Quite a sight for wide-eyed reporter

Well, I’m impressed.

I had seen the pictures and heard the reviews, but hadn’t laid

eyes on it until Tuesday.

Walking through the tall wooden doors upon entering Mesa Verde

Country Club’s “new” 40,000 square-foot clubhouse, my feet stepped on

velvety carpet with intricate designs woven in. Two stairways lead

from the dining room on the upper floor and an elegant chandelier

hangs from a ceiling that extends steeply toward the sky.

And I haven’t even got to the views yet. Members can eat lunch in

the club’s main dining room and look out over four of the course’s

holes, including the par-four ninth and par-three 18th, which has a

swath of water fronting the green.

“This is one of the most beautiful sights from any clubhouse,” Tom

Sargent, Mesa Verde’s head golf professional, said Tuesday, as he

took me on a tour of the grounds.

Hard to argue with him on that one.

A fireplace, with white ceramic tiling lining the outside of the

chimney, sits in the middle of the dining room, greeting those who

enter. At its side sits a four-foot vase made out of what I think is

clay. Tom, please correct me if I’m wrong.

The vase is elegant, but not too gaudy.

“Things in here are elegant, but it is not a place where you walk

in and are afraid to touch something,” Sargent said. “I’ve walked

into some clubhouses and they have these vases that I think, ‘If I

knock this over, I’m out $100,000.’ ”

“Elegant” is a good word to describe the 40,000-foot clubhouse

that opened early this year. The views make it such.

Once golfers drive their carts back to the cart barn, they can

head up to the bar to chat with friends about the round over a cold

one, with a view of the 18th green, watching each group finish out.

Tables are set up on a patio that wraps around the clubhouse.

The club’s banquet room also overlooks the course, with large

windows allowing enough light to filter in without blinding you.

It seems no matter what part of the clubhouse you are at, even in

the pro shop, a view of the course is not too far away. That

proximity to the rolling fairways and freshly cut greens creates a

closeness, an intimacy. The course reaches out and tugs on your

shirt, pulling you toward itself.

I could be rambling and probably am, but I can’t help it. When I

step on a course for the first time, I tend to get emotional and

philosophical.

Emotions will surely run high in the next few weeks as the Tea Cup

Classic and Jones Cup will each be held at Mesa Verde, putting the

private club on this radar.

With the improved clubhouse and top-notch conditions, Mesa Verde

further exemplifies a long tradition of excellence.

*

Players in both the Tea Cup, scheduled for July 25, and the Jones

Cup, Aug. 1, will tee off at 1:30 p.m.

Sargent said Mesa Verde superintendent Eric Lover has been working

hard getting the course ready for the two tournaments.

The greens could be quicker, Sargent added.

“[Lover] might add a layer of silicone,” he said.

*

There are still openings for the Mesa Verde Community Classic Golf

Tournament scheduled Aug. 18.

The purpose of the tournament is to begin fund- raising for a

multi-sport stadium at Estancia High and an aquatic facility at Costa

Mesa, both spearheaded by The Costa Mesa Community Athletic

Foundation. Expected cost is $7 million.