Feeling on Top of the World
Tired of struggling to find a tee time in Los Angeles, then, if you do, playing 5 1/2-hour rounds on the weekend? If you don’t mind getting behind the wheel for a while, there are plenty of new courses in surrounding counties where tee times are available and the golf is worth the drive. Here’s a look at some of those courses.
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The drive: 58 miles from downtown L.A.
Address: 24440 Trilogy Parkway, Glen Ivy. (909) 277-7175
Rates: $45-$65, including cart.
Overview: It’s all about No. 18 at Trilogy, a new Ted Robinson Sr.-designed course that climbs through the rugged terrain next to the Cleveland National Forest in Glen Ivy.
It’s a fine layout overall that winds through construction of an age 55-and-over residential community for much of the front side, then heads toward the hills of the forest on the back.
There’s plenty of sand along fairways just at the right distance to catch slightly errant tee shots, water on several holes and Robinson’s dramatic trademark waterfall presentation near No. 9, a par three. It’s a fair test, not overly penalizing, provides plenty of options from tees that range from 5,439 yards to 6,673 yards, and in some ways has 17 holes of crescendos before arriving at one of the most spectacular tee shots this side of the Alps.
The tee for the 434-yard 18th is 208 feet above the landing area; like hitting from the top of a high-rise to a park below. A wild finishing hole on a course that might be one of the best bargains in Southern California.
Holes 14 through 17 provide a great setup to the finish, two 200-yard-plus par threes, a short, trap-infested par four and a long downhill, dogleg par four.
The course opened last March, so the bentgrass greens are still firm; they have another year before they’ll be really mature and receptive. And the clubhouse won’t be completed until 2004, but the golf is what makes Trilogy worth the trip.
Free tip: Excellent sandwiches, pizza, beer and snacks just down the road at Tom’s Farms, which has a picnic area around a pond for after the round.
Nice touches: Plenty of wildlife; we had the company of a contented coyote that had apparently had his fill of rabbits for about 10 minutes on the 14th hole.
Snapshot to remember: From the 18th tee, you can see the top of the Empire State Building, or maybe it only seems that way. You get the idea.
-- Mike James
