The Vibe Is Real At One of Orange County’s Most Popular Courses

Twenty years ago, in the summer of 2004, former major champion Tom Lehman struck a shot that was heard around Southern California.

Two hours after hitting the ceremonial first tee shot at Arroyo Trabuco GC in Mission Viejo, Lehman christened the course he had co-designed with Casey O’Callaghan in more dramatic fashion: a hole-in-one on the 231-yard, par-3 fourth hole during an opening-day VIP tournament to commemorate the occasion.

“Too easy! I need to redesign it,” Lehman quipped after pulling his ball from the cup — a ball that he autographed and that is now showcased on a wall inside O’Neill’s Bar & Grill, along with a photo of his celebration.

It was the ultimate public-relations splash and especially noteworthy because course owner Tony Moiso, chairman and CEO of Rancho Mission Viejo, witnessed the historic ace from a cart behind the tee box.

BLOCK PARTY

Two decades later, the critically-acclaimed club, which celebrated its 20th anniversary with festivities this past August, is even better known in Southern California and beyond as the home of head professional Michael Block, the reigning back-to- back national PGA Professional Player of the Year.

Suffice to say, many golfers, golf fans and industry insiders who previously didn’t know of Arroyo Trabuco learned of its existence during and after the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill in upstate New York, where Block electrified the gallery with an on-the fly hole-in-one on the 15th hole during the final round while playing with PGA Tour icon Rory McIlroy — on the way to winning the trophy as low club professional and almost upstaging champion Brooks Koepka.

As a result of Arroyo’s head pro becoming an instant celebrity and achieving cult-hero status almost overnight, the course that Lehman and O’Callaghan built is now widely recognized as “The House that Michael Block Built,” much like Yankee Stadium is considered “The House That Ruth Built.”

“I’ll give it up to Michael Block any day of the week,” said O’Callaghan, laughing. “He’s the best.”

The oversized banner that has Modern Classic adorned the outside wall above the entrance to the Arroyo golf shop for two years says it all: “CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN! MICHAEL BLOCK: 2022-2023 Rolex PGA Player of the Year.”

Block has generated all the headlines the past two years — he has been invited to travel and play around the world, including Australia, Qatar and England; rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tiger Woods, Max Homa and DJ Khaled; received text messages from Michael Jordan; gained 269,000 followers on Instagram; and picked up several commercial endorsements — but his fame has also shined a spotlight on Arroyo Trabuco.

Matt Donovan, the general manager at the club since its inception, reports that play at the club continues to increase in the wake of Block-mania, as have golf shop merchandise sales, restaurant and banquet business, charity tournament play and media coverage locally and nationally.

NEXT LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Twenty years after Lehman’s headline-grabbing ace, Arroyo Trabuco has fully matured and remains a tranquil, peaceful oasis that belies the fact that it is located less than a mile from the busy I-5 freeway.

Interestingly, Arroyo Trabuco was the last of the high-end, daily-fee public courses that were built in Orange County during a 15 year course development boom that began with Tustin Ranch in 1989, followed by Tijeras Creek (1990), Pelican Hill’s Ocean South (1991) and Ocean North (1993), Oak Creek (1996), Coyote Hills (1996), Strawberry Farms (1997), Aliso Viejo (1999, before it went private), Westridge (1999), Talega (2000), Mile Square Players Course (2001, but since dismantled) and Black Gold (2001).

Its location also is noteworthy because it was not built as part of a housing development, a welcome rarity in the modern era of golf course construction.

Carved out of hilly terrain that offers panoramic views from the higher elevations, the 240-acre layout winds through the native vegetation and scrub brush and skirts Trabuco Creek on land that was long ago used for mining. The closing two holes were designed around an old mining lake that was reshaped during construction.

As part of the development’s entitlements, Moiso’s company also dedicated more than 200 acres around the course as open space in perpetuity, creating the Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo. On a given day, it is not unusual to spot wildlife such as deer, coyote, roadrunners, rabbits, squirrels, hawks and the occasional bobcat.

The 18-hole, par-72 course (73.6 rating, 134 slope from the back tees) has matured into a “modern classic.” Five sets of tees stretch the inland links-style layout from 5,045 yards to 7,011 yards. There are ultra-challenging par-3s, several strategy-inducing doglegs, breathtaking elevation changes and more than 70 bunkers after a just-completed $1.7 million bunker renovation project under the supervision of O’Callaghan and course superintendent Michael Wolpoff.

“For the first couple of years, the fairways were very firm, and there wasn’t much rough,” Block said. “The course has matured a lot over the years, and we now have some of the best fairways in Southern California. We are just finishing a bunker renovation project that is going to take the club to an entire new level moving forward.”

THE VIBE IS REAL

O’Callaghan says most of the bunkers were renewed in place, though many were shallowed out and some larger sand traps were divided into smaller ones to make it easier for golfers to enter and exit, as well as to make some “overly penal” bunkers more playable.

The vibe is real. It just seems like everyone
here is always in a great mood … We are
very lucky to have been blessed with such
an unreal facility to call home.

Michael Block, Head Professional

(Because several new bunkers were added in key locations to increase the challenge, the course is due to be re-rated by the SCGA.)

The course is laden with notable holes. No. 4 is the site of Lehman’s memorable hole-in-one and, yes, Block also has aced it, to go along with a doubleeagle on the par-5 No. 3 and three double-eagles on the par-5 14th. No. 10 is a tantalizingly downhill and reachable 345-yard, par-4 while while No. 13, a menacing, 188-yard par-3 over water. The closing No. 18 is a 513- yard, dogleg-left par-5 with water guarding the entire left side.

Holes 17 & 18 play around an old mining lake that was reshaped during construction.

The finishing hole is also where World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson hit a 373-yard tee shot, a sweeping hook over the water while playing with Hall of Famer Amy Alcott in 1999, to a spot on the fairway now marked by a plaque proclaiming “Phil Mickelson Drove It Here.” On the No. 4 tee box, there’s a plaque affixed to a boulder noting Lehman’s famous ace.

The list of high-profile visitors to tee it up at Arroyo over the years includes Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Beau Hossler, Corey Pavin and Birdie Kim. To the surprise of no one, Block owns the course record of 59, shot on his 43rd birthday in 2019 while playing with his sons — a day before Father’s Day, no less.

Over its two decades, Arroyo Trabuco has established itself as a county favorite for its value, playability and customer service, receiving numerous awards and honors on and off the course, including from golf and travel publications, the Zagat Survey, Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, Open Table Diners’ Choice, OC’s Top Workplaces and Orange Coast magazine’s Outstanding Achievement in the Culinary Arts.

This is how Block sums up Arroyo’s popularity in the crowded golf marketplace in Orange County: “The vibe is real. It just seems like everyone here is always in a great mood, and I really feel like our members and guests feel this culture has organically grown over the past 20 years. We are very lucky to have been blessed with such an unreal facility to call home.” ■