Lost Canyons Golf Club

Lost Canyons: The Shadow Knows!

By Eric Tracy
erictracy@earthlink.net

Everyone has an opinion about world famous golf course architect Pete Dye. He's a walking example of the cliché people either "love him or hate him'. Truth is, I love him AND I hate him. It just depends on how I play that day or rather how his courses play me. Either way, Pete Dye creates controversy. There is no such thing as a flat lie on a Pete Dye course. Or greens with gentle elevation changes. Pete Dye courses are golf's version of a roller-coaster ride. This is my second visit to Lost Canyons is Simi Valley returning to play the Shadow course which opened in February. Earlier this year we played and reviewed the Sky course. That review also began with commentary about Pete Dye. In fact, I defy you to play either one of these courses without spending the bulk of your post-round debriefing talking about (or cursing) Pete Dye. I think he likes it that way. It makes him money.

FIRST ABOUT LOST CANYONS GENERALLY: Lost Canyons is like having your own country club you rent for the day. Wonderful amenities accentuate the experience; attendants greet golfers upon arrival, there's valet parking, a luxurious clubhouse and fast rounds of golf aided by an optional forecaddie (but with apologies to American Express, DON'T leave the clubhouse without one!). But folks, all that aside, the golf alone is worth the 3-figure green fees and trust me, you'll start squirreling money to come back again and again. PGA Tour Pro Fred Couples, who consulted Dye on these two creations, himself returns often to test his skills on these Tapo Canyon trailblazers.(Photo note: The Clubhouse may be rustic looking on the outside but it is plush and very rich looking inside.)

YA GOTTA HAVE A GIMMICK: Something else that sets Lost Canyons apart is the forecaddie. Now, don't confuse a forecaddie with someone sprouting a two-day stubble and a face lined by years in the sun who schleps your golf bag. A Lost Canyon forecaddie is your personal golf chaperone. Included in the price of admission, these hard-working guys are trained to keep track of your errant tee shots, keep the flow of play steady, plus tend the pin and fill divots along the way. And because they head down the fairway in front of you, (Get it? "Forward caddie"?) they do a great deal of double-time. Needless to say are all in great shape. While you ride, they run. (There used to be female forecaddies, not anymore. The last one just left on pregnancy leave). The course recommends you tip them $10 per person in your group or more since the bulk of their income comes from the players' generosity. So on behalf of our forecaddie this day at the Shadow course, Branon Shea, a Simi Valley resident and recent University of Nebraska graduate who hopes some day to run facility like Lost Canyons, and for his brethren forecaddies who will hoof and high-tail it 4-8 miles per round, compensate appropriately.

THE SHADOW KNOWS: Although the Shadow course is about 250 yards shorter then the Sky and the greens are supposed to be less tricky, this course will expose the weaknesses of your game much more often because it's hillier and narrower. To leave Lost Canyons without frustration begins with leaving your ego at the entrance. Most golfers think they are really better than they are. The key here is to play the tee-box that's best suited for your game. There are 5 different tee-boxes that sometimes spread 200 yards from back to forward. Here is the rule of thumb: BLACK tees; 0-5 handicap. GOLD tees; 5-10. SILVER tees; 10-15. WHITE tees; 15-above. COPPER tees; women, beginners, juniors. If you play the tee box suited for your skills you'll be less likely to leave this exciting/challenging/frustrating (pick your own adjective,) facility cursing Mr. Dye.

MY FAVORITE HOLES:

• No. 1, 310 yard, par 4 (17 handicap): Gotta admit, I didn't see this hole until I got up right on it. Our 7 a.m. tee time afforded us the unique opportunity to play the first six holes in dense fog, and if not for the forecaddie Branon, we'd really be in a mess. Or, would we? It's so tough to get a break on this course, maybe not knowing where we were hitting was a benefit.
• No. 5: 425 yard, par 4 (13 handicap): Much like No. 16 on the Sky Course, this one goes straight up, so ignore the yardage because it's an extra 2-3 clubs easy. Without loft, you're sunk. On the green, you've reached the highest point in the course.
• No. 6: 490 yard, par 4 (1 handicap): Called "Pete's Way," because, for Pete's sake, it's the toughest hole and that's his prerogative to name it what he wants.
• No. 7, 605-yard par 5 (3 handicap): Another example of how you don't get instant birdie opportunities on this course just because it's a par 5. First off, consider the black tees are 200 yards from the white tees. From this tee box the only landmark you can pick out on the other side of the ravine you need to carry is a trap that's 292 yards away, only 25 yards father than the out-of-view Copper teebox. That means 270 yards of carry. That's why, from the blacks, this course is rated one of the three toughest in the state. Again, another reminder that you gotta play from the tee boxes that fit your game or you'll spend as much in golf balls as you do for green fees. Now, back to No. 7, if your second shot is in the fairway at the right spot, your third shot will be aiming at the water tower beyond. Again, this green is a lot like a carnival ride - lots of slopes and dips.
• No. 9, 550-yard par 5 (5 handicap): One of the neatest designed fairways making it like two holes fused into one long run. The serpentine cart path will take you over one ravine four times from start to finish. (Photo note: Just one of the bridges you cross on number 9.)
• No. 14, 370 yard, par 4 (18 handicap): OK, so the really cool thing about this is, right before you tee off, look up at the mountains to the left. Now look closely at the white, craggy face. You'll see an abandoned red car stuck in the rocks on the cliff. Where'd it come from? Probably from a movie shoot. Or after hitting a beautiful tee shot and landing in the only bunker on the left side, you might wish it belonged to Pete Dye.
• No. 16: 205 yard par 3 (8 handicap): Flip it up there and see what happens on the last par 3 on this course. Little room for error, but you've figured that out by this point.
• No. 18: 520 yard, par 5 (14 handicap): Aim to the right part of the saddle-shaped fairway and the second shot will be about a 3-4 iron downhill where you finally get to see the clubhouse again as you've spent your entire day in the back 40. Depending on the pin placement, however, this is no easy finish. This day, it was all the way back. If you get into the left bunker, you can easily blast it over the green and back down a hill on the right side. Then coming back isn't really fun either. It's as if the course doesn't want you to finish. Don't be an all-day sucker here. Lay it up on the fat part of the green and putt home.

THERE SHE BLOWS! Be very particular about knowing which way the wind is blowing. Weighted knickers could be mandatory because of what's gusting through the Santa Susana mountains. Lost Canyons may literally blow you away with its beauty. And keep a lookout for many of the Old West artifacts that have been left as they were along the way. It's a Ponderosa feeling without Ben Cartwright.

SUMMING IT UP: Wind and elevation are the two things that will force you to play this more with your mind than your physical ability. And very few of you, if any, are up to walking the 10-mile trek. Of the two courses here, this is the one Santa Barbara resident Fred Couples loves to play the most, again for the challenge. And from the black tees, he can have it. Any 18 handicapper has to be content with using the white tees or else scoring won't happen. Even then, the slope index (127) from these whites is higher than most courses are from the tournament tees. Branon, our forecaddie, admits he's seen maybe 10 golfers since it opened ever break 80 from any of the tees. Although the wind on this side isn't as relevant as on the Sky course, it'll still come in like clockwork at 1 p.m. and goes away at about 4:30. On this Shadow course, the shadows don't come into effect until about 7 p.m., but they do cast some pretty pictures. And don't forget to check out the chipping area that you'll see as you finish and head back toward the driving range.

Eric Tracy

KFWB RADIO