[Tony Petersen]

Might be making a move to Orange County at the beginning of the New Year for work, and part of the package is a golf club membership... within reason 

I've been checking out the area, and I want something close to work & home. Thus, I'm leaning towards Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach... Question is, does anyone know anything about the club, course, design, membership, greens, etc? Per the website "Seacliff is a Press Maxwell Jr. layout certain to test every shot in your bag." Ho-Hum... Just tell me that it reminds you of Hiwan Golf Club outside of Denver (another Press gem IMHO) and I'm sold

Seriously, any input about Seacliff or any other Orange County "gems" would be most appreciated...

[Tim Leahy]

I played the course before it went private and all I can remember is oil wells. There must have been at least one oil pump on every hole. I think when it went private they tried to hide them with shrubs. You might look into Rolling Hills CC or Palos Verdes CC as options.

[Sean Leary]

Shady Canyon...

Depends on what within reason is

[Pat Burke]

Shady Canyon...

Depends on what within reason is

And if Shady IS within reason, I am a 6 handicap and need a game

IAO  I know someone selling his Shady membership

[Tony Petersen]

Leary -

I have to save enough so I can pony up for my Prairie Dunes out-of-state & a condo in Hutch 

[Dennis_Harwood]

I played the course before it went private and all I can remember is oil wells. There must have been at least one oil pump on every hole. I think when it went private they tried to hide them with shrubs. You might look into Rolling Hills CC or Palos Verdes CC as options.

Tim -- Those two are not in Orange County--They are Coastal LA  County and a long ways from the Or Co border. If you wanted to play on a Weds afternoon (for example) it would be 1 1/2 to a 2 1/2 hour drive--each way-- And neither compare favorably with some Orange County Clubs--

Orange County, although looking small on the map, is also traffic congested, and hence the part of Orange County where you will be based is important--

Also, are you looking at Private Equty, Private (but not Equity), Private (but open to resort or guest play)?-- There is big, big difference, both in access and price among Orange County Clubs based on those factors.

Some would rank the "best" course layouts with a private label in the following general catagories (from an unnamed publicaton, and not in order within tiers):

Mesa Verde
Big Canyon
Shady Canyon
Dove Canyon
Hacienda

Close Second tier would be:

Mission Viejo
Coto de Caza
Santa Ana

Last tier:

Newport Beach CC
Seacliff
Old Ranch
Yorba Linda
Los Coyotes
Marbella
Western Hills



There is however, a wide divergence of membership makeup and golfing experience between those clubs-- and, in rush hour, well over an hour driving time seperates some of those clubs so location can be important depending on where you are living/working (And initiation fees vary, even in todays market, between $10,000 for some and $350,000 for others).

[Wayne Freeman]

Tony-   Dennis' assessment is pretty accurate with regard to the course rankings.  I think your biggest decision here revolves around how close you will be to the course and what you want to spend.  Courses like Big Canyon and Shady are I think over $300K to join now and your monthlies are significant when you throw in all the extras and caddy fees.  Some of the courses like Newport and Los Coyotes are so crowded that they have lotteries on weekends for the tee times.  I believe Seacliff is jammed on the weekend mornings also.
    Seacliff is certainly an above average course.  It has enough length if you are a low handicap player and the greens are usually good with a lot of interest and slope.  It has a couple of holes that look like they were just stuck on to complete an 18 hole layout,  but it is walkable and has variety to keep it interesting.
    I belong to Old Ranch CC in Seal Beach,  just on the north Orange County Border.  Our club is very down to earth and unassuming,  relatively inexpensive, and totally uncrowded.  We never have any problem playing during the week and even Sat. and Sunday mornings are not that busy.  It is a pretty flat (it's in a flood plain)  linksy kind of course,  but the greens have a lot of challenge,  is easily walked,  and the membership is really friendly.
    If I lived a little deeper into Orange County I would join Mesa Verde.  It's almost always in good shape,  has a lot of solid players, is walkable, and is reasonably priced. 


     

[David Panzarasa]

I played Seacliff twice in the past 3 months, and for the money I personally do not think its worth it at all. The course has some length to it yes, but not a great course at all. Its packed and nothing special. Only thing I will praise is that it has a nice driving range, nice clubhouse, and people seem to be very nice and decent.
 I agree with Mesa Verde, nicer course by leaps, good people, better place to join.
Newport Beach CC is a carnival show. It is packed, there are about 750 active golfing members who take full advantage of their membership which leads to chaos even on weekdays. Nice place, nice course, but again not worth it in my opinion.
 I was turned on to Hacienda not long ago, and for reason of joining a private club, this could be a great one. Nice people, great clubhouse, and very good course. Hard course as well! Nice history with the place (Tiger Woods stuff), and even on weekends its not packed. Good condition, greens were perfect both times I saw it, and more of a North East club feel to me.
 Might also want to check out Virginia CC in Long Beach, I think they will be renovating it or fixing any problems they might be having with it, but another decent/good private option.

[Jed Peters]

Tony-   Dennis' assessment is pretty accurate with regard to the course rankings.  I think your biggest decision here revolves around how close you will be to the course and what you want to spend.  Courses like Big Canyon and Shady are I think over $300K to join now and your monthlies are significant when you throw in all the extras and caddy fees.  Some of the courses like Newport and Los Coyotes are so crowded that they have lotteries on weekends for the tee times.  I believe Seacliff is jammed on the weekend mornings also.
    Seacliff is certainly an above average course.  It has enough length if you are a low handicap player and the greens are usually good with a lot of interest and slope.  It has a couple of holes that look like they were just stuck on to complete an 18 hole layout,  but it is walkable and has variety to keep it interesting.
    I belong to Old Ranch CC in Seal Beach,  just on the north Orange County Border.  Our club is very down to earth and unassuming,  relatively inexpensive, and totally uncrowded.  We never have any problem playing during the week and even Sat. and Sunday mornings are not that busy.  It is a pretty flat (it's in a flood plain)  linksy kind of course,  but the greens have a lot of challenge,  is easily walked,  and the membership is really friendly.
    If I lived a little deeper into Orange County I would join Mesa Verde.  It's almost always in good shape,  has a lot of solid players, is walkable, and is reasonably priced. 


     

Wayne, are you no longer a bay area guy?

[Pat Burke]

For my two cents
Where you are based with the traffic as mentioned before has a huge bearing.  Hacienda did a beautiful job reworking the course, and is a great, fun place to play now.
Mesa Verde is always in decent shape, and has always maintained a pretty good reputation for feeling like a private club (tee time availability and such)
Shady is awful busy for such a big ticket
Big Canyon I never quite got.  Mostly a location based value, and pretty snooty
Virginia, I also heard is trying to address any issues, and is a good golf course with a great "golf" staff led by Jaime Mulligan
Coto de Caza (where I live and work) and Dove Canyon are neighboring courses w=hich share some of the same challenges.  Private non-equity which translates to very busy. 
Aliso Viejo just reopened as a private non-equity but I haven't heard much about it
If I had the option, and it wasn't too bad a drive, I would pick Hacienda.  They have done a great job.  Only qualifier, is like many clubs out here, the practice facilities are pretty weak

[David Stamm]

Tony,

    Seacliff is too far a drive from Orange, as mentioned by others. Hacienda is one of the best in Orange, but it has gotten pricey. I have heard that that there has been quite a few memberships that have become available at Mission Viejo recently due to some hard economic times for some. It's also one of the best in Orange and was Mark O'Meara's old stomping grounds. An option could be looking east depending how close you are to the 91 freeway.

[TX Golf]

I will have to second Pats recommendation on Hacienda. I have had the opportunity to play out there and it really is great. While I know this is a "golf" site, it is also a great Country Club. The food, service, and atmosphere are all first class.

[Jon Spaulding]

Tony, which cities are you leaning towards? My 2 cents is that the golf in OC is average on a good day.......the living is much better. Pick where you want to live and then join the nearest club (with a couple exceptions).

Mission Viejo is going to be a 9 hole course for the foreseeable future. They're spending the monies from the property sale on a new clubhouse and a redux of one of the nines. Like Spinal Tap, it's the "loudest course in OC".

Big Canyon was $175 the last time I asked. Shady was $300 the last time I asked.

Mesa Verde is very average; unfortunately they let Ted Robinson onto the property. Pretty good conditions.

Aliso Viejo and Marbella are simply God-awful golfing experiences.

Coto has a number of good holes across the 36. Just very busy as already mentioned.

Dove Canyon is a strange mix of terrible housing holes and strong natural holes.

Have not played Hacienda yet but understand it to be a good course, messed up by Horrribottle, in the smog belt.

El Niguel is a decent parkland, well conditioned, weak routing. They too let Ted Robinson onto the property, then let Cal Olson is as a member. They tried to offset it by giving memberships to Crenshaw & Cook, but it didn't work. IMHO this is the best place to live/play in OC.........unless you want to live up in Newport and go cougar hunting every night, which would win hands down anytime due to the thriving population up that way.

[Pat Burke]

Tony, which cities are you leaning towards? My 2 cents is that the golf in OC is average on a good day.......the living is much better. Pick where you want to live and then join the nearest club (with a couple exceptions).

Mission Viejo is going to be a 9 hole course for the foreseeable future. They're spending the monies from the property sale on a new clubhouse and a redux of one of the nines. Like Spinal Tap, it's the "loudest course in OC".

Big Canyon was $175 the last time I asked. Shady was $300 the last time I asked.

Mesa Verde is very average; unfortunately they let Ted Robinson onto the property. Pretty good conditions.

Aliso Viejo and Marbella are simply God-awful golfing experiences.

Coto has a number of good holes across the 36. Just very busy as already mentioned.

Dove Canyon is a strange mix of terrible housing holes and strong natural holes.

Have not played Hacienda yet but understand it to be a good course, messed up by Horrribottle, in the smog belt.

El Niguel is a decent parkland, well conditioned, weak routing. They too let Ted Robinson onto the property, then let Cal Olson is as a member. They tried to offset it by giving memberships to Crenshaw & Cook, but it didn't work. IMHO this is the best place to live/play in OC.........unless you want to live up in Newport and go cougar hunting every night, which would win hands down anytime due to the thriving population up that way.

El Niguel is a pretty fun place, and right now at least, in the best condition of any of the places I've played in the past month.  For a private course, very busy, with a very active playing membership

[Jon Spaulding]

Fun is a good description of ENCC; you definitely have to move the ball both ways and hit a number of shots around the greens.

They've finally gotten off the overseeding train which is a good thing; going to Kikuya/Bermuda/Poa. Also have been top dressing very hard the last couple of years which is starting to bear fruit.

There are 470 members (and spouses), a good portion of which are retired/semi retired. Weekends are hell, during the week is fairly quiet. Contributing to the problem is the agreement with the homeowners which does not allow play until 730am.

[Carl Nichols]

Tony:
Did you ever make this move and join a club?  I've been spending a lot of time around Seal Beach for work lately but have never played any of the courses (except for Pelican Hill years ago).  Have met several retirees who play at Sea Cliff.

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