Looking for a mid-week getaway for you and Mrs. Waytoobusy? Or, how about the two of you and another couple sharing some time away from the pressures of your busy work-a-day world?

If you and your friends are golfing enthusiasts, there’s a real treat awaiting you in Lake County! How about three days of challenging golf over three unique 18-hole layouts filled with water, elevation changes, water, narrow fairways, water, and scenic wonders. Here’s a suggested itinerary:

Day One ... Drive to Riviera Hills Golf and Recreation club where you’ll tee it up for nine holes on a course full of elevation changes and some of the world’s most spectacular views! Your tee shot on No. 1 is to a narrow fairway that careens downward and slopes to the left, with out of bounds to the right and disaster to the left. On No. 2 your tee shot must make its way to a high plateau, and from there your second shot is to a bunker-guarded green far below. No. 3 is a dog-leg right to an elevated green. No. 4 is a par three from an elevated tee to a postage stamp green. No. 5 is an uphill par four. No. 6 plays along a narrow sloping fairway to another elevated green. There’s a large tree in the middle of the seventh fairway, and No. 8 plays uphill around a dog-leg right to another small green. No. 9 climbs up an impossibly long fairway to yet another skimpy green.

Ready for more? Climb back in your car for the ten-minute drive to Buckingham Golf and Country Club. Ranked among the top three nine-hole courses in California, Buckingham is home to the Pepsi One Quarterback Shootout each August.

Tee off on the par four dog-leg No. 10 where water skirts the left and out-of-bounds borders the right. Then, on to No. 11, a par three from an elevated tee to a green guarded by a bunker on the right and water on the left. No. 12 is from an elevated tee over a weeping willow to an elevated green hiding behind a row of overhanging oaks. No. 13 is a long par five with out-of-bounds left and right. At Nos. 14 and 15, you’ll find two of the toughest back-to-back par threes you’ll ever encounter. No. 16 is a modestly long par five down a fairway lined on both sides by trees to an elevated green guarded by a pond and bunkers.

We think you’ll rank the two closing holes among the toughest you’ve seen. No. 17 starts from an elevated tee, and doglegs left along a fairway lined with water left to a peninsula green. The tee shot on No. 18 is over water and the second shot is over a second pond to an elevated green guarded by two bunkers.

18 holes: 6600 yards, par 72.

Day Two ... Off to Cobb Mountain and Adam Springs Golf Course with nine holes designed by Jack Fleming (best known for his work on the lake course at San Francisco’s Olympic Club). It’s short, with three par threes and just one par five, but its tight! Stray from the fairway here at your peril. And, just to add insult to injury, there’s water on six of the nine holes.

You start on the course’s toughest hole, a long par four up a steep fairway with out-of-bounds markers to the left and peril to the right. Long hitters need to be wary here.

No. 2 is a short par three (don’t be long). No. 3 doglegs right with out-of-bounds left and water right. No. 4 is a par three over water (keep your ball below the hole).

No. 5 is the only par five and it has more out-of-bounds left and more water right. No. 6 has a row of pines in the way of your drive, a creek to negotiate and an elevated green. No. 7 is a short par three from an elevated tee to a green guarded by twin front bunkers left and right. No. 8 doglegs left over trees with out-of-bounds left and trouble right. And No. 9 is a dogleg right with water all along the right side and more out-of-bounds left. Survive this and you’re off again ...

Around a couple of curves to Rob Roy Golf Club, where the only water is a meandering stream (it comes into play on five holes and has been known to cause some problems). There are three par threes and no par five, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Most of the trouble here is to your right. No. 10 is a short par four with out-of-bounds right. No. 11 is a par three with a sloping green and all the trouble long. No. 12 has out-of-bounds to the right and more trouble behind the green. No. 13 is a dogleg right to a tiny sloping green. No. 14 is a wedge shot over a chasm (with that stream we mentioned at its bottom) to an elevated green. No. 15 is a long par four with out-of-bounds to the right and “the stream” to the left. No. 16 is another wedge shot downhill with the stream behind the green. No. 17 requires a tee shot through a narrow opening and over the stream. And No. 18 is a long par four through a narrow opening between two giant redwoods to a miniscule green hidden away in a glen surrounded by trees and fronted by (you guessed it) “the stream.”

18 holes, 5040 yards, par 67.

Day Three ... Your drive today takes you to Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course, designed by Billy Bell (of Torrey Pines reknown). Here you’ll be tested by an 18-hole championship layout that starts out long and flat and gets very steep and tight. Water won’t be your main concern but there are a couple of ponds and another of those troublesome meandering streams.

The front nine is mostly flat, although No. 1 is an impossibly long par four up a steep fairway to an elevated green. The long par four No. 2 has out-of-bounds left and right. No. 3 is another long par four to a two-tiered green where missing the proper level makes putting “interesting.” The par three No. 4 plays longer than its distance (take an extra club). No. 5 plays over that afore-mentioned stream, requiring a well-placed tee shot and a long second shot to a small sloping green guarded by traps; and No. 6 is a dog-leg par five over the same stream and requires another perfectly placed tee shot. No. 7 is a 200-yard par three with a pond to the right. No. 8 is another long par four, and No. 9 is a severe dogleg left with several large oak trees placed strategically to add to your enjoyment.

The back nine is anything but flat, but they start you out innocently enough with another long par four on No. 10. No. 11 is a par three with a huge oak tree overhanging the green. Then, No. 12 is a dogleg right to a very elevated green with that seemingly ever-present stream to negotiate; No. 13 is another dogleg right from an elevated tee down a steep fairway and back up to another elevated green with out-of-bounds on the right and disaster on the left; No. 14 is a wedge-shot par 3 to a green so high above the tee you can’t see any part of the putting surface. And, it features a deep chasm on the left and out-of-bounds on the right; No. 15 (Hidden Valley’s signature hole) is from an elevated tee off the side of a mountain to the valley below from whence it turns right and finishes on yet another elevated green; No. 16 is a dogleg right over a gulley to (that’s right) an elevated green; No. 17 is a moderately long par four with a tricky wind blowing in your face (take an extra club on your approach). At No. 18 your drive must be very well placed because there is both water and out-of-bounds markers to the right, and to the left is a gully. Once you manage to get your ball in the fairway, though, all that remains is another elevated green guarded by a sand trap and a huge overhanging tree.

18 holes: 6667 yards, par 72.

One more thing you’ll enjoy about golf in Lake County: A round of 18 holes can be easily accomplished in four to five hours. And, you should find tee times readily available. However, since it is always best to call ahead, here are the pro shop numbers for each of the five courses:

Riviera Hills 707 277-7575

Buckingham 707 279-4863

Adams Springs 707 928-9992

Rob Roy 707 928-0121

Hidden Valley Lake 707 987-3035