SIDELINES : Ventura County Boasts Its Share of State’s Demonic Golf Holes

Any golfer seeking bucolic bliss on the links had better avoid a handful of country clubs in Ventura County.

Three holes in the county have been ranked among the 18 toughest in California, according to a publication to be released in January called Golf Courses of America:

* No. 17 at Saticoy Country Club in Camarillo, a nasty par four that measures 474 yards from the blue tees. The monster was designed by William Francis Bell, who built the course in 1964.

* No. 18 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, a 427-yard par four that features a multitiered, elevated green guarded by a lake. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1989.

* No. 1 at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, a 415-yard par four fronted by a greenside creek. Wood Ranch was designed by Ted Robinson in 1985.

Wil Barnes, editor of the magazine, said he queried PGA players, area professionals and top amateurs while compiling the list.

“You’d be surprised how many guys can recall holes that absolutely annihilated them,” Barnes said.

Uh, no, we wouldn’t.

For those masochists who’d like to try their luck, Barnes predicted a top pro would shoot “about 90” if he played each of the 18 holes, which carry a par of 72.

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A shutout: The Glendale High boys’ basketball team won the easy way in the Beverly Hills tournament last week in a consolation-round game against Leuzinger. Five minutes after taking the floor, the Dynamiters walked off with a 2-0 victory.

In an apparent oversight by the Leuzinger coach, the team failed to show and forfeited. Or maybe the Olympians were afraid to face Glendale?

“I’m sure that wasn’t it,” said Glendale Coach Bob Davidson, whose team improved to 2-2.

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Snow birds: College of the Canyons has received a shot in the arm from the unlikeliest of places--The Great White North.

Three Canadians are on the school’s golf team, which won the state title in 1993 and will begin play in February. Here’s how Coach Gary Peterson accounts for what he dubbed “the hoser connection,” which landed Marshall Paterson, Jason Plose and Crandul Ruhal.

Peterson said Canyons was mentioned in a book published last year that detailed the top college golf programs in America. The book eventually migrated north, like a flock of geese, it seems.

“They’re just now starting to get the word (about the ’93 title),” Peterson said. “They said it takes a year for anything to make its way up there.”

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Road Warrior: Westlake High receiver Billy Miller will take the first of his five recruiting trips this weekend, and it won’t be to any of the five schools he originally targeted. Miller, a record-setting receiver for the Warriors and a top college prospect, will visit Washington this weekend.

He has dropped Florida State from his schedule. Miller plans to take his other four trips to USC, UCLA, Colorado and Notre Dame, with Texas as an alternate if anything falls through.

Honors

When seniors Joseph Vaughn and Oscar Wilson were named NCAA Division I-AA All-Americans by the Associated Press this week, they joined some elite company.

In fact, only two other players in Northridge’s 33-year football history have been recognized by the AP, both at the Division II level: punter-kicker Bryan Wagner (honorable mention in 1982, first team in ‘83) and offensive lineman Don Goodman (first team, 1991). Wagner is the punter for the San Diego Chargers.

Quotebook

Hueneme boys’ basketball coach Howard Davis, after last week’s 77-12 victory against tiny Arroyo Grande Coastal Christian (enrollment 38), a rout that included a 51-3 second-half barrage: “We had a great half. It wasn’t all due to them being horrible, but with 51-3, you’ve got to be pretty horrible.”

Stats

A record seven area teams took part in 13 high school football championship games last weekend. Sylmar, which won the City Section 4-A Division title, was one of four teams in Southern California to finish with a record of 14-0, joining Southern Section champions Mater Dei (Division I), Newport Harbor (Division V) and Bloomington (Division VIII).

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Feat of feet: When Eleazar Hernandez of Camarillo High and Antonio Arce of Palmdale finished fifth and seventh in the national cross-country championships in San Diego last weekend, it marked only the second time since the meet began in 1979 that two male runners from the region have recorded top-10 finishes.

In 1991, Jeff Wilson of Newbury Park and Margarito Casillas of Hoover finished second and fifth, respectively.

Hernandez, Arce, Brett Strahan of Hart, Amy Skieresz of Agoura and Elaine Canchola of Nordhoff gave the region five participants in the event, tying the previous highest total in 1981.

Things to Do

Sixteen schools, including Alemany and North Hollywood, will compete in the Simi Valley High girls’ basketball tournament beginning today at 4 p.m. at the Rancho Simi Park and Recreation Center. The event runs through Dec. 23.

The Glendale College men’s basketball team will face Harbor tonight at 8 in the semifinals of the Glendale tournament at the school gym.

* Compiled by Steve Elling. Contributing: Dave Desmond, Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Vince Kowalick, John Ortega and Gerry Price.