Seeing green

Bryce Alderton

A cool ocean breeze envelops Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club on the

first Saturday in August.

It’s just after 12:30 p.m., right when golfers who wrestled

themselves out of bed at sunrise for that 7 or 8 a.m. tee time are

just finishing their rounds, and some who are just entering the

confines of not only one of Newport-Mesa’s secrets, but all of

Southern California.

But is it really a secret?

“We have 400-plus people here before noon everyday between two

courses,” said Sean Collins, tournament director and teaching

professional at the club that draws golfers from all over Southern

California to experience the lush fairways and “much improved” greens

that dot both the Mesa Linda course, which measures 5,103 yards from

the men’s tees, and the longer Los Lagos course, a 6,233-yard layout.

The “much improved” part is in large part due to superintendent

Jim Fetterly and his staff, Collins said. Fetterly was hired in 1998

and previously worked at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa

Margarita, one of Orange County’s most picturesque, challenging and

manicured courses.

“The course is in perfect condition,” Collins said. “Jim Fetterly

and his crew do an amazing job, which keeps people coming back.”

Dave Dubke drives 10 minutes from his home in Huntington Beach to

play Costa Mesa three times a week. He often plays Sundays with the

“Splinter Group,” an offshoot of the men’s club.

“The course is 10 times better than it was five or six years ago,”

said Dubke, 45, as he was adding up the scores while sitting in the

cart after his round.

“Six or seven years ago this land was a dust bowl,” Collins said.

“Mesa Verde Partners, the course’s operators, have put time and money

into it.”

Reasonable green fees also lure golfers to Costa Mesa, such as

Paul Brown, a 38-year-old Aliso Viejo resident who first started

playing the courses in 1990.

Brown walked off the 18th hole on the Mesa Linda course just

before 1 p.m. Saturday, as the midday sun shone brightly.

“That was about a four-and-a-half-hour round, which is average,”

Brown said, with the golf bag secured on his shoulders and back. “The

two courses make it easy to get on. The greens are in nice shape and

the fees are reasonable.”

Weekend rates, for Saturdays and Sundays, on the Mesa Linda course

are $30 to walk, while Los Lagos costs $39. Rates fall on Fridays to

$25 on Mesa Linda and $29 on Los Lagos while Mondays through

Thursdays are even cheaper. To walk 18 holes on Mesa Linda will

lighten the wallet by $20, while Los Lagos costs $27 Mondays through

Thursdays.

Cart fees are extra and tap out at $24 for 18 holes, but twilight,

back nine and senior rates bring the prices down, as they do with

green fees. There are also junior and super-twilight rates.

The club also provides a driving range and two putting greens,

where 82-year-old Don Hazen, who resides on the Balboa Peninsula,

drives once every two weeks to practice.

Hazen moved from Riverside to Balboa 13 years ago and wanted a

place to play once or twice a month.

A nationally ranked tennis player when he competed in the 65 and

70 age divisions, Hazen plays golf once or twice a year and eyed the

line to the hole as he set up to putt one of four balls on the

practice green.

“You just see the line and follow through,” Hazen said as the ball

rolled smoothly within one foot of the cup. “This putter doesn’t

allow your wrists to break. You can’t afford to have your wrists

break.”

Whether on the practice area or the course, Collins said the

greens are the biggest draw, which keeps the golfers flocking.

“This is one of the busiest courses around,” Collins said. “The

way [the greens] are shaped ... the ball rolls a lot better than it

used to.”