{"id":240942,"date":"2025-09-20T07:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T07:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240942\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T07:46:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T07:46:18","slug":"best-golf-course-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240942\/","title":{"rendered":"Best golf course \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Black Gold Golf Club<\/strong><\/p>\n

One Black Gold Drive, Yorba Linda; 714-961-0060; blackgoldgolf.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Players can\u2019t get their fill of the Black Gold Club, and that\u2019s now literally the case as the course\u2019s Derrick\u2019s Grille earned recognition from the National Golf Foundation\u2019s 2025 Golfers\u2019 Voice Awards for Food and Beverage.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just the latest accolade for the Yorba Linda municipal course that continually scores above its weight in a high-toned category.<\/p>\n

In transforming Derrick\u2019s from a mere amenity to a full-scale foodie paradise, where meals are made from scratch daily, Black Gold and Kemper Sports continue to make the experience about more than just the golf.\u00a0That said, golf continues to be the selling point at this gem of a course.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great course and we just make it better,\u201d said General Manager Rich Cessna of ongoing changes to the 23-year-old course.<\/p>\n

One big change is the retirement of Bill Houlihan as course superintendent and the hiring of Ben Alford.\u00a0Already Alford has made his presence felt, reseeding tee boxes with kikuyu grass to dissuade the local rabbit population from scarfing up the tee areas.<\/p>\n

Cessna said the 6,756-yard course continues to evolve in subtle ways, softening certain parts for higher-handicap golfers, while ratcheting up the challenges elsewhere.\u00a0\u201cWe try to keep it pleasing and playable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The lake and the course\u2019s signature waterfall continue to be main features of the 18th hole. Oh, and Derrick\u2019s afterward.<\/p>\n

2. Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club<\/strong><\/p>\n

26722 Avery Parkway, Mission Viejo; 949-305-5100; arroyotrabuco.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrating its 21st birthday, Arroyo Trabuco has come of age and consistently ranks among the best courses in Orange County, due in part to its dedication to upgrades to the course and the playing experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really try to take the customer experience and make it attractive,\u201d says PGA Club Manager Geoff Cram. \u201dWe try to make the vibe joyful. We want people to show up and say \u2018Wow, you\u2019re doing something different here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Arroyo Trabuco recently doubled its putting green to more than 20,000 square feet, complete with music, picnic tables and a numbered practice putting course.<\/p>\n

The improvements add to an iconic course known for its beauty and sense of sanctuary. The course, designed by Casey O\u2019Callaghan and PGA Tour Pro Tom Lehman, is tucked into a 2,400-acre reserve, and flexibly designed to play anywhere from about 5,000 yards to a full-on par 72, 7,000 yards.<\/p>\n

3. Pelican Hill Golf Club\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

22800 S. Pelican Hill Road, Newport Beach; 844-878-0942; golfpelicanhill.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery hole is a signature hole,\u201d General Manager Robert Ford says of the twin courses at Pelican Hill Golf Club.<\/p>\n

With ocean views from all 36 holes at the Resort at Pelican Hill, if the breathtaking Tom Fazio-designed courses aren\u2019t on your bucket list, they should be.<\/p>\n

The North course, par 71, 6,945 yards, challenges the most accomplished golfers with its ravines, wind and tricky greens, while the popular and more sedate and sheltered par-70, 6,580-yard South Course, with four ocean-side holes,\u00a0 invites and tests golfers of every level.\u00a0Although it caters to resort guests, Ford says the public is \u201ca very big part of our business,\u201d as are members of the golf club. There are twilight and evening rates available.<\/p>\n

A multitude of club and resort eating and drinking choices from casual to high-end are ready there for post-round fun.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: September 19, 2025 at 5:52 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Black Gold Golf Club One Black Gold Drive, Yorba Linda; 714-961-0060; blackgoldgolf.com Players can\u2019t get their fill…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":240943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[128756,128757,1430,62,1072,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-240942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-best-of-oc-places-to-go-and-do","9":"tag-best-of-orange-county","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-things-to-do","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115235519493116456","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}