Eighteen Best Holes in Orange County

This spring, The Times set out to find the best 18 holes on Orange County public courses. Only courses of par 70 or more were considered and all yardage was taken from the championship tees.

Times writers Mike James and Steve Kresal played or looked over all the courses eligible and talked with club pros before picking what they feel to be the 18 best.

The holes were evaluated on degree of difficulty, fairness, aesthetic value and uniqueness. The holes were also picked by number, meaning the first hole had to be the opening hole at a course and so on.

Recognizing any such selection is subjective, there were some other fine holes considered which just fell short of making the final 18.

These included: Anaheim Hill’s No. 1 (475 yards, par 5), No. 5 (241 yards, par 3), No. 13 (366 yards, par 4) and No. 14 (358 yards, par 4); Dad Miller’s No. 7 (236 yards, par 3), and No. 16 (197 yards, par 3); Shorecliffs’ No. 12 (378 yards, par 4); Green River Orange Course’s No. 8 (413 yards, par 4); The Links at Monarch Beach’s No. 6 (573 yards, par 5) and No. 13 (217 yards, par 3), and Imperial’s No. 8 (377 yards, par 4).

The yardage for the “best” front nine is 3,516 for par 36 with the back nine coming in at 3,059 yards for par 35.

1. GREEN RIVER COURSE 506 Yards, Par 5

The Santa Ana River runs the length of the hole and will catch shots too far left. Trees guard the right side. Going for it in two in the afternoon is almost impossible because of wind but then going for it is a problem all of the time because of a pond that guards the right side of the green and narrows the landing area for second shots.

2. ANAHEIM HILLS 387 Yards, Par 4

The drive must stay to the left of a grove of eucalyptus trees and clear of a sand trap but anything too far to the left will catch more trees. Past the trees, the fairway slopes down to a large green that sits on top of a steep hill with a creek to the right. Traps also protect both sides of the flat green.

3. ANAHEIM HILLS 428 Yards, Par 4

A daring drive with a slight fade will fly a fairway trap and a scrub-covered hill on the right and turn this blind dogleg right into an easier hole requiring only a middle or short iron to the green. A safe drive, away from the hill and trap, leaves around 200 yards downhill to a green with a large trap on the right and a quick drop-off behind.

4. MONARCH BEACH 358 Yards, Par 4

Long hitters might not want to hit a driver off the tee, unless they are hitting into the wind, to keep from rolling into the pond. Fairway traps guard the corner of the dogleg as it turns left. The green is long and narrow and water guards the right side and front. Approach shots that miss to the left leave a tricky shot back to the putting surface.

5. RANCHO SAN JOAQUIN 516 Yards, Par 5

There is room to crank up a tee shot, but the hole makes up for that toward the green. The intelligent golfer hits a mid to short iron for a second shot, laying up short, but not too short, of the water that lines both sides of the fairway and settling for a par. The aggressive hitter goes ahead with a fairway wood--and often settles for a 6.

6. DAD MILLER 426 Yards, Par 4

A high draw off the tee, over the tall, thick trees on the left side and this dogleg left is no longer a problem. But most players tend to push the ball through the fairway to the right, avoiding the trees on the left, adding more distance and bring smaller trees into play. The uphill green has a trap to the left but is large and flat.

7. COSTA MESA LOS LAGOS 209 Yards, Par 3

This hole’s a lot of fun, but mostly for the ducks that swim in the pond guarding the front right of the green. Hitting to the uphill green usually demands a wood, and it’s tough to roll the ball on. Shots that fade a little can end up in a bunker bordering the front right, or worse, with the ducks.

8. IMPERIAL 165 Yards, Par 3

On the green, or short of it, are about the only safe places to be on this downhill hole. To the left is a hillside and to the right a steep cliff that runs the length of the hole. There are also four deep traps that protect the front and sides of this large green which has a quick drop behind it, leaving no room for a wrong club choice.

9. IMPERIAL 537 Yards, Par 5

There are plenty of trees on both sides of the narrow fairway and a trap to the right that might force some to hit an iron off the tee. The rest of the hole is uphill, making reaching it in two almost impossible. The second shot should be to the right to avoid a tall eucalyptus tree that could hinder the approach shot to the two-tiered green, the most difficult to putt on the course. Take a par and be happy.

10. MONARCH BEACH 401 Yards, Par 4

It’s very tough to carry the left-hand fairway traps on this dogleg, so most players play down the fairway. The wind can make a three-club difference on an approach to an elevated, well-trapped green. An approach over the green is likely to produce a double bogey and an epithet for the sloping green.

11. MONARCH BEACH 315 Yards, Par 4

This is the county’s only real ocean hole and is tougher than it looks. The green is sloped and not deep and the wind is usually a factor. So apparently easy 9-iron approach shots can end up in the brush behind the green or trickling down the cliff to the beach. This hole rates mention for beauty, if nothing else.

12. RANCHO SAN JOAQUIN 538 Yards, Par 5

There are plenty of problems on this hole. The left side features out of bounds and two large fairway traps. The last half of the hole has a lake on the right side that also cuts down the landing area for second shots. The hole opens up near the green but there are traps on each side.

13. ANAHEIM HILLS 201 Yards, Par 3

This downhill hole offers a pretty view of the the rest of the course when the player looks out but there is an awful sight directly below. The green is protected by a lake that catches anything long or too far to either side. There is trap trouble also but relax, there is a large, safe landing area short of the green.

14. COSTA MESA LOS LAGOS 560 Yards, Par 5

The out of bounds on the left should never come into play because there’s no chance of cutting the dogleg. But the out of bounds does come into play, it seems, almost once a foursome. The green sits atop a long slope and is out of two-shot range. So birdies on this hole demand a good short iron and one putt.

15. SAN CLEMENTE 204 Yards, Par 3

Plenty of trouble. Go left, and your ball can end up in a ravine about three stories below the green; go right and you’re out of bounds; go long and you trickle down to the brush. All you need to do is smack a 200-yard long iron or wood to a target that looks, from the elevated tee, almost as big as a golf cart.

16. SAN CLEMENTE 383 Yards, Par 4

A tough dogleg with a ravine filled with poison oak to the left and directly in front of the tee. A well-aimed drive, if hit too hard, can carry through the fairway, so a 3-wood isn’t bad off the tee. The second shot needs to carry a deep gully that slopes up to the green.

17. MONARCH BEACH 146 Yards, Par 3

Big trouble for a little hole. Bunkers and water everywhere. Any tee shot on the green is a moral victory. This is one of those holes that everyone should be able to par, but someone in each group always seems to be picking up and cussing on the way to the 18th tee.

18. IMPERIAL 371 Yards, Par 4

This is not a long finishing hole but one that demands an accurate tee shot to the right side of the fairway to set up an uphill second shot. There are groups of eucalyptus trees on each side of the green and the trees on the left form an almost impossible barrier for an approach shot.