HISTORICAL SANTA ANITA COURSE IS NO EASY READ.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer ARCADIA - Santa Anita Golf Course The Santa Anita Golf Course is operated by Santa Anita Associates for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. The 185 acres upon which the Golf Course was built has always been devoted to recreation in some form or another. , located barely an hour's freeway drive from the western-most edge of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , is worth a brief road trip for area players interested in distinctive course architecture. This short-but-sporty layout, designed by William F. Bell and constructed as part of the Work Projects Administration of President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s, was voted Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County course of the year three times in the 1990s. Laid out in two concentric routes, the par-70, 6,398-yard course parallels most of the facility's outer boundary in a mostly clockwise-turning front nine, then shifts to predominantly right-to-left routing on an inner-perimeter back nine. The signature hole is the 435-yard, par-4 18th, rated only fourth-toughest on the course but arguably the subject of more conversation than any hole in the 17-course county system. This dogleg-right test is distinctive for the large mounds that define the right side of the fairway from the early turn in the dogleg dog·leg n. 1. a. Something that has a sharp bend, especially a road or route that bends abruptly. b. A sharp bend or turn: Make a dogleg at the fire station and continue south. until just before the green. The mounding, resembling large moguls on a ski run, dominates the right side of the fairway, forcing a strong tee shot to the left fairway to secure both a level lie and sightline sight·line also sight line n. A line of sight, especially one between a spectator and the spectacle in a theater or stadium. for an approach shot to the green. Cutting the corner presents the opportunity for a shorter approach and even a decent lie in a sliver of flat ground among the mounds. But that route brings trees and a rightside fairway bunker into play. It also put a player at risk of facing a blind shot to the green, sometimes from a severe angle, depending on where the tee shot lands among the mounds. With luck, Santa Anita's two-storied clubhouse - located directly behind the 18th green - can help the sightline from the right side. But often golfers wedged between mounds find themselves unable to see eventhat huge structure. Bob Bailie bail·ie n. 1. A Scottish municipal officer corresponding to an English alderman. 2. Obsolete A bailiff. [Middle English baillie, town official , handicap chairman of the Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
``My understanding is that old Army tanks, streetcars and boxcars box·car n. 1. A fully enclosed railroad car, typically having sliding side doors, used to transport freight. 2. boxcars Games A pair of sixes on the first throw in craps. Noun 1. were buried there,'' said Bailie, who adds that Santa Anita's driveable, 291-yard par-4 17th - appropriately named Desert - ``used to be sand, tee through green.'' But while the topography, which produces many subtle uphill, downhill or sidehill Side´hill` n. 1. The side or slope of a hill; sloping ground; a descent. lies, makes the course distinctive, Bailie said what makes Santa Anita difficult is the greens. ``I would say they have the toughest greens to read in California, without a doubt,'' said Bailie, who won SoCal Publinks senior titles in 1997, `98 and `99. ``I've been a member there for years and I still can't read them.'' Large trees, lining every fairway, also can be a problem, but Santa Anita's fairways are wide enough to prevent much difficulty in that area. Bunkers, refurbished a few years ago, can be more troublesome, producing steep uphill lies or even buried sidehill lies - especially in the greenside green·side adj. Sports Situated beside a putting green: a greenside bunker. Adj. 1. trap guarding the 129-yard, par-3 fourth hole. But those bunkers also are a visual plus at the 64-year-old course, as is the tile-roofed, salmon-colored clubhouse. Green fees are another playing asset - priced at a reasonable $20 for walkers during the week and $25 on weekends. The course record also fits nicely into the historical feel of a course loaded with mature oak and pine trees. The Santa Anita record of 62 was set by tennis great Ellsworth Vines, who went on to earn a berth in the Southern California PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. Hall of Fame. EXCURSION Destination: Arcadia Course: Santa Anita GC Vital stats: Championship tees: Par 70, 6,398 yards, men'srating/slope 70.4/122, women's rating/slope 76.0/129; white tees: par 70, 5.904 yards men's rating/slope 68.1/113, women's rating/slope 73.3/122. Architect: William F. Bell Head professional: Terry Moeller Phone: (626) 447-7156 Notable: Tennis/golf star Ellsworth Vines holds the course record at 62. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo:Sierra Madre resident Doug Dybdahl attempts to negotiate the difficult right side of Santa Anita's mound-marked 18th fairway. Dave Shelburne/Special to the Daily News Box: Excursion (see text) |
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