A new house on the hill

BRYCE ALDERTON

With any major undertaking such as a construction project near a golf

facility, there nearly always are inconveniences that arise for the

final product’s greater good.

Such is the case at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast.

The Irvine Co.’s plans for constructing a resort community near

the golf facility received the OK Tuesday from Orange County planning

commissioners, who voted in favor of issuing building permits for the

site.

The plans call for a spanking new 36,000 square-foot clubhouse

complete with a pro shop and full-service restaurant, along with a

resort inn that will contain 40-single-story guest bungalows with 204

rooms in all. There will also be 128 casitas, or timeshares, on the

property that will no doubt attract even more visitors to this serene

piece of coastline where the sound of seagulls is more pronounced

than that of motor vehicles.

But it’s where the clubhouse will sit that golfers, especially

ones who practice, should pay special attention to.

The new clubhouse will be built on the site of the current driving

range and renowned practice facility when construction begins

sometime in mid-2005.

The range will be closed for 18 months during that phase of

construction, Irvine Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said.

Both courses will remain open during construction, which will be a

two-phase project beginning with the clubhouse, Hieger said.

Completion of the entire Pelican Hill resort is tentatively scheduled

for mid-2008.

Plans are in place for Pelican’s extensive teaching programs,

headed by Glenn Deck, the club’s director of instruction, to move to

Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, also owned by the Irvine Co., during

construction, Pelican Hill General Manager Hans Maissen said.

Deck’s programs include a once-a-month weekend golf school that

attracts anywhere from three to 12 students a session along with

custom group lessons that have gained in popularity in the last 1 1/2

years.

And the students aren’t just local. Pelican Hill, annually rated

in the top 20 courses in California by Golf Digest, attracts visitors

from surrounding counties such as Los Angeles and San Diego, along

with the out-of-state traveler, Deck said.

The range, which includes 26 public practice stalls along with the

upper tier -- devoted to private instruction -- will remain virtually

the same once finished, with a few hopeful additions, Maissen said.

“We will evaluate the technology and improve on some of the

techniques we have there now,” Maissen said.

But it’s the location of the future range and clubhouse that has

Maissen excited.

Golfers will be able to check in, take a few steps out the door

and walk onto the practice range when this project is finished.

The clubhouse, range and restaurant will essentially be an

all-in-one package, if you will.

As it stands now, the range and clubhouse are separated. One must

drive a cart from the clubhouse down the winding Pelican Hill Road to

the practice facility that sits at the bottom of the hill.

The new design will feature a bridge that will allow golfers to

drive their carts from the clubhouse -- over Pelican Hill Road -- to

one of the club’s two 18-hole courses, the Ocean or South.

The bridge resembles the Hogan Bridge, which crosses Rae’s Creek

on Augusta National Golf Club’s 12th hole.

Artist renderings and other information about the project can be

found at www.pelicanhillupdate.com.

The existing clubhouse will be part of the inn and also be used

for banquets.

Maissen expects an increase in the number of golfers from the

addition of timeshares and an inn on the property, but said the club

will remain dedicated to accommodate its current golfing clientele.

“We won’t have as many outside functions or events in order to

accommodate people staying [at the inn or in timeshares],” Maissen

said. “But, for sure, we will always keep the number of rounds to

satisfy the players that already play Pelican Hill.”

Whatever the final outcome, Pelican Hill will never be the same

again.