NEWS/PRESS
NEWS/PRESS

Soboba Springs Welcomes Fall Season

Golf course changes for the better ◆ By Mike Hiles

November is a busy month at The Country Club at Soboba Springs. It started with Saturday’s Autumn Elegance wine and food pairing experience to benefit Friends of Valley-Wide and community charities and will continue as the Maze Stone restaurant brings back its Prime Rib Mondays for a limited time from 3 p.m. until closing.

The restaurant is also gearing up for its Thanksgiving Day brunch and dinner on Nov. 23. The popular brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include bottomless champagne. Carving stations will serve up roasted turkey, prime rib and honey ham while a seafood station will have lox and bagels and Gulf shrimp to choose from. Available breakfast favorites will include country fried steak, Belgian waffles and scrambled eggs. Sweets being served are pecan and pumpkin pies, cheesecake, chocolate eclairs, fresh fruit, Danish and muffins.

Lunch specials will include salmon, braised short ribs, an array of fresh salads and many traditional Thanksgiving items. Brunch will be $34.95 for adults, $32.95 for seniors, $14.95 for children 6 through 12 and $6.95 for those five and younger.

A three-course dinner, served from 4 to 8 p.m. will consist of a choice of soup or salad, sliced roasted turkey breast, green bean casserole, autumn harvest stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream. Cost is $18.95 per person.

The golf course will remain closed in November while it is being over-seeded.

"Over-seeding is done annually to transition from Bermuda to winter rye," General Manager Ray Shalizi said. "It creates pristine playing conditions."

Preparations are also being made for the re-opening on December 1 to an alternate 18-hole course which will remain available during the renovation of holes 13 through 16. Golfers will enjoy having their first turn on the course when it is complete and a special opening rate from Dec. 1 through 3 of $45 includes greens fees and a pint of Maze Stone Private Label draft beer and sliders.

"Our alternate course was designed by Golf Course Architect Cary Bickler and is a par 70, PGA-rated course which offers more than 6,000 yards of playing area," Shalizi said. "It will remain in play throughout the renovation which is expected to be completed by fall of 2018."

The four-hole renovation project will be a full redesign. A Signature Island green will be aligned with the new hotel’s pool area and will create a spectacular oasis-like setting with running streams and waterfalls. Throughout the entire course, there will be several areas landscaped with indigenous plants from the region. The golf shop re-opens on Nov. 20 and the public can stop by the pro shop to see renderings and ask questions, get a tour and more.

Bickler did the golf course’s original redesign in 2006 when the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians originally acquired and renovated the country club. Bickler is one of the nation’s foremost experts on golf course renovation, remodel and historic restoration.

"Soboba is well known in the golf world as the multi-year host of the Nationwide Tour," Shalizi said. "The Tribe was determined to maintain the 7,200-yard length in order to continue to be the home of many future PGA Tour events."

As a result, the Tour tees on the new course will play more than 7,300 yards. The new hole 15 will become the fourth longest par 5 on the PGA Tour, measuring a staggering 641 yards.

Besides the special events mentioned above, the Maze Stone will continue to remain open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Thursday through Sunday. Live entertainment and dancing is available Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m. and Karaoke with DJ Evan takes place on Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m.

The Country Club at Soboba Springs is at 1020 Soboba Road in San Jacinto.

Information, 951-654-4300 or www.sobobaspringscc.com