LOST CANYONS, Sky Course, Simi Valley

A weekly look at golf courses open to the public in Southern California.

* Address: 4600 1/2 Bennett Road, Simi Valley

* Telephone: (805) 522-4653

* Green fees: Monday-Thursday, $115;

Friday-Sunday, $135.

* Tee times: Seven days in advance.

The facility: Famed course designer Pete Dye has sculpted two remarkable courses in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains with input from Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion. The Sky Course opened in November to rave reviews and the Shadow Course is scheduled to open March 10. Dye has called the terrain “the most naturally beautiful land I have ever had the opportunity to design upon.”

The good: Couples claims there isn’t a bad hole on either layout, but the most spectacular might be No. 9 on the Sky Course, a dogleg right par four that is 485 yards from the black tees. It requires a tee shot that must carry the corner of Sky Lake and a large fairway bunker. Another feature on the front nine is consecutive par fives, Nos. 4 and 5. The tee shot on No. 17, “Hawk’s Bluff,” is 170 yards to a green that is 53 yards deep along the edge of a cliff.

The bad: Golfers, including the pros, have a love-hate relationship with Dye, who admits he makes courses as difficult as possible. The penalty for a shot that is even slightly off-line can be severe. If your ball is on the wrong side of a ridge, a shot that might land within four feet of the pin can end up 40 feet away. At least there are five sets of tees, making the course playable for golfers of all abilities.

The score: Even though the price is a bit steep, it’s in line with most of the new daily-fee courses. The golf experience and the mountain vistas make a day at Lost Canyons very enjoyable. The Sky Course is listed among the top 10 new courses in the country by Golf magazine in its March issue.