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PECHANGA: Journey at Pechanga opens
Golfers can hit the links, learn about the tribe
By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | ∞
With the Pechanga Resort in the background, golfer Bill Seltzer, board member of the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, practices on the putting green Thursday during the grand opening of the Pechanga Golf Course. (Photo by Steve Thornton - Staff Photographer) PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION ---- Golfers can now take a gamble on the new 18-hole golf course and massive clubhouse that officially opened Thursday at the Pechanga Resort & Casino.
Approximately 250 guests and dignitaries attended a morning event to formally introduce "Journey at Pechanga," a 7,219-yard, par-72 course nestled in the granite-covered hills behind the resort.
While the planning and construction of the greens and clubhouse took nearly five years to complete, tribal members said the golf course, built on the ancestral lands of the Pechanga band of Luiseno Indians was actually 10,000 years in the making ---- alluding to the amount of time its people have inhabited the lands.
"It is a piece of history, part of our present and part of our future," Chairman Mark Macarro said. "We are proud of it, as it represents a great deal of opportunity."
The opening of the golf course and clubhouse adds another dimension to the Pechanga casino, which has more than 3,000 slot and video gaming machines, a 1,200-seat concert venue and 517 hotel rooms.
However, tourism officials hope the course will bring more visitors ---- and their green ---- to the entire region.
"It elevates the golf component of the valley and gives people yet another reason to come here," said Carolyn Fittipaldi, marketing manager at the Temecula Valley Visitors Bureau. "With Journey joining the other well-known courses around Temecula, visitors can make a week's vacation of golfing here."
Journey at Pechanga is the fifth public golf course in the Temecula area, joining Redhawk Golf Club, Temeku Hills Golf & Country Club, Temecula Creek Inn and CrossCreek Golf Club.
Corey Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open champion who will represent Journey on the PGA Tour, took the ceremonial first-tee shot Thursday morning. Explaining why he chose to be part of the Pechanga course, Pavin said, "This is the type of golf course I would have liked to build."
Renowned golf course architects Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest, based in Ohio, designed the course with the goal of preserving the historical lands. Forrest said that more than 60 oak trees were boxed up, moved and replanted during construction so they could be preserved on the property.
Forrest said two of the most memorable holes are the sixth and 13th, which are both par-fives. The tee for the sixth hole, named "Huulilash" in the Pechanga tongue, or Nice View Place, is 300 feet above the green of the fifth hole.
"Just getting to the tee is exciting," he said.
In addition, when golfers tee off from the sixth hole, they are literally hitting off the mountain, as the green is 175 feet below the tee box. He said the hang time of a strong drive is incredibly satisfying and can last between eight and 10 seconds.
Forrest said another of his favorite holes is the 13th, where golfers hit their tee shots over Pechanga Creek, while a cascading waterfall creates a backdrop for the green.
Golf carts are mandatory for the terrain-changing course. Each one is equipped with GPS systems that are narrated by Pavin; a two-way communication unit allows golfers to order food from their vehicles.
Each hole bears a Luiseno name and the course houses some cultural artifacts ---- such as a kiicha, a house made of brush ---- that chronicle the history of the Pechanga people.
Off the greens, players and non-golfers can relax in the massive Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired clubhouse.
The 62,000-square-foot clubhouse, designed by San Diego-based architectural firm Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, opened to the public for the first time Thursday.
The bottom floor houses locker rooms, while the main floor is home to the pro shop, restaurant and bar. The top floor of the clubhouse is reserved for administrative offices.
Andrew Rodrigues, president of the architectural firm, said the philosophy behind the building's design was to work with nature. The concept was brought into fruition with the use of stones indigenous to the area, the use of natural light and the incorporation of wood, as well as numerous fire pits and fireplaces.
He said he was pleased with the end result.
The green fees for Journey at Pechanga are $150 Monday through Thursday, and $200 Friday through Sunday, and on holidays.
Visit www.journeypechanga.com.
Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.
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good fore them wrote on Nov 13, 2008 9:32 PM:Cool. Good for Pechanga for expanding.
Everyone wants to give that tribe a hard time because they have a wildly successfull casino/resort. They have been paying more to this stupid state than ever before.
Golf Player wrote on Nov 14, 2008 3:44 AM:Great Oak football will be played tonight at the school named after the Great Oak. Chaparral will lose the city championship to Great Oak. The Great Oak offensive line is the best eevr with All League players who deserve more recognition. perhaps a free round of golf at the Journey should be given to their families for all the ahrd work these kids put in to give Temecula at least one quality high school to be proud of.
Thanks Golf Player wrote on Nov 14, 2008 7:21 AM:I always wondered if there was any link between the school and the majestic tree next door. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm still trying to figure out the part about rewarding you for the hard work of the football players. As for me, I'll play on one of the other quality courses in Temecula for half the price and none of the hype.
Preservationist wrote on Nov 14, 2008 7:24 AM:Imagine that. Building something new and being respectful to the past at the same time. I love that the Pechenga's are doing we'll. especially since they were victims in 1876 of the first redevelopment program in which they were kicked off their land, which was then handed over to wealthy developers.
To Preservationist wrote on Nov 14, 2008 8:13 AM:The land you claim to own also once belonged to the Pechanga people. Any plans to give it back?
Huh wrote on Nov 14, 2008 8:14 AM:What do these comments have to do with the article? How is the opening of the golf course and football related?
It think it's great Pechanga resort now has a beautiful golf course. Sounds like a lot of though and effort went into it and I'm glad the tribe is proud of the greens but saying it's been "10,000 years in the making" is stretching it a bit, dontchyahthink??
Jay wrote on Nov 14, 2008 9:18 AM:$200 on w/e's to play golf? I'm sure in this economy its going to look like a freaking ghost town unless there are more people than I know about that want to piss their money away on an overpriced golf course when the one next to it is $100+ less and at least as good....although why not make it $300 on w/e's and squeeze the outta towners a little more.... what a joke!!!
To Any Left wrote on Nov 14, 2008 9:31 AM:Please explain to the rest of us why history (at least in this case) is irrelevant. Please don't be shy about showing off your intellectual prowess. Come on now.
Cowboy wrote on Nov 14, 2008 10:25 AM:Didn't the cowboys win the land fair in square when they battled the Indians for it. I don't think the cowboys were thinking of golf courses at that time. Why don't the Indians pay taxes afterall the land belongs to the United States of America.
Like Vegas wrote on Nov 14, 2008 10:46 AM:Casino hosts give away rounds of comp golf, rooms and F&B to high rollers then write off the full arount of those items. Believe me, they didn't build the golf course for Temecula residents to use on a Saturday afternoon.
History wrote on Nov 14, 2008 10:55 AM:You turned the land you own into a casino, hotel and golf course. Great. You tied into history by naming the holes in the "Pechanga tongue" as quoted in the article. But don't act like the course is some sacred site. Cities across America tear down historical buildings and replace them with new development all the time. It's called progress.
History wrote on Nov 14, 2008 10:58 AM:9:31 thinks we can pick and choose when history is, and isn't, relevant. Maybe the genius thinks we should also give back Manhattan that was taken from Native Americans in exchange for cheap trinkets. That land is just a tad more valuable.
The point is... wrote on Nov 14, 2008 12:40 PM:Temeculans and Murrietans are drooling over a new golf course, when they should be spending their money paying their mortgages instead of playing pasture pool.
It irks me to see people living the psuedo good life while not paying their obligations and draggin my property values down the tubes.
Oh, to long for pre-1989 days when Temcula and Murrieta were little niches and not concrete jungles of cookie cutter houses inhabited by people who were not as affluent as lenders had them convinced they were!
To Golf Player wrote on Nov 14, 2008 12:42 PM:Great Jokes will remain just that after tonight's game.
1058 History wrote on Nov 14, 2008 12:56 PM:For clarification, 10:55 History and I are not the same person, however it's clear that great minds think alike.
Preservationist wrote on Nov 14, 2008 9:05 PM:For your information, To preservationist, I bought the land the Arviso House used to sit on from a member of the Pechenga tribe. And I purchased the land it now sits on to prevent pale face developers from building heap big eyesore low income housing. And since I happen to be part native american on my mothers side, how about giving me part of your property?
becareful wrote on Nov 14, 2008 9:34 PM:hope these golfers dont get hurt while on the golf course.if they should happen to they cannot sue the casino because these indian casinos dont have to pay anything because they are a soevoern nation and they are protected by their own laws
Paleface Laws wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:27 AM:Come on, Preservationist, you know how it works. You need to be a member of this tribe to claim local land rights. Besides, if you did have Pechanga lineage, the tribe would have figured out long ago how to disenroll you for thinking it was your land and not the tribe's. Stay away from firewater.
Grump wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:39 AM:Preservationist and To Preservationist need to smokum piece pipe.
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