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 Playing Riviera requires connections, or lots of money, and teeing it up at Torrey Pines means waiting in line and battling crowds. Empire Lakes Golf Course in Rancho Cucamonga is a pleasant alternative. The Arnold Palmer-designed course has played host to a Nationwide Tour event since 2000, and once you get past the oddity of seeing nondescript industrial buildings on the fringes of the course, players will find a well-conditioned course that skillfully blends straightforward golf with a healthy dose of toughness. The picturesque par-3 second hole is one of the most beautiful on the course. The hole plays 159 yards from the back tee over a small lake with an impressive mountain backdrop. The hole is followed by the 334-yard, par-4 third hole, where water comes into play off the tee and on approach shots. Although water hazards don’t overwhelm the course, they are a recurring theme. At the 206-yard, par-3 seventh hole, a long iron or fairway wood is needed to carry a large lake in front of the green. Take note of the pin location on the 18th hole, which is in close proximity to the seventh green. The front nine concludes with a 432-yard par-4 that has a blind tee shot and water bordering the left side of the fairway and green. The par-5 11th hole is a brutish 601 yards that requires three good pokes from average players to reach the green. Even some of the big hitters on the Nationwide Tour will have to think twice before trying to get home in two. The home stretch features two great finishing holes: The par-3 17th hole is 224 yards with a large bunker protecting the front of the green, and the round concludes with a 517-yard par-5 that is one of the most thrilling holes in Southern California. A strip of rough bisecting the fairway will force some players to lay up on their drives and approach shots, while big hitters will let it fly off the tee and have a good chance of getting home in two — if they avoid the lake in front of the green, which has multiple levels. The Nationwide Tour’s Mark Christopher Classic is September 12-18. Playing the course around that time will give golfers the opportunity to play a course in tour condition. n |
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