Golfers Losing Holes to John Wayne's Parking

Regulars at the Newport Beach Golf Course are teed off by word that the county might turn their low-price links into a parking lot.

The lease for the back nine of the 18-hole course expires July 31, and John Wayne Airport officials are considering replacing fairways with parking stalls. "As the airport does with any lease when it expires, we always take a look and say, 'What is the highest and best use for this particular property?' " said Courtney Wiercioch, an airport spokeswoman. "No decisions have been made."

The course's lease expired in January but was extended for six months so county officials could explore options for the land.

Suspense surrounding the 32-acre property's fate is rankling course co-owner Steve Lane, who opened the public links in 1976. "We're in a limbo state," he said. "They won't make up their minds or give us an answer. It's driving us crazy."

Uncertainty hasn't stopped patrons from marshaling opposition, however. This week, "several thousand" signatures were gathered in protest, course manager Jim Forgash said. "A lot of the residents are getting irate," he said.

Half the course is safe, as the Irvine Co. owns the front nine and has more than a decade still on its lease.

But losing half the 3,500-yard course would hobble one of the area's few affordable golf venues, officials say. Greens fees range from $17 to $25, making it among the cheapest 18-hole courses in Orange County, according to . Its lights let players chip, putt and drive until 10 p.m. "The price is right, (and) you can use every club in your bag," Lane said. "It's a really good community asset."

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who said she's received 300 calls and e-mails on the issue, is asking airport Director Alan Murphy to discuss the matter at an Aviation Committee meeting Monday. "Applying the concept of highest-and-best use to public land is bogus," Daigle said. "If this was the case, we'd have no libraries, beaches or hospitals."

Lane speculated that Newport's longtime animosity to airport noise might help shore up support. "They don't want to have that airport expanded in any way, shape or form," he said.

Any decision to pave the course would go through county staff members, the Airport Commission and county supervisors. "It's very early in that process," Wiercioch said.

"The airport has always been a good neighbor and will continue to do that," she added.

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