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 With that in mind, here are 18 of the most challenging holes we could find. Our front nine is made up of holes from public courses, the back nine consists of holes from private clubs. Enjoy your round. No. 1: FOUR SEASONS AVIARA RESORT 18th hole • 443 yards • Par 4 This dogleg-right par four always feels like it is playing into a breeze. This, coupled with the slightly elevated green, make this Arnold Palmer-designed hole feel like it plays even longer. Water guards the right side from the landing area and stretches all the way up to the long, narrow green. No. 2: GRIFFITH PARK GOLF COURSE 16th hole, Wilson Course • 438 yards • Par 4 They don’t build holes like this anymore. Designed in 1923 by famed architect George C. Thomas, it takes two very well-struck shots to manage a par here. The green can’t be seen from the tee on this dogleg right and cutting the corner is a bad idea as the large oak trees on this side of the fairway like to devour golf balls. The green is set against a hillside that is covered knee-deep in kikuyu grass. No. 3: REDHAWK GOLF CLUB 8th hole • 165 yards • Par 3 Sometimes the beauty of a hole can lull you to sleep. The 8th hole at the Ron Fream-designed RedHawk Golf Club is one of the most visually stunning holes in the state. Water surrounds this island green with its only connection to dry land being a replica of Sarazen Bridge at Augusta National. A left-to-right cross wind makes shot selection challenging, but as the breeze picks up in the afternoon, just managing to find dry land with your tee shot becomes a moral victory. No. 4: STRAWBERRY FARMS GOLF CLUB 12th hole • 630 yards • Par 5 It’s long, narrow, into the wind and slightly uphill. The Jim Lipe-designed hole takes three great shots to get home in regulation. Out-of-bounds guards the right side of the fairway the entire length of the hole. Three strategically placed bunkers coupled with an undulating green will provide more headaches for those who actually reach the green. No. 5: PGA of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOLF CLUB 14th hole, The Champions Course • 490 yards • Par 4 From the elevated tee box of this Schimdt-Curley-designed hole, the fairway is lined by a dry creek bed on the right and natural scrub brush on the left. A fairway bunker guards the right side of the landing area. Any ball finding this bunker can forget about getting home in regulation. The subtly undulating green makes getting the ball close to the hole, even on your third shot, highly unlikely. No. 6: BARONA CREEK GOLF CLUB 18th hole • 472 yards • Par 4 As if the hole were not long enough, it plays into the prevailing wind. More than likely, you will have a wood left to the green and any shot that travels left will find the lake. Designer Gary Roger Baird left plenty of room to the right to bail out. Unfortunately, it’s extremely hard to get up and down from the right-side collection area. PGA teaching professional Bob Madsen from the nearby Sycuan Golf Academy noted that the bunkering “throws off your judgement” and that the hole is “a real bruiser.” No. 7: TORREY PINES GOLF COURSE 12th hole, South Course • 504 yards • Par 4 This par 4 can stretch to over 500 yards and even plays a robust 456 yards from the white tees. There is no monkey business on this hole — it’s long, straight and the kikuyu rough places a premium on putting the ball in the fairway. It plays back into the ocean breeze and, according to Buick Invitational Tournament Director Tom Wilson, it was the second hardest hole on the PGA Tour last year. No. 8: PELICAN HILL GOLF CLUB 13th hole, Ocean South Course • 121 yards • Par 3 Not all holes have to be long to be difficult. This Tom Fazio-designed gem features two tiny greens and plays along the ocean, so wind is a definite factor. Accuracy is a must or you will find your ball in one of the large waste bunkers that surround the greens or in the native brush that frames the hole. No. 9: MONARCH BEACH GOLF LINKS 7th hole • 600 yards • Par 5 It’s a 600-yard par 5 designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. that features two forced carries, one off the tee and one on the approach. There are two large bunkers at the end of the landing area that, should you find one, make par a difficult score. Players have a choice on the second shot of laying up to the end of the fairway or crossing back over the hazard to a narrow fairway short of the green. Around the green are two large bunkers, one short right and one long and left. All this is capped off by a severely sloping green that can make a 3-foot putt break up to 3 inches outside the hole. No. 10: PAUMA VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB 10th hole • 396 yards • Par 4 The hole doesn’t look like much on the scorecard, but the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed hole can leave you scratching your head as you walk off the green. The narrow hole starts with the classic runway-style tee box and a dogleg left encourages players to hit something other than a driver off the tee. The approach to the elevated green is tucked around bunkers and natural brush and depth perception becomes an issue. Hit your ball above the hole in certain pin positions and watch your ball roll off the front of the green. No. 11: VALENCIA GOLF CLUB 10th hole • 470 yards • Par 4 This monster has a blind tee shot to a fairway guarded by large trees that devour golf balls. The fairway slopes down toward a small undulating green that is protected by several bunkers. Miss this fairway and the hole quickly becomes a short par 5. No. 12: NORTH RANCH COUNTRY CLUB 8th hole • 232 yards • Par 3 If you get to this tee and aren’t sure you have enough balls in your bag, don’t waist your time, just walk directly to the drop area. This is 232 yards of heart-stopping carry over a beautiful water hazard that extends all the way along the right side of the green. If that’s not enough, even Mother Nature doesn’t know where the wind is coming from on this hole. You can try to bail out left if you don’t mind chipping out of deep rough to a lighting-quick green that slopes directly to the water. Once you are on the green there are four mounds to deal with. Assistant professional Michael Sepe says “take everything you have in the bag, hit it and hope the golf gods are on your side.” No. 13: MISSION HILLS COUNTRY CLUB 18th hole, Tournament Course • 646 yards • Par 5 For our money, it is flat out the most demanding hole on the list. Water and a few well-placed palm trees guard the left side of this Desmond Muirhead-designed beast, while bunkers dot the tee shot landing area on the right. Missing the fairway off the tee means you will likely have to layup on your third shot. The approach shot to a large undulating island green is no picnic either. No. 14: DESERT FALLS COUNTRY CLUB 14th hole • 404 yards • Par 4 A slight dogleg left, this hole challenges your mind and spirit. Water and a downhill sloping fairway will likely keep driver in your bag. They ideal shot is to leave yourself about a 150-yard approach shot, which will definitely test your spirit. The water leads right to the front edge of the green lined with large boulders and depth perception is tough. A swirling breeze can make good shots fall short in the lake or send them flying over the green to an unstoppable downhill pitch. According to professional Jess Peterson, the average score by members on this hole is 5.8. No. 15: GLENDORA COUNTRY CLUB 10th hole • 458 yards • Par 4 It’s not a true beast in the modern sense of par 4’s that look mysteriously like par 5’s, but it’s tough nonetheless. The hole is a slight dogleg left with a driving range on the left and out-of-bounds on the right. This forces you to hit the toughest shot in golf: the long, straight tee shot for your best approach. Drift too far toward the left of the fairway and a giant tree will block your approach. Drift too far right and you will have to add a club or two to your approach. No. 16: HACIENDA GOLF CLUB 7th hole • 516 yards • Par 5 You drive out of a densely wooded chute to a fairway that slopes gently from the out-of-bounds that runs the entire length of the right side of the hole toward the enormous trees protecting the left side of the fairway. Two good shots will leave you a short approach into the green, but the slightly elevated and well-bunkered green make getting the ball close anything but a certainty. No. 17: VIRGINIA COUNTRY CLUB 6th hole • 438 yards • Par 4 This is a great hole on a classically designed course. The hole features a slight dogleg left with very tall, dense trees lining both sides of the fairway. The narrow green is protected by bunkers and the hillside behind the green adds to the deceptive nature of the hole. Former Long Beach State golf coach and long-time member Del Walker joined a very short list of members who has eagled every hole on the course when his five-wood found the bottom of the cup on this most challenging hole. No. 18: MESA VERDE COUNTRY CLUB 18th hole • 200 yards • Par 3 What else needs to be said about a 200-yard par 3 over water with bunkers guarding the front left and back right of the green. Did we mention that there is out-of-bounds on the left? In the 2004 SCGA Mid-Am, the William F. Bell-designed hole had the highest over-par rating in the tournament with a scoring average nearing double-bogey. The hole typically plays into the prevailing wind and even if you manage to find the putting surface, the green is severely sloped from left to right with there being virtually no easy hole locations. Director of golf Tom Sargent believes that as many as 50 percent of players three-putt the green. n |
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