AREA READY TO FORGE LINKS VALENCIA COUNTRY CLUB PREPARES FOR MAJOR PRO TOURNAMENT.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

VALENCIA - The banners are hanging on city streets, hotel rooms are booked and the pro shop is stocked with visors, hats and souvenirs.

By this time next week, the Valencia Country Club will be all but transformed into a professional golf venue and an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 spectators are about to descend on the city for the SBC Senior Classic.

``This is big stuff for Santa Clarita,'' said Dan Hernandez, head golf professional at the country club, which has hired an extra two dozen workers to handle food and beverage services during peak hours of the event.

The national tournament March 5-11 will mark the start of a new relationship with the city, which is under contract to host the event for the next five years.

Organizers say the quality of the greens and support of the community drew them to Valencia, where they plan to stay - possibly beyond the terms of the contract.

``The success of the Nissan Open in '98 really pointed us toward Valencia,'' said tournament director Peter deYoung, referring to the PGA event held in Valencia three years ago.

``It's a perfect spot for senior golf - the community is great, they seemed to want us,'' he said. ``If we get good weather, I think the pros we're going to bring in will put on a great show for the community, put us on a good foot.''

The tournament, with a $1.4 million purse, is expected to draw top senior golfers, including last year's leading money winner, Larry Nelson; runner-up, Bruce Fleisher; and legends Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Gil Morgan, Gary Player, Ray Floyd, Gary McCord, Isao Aoki, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Lanny Wadkins, organizers said.

Most have never played at the country club, deYoung said, and will be playing practice games and pro-am games at the start of the week. Then, from Friday through Sunday, the pros will be playing 18 holes a day, with the winner taking home $210,000 in prize money.

But that's still more than a week away.

This week and next, the grass is being trimmed just so, bleachers and sky boxes are being brought in, and businesses such as The Newhall Land and Farming Company are making plans to entertain corporate guests.

The Hyatt Valencia is booked for the week, city officials said, and other nearby hotels, including the Residence Inn by Marriott and two others operated by the company, say they're full.

The city has allocated $50,000 for street banners, extra Sheriff's Department support, parking employees and marketing of the event, said Santa Clarita Valley Tourism Bureau Manager Laura Karp.

College of the Canyons and Six Flags California are providing parking, city officials said, with Newhall Land providing overflow lots if needed.

Virtually no blade of grass has gone unnoticed as the country club has prepared the greens, stocked shelves and hired extra staffers for the event that officials said could draw 10,000 spectators a day.

This week, course superintendent Wayne Mills traveled to other Southland golf courses to collect an extra scoreboard and backup lawn mowers in case equipment fails during the event.

``We've been preparing since November,'' he said.

The PGA has set guidelines - tougher than usual - for this tournament. The roughs will be trimmed to three inches - rather than 2 to 2 1/2. The greens will be manicured to make the ball move speedier.

``There's excitement and anxiety,'' Mills said. ``All I ask is give me the weather we had this week and we'll have a good show.''

Mills has 20 full-time greenskeepers, five temporary workers and 10 to 15 student golfers who are volunteering for course duty.

He talks to PGA officials once or twice a week, and makes the adjustments they order.

As the tournament draws closer, almost double the usual 70 golf carts used at the club are ready for the pros and 800 volunteers are being organized.

DeYoung said he envisions transforming the country club into the likes of Staples Center or Dodger Stadium for the week.

``Everything's just kind of like something that needed to be done yesterday,'' Karp said.

From his vantage point at the country club's pro shop, Hernandez said the venue is shaping up.

``It's starting to look like something's happening.''

Tickets range from $10 to $2,000, with half of all proceeds from advanced ticket sales going to support the Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club. For ticket information, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Course superintendent Wayne Mills is getting the Valencia Country Club greens and fairways up to snuff for the SBC Senior Classic.

(2 -- color) Jesus Reyes, left, and his boss, Wayne Mills, test the speed of the greens Friday at the Valencia Country Club.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News