Follow in the footsteps of the legends of golf

Even if you’ve never played at Hesperia, you may have seen our course before in a 1963 Shell “Wonderful World of Golf” episode that’s still replayed on television. Gene Littler and Sammy Snead vs. Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros. That was a classic matchup. Things have changed since then; golf has changed, too. But Hesperia Golf & Country Club has stood the best of the Big Berthas and all the rest. The pines and oaks that were twigs when our course was born in 1957 are now towering giants that add excitement to shots along our fairways. Our greens are well-bunkered and there are three lakes on the course. Our architect, William F. Bell Jr., was known for his doglegs and small greens and you’ll find those at Hesperia, too.The course is considered one of Bell’s very best.

We’re known for our long and strong par-4s, like the second, ninth, 11th, and 18th holes, anyone of which could be the No. 1 handicap hole on our course. Our fairways are also somewhat narrow. As a result, says head golf professional Drew Taylor, you may not always want to use your driver. On No. 1, you start with a par-4 (409 yards from the back tees and 373 from the forward). “You have an elevated tee shot on this hole,” says Taylor. “It’s a dogleg right and it’s a fair hole.”  There are tree-lined fairways on No. 1, and it’s easy to stray off into the rough or to land among the trees with your tee shot. But you can hit driver off the tee. No. 2 is one of the tests of the course. It’s a par-4 (421 yards from the back and 399 from the forward) that makes a very sharp dogleg right turn. A three-wood is probably the best choice off the tee. “You can chance cutting the corner with your driver,” Taylor says. “But if you don’t clear the trees, or you get far enough up, you can end up in the rough.” You finish the front nine with another long par-4 (429 yards from the back and 399 from the forward). “This is a dogleg left where you need to hit a draw,” says Taylor. “If you don’t, you can go through the fairway and into the out-of-bounds area.”  You will also have to cross a wash on your way up the fairway. The longest par-4 on the course is No. 2 (461 yards from the back tees and 389 from the forward). “You can use a driver on this dogleg left,” Taylor says, “because it’s a little more open on the right. If you do miss your target a bit, you’ll still be OK.” Watch out for the huge oak tree at the corner of the dogleg. If you try to cut the corner here, you’re in trouble. At No. 3, you’ll face a downhill par-3 (211 from the back tees and 135 from the forward). You’ll be hitting a green guarded by a lake and a large oak tree.“It takes a very accurate shot with a long iron,” says Taylor. The grand finale, the big finishing hole at Hesperia, plays at 444 yards from the back tees and 356 from the forward tees. No. 18 is a 90-degree dogleg left. If you’re a long hitter, you need to hit a draw, or you’ll land in a wash.For a second shot, you need to be very accurate or you’ll end up lying among the trees. “On top of that you’re playing uphill into a headwind, particularly near the end of the day,” says Taylor.