Shady Canyon Still on Drawing Board

The Irvine Company still isn’t saying when it will give the go-ahead for Shady Canyon, a proposed course in the hills between Irvine and Newport Beach, but the company that builds its golf courses is gearing up.

“Hopefully, we are going to start it in April,” said Dennis Myers, vice president of construction for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Western Golf Properties. In fact, Western Golf lists Shady Canyon on its Web site with a 2001 opening. And Myers said the latest thinking is that the course will be private.

But Irvine Company spokesman Paul Kranhold said no decisions have been made on whether the course will be upscale public or private, or whether construction will start this year or next.

All parties agree, however, that the Tom Fazio-designed course will be spectacular. It will be set on land that includes canyons, streams, a natural waterfall and old-growth trees.