Golf Courses

Lou Moore planted his wingtips in the sand trap, gripped the putter and promptly dispatched his golf ball across a carefully manicured putting green into the nearby rough. "Yeah, I'm a duffer," the 49-year-old mortgage banker from Lake Forest acknowledged as he brushed sand from his polished shoes. "But this is fun. I don't feel intimidated like I probably would on a real golf course." Moore and two co-workers were whiling away their lunch hour at the Greens, an 18-hole, $1.

The tiny jail on Catalina Island is hardly Alcatraz. Just ask Frank Carrillo. The pro golfer turned jewel thief couldn't believe his luck when he was moved out of his bleak Men's Central Jail cell in downtown L.A. and allowed to do his time on the sunny tourist isle. But things got even cushier when he met a Los Angeles County sheriff's captain interested in shaving a few strokes off his golf game. Carrillo said Capt. Jeff Donahue escorted him in a patrol Jeep to a hilltop golf course last summer.

Before folks in Las Vegas offered up the $1,000 round of golf, I refused to be sucked in by any suggestion that this might be a place to tee it up. Before the $1,000 round, I relegated any notion that this might be a "golf destination" to the same dark corner as that "family destination" nonsense. As in: Sorry Siegfried. Sorry Roy. Good try, but I ain't joinin' you in no foursome no time soon.

Like lovers in Paris, San Joaquin kit foxes will always have Bakersfield. The rare little foxes come out mostly at night. They find fabulous food everywhere: chunks of cheeseburger from dumpsters, shreds of taco on windblown wrappers. And the accommodations: What can beat a cozy den in the student quarter — specifically, beneath portable classrooms in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District? The 17,000-student district isn't crazy about the foxes, especially when about one-third of its 23 elementary and junior high schools have to deal with them on a regular basis.

Few golfers have pushed the fashion envelope beyond plaid pants. Until now. At the two Griffith Park golf courses, jungle wear has become de rigueur , with many morning duffers donning mosquito-net hoods before teeing off. The latest accessory has little to do with looks--obviously--and everything to do with golf. And gnats. Which don't seem to mix. "Could you imagine trying to make a nice shot with 20 flies going up your nose?"

Even the most ardent fan probably won't be hitting backhands at Wimbledon or racing around a NASCAR track at 187 mph. Yet when the big boys' golf tour comes out West, it tends to hit courses that any of us can play. Here are three that might help you feel like a pro: Course: Torrey Pines South Home of: Farmers Insurance Open Why it's cool: Torrey hosted a U.S. Open in 2008 won in a playoff by a guy with a bum knee that had undergone surgery earlier in the year.

After reading "For Some Golfers It's Worse Than a Bogey: Privatization" (April 11), I wonder why many of my fellow golfers are against testing the private management of one proposed city-owned facility. Under private management, the playing conditions at most of the county's courses were greatly improved and the increase in fees was less than what it costs to play on other public courses in California. Let the city try what has been working for the county. If it proves to be successful, it means better golfing for everyone.

In today's economy, golf is in the rough. And with a bad lie. Once-haughty country clubs are offering specials. Courses have closed or cut back on maintenance. The world's top golf ball manufacturer has seen demand for souvenir balls stamped with company logos drop off. And so officials in the golf industry have joined the nation's bankers, auto makers and insurance companies in marching to Washington in search of understanding.

From his backyard, Joseph Leggett used to look out over the green, manicured fairways of the Palm Desert Country Club golf course. Lately, what he saw looked more like weedy vacant lots. Swaths of the championship course, deemed one of the best designed in the desert, turned brown as its owners searched for hundreds of thousands of dollars to reseed, reopen and rebound from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. "The course is an eyesore," Leggett said recently. He estimated that his home of 30 years had lost half its value because of the ruined view.

Stepping into that old building on 9th Street downtown, I half expected to find Philip Marlowe inside. Maybe it was the ample marble in the 1920s lobby that took me back to that old L.A. The musty hallways and the oak doors with frosted-glass windows made me feel I had walked into a Raymond Chandler novel. Jerry Sullivan was the man I'd come to see, and he even looked a bit like Chandler's private eye. He had a fedora on his head, polished black shoes on his feet, and a smartly pressed wool suit on his long frame.

There's this memory of Kyle Stanley: A 24-year-old man sobbing in La Jolla, trying to explain how he had fumbled away a golf tournament that he should have won because he lost his nerve, his shot making, an eight-shot lead, and finally a playoff. And then a week later, there's Stanley in triumph, winner of the Phoenix Open, both smiling and teary-eyed, letting go of a big burden. He was a winner. The PGA Tour has a wicked sense of humor, and so on Thursday and Friday, for the first two rounds of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, Stanley will play with Brandt Snedeker, who beat him at Torrey Pines in the playoff, and Phil Mickelson, who won his first tournament of 2012 on Sunday at Pebble Beach.

We just returned from a three-day "staycation" in Ramona, Calif. We stayed at the San Vicente Resort, and I was impressed with what a great deal this lodge is. All the rooms have a balcony overlooking the beautiful golf course. The resort also has lighted tennis courts and an Olympic-size pool. It's a short drive to the Barona Casino and numerous antique shops. We got a AAA rate of less than $80 a night, which includes a $4-per-person (up to two people) daily discount at the on-site restaurant.

Professional golfer Fred Couples has listed his second home in La Quinta at $4.195 million. The Spanish-style villa has a courtyard with a fountain. The nearly half-acre site has mountain views, a swimming pool with a spa and a fire pit. Interior features include limestone and wood floors, arched windows, a great room with an oversized stone fireplace, a wine room and two master suites with stone fireplaces and terraces. There are four bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms. The approximately 5,200-square-foot house is being sold furnished.

Once upon a time, Notah Begay III was a big story in golf. Now, a decade or so later, he hopes to become one again. "I was 27," he says. "It was a month after I played for the U.S. in the President's Cup. I had gotten into the top 20 in the world rankings, had won four tour events and close to $4 million. I made it to No. 15 in Ryder Cup points. " Then he blew out two discs in his back. "Now, it is 11 years later, and I wouldn't have changed a thing. " He says, even though he kept trying comebacks on the PGA Tour, that it took him six or seven years to get his back in "manageable condition.

The Citee Golf Club on the outskirts of the capital's smoggy sprawl is a kelly green oasis surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and rows of luxury villas. At $77,000, a family membership at the club costs about 16 times the annual salary of a typical Beijing resident. The 18-hole course, with its pink-shirted female caddies, had its "soft opening" in 2009, five years after the Chinese government declared a moratorium on golf course construction. The ban, imposed amid concern over the country's dwindling arable land, clearly hasn't stopped the boom in golf course construction in China.

"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. " To that, lyricist Noel Coward could have added bargain-seeking golfers. If you thought Las Vegas hotel prices dropped when the mercury climbs skyward, wait until you see the green fees at nearby courses. So save a bundle, avoid the nasty wind and cold in what the tourism bureau calls "high season" and work on that tan. But before discussing where, let's remember a few important hows of desert golf: 1. "Swing oil" is not your friend; water is. Drink lots.

Taxing golf courses Re "Higher taxes may hit some golf clubs," Jan. 16, and "Unfair way to tax golf course," Column, Jan. 19 Article 13, Section 10 of the California Constitution specifically precludes the application of the "highest and best use" standard to the taxation of golf courses, and for good reason. Over time, the application of that standard would result in the residential/commercial development of golf courses and all similarly situated green spaces. Would that result in higher property tax receipts?

Your article "Developer Takes Over Embattled Golf Project," (Aug. 14) erroneously states that the Cosmo proposal for a golf course in Big Tujunga Wash would be "operating under strict environmental guidelines set by the Audubon Society." In fact, National Audubon Society, San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and the other Southern California Audubon chapters strongly oppose developing any golf course in Big Tujunga Wash. The unique alluvial sage scrub habitat of Big Tujunga Wash should be set aside as a nature preserve.

The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus will not contract with UCLA to refurbish its nine-hole Heroes Golf Course — a decision that comes as a relief to some local veterans and regular patrons. The VA said Wednesday that it has instead approved a deal with the nonprofit Bandini Foundation to restore the grounds and improve the course's operations, as well as manage its day-to-day operations. A second Los Angeles-based nonprofit, U.S. Veterans Initiative, will continue its involvement with the course but will no longer be responsible for hiring a pro to manage the course.

The historic Van Griffith estate in Los Feliz is suited to the homeowner who values privacy but wants to be close to city life. Built in 1925 by the son of Griffith Park benefactor Griffith J. Griffith, the Mediterranean-style home is set back from Vermont Avenue by a double gate and a long elevated driveway that create a peaceful, enclosed space for residents. The property includes a main house and guesthouse, which are separated by a driveway. The main house is reached by a short walk up outdoor stairs.