MEET THE PLAYERS

Patti Martinez

• Age: 64.

• Resides: Land Park.

• Occupation: Realtor.

• Handicap index: Lapsed; was a 29 last year.

• Patti fact: Took up the game 10 years ago after a friend dragged her to Sunrise Golf Course on a 108-degree summer day, and she stuck with it. She has golfing friends but isn't afraid to go out as a single. "When real estate is really stressful, it beats the alternative of getting distraught," she said.

Charley Kendall

• Age: 63.

• Resides: Lincoln.

• Occupation: Retired high school teacher and coach.

• Handicap index: 17.6 (shot a 12-over 70 at Antelope).

• Charley fact: Hit his tee shot within 11 feet – the closest in our group – on No. 15, where three consecutive aces were recorded four years ago. Generally wasn't pleased with his shots, even though he scored significantly under his handicap. "Old coaches are always looking for perfection," he explained.

Marc Ryan

• Age: 60.

• Resides: Carmichael.

• Occupation: Energy management consultant.

• Handicap index: "About an 18."

• Marc fact: Started playing Antelope Greens in the early 1990s when he took his father, Jim, who was in his 70s. "It was not killer golf, and he could have some fun out there." Started playing with his wife, Dona, earlier this decade and continues to do so about once a week.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Our foursome totaled 237 years of living without a hole in one between us.

So there was great anticipation as we surveyed Antelope Greens – "the great ace place" – from the clubhouse high ground. Today could be "the day" for one of us.

Alas, well-struck golf shots hit the correct distance and in the direction of the hole are part of the successful hole-in-one equation at any course.

We came away empty but not disappointed. We still get our names in the paper, and we greatly enjoyed our 18 holes, especially the diabolically short and deceptively difficult downhill No. 4 that's between 63 and 82 yards and can't help but make you smile.

Marc Ryan loves Antelope Greens and has played there for 20 years. Neither Charley Kendall nor Patti Martinez had played there. A hint of disappointment was in their voices as they accepted invitations to try the course with 14 par-3s measuring from 63 to 200 yards, a total maximum yardage of 3,250 and a par of 58.

The experience won both over: a lush, well-maintained course with grass clippings clumping on your shoes reminiscent of muni days, a friendly feel and a round completed in less than 3 1/2 hours.

"I was surprised how picturesque it is," Kendall said. "And the pace of play was great, even though the course was packed."

Kendall lives in Lincoln Hills and said he wouldn't hesitate to recommend Antelope Greens when his regular group ventures beyond his retirement community's two courses.

Pete Ames, the assistant manager who started working at Antelope Greens a year after its 1994 opening, said the course gets players from Lincoln Hills and Sun City desiring a shorter option "and a chance at a few pars." Seniors are the backbone of the course's business, pretty much filling weekday tee times before noon.

Players age 60 and over play for $17 on weekdays, while others pay $20. A weekend 18 holes costs $25. Cart fees are $10, and there are nine-hole rates.

Stan James, 99, pays for his cart only. "He always comes in and slides me $10 so his buddies don't know," said Ames, who estimates that "99 percent of the people who come in here know me and I know them." A barbecue follows monthly tournaments, with a turnout of more than 100.

While Antelope Greens is best known for the holes in one it surrenders – Ames estimates about two a week, and its 115-yard 15th is where Bob Fleming, Marc Arcuri and Dan Condie say they bucked astronomical odds by making aces on three consecutive swings in 2005 – it also offers the biggest grass driving range this side of Palm Springs. No hitting off mats, ever.

"Don't know what those are," Ames said.

The range is home to highly regarded instructors Bob Epperly and Don Baucom. Epperly teaches Natural Golf, and Baucom has long worked with some of the area's best players.

"It's fun to hear players walking from No. 9 to 10 and hearing them say, 'That's Kevin Sutherland over there,' " Ames said. When Sutherland, a longtime PGA touring pro, is in town, he's at Antelope Greens. So are a lot of people playing for fun.