Moorpark Country Club features beauty, great golf

Moorpark Country Club greens Golfers who live in the Conejo-Simi-Moorpark region are a fortunate lot. Not only are we blessed with weather that allows us to play the entire year, but we also have several championship-quality courses to choose from. One that I recommend wholeheartedly is the Moorpark Country Club, located at the northeast end of the city of Moorpark. It offers a memorable 27 holes.

The Moorpark Country Club is a Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy-designed course that offers a variety of terrain to challenge golfers of all ages and abilities. It was rated by Golf Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Best New Places You Can Play." Most recently, GolfWeek magazine ranked Moorpark Country Club as one of the "Best Built New Courses."

The facility is made up of three nine-hole courses: Creekside, Ridgeline and Canyon Crest. Each course has its own identity and personality.

I recently played the course with my wife, Deborah, my favorite playing partner. We headed north on the 23 Freeway to Moorpark's Los Angeles Avenue off ramp, then continued up Walnut Canyon (Moorpark Avenue) to Championship Drive. A club attendant greeted us and took our clubs to the starter shack, while we checked in at the pro shop.

The guys at the shop sped us right along to a starter named John, who offered insight and advice regarding the course and its various quirks. He got us on our way, suggesting which courses we might enjoy playing most.

John showed us the global positioning system available on all the facility's carts. The system is called "Parview," and Moorpark Country Club is the only facility in Ventura or northern Los Angeles County to offer it. Parview gives exact yardage to the pin on all holes, yardage to bunkers and hazards, and a separate green view. It even offers suggestions on how to play the hole. It's like having a caddy on board, except you don't have to tip it at the end of the round.

We began play at the Canyon Crest course, which meanders along a higher elevation than the other courses. Canyon Crest offers several holes with excellent views of the entire area.

My personal favorite was the third hole, known as "Peter's Peril." This beautiful par three hole runs slightly downhill, with bunkers guarding it on both sides. If you hit too far, the ball will run off the back edge. The backdrop for this hole is the Santa Monica Mountain range. You almost feel grateful for the chance at a bogey.

For the back nine we moved on to the Creekside Course, which is the most scenic and difficult of the courses on the facility. The creek was dry due to the lack of rainfall this year. During a routine or wet winter, this would change the course from merely outstanding to spectacular.

My favorite hole on this course was the aptly named "La Bruja Verde," or the Green Witch. The hole features not one but two forced carries, the first of which gives the illusion of hitting over the south rim of the Grand Canyon. If you make it over that one, there's a second carry onto a narrow landing area and then to the green. You must cross over the second of two quaint wooden bridges to get to the green. The hole is such fun that in spite of its difficulty, neither my wife nor I could keep from smiling.

The Moorpark Country Club is a public facility offering private memberships during its Preview Initiation Drive, which goes until April 30. For more information, call membership director Leslie Moore at (805) 532-2834 or e-mail lmoore@ moorparkgolf.com.

The course is available for public play every day and has special day and twilight rates.

More information, as well as tee times, are available at www.Moorparkgolf.com.