ORANGE COUNTY GOLF NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : Setting Some Time Aside for Spontaneity

Avid golfers will put themselves through virtual hell to secure prime tee times at popular courses. Methods range from sleeping overnight in a car in line to leaning on the re-dial button in an early-morning stupor.

What does that leave for the unlucky, for the late sleeper or for the plain lazy?

Unfortunately, not much.

For instance, on a typical day at the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course, all the morning tee times--a week in advance--are filled within a half hour after the course begins accepting reservations at 6 a.m.

Because the demand for prime times--especially on weekends--exceeds the supply, the situation is similar at most other Orange County courses.

But the San Clemente course has a policy that allows for spur-of-the-moment golf.

The course sets aside three of its eight hourly tee times for players without a reservation. It’s first-come, first-served for these walk-on players.

The policy was put in place about five years ago as a solution to a controversy about how to allot tee times, said Tom Evans, a starter at San Clemente. One group of San Clemente residents wanted to limit reservations to residents of the city. Another group wanted a 50-50 split.

The compromise, which also allows only residents to make reservations from 6 to 6:30 a.m., has apparently smoothed things over.

It certainly has provided more access to the course, which is among the nicest city-operated courses in the county.

“We have a lot of walk-up players,” Evans said. “We have a lot of people coming out here without a tee time and we get them out on the course.”

Getting on the course as a walk-on on the weekend usually takes quite a bit longer than it does during the week, but course officials say it’s difficult to predict.

“You just never know,” said Rocky Rafkin, one of the course’s PGA professional. “Some weekends we may have 40 or 50 on the waiting list, but sometimes on weekdays you can just walk right out.”

Few other local courses have similar policies regarding walk-up players. However, the courses operated by the City of Anaheim--Dad Miller and Anaheim Hills--try to keep open a starting time per hour for a non-registered foursome, said Bob Johns, head professional at Dad Miller.

“I think it’s unusual to have (times held back by the starter) nowadays but because of the fact that we have so many walk-ons, we keep them around because that’s how we built our business originally,” Johns said.

“We’re kind of a 7-Eleven type deal. We offer a convenience type of golf.”

There are other options for those without reservations.

--It’s easier to play as a walk-on in the afternoon. Some courses stop taking reservations after 2 p.m.

--For early risers, Fullerton Golf Course allows players on the back nine before 7 a.m. and the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club offers first-come, first-served golf before the first reserved tee time, which is at 6:30 a.m. daily.

During the week at Costa Mesa, groups are allowed to start at 6 a.m.; on Saturday and Sunday at first light.

“If they can see their ball, we let them tee off,” starter Christine Sellner said.

Still another tee-time option for local players is a phone reservation service that went on-line June 1. By calling 1-800-TEE-TIME, a golfer can make reservations on 32 Southern California golf courses up to 30 days in advance.

Currently, The Links at Monarch Beach is the only county course on the network, but there are several in bordering areas, including Green River and Cresta Verde in Corona.

Reservation fees range from $1 to $10 per person.

Hole of the Week: As you stand on the tee of No. 15 at Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley, there are several things to catch your eye. On summer afternoons, there at least two or three youth-league baseball games going on next to the tee. Plus, the area is usually being buzzed by a squadron of remote-control airplanes.

But if you can pull your attention away from all that, take a look at the 400-yard slight dogleg left in front of you. The hole plays into the wind, into the sun and into a six if you’re not careful.

There is out-of-bounds behind the tall trees all the way down the right side. But there are more trees and a lake on the left side. There are sand traps on both sides of the green as well.