Lost Canyons Golf Club presents a pair of beautiful, exacting tests where smart play can pay off.

By Eli Miller

There is perhaps no better combination of calm and chaos at a Southern California golf facility than Simi Valley’s Lost Canyons Golf Club.

As one of the only 36-hole daily-fee venues in the Los Angeles area, Lost Canyons distinguishes itself with two challenging 18-hole layouts co-designed by Fred Couples and Pete Dye, who is widely regarded as one of the most decorated and demanding golf course architects ever. It’s set amidst the statuesque Santa Susana Mountains and part of an amazingly tranquil environment that’s shielded from freeways and the denser metropolitan area.

A relaxed aura permeates throughout the facility, which includes a full-turf practice range, spacious pro shop and cozy dining space in the Oak Tree Room. And while the two layouts present certain challenges in the form of intimidating tee shots, plentiful bunkering and quick, wavy greens, that aura remains once on the course to help players stay calm and composed for an entire round.

Last month, I teed it up with a few friends on the Sky Course from the 6,740-yard gold markers. Although I was quickly reminded I am indeed not one of the most skilled golfers out there, I thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and found myself thirsting for a return trip — provided I keep my game warm during the winter months and employ a smarter strategy on the course.

SAFETY FIRST

Early on, the 545-yard, par-5 fourth hole presents an interesting test. Initial challenge off the tee includes a large oak tree guarding the left side of the fairway and a deep bunker on the right. Then, the fairway doglegs sharply to the right around a large hill, making the last 150 yards of the hole invisible off the tee. Like other par 5s on Sky — especially Nos. 12 and 14 — hitting driver isn’t mandatory since reaching the green in two shots is a pipe dream for most. Take a fairway wood or hybrid and keep the ball in play. Otherwise, you’re making yourself more vulnerable with unnecessary risk.

SHORT HOLES, BIG GREENS

The Sky Course at Lost Canyons boasts a stellar collection of par-3 tests, each of which is framed by majestic mountain views. And while three of the four short holes play close to 200 yards from the gold tees, their expansive, undulating green complexes present more demand. A tee shot to the center of the putting surface is still the prudent play, but since the pins are usually set on green edges, a two-putt is not a sure thing.

The 17th hole, my choice for most scenic on the course, presents a birdie chance if the flag is set in front of the segmented green — it’s listed at 160 yards on the scorecard but plays about 130 yards when the pin is short. If the pin is set on the precarious perch at the far-back-left corner of the green, good luck.

SOAK IN THE SCENERY

The intricate, bumpy faces on the Santa Susana Mountains and the flowing grasses covering them are truly sights to behold. Don’t just admire them for their beauty — putts break away from the mountains, so when you’re reading the greens, be sure to factor them in when determining your line.

To make a tee time at Lost Canyons Golf Club, call (805) 522-4653 or visit lostcanyons.com and facebook.com/lostcanyons.

CasaBlanca

By: Joel Beers

For most of its history, the Nevada city of Mesquite was little more than a dusty spot on Interstate 15. People were more likely to drive through it as opposed to it.
That is no longer the case.

Today, the highly regarded golf destination features a sprawling resort as well as 10 courses either in Mesquite or nearby, including some of the most praised in the state and even the country. Some are incredibly challenging, while others offer more standard resort-style layouts ideal for golfers of all skill levels. One thing you can expect from any Mesquite-area golf course is stunning views. Whether the courses are located high atop cliffs, nested in valleys or alongside riverbeds, scenic beauty abounds.

There are also some fine accommodations.

The CasaBlanca Resort is located about 45 minutes northwest of Las Vegas near the Utah border. Nestled alongside the gorgeous Virgin River, the resort includes two golf courses, a casino, a spa and a 450-room hotel featuring newly remodeled rooms. It’s ideal for stays of one night to multiple nights — all at prices far more economical than resorts in that other Nevada city.

The resort features two 18-hole tracks, the CasaBlanca Golf Club and the Palms Golf Club. Of the two, the Cal Olson-designed CasaBlanca is the most player-friendly. Its sets of tees can accommodate any golfer’s skill level. From the back tees, labeled the Double Spades, the course plays to 7,011 yards. From the front tees, the Hearts, the course is a much more manageable 5,161 yards.

Palms Golf Club

Another friendly feature is that unlike other Mesquite-area courses, which require a lot of walking due to environmentally sensitive or rocky terrain, carts have access to most of CasaBlanca’s course. That comes in handy on days when the temperature soars above 100 degrees — as do the club’s air-conditioned golf carts.
The course also differs from most desert courses because it is built on and around the Virgin River wetlands. As opposed to a typical desert course that has lots of palm trees and red sand between holes, CasaBlanca is a true oasis of green.

The Palms Golf Club was Mesquite’s first track. It includes a gently rolling front nine and a back nine that winds through mountainous terrain, which requires pin-point precision from the tee. More than 200 palm trees adorn the property, which measures 6,804 yards from the back tees.

As an incentive to lure travelers, the CasaBlanca Resort is always bustling with special events. In late October, it will host the Re/Max Long Drive championships. There are events held year-round, ranging from the world championships of beer pong, BBQ and chili cook-offs, amateur boxing championships, jazz festivals and much more.

The resort features elegant fine dining at Katherine’s, 24-hour dining at the Fez coffee shop and buffets at Smorgasbord, including a Friday night seafood extravaganza, a Saturday night filet mignon spread and a Sunday champagne brunch. There’s also a Starbucks on the property.

The Spa and Salon at the resort offers a wide array of services ranging from massages and facials to its signature treatment, the CasaBlanca Desert Bliss, in which your body is exfoliated with a mineral-rich scrub and then replenished with an application of body butter.

With sand volleyball courts, outdoor tennis courts and a lagoon-style pool, there’s plenty to do during the day and, at night, free comedy shows are offered most Friday and Saturday nights and music and dancing are offered at the Skydome Lounge every night but Monday.

There’s the casino, which includes all the requisite gaming tables along with 750 slot and video poker machines and a sports book.

If golf, gaming and sipping a drink by a beautiful pool is only part of your vacation itinerary, CasaBlanca also has all the info you might need for taking advantage of the breathtaking array of natural, scenic wonders that are within a two-hour drive of Mesquite, including the wonders of Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in Utah.

There are two other notable aspects to the resort. Since it’s located in a city of approximately 15,000 people, there is a refreshing lack of congestion and a more laid-back pace than resorts on the Vegas Strip. And then there’s the cost: In October, mid-day room rates are as low as $60 and even on a Friday night they peak at just $140.

The resort offers a golf and spa package for $79, Sunday through Thursday. The package includes one night in a deluxe tower room and your choice of one round of golf, one 50-minute massage or your choice of two 25-minute spa treatments including a body wrap, facial or massage. For more information on the resort, visit, www.casablancaresort.com.

Here’s a look at some of the other options for golf in the region:

Oasis Golf Club

Oasis - Palmer Course

Oasis - Canyons Course

At 6,408 yards, the par-71 Canyons Course is one of the most user-friendly tracks in the region, but a number of risk-reward holes can make it as tough as you’d like. For more information, visit www.theoasisgolfclub.com.

Falcon Ridge Golf Club
This 6,546-yard track rests high on the cliffs that tower above Mesquite. Though it’s not the longest course, dramatic elevation changes, slick multi-tiered greens, and a very challenging design more than compensate. For more information, visit www.golffalcon.com.

Falcon Ridge Golf Course

Conestoga Golf Club
The newest Mesquite-area course, this Gary Panks-designed track, managed by Troon Golf, opened in 2010. It’s one of the most scenic in the area as it winds through rugged desert canyons. It’s 7,232 yards from the tips and made the short-list of best Nevada Courses in two national golf publication rankings in 2011. For more information, visit www.conestogagolf.com.

The Chase Golf Club at Coyote Springs
This Jack Nicklaus Signature design is an absolute bear from the tips, which measure 7,471 yards. Eleven lakes come into play and mountains surround its valley setting. It also features one of the largest practice areas in the Southwest, including 100,000-square-feet of tee area and a 10,000-square-foot practice putting green. For more information, visit www.coyotesprings.com.

Wolf Creek at Paradise Canyon
Opened in 2000, this Dennis C. Rider course measures 7,018 yards from the tips. It routinely makes the list of top public courses in the country and was recently ranked the third most difficult course in America by the USGA. Sixteen of its holes feature elevated tees and forced carries abound. For more information, visit www.golfwolfcreek.com.

Coral Canyon Golf Course
Though actually located in Southwest Utah, this Keith Foster-designed gem is only a short car drive from Mesquite. It measures 7,029 yards from the tips and, as the name implies, explodes with color. It also offers views of both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. For more information, visit www.coralcanyongolf.com.

Sand Hollow Resort
Also located in Southwest Utah, this facility features 27 holes designed by John Fought. The 7,315-yard Championship Course has earned best public course nods in Utah the past two years. There is also a nine-hole links-style course. For more information, visit www.sandhollowresort.com.

Ranked California’s Top Golf Resort by Condé Nast Traveler readers, Pelican Hill boasts 36 Fazio-designed ocean-view holes. Golf Digest ranks both 18-hole courses, the Ocean North and Ocean South, as two of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses in 2011/2012.

Pelican Hill Golf Club® offers a luxurious 44,000-square-foot clubhouse, the acclaimed Pelican Grill and Lounge, an Italian coffee bar, a golf shop, and an intelligently designed, full-service practice facility conveniently located right outside the clubhouse door, with an expansive driving range, a complete practice tee and tour-event Nike Platinum One balls.

Pelican Hill Golf Academy offers monthly clinics, private lessons and special programs, led by Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers in America” Glenn Deck.

Two new fall golf packages are available September 5 through December 30.

The “Guys’ Golf Getaway” features two nights in a spacious Villa with personal butler service, one golf round with forecaddie, dinner at Pelican Grill and Haircuts & Hot Lather Shaves in The Spa’s Barber Chair, and starts at $1,450.

Also available is the Golf Academy “Total Tune-up” Package, which includes two nights in a Bungalow Guest Room, with one private 45-minute Golf Academy lesson and a 2.5-hour nine-hole playing lesson starting at $1,685.

For more information, visit www.pelicanhill.com

Escena Golf Club

Old School New

The Escena Golf Club has reopened – in Palm Springs

One thing you don’t see are new golf courses opening in Palm Springs. While Palm Desert, Indio and the other outlying desert communities continue to add courses, Palm Springs is … well, it’s pretty much full. That’s why the opening (or in this case reopening) of something new in the chic desert town makes you turn your head. And when it’s a course of the quality of the Escena Golf Club … it’s a bonus.

Escena reopened in November of 2009 with new owners and experienced management bringing quality to a daily-fee, top-notch Nicklaus Design golf course. In addition, there’s a new 16,000-square-foot clubhouse that is mid-century modern – a design that reeks with old-school Palm Springs heritage. The design makes you think you might encounter the ghosts of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin sharing laughs and martinis at the clubhouse bar.

As for the course … well, it’s 7173 yards of quality, with four sets of tees to accommodate any level of golfer. From the forward tees it measures in at 5503 yards with a rating of 72.1 and a slope of 127. From the tips it plays the full 7173 yards with a rating of 74.2 and a slope of 130. And there’s the middle and championship tees that fall between the other two. The bottom line: If you’re a high handicapper, you’ll enjoy your round. If you’re a scratch golfer, you’ll be challenged. There’s something for everybody.

“For golfers it’s like the welcoming home of a long-lost friend,” said Mark Tansey, president of Sunrise Golf Company, the managers of Escena. He added, “Escena Golf Club marks a return to what made desert golf great. The course stretches to almost 7200 yards from the tips and offers a quality test of golf for the most skilled players. But thanks to four sets of tees and generous fairways, it is also among the most playable for golfers of any skill level. And every hole offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains.”

The course has changed a bit from the original with the addition of rounded stone on the rock walls and bridges that reflect “golf’s classic era.” There are also some 50,000 new plants that have been added – most of which are identical to those found in Palm Springs’ distinctive 1960s landscaping.

The new course is a boon to the city of Palm Springs. Unlike nearby Palm Desert, most of the resort hotels in Palm Springs don’t have on-site golf courses – thus, Escena offers up a wonderful golf course that those hotels can send their guests to.

Escena Golf Club is also different from a lot of the other courses in the area in that it is affordable. A regular in-season (December 26 to April 11) rate is $88 mid-week and $98 on the weekends. Off-season (April 12 to May 24) is $59 mid-week and just $69 on the weekend, and if you can brave the heat of summer (May 25 to September 12) you can play Escena mid-week for just $35 with the fee going to $40 on the weekend. Further savings can be had for joining the Escena Club. No matter how you slice it (no pun intended), Escena is a desert bargain.

The Escena Golf Club
760/778-2737
www.escenagolf.com

JULY 2009 HOT TOPICS

Destination Hotels & Resorts Open Terranea Resort in Southern California

Occupying 102 acres of irreplaceable coastline just 20 miles south of Los Angeles International Airport, the luxurious Terranea Resort opened to the public on June 12 adding to the distinctive collection of properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection. Ten years and $480 million in the making, Terranea (terra-NAY-a)is the crowning achievement of Los Angeles-based owner/developer Lowe Enterprises and is managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts. It has been decades since Marineland of the Pacific, located where Terranea now sits, brought visitors to this secluded peninsula.

Terranea Resort is a 360-room Hotel and luxurious collection of residential bungalows, casitas and villas. The property also features The Links at Terranea, a challenging 9-hole par 3 golf course, and The Spa at Terranea with 25 treatment rooms, three ocean view pools and a collection of eight distinctive restaurants, bars and lounges. Other Resort amenities include a children’s center with interactive programs and several miles of scenic bluff-top trails that connect miles of off-property coastal trails. A secluded beach cove also adds to the unique experiences at Terranea Resort. For more information visit http://www.terranea.com or call 866-802-8000. For a video overview of Terranea, please visit: http://www.terranea.com/palos-verdes-videos.php.