Tom Lehman and Casey O’Callaghan had a grand palette to work with at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club and they succeeded in crafting a natural beauty in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in Mission Viejo. The 240-acre course that opened in 2004 takes advantage of the tranquility and grandeur of the Ladera Open Space Reserve, and the 2,000-yard difference between the front tees and back is one representation of how much room the design duo had to work with. The bucolic setting with awesome long views is enhanced by the lack of houses, and the color contrasts between the fairway grass, natural grasses, bushes, trees and lakes is a pretty sight. A particularly scenic stretch of holes is the seventh through12th that brings undulating terrain and elevation changes into the mix. Visit arroyotrabuco.com.
COURSE OF THE MONTH: Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo
