hitting to a strategic spot. A well-played tee shot will generally leave a 15- to 20-foot birdie attempt with heavy break or to an elevated hole.

“You’ve got to go for placement and position,” Hopkins said. “It’s not like miniature golf where every hole has the opportunity for a hole in one and most of it is luck. It’s supposed to mimic a golf hole in some ways and the breaks are not so subtle, especially near the hole.”

Several of the holes are memorable, but none more so than “Alcatraz,” the 17th. At 53 feet it is the shortest on the course and one of four that offer a legitimate shot at a hole in one. Unlike its namesake where getting off is the difficult task, getting on this hole is the challenge.

The first shot must climb a small ramp and jump two feet to an island green. Hit it too soft and the ball will fall into the water. Hit it too hard and it will land on the green and bounce into the water in back.

“That’s the hole everyone always talks about,” said Curtis Fleming, a pro shop attendant at The Greens.

A second Greens course owned by Hopkins opened in Valencia two years ago. It has taken the Irvine idea one step further by including a full restaurant and sports bar. at Irvine, there is only a beverage service and limited food, plus a small pro shop.

Hopkins said there are three more in the works in Southern California, but he doesn’t intend to take over the miniature golf industry.

“I’d say we compete more with restaurants and movie theaters,” Hopkins said. “When people ask ‘What are we going to do tonight?’ we are on the list with those types of places.”

For some, that is already the case. Julie Robertson of Tustin brought sons Matthew, 8, and Brett, 10, to play with friends Tyler and Cody Smith, 10-year-old twins. The kids played a two-on-two team match, breaking out in celebratory dances with each holed putt and focusing intensely before each shot.

“We were just sitting around talking about what we wanted to do today and this was it,” Julie Robertson said. “They love it and it’s a great way for them to spend the day.”

The biggest difference between The Greens and miniature golf is in the appeal to people who regularly play golf. Most avid golfers avoid miniature golf, calling it trite and gimmicky, while The Greens attracts many charity golf events and has hosted a professional putting tournament.

“I like it because I always seem to have four- or five-foot putts for par,” said Ryan Dunn of Costa Mesa, a 13-handicap who plays The Greens about once a month. “Just like in real golf.”

Cost is $10 Mon.-Thurs. and $13 Fri-Sun. and the use of a putter is included. Playing a round takes about an hour when it isn’t crowded, so it fits the schedule of today’s professional. A “Lunch-n-Putt” special offers nine holes and a sandwich for $10.

Workers from nearby office buildings show up on their lunch breaks, playing in suits and skirts. Men tuck their ties into their shirts and women play with purses draped over their shoulders as they putt away.

But where The Greens has really found a niche is in catering larger events. Disney, Bank of America and Nissan are among those that have held tournaments at The Greens over the last year.

There were 370 group outings at The Greens last year--more than one per day.

“We’ve got it down to a science,” Hopkins said. “I think that has been our biggest improvement over the last five years.”