PELICAN HILL GOLF CLUB OPENS IN NEWPORT COAST WITH SPECTACULAR NEW CLUBHOUSE AND RESTAURANT

Closed for Two Years of “Re-perfecting” by Tom Fazio, the Seaside Courses Have Emerged With Dramatically Enhanced Aesthetics and Playability

NEWPORT COAST, CALIFORNIA…November 2, 2007… Two years after Pelican Hill Golf Club® closed to allow Tom Fazio, the original designer, to return to “re-perfect” his creations, the courses are back, along with a spacious and stylish new clubhouse, expertly-appointed practice facility and one of the most breathtaking spots for al fresco dining on the California coast.

The club and grill are the first components to open of Pelican Hill®, an extraordinary destination resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Newport Coast. The resort will offer a setting and experience unlike any other. The comfortably elegant bungalows and villas, luxurious spa, exquisite restaurants, function space for every type of event and “Coliseum” pool will open in fall 2008.

“Pelican Hill Golf Club is one of golf’s finest gems,” said Steve Friedlander, general manager. “We are thrilled to open our doors again, this time with two courses that are even more beautiful and playable, an exquisitely designed new clubhouse, excellent practice facility and an exceptional restaurant with incomparable golf course and ocean views.”

Highlights of the newly opened golf club include:

Two newly re-perfected golf courses, 18-hole Pelican Hill Ocean North and Pelican Hill Ocean South, which are among the most highly rated public courses in the nation with numerous holes that play along cliffs at the ocean’s edge. Fazio first designed the courses in the early 1990s and then returned in 2005 to oversee a series of thoughtful enhancements to the aesthetics, turf quality and playing conditions of the courses. Improvements included:
Re-turfing the fairways and tees with Tifway II hybrid bermuda to achieve a consistent look, texture and playing surface year-round, while also eliminating the need for annual overseeding.
Converting roughs to a cool-season blend of tall fescue and rye, to contrast with the Tifway II hybrid bermuda on the fairways in color and texture, adding definition.
Adding 25 new bunkers and adjusting bunkers on many holes to enhance strategy or aesthetics.
Recapturing the stunning vistas framed by the natural environment by adopting lower-growing and native plants.
Installing a sophisticated water-quality system to conserve and recycle water from both the courses and the resort that environmental experts say is the most advanced on the California coast.
Sand-capping high-traffic areas to create better turf quality.
Expanding collars on some greens to give golfers more choices on how to play shots near the putting surfaces.
Rebuilding tees on both courses including a new sand base and resurfacing with Bermuda.
Adding a number of new box tees to enhance the playing strategy or aesthetics. This added some 200 yards of length to the courses.
Re-contouring fairways to enhance drainage, and resurfacing cart paths with a new concrete developed to buffer cracking.
A luxurious new clubhouse inspired by the work of renowned Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio: With a strategic perch overlooking the courses and the Pacific Ocean, the clubhouse is among the most dramatic at any golf course. It also features separate men’s and women’s locker rooms and lounges with a full array of appointments and amenities; Pelican Grill restaurant and bar; Caffé II espresso bar; and a golf shop offering the latest golf fashions and accessories. From the clubhouse, golfers reach the first tees by driving their carts over an iconic, classically designed bridge.
A beautifully designed restaurant that provides the quintessential California dining experience. Pelican Grill, located in the new clubhouse, offers stunning ocean and golf course views, fresh and often local ingredients prepared with passion and simplicity, and a warm and casually elegant design that includes a rare opportunity for year-round al fresco dining. Executive Chef Thomas Ryan’s culinary team works in an open kitchen complemented by richly veined granite countertops and a copper and stainless-steel hood. A generous and balanced wine list features mostly California selections and more than 30 wines by the glass. The grill also includes a bar and private dining room.
An excellent practice facility and state-of-the-art golf academy. Located outside the clubhouse door, the practice facility includes an expansive and picturesque driving range that plays uphill, as well as a complete practice tee – with a fairway, bunkers and green – that mimics playing an actual hole. Pelican Hill Golf Academy is guided by Instruction Director Glenn Deck, one of Golf magazines’ Top 100 Teachers in America. The dedicated instructional facility – offering a panorama over the courses and ocean and comprising two dedicated greens, bunkers and artificial-surface driving tees – provides the perfect environment for the academy’s focus on individual instruction and the short game.

The guest fees, for both courses, are $235 daily, including a golf cart.

Pelican Hill Golf Club and Pelican Hill sit on a 504-acre site enjoying one of the most serene coastal settings in Southern California just south of Newport Beach in Newport Coast. The Pacific Ocean laps uncrowded beaches and thousands of acres of coastal habitat are permanently protected as open space or designated for recreational uses only. Like the golf club, the resort’s public areas and every guest room will feature panoramas of this natural bounty.

Pelican Hill will include 204 private and spacious bungalow rooms and suites; 128 two-, three- and four-bedroom villas; a circular pool inspired by Rome’s Coliseum that will be one of the most striking pools at any resort; an array of dining choices including an authentic espresso bar, poolside grill and bar, and an exquisite Italian restaurant; a 23,000- square foot spa with 22 private treatment rooms; detached function space with an array of indoor and outdoor venues; and, for spectacular weddings, an ocean-view lawn with a gazebo and a wedding chapel.

Easily accessible, Pelican Hill Golf Club is located just 10 minutes from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, 45 minutes from LAX, and adjacent to the famed shopping, dining and beaches of the chic seaside communities of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

The Irvine Company Resort Properties, the division of The Irvine Company overseeing Pelican Hill, owns and manages the finest resort and leisure destinations on the Newport Coast and in the City of Irvine. In addition to Pelican Hill, the portfolio includes The Island Hotel Newport Beach, the city’s landmark property and only AAA Five Diamond hotel; Hyatt Regency Irvine, the city’s only Four Diamond hotel; Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, featuring a challenging, Tom Fazio-designed public golf course; and several of the finest marinas in Newport Harbor and Northern California.

Pelican Hill Golf Club is located at 22800 Pelican Hill Road South, Newport Coast, CA, 92657.

For information and to book tee times please call 877-735-4226 or 949-467-6800, or visit pelicanhill.com.

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