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Doug DeCinces has gone from hitting line drives to long drives as he settles into retirement from his first career. The former Angels third baseman is one of the original managing partners at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine. Q. As one of the owners of Strawberry Farms, what has been the most satisfying thing about being involved with one of the top high-end, daily-fee courses in Orange County? A. It’s hearing from our customers about their experiences from the service they received, or the food they had, but mostly I enjoy them telling me about how beautiful the course is and how they feel so removed from the city hustle because of the rural ambience. That was the original intent of the farmhouse and course design. Q. Strawberry Farms is home to several high-profile golf tournaments, such as the Orange County Golf Championship and the Irvine City Championship. What is it that makes the course such a great venue for these events? A. I believe that Strawberry Farms offers the golfer a very challenging but very fair venue. The low-handicap players can put their game to the real test by playing from the tips and mid-handicappers always have the opportunity to receive a strong reward for a good shot. That, combined with our excellent tournament conditions and focused service, always makes the player want to play again. Q. What’s your favorite hole at Strawberry Farms? A. I have a few favorites: No. 9 and No. 12 are very challenging par-5s, and No. 16 is a very rewarding par-5 that allows the golfer to reach the green in two if a good drive is placed properly. But if I were to pick just one hole, I think it would have to be No. 18 because of the demanding two shots needed to reach the green in regulation, the waterfall and the view of Orange County. It’s a great finishing hole. Q. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced since the golf course opened in 1997? A. After finishing building the course in November 1997 and having the course in pristine condition, we were hit with El Niño in December and received 12 inches of rain in 10 hours. It completely filled and overflowed the reservoir, which caused more damage as we received two more bursts in January and February. All the newly seeded slopes washed onto the course and the overall damage exceeded $500,000. Not exactly how we envisioned opening the course. Today, I still see remnants of those storms. Q. If you could change one thing about the course, what would it be? A. I’m very detailed in my view of Strawberry Farms and I could always change things, but one has to be financially realistic. We are planning to build a new cart barn, so we can turn the big red barn into a permanent banquet hall, as the requests for use of the barn have far exceeded our expectations. If we could have finished the other nine holes on the city of Irvine’s land, that could have completed all the potential this location could have had, but the powers that be stopped that. Too bad, it would have been great. (949) 551-1811 or www.strawberryfarmsgolf.com. |
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