OAK CREEK GOLF CLUB

Address: 1 Golf Club Drive, Irvine.

Telephone: (949) 653-7300.

Green fees: $95 Monday through Thursday; $135 Friday through Sunday.

Tee times: Up to two weeks at rates listed above; anything prior to that makes green fees $110 Monday through Thursday and $150 the other days.

The facility: This is a Tom Fazio course, which to many golfers has come to mean scenic and challenging and fair, all packaged into one. It is managed by Western Golf Properties and is nicely located off the Jeffrey exit of the 405 in Irvine. Three left turns and three minutes after you exit the 405, you are ready to check in and play.

The good: From the moment you arrive, the place feels and looks first class--as the steep green fee would indicate. The driving range is massive and well-organized, the putting green well-located for good communication with the starter, and the first hole one of those magical, water-along-the-side, par-five openers that sets the tone nicely. The fairways are plush, the greens fast and true and the entire experience appealing to the senses, if not the scorecard. Mine had one nine on each nine and an even-100 finish, which somehow was just fine because the golfer, not the course, was lousy.

The bad: There seemed to be an extra-aggressive emphasis on moving along, which most golfers appreciate. But those who spend much of their time in the woods take that as extra pressure.

The score: This course has been open for only three years, and despite being in a heavily populated and high-demographic area for golfers, has probably been missed by lots of them. This one, like most Fazio courses, should not be missed, even at $135.