Seeing Green

Guided: Newport Coast

MOVE OVER, TORREY PINES. Southern Cal has a new seaside golf venue boasting emerald green–meets–Pacific blue views, enhanced playability and enviable amenities. Perched atop Newport Coast just south of Newport Beach, Pelican Hill Golf Club recently unveiled its two redesigned 18-hole courses.

Designed by Tom Fazio in the 1990s, the Ocean North and Ocean South courses were closed for two years while Fazio made a series of enhancements that included returfing the fairways and tees and recontouring the landscape to maximize the sea-breezy setting. A posh 44,000-square-foot clubhouse and restaurant, Pelican Hill Grill, were the first components to open as part of The Resort at Pelican Hill, an ultra-luxurious, Italian-inspired destination resort scheduled to open late fall/early winter.

WHERE TO STAY:

The Resort at Pelican Hill (949- 467-6800; pelicanhill.com) sits on 504 acres of prime California coastline adjacent to Crystal Cove State Park. The property includes 204 private bungalow rooms and suites, 128 two- to four-bedroom villas and a 23,000- square-foot spa with 22 treatment rooms. The showpiece is the massive pool, inspired by Rome’s Coliseum. It’s an architectural marvel (vaulted arches, stately columns and terraced seating) that blows the standard for resort pools out of the water. Talk about a painstaking labor of luxury: More than a million glass tiles were cut and laid by hand to create an expansive mosaic. If you pay a visit before the resort’s official opening, book a room at The Island Hotel Newport Beach (866-554- 4620; theislandhotel.com); you can still golf and dine at Pelican Hill, a five-minute drive down the coast.

WHERE TO EAT:

Panoramic views of the ocean and golf courses flood Pelican Grill (877-735-4226), one of the resort’s five restaurants. Executive chef Thomas Ryan serves up “quintessential California” cuisine using ingredients sourced from local farmers and nearby Ir - vine Ranch. The lunchtime vibe is golfer-casual. An olive-wood oven in the open kitchen supplies the room with a smoky-sweet aroma while cooking up dishes like cedar-plank king salmon and boneless short ribs. For starters, try the spicy tortilla soup with chunks of chicken and avocado crème fraîche. With cushy booths in the elegant dining room and alfresco tables on the terrace, there’s not a bad seat in the house.

WHAT TO DO:

The emerald fairways of the Pelican Hill Golf Club are the jewel of Newport Coast. Golf pro Glenn Deck heads up the Pelican Hill Golf Academy (877-735-4226). Soft-spoken with a warm North Carolina accent, Deck guides this novice golfer through the game fundamentals in a style that’s engaging and unintimidating. He films my swing, and we watch the playback on a laptop as he points out areas for improvement. Golfers of any skill level will swoon for either of the 18- hole courses, which are among the nation’s most highly rated public courses. Covering nearly 400 acres, both courses boast seeing-is-believing ocean views. Other cool perks: complimentary Nike Platinum balls and topof- the-line golf carts . . . Head to Crystal Cove State Park (949-494-3539; crystalcovestatepark.com) to explore the tidepools and hike or bike the sandy trails . . . Or hit up the O.C. shopping destination, Fashion Island (949-721-2000; shopfashionisland.com), to drop some green.

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