Smoke keeps local golfers away

Golf courses around the Newport-Mesa area have experienced decreases in play this week, as smoke and ash linger in the air from the Santiago fire.

Winds earlier in the week combined with smoke over the last several days have made Newport Beach Country Club “look like a war zone,” said Newport Beach Country Club manager Perry Dickey.

Newport Beach Country Club women’s golfers canceled the first two rounds of their President’s Cup, originally scheduled for Tuesday and today. Dickey also said attendance was down about 40% on Wednesday in men’s play.

Country club employees have been working as usual, but have been wearing masks, he said.

“It’s hard to breathe,” he said. “I’m trying to protect my people.”

Still, Dickey said the course has been lucky to avoid more serious damage.

“We haven’t lost any structures or anything,” Dickey said. “We didn’t lose any massive trees or strategic trees. It’s just with the health issue, the membership has passed on playing golf. I get it.”

It was much the same story at Costa Mesa Country Club on Wednesday, said General Manager Scott Henderson, who estimated that play has been down as much as 50%.

“It’s been a normal day in operations, but we have noticed a decline in play,” Henderson said. “It’s slow. The regulars, they might not mind it, but you look out into the sky and it looks awful.”

Normally the local high school golf teams help keep the course busy, but teams from Estancia and Costa Mesa have been unable to practice as mandated by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The two Costa Mesa high school girls’ golf teams were scheduled to have the first round of the Golden West League finals at Costa Mesa Country Club on Monday, but that has also been postponed.

Henderson said his son, a member of a Newport-Mesa Junior All-American football team, has had practices canceled all week and the Seahawks’ games on Saturday are also canceled.

A positive for Costa Mesa Country Club, said Manager Danny Lane, is that Wednesday was the first day they were able to focus a concerted effort on cleaning up the course.

“Our full crews were able to start cleaning up today,” Lane said. “We had two or three days of wind, and there was no cleanup until the wind stopped.”

He said the closing of Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton over the last couple of days — due to another fire — may be a factor in the lower numbers, as people from south Orange County can’t get to Costa Mesa.

“It’s a very busy golf course, and there’s still plenty of players out there,” Lane said. “We still locally, in our little area, have had plenty of golfers. But with the smoke in the air, it has definitely affected play. You see people out there playing with masks on.”

Steve Friedlander, the general manager of golf for the Irvine Company, which manages Pelican Hill Golf Club of Newport Coast, said the smoke and windy conditions should not affect Pelican Hill’s reopening on Nov. 2.

“The golf courses are in fantastic condition,” Friedlander said. “We’ll be ready to go.”

But, he added, the unhealthy air has been a major factor at Oak Creek Golf Club, which is also run by the Irvine Company. The club, located in East Irvine, is closer to where the fire which originated in Santiago Canyon has been burning.

“It’s been essentially empty for the last couple of days, including [Thursday],” Friedlander said. “We’ve had a very empty tee sheet [Wednesday and Thursday]. People are choosing not to play golf, and I don’t blame them. Golf’s not a high priority right now.”

Still, with no control over the elements at work, the courses will have to wait and see how things go the rest of the week.

“All in all, we were very lucky,” Dickey said. “I believe the worst is behind us. Hopefully, they’ll get these fires knocked out.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.