OC Golf Courses – An Executive Guide

It should come as no surprise that Orange County contains a wealth of golf courses, ready and willing to allow its guests to tread upon their beautifully sculpted grounds as they bask in the OC’s legendary weather.  But what makes golfing here so special is the unmatched variety in courses that are available to Orange County natives and visitors alike.  Indeed, golfers of any skill level, from beginning duffer to scratch veteran, can locate an Orange County golf course to perfectly fit his or her particular golf game with ridiculous ease.

What follows is a list of the golf courses to be enjoyed in Orange County, ranging from compact executive courses to epic seaside links.  While these courses vary in style, shape, and playability, they all exemplify the beauty of living and playing in Orange County in their own unique ways.

Aliso Viejo

Aliso Viejo Country Club – The exclusive club is home to a Par-72 course designed by Jack Nicklaus that features eight lakes, cascading water features, and a backdrop of the spectacular Santa Ana Mountains.  The golf course is only open to club members during the weekend, but non-members can take on its holes at specially designated times during the week.

Anaheim

Anaheim Hills Golf Course – Nestled in the foothills that make up the easternmost part of Anaheim’s municipal sprawl, this Par-71 public course makes the most out of its natural terrain.  Canyon vistas, clusters of sycamore and oak trees, and a meandering stream provide a handsomely rugged setting for a course that will test golfers of all skill sets. 

Dad Miller Golf Course – This inexpensive Par-71 course is famed for being the golf course that Tiger Woods practiced at while he was growing up.  Its flat topography and straight-forward layout make it an ideal course for novices looking to improve their game and people who like to walk from hole to hole.

Brea

Brea Creek Golf Course (Executive) – This tiny Par-29 nine-hole executive course is known for being affordable – a round and golf cart rental costs a smidge over $20 on the weekend – and very laid-back.  The relatively flat course also features a very large driving range for players of all skill levels to work out their swings.

Birch Hills Golf Course (Executive) – Critically acclaimed as one of the best executive courses in Southern California, this Par-59 course is a good place for inexperienced golfers to tee off.  The course’s compact size also makes it a nice course for players to walk.

Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa Country Club – This sprawling facility offers players the choice of two 18-hole, championship-style golf courses; Los Lagos and Mesa Linda.  The Par-72 former course is a little longer than the Par-70 latter course, a divergence that is reflected in the $10 difference in green fees between the two.   Both courses do feature discounts for Costa Mesa seniors and attendees of the Newport-Mesa school district.

Cypress

Navy Golf Course – This venerable golfing complex, formerly reserved for military personnel and their families, has been recently opened to the public.  The facility features the Par-72 Destroyer course and the compact Par-31 Cruiser executive course, both of which are located adjacent to the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Center.  The course does offer discounted rates to those brave souls that proudly served our country through the various branches of the Armed Forces.

Dana Point

Monarch Beach Golf Links – Located on the grounds of the famed St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and buttressed by the curves of the Orange County coastline, much of this Par-70 course is laid out to provide sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean in all of its resplendent glory.  Additionally, the pricey public course is one of Orange County’s most challenging ones, highlighted by several strategically placed lakes and pristine greens that longtime PGA Tour veteran Tom Watson once compared to those found at Augusta National.

Fountain Valley

David L. Baker Golf Course (Executive) – Tucked away in the northwest corner of the expansive Mile Square Park, this Par-62 course is the longest executive course in Orange County.  Its assortment of lakes, carefully positioned bunkers, and massive greens make it a fun yet demanding course for novices and veterans alike.

Mile Square Golf Course – Located in the southwest corner of Mile Square Park, this massive facility contains two courses; the Par-72 Classic Course, and the Par-72 Player’s Course.  The former was constructed along with Mile Square Park back in 1969, whereas the latter was built in 2011. Each course is surrounded by lush forestry and accentuated by plenty of water hazards and bunkers to keep golfers on their toes.

Fullerton

Coyote Hills Country Club – Tucked amidst the often-forgotten rolling foothills of northwest Fullerton, the open-to-the-public course was co-designed by the late PGA Tour star Payne Stewart.  The Par-70 course incorporates plenty of the gently sloping land’s natural surroundings, as it shares its playing field with flowing streams and varying sizes of wildlife.

Fullerton Golf Course – This Par-67 course is one of the smallest 18-hole courses in Orange County.  Its compact size, coupled with its valley setting and no-frills, flattish layout make this a solid course for beginning or intermediate golfers. 

Huntington Beach

Meadowlark Golf Club – A lot of beginners and intermediate players come here because of its relatively inexpensive greens fees the straightforward nature of the course, which plays shorter than its Par-70 status might indicate.  Its difficulty does get bumped up during the rainy season, as the aftermath of precipitation slows the course down considerably.

Irvine

Oak Creek Golf Club – Considered by many to be one of the most picturesque golf courses in Orange County, the Par-71 course features full views of Orange County’s striking foothills and is anchored by a majestic Spanish-style clubhouse.  The tough course tempers these surroundings by featuring dramatic rolling fairways and plenty of strategically placed, ball-swallowing hazards to make advanced players feel a little intimidated.

Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course – This Par-72 course offers a no-nonsense playing field with views of Irvine’s original business district.  Spots of modest elevation and well-protected greens make this course a popular place for beginning and intermediate golfers.

Strawberry Farms Golf Course – Developed by former Angel third baseman Doug DeCinces, the Par-71 course contains many touches that acknowledge its area’s former life as farmland.  Surrounding vegetation, canyon views, and a massive red barn that dominates the facility helps to bring a distinctively rustic feel to the tricky course.

La Habra

Westridge Golf Club – Situated at the edge of North Orange County’s foothills, the Par-72 course features plenty of undulating terrain to pose challenges to intermediate and advanced players.  Enveloping foliage and sweeping views of nearby Carbon Canyon further enhance this course’s visual aspect.

Lake Forest

Lake Forest Golf (Executive) – This diminutive Par-29, nine-hole course carries little pretense and is inexpensive to play.  It also possesses a very basic layout, with only one lake and minimal elevation changes, thus making it an ideal course for novices or players who don’t take their game too seriously.

Laguna Beach

Aliso Creek Golf Course (Executive) – Unlike other nine-hole executive courses in Orange County, this Par-32 course possesses the feel of playing at an 18-hole championship course, a vibe that is aided by the panoramic backdrop of Laguna Canyon’s stunning peaks and ridges, as well as the occasional spotting of wildlife.  The course itself provides a serene layout that is accessible for beginners and challenging for intermediate players. 

Mission Viejo

Arroyo Trabuco-Orange County Golf Club – Co-designed by PGA Tour pro Tom Lehman, this unique course is intertwined with the base of the Santa Ana Mountains, providing an up-close and personal look at some of Orange County’s most unique and obscure vegetation.  The Par-72 course utilizes the land’s natural curves and topography to create a twisting playing area that can be rather imposing for even advanced players.

Casta del Sol Golf Course (Executive) – As Orange County’s southernmost executive course, this layout provides South Orange County residents the opportunity for an unpretentious, laid-back game.  The succinctness of the Par-61 course makes it a good place for beginning players working on their long game, and its carefully crafted greens yield a challenge for advanced players refining their short game.

Newport Beach

Hyatt Newport Back Bay Golf Course (Executive) – This classic “pitch and putt” course is Orange County’s lone exclusively Par- 3 nine-hole course.   The microscopic playing field – the longest hole checks in at a mere 100 yards – provides a good setting for families looking to golf with their children, especially when the inexpensive green fees are considered.

Newport Beach Golf Course (Executive) – There is nothing fancy about this Par-59 course, which is why it appeals to so many people who are just looking for a chill place to golf.  Minimal hazards and short, straight holes abound on this relatively flat course, whose layout is quite conducive to walking.

Pelican Hill – Arguably Orange County’s most prestigious golfing venue, the two oceanfront courses located at the Pelican Hill resort are also amongst some of the OC’s most expensive places to play.  However, advanced golfers will contend that the price tag is worth every penny.  The Par-70 South Course is slightly smaller than the Par-71 North Course, but both courses cling tightly to cliffs that peer out to the undulating Pacific Ocean, giving players the chance to take in sweeping views of the spectacular coastline amidst pristinely lush greenery and the soothing sounds of surf meeting turf. 

Rancho Santa Margarita

Tijeras Creek Golf Course – Surrounded by the rugged beauty of the Santa Ana foothills, this Par-72 course affords golfers a place where they can feel at one with nature as they play.  The advanced course incorporates much of the area’s vegetation to bring this feeling home, as its holes weave their way through thick clusters of sycamores, oaks, and chaparral.  

San Clemente

Talega Golf Club – Located a mere three miles from the Pacific Ocean, players flock to this Par-72 course to take in the open sky, distant canyons, and the salty essence of ocean air.  This award-winning, critically lauded course features a good mixture of length and hazards that make it a solid course for intermediate golfers looking to take their game to the next level.

San Clemente Golf Course – Located about a mile from the Pacific Ocean, this family-friendly Par-72 public course is a cost-effective way to enjoy the pleasures of coastal golf.  In addition to ocean glimpses the course incorporates a background mélange of some of the city’s famed Spanish architecture, helping to minimize its “muni” feel.

Shorecliffs Golf Course – This Par-71 course is famed for being the place that former President Nixon liked to play when he was at his Western White House.  The course itself underwent a recent renovation that reshaped some of its holes, but the colorful murals which line the course-connecting tunnels  remain untouched and the brief ocean glimpses which dot the course remain unobstructed.

San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Hills Country Club – Open to the public, this Par-71 course is surrounded by the rolling knolls that make up the southern foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains.  The natural beauty from the enveloping topography combine with the toughness inherent in the course’s half-dozen lakes and well-protected greens to make the course accessible for novices looking to leap to the next level and challenging for golfers with advanced skill sets.

Santa Ana

Riverview Golf Course – This bustling course is one of Orange County’s busiest for tournament play; over 100 tourneys of varying prestige are held on these grounds, including competitions that have been won by Tiger Woods and Scott Simpson.  The challenging Par-70 course is a popular destination for players of all skill sets, while the venue’s state-of-the-art driving range is one of the more advanced facilities of its kind in the OC.

Willowick Golf Course – The oldest golf course in Orange County, the affordable Par-71 course is also the OC’s most centrally located facility.  Its flattish playing surface makes it a nice course to walk and its minimal hazards make it an easy, breezy venue to play.  

Tustin

Tustin Ranch Golf Club – Directly set against the towering canyons and impressive foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, this Par-72 course public course uses its breathtaking surroundings to create a vibe that is akin to golfing in the high desert without the scorching temperatures.  In-course features such as tumbling waterfalls, abundant palm trees, and shimmering lakes makes the venue one of the OC’s most popular places to play.

Yorba Linda

Black Gold Golf Club – From its perch in the foothills of northeast Orange County, this Par-72 course offers golfers the OC’s highest elevation to tee off from.  Naturally, this height affords players a breathtaking panoramic view of the area that can stretch all the way out to Catalina Island on clear days.  The brush-lined, rolling layout of the course is designed to reward players who play boldly while being forgiving for those who take the conservative route.

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