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Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Pasatiempo
Pasatiempo has been ranked as one of the top courses in the U.S. by Golf Magazine's panel of experts.
Since invitations to play Augusta National or Cypress Point are about as common as ashtrays on motorcycles, course connoisseurs who want to experience the genius of Alister MacKenzie can sample the next best thing: Pasatiempo, the good doctor's finest public-access course. For this reason, it is often referred to as "The Poor Man's Pebble."
Opened in 1929, Bobby Jones scratched out a 1-over 75 to christen the course. While par has been chopped to 70 today, it seldom takes a beating. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods have all failed to better 67 here.
Pasatiempo sports stellar par-4s. Byron Nelson said the 384-yard 11th is one of the toughest he ever faced. MacKenzie's advice: "Do not hook on the par-4 11th. We have allowed for a straight drive and a crisp iron across the arroyo to the green." MacKenzie also said that the 395-yard 16th hole was the best two-shotter he ever designed.
Architect Tom Doak recently re-worked portions of the course to their former glory. You'll so enjoy the challenges at Pasatiempo that you won't even notice that it ends on a par 3.
From Sports Illustrated Writer-Reporter Rick Lipsey: Marion Hollins, the creator of Pasatiempo, is probably the most famous woman in golf you've never heard of. Hollins, who died in 1944 at age 52, was a flamboyant trailblazer on and off the course. Outside of golf, she was a female activist and a shrewd and successful entrepreneur. The daughter of a partner at J.P. Morgan, Hollins invested in one California oil strike that netted her $2.5 million. Hollins was also an expert horse rider and the only woman in America who had a men's handicap in polo. But Hollins made perhaps her biggest mark in golf. She was a top player, winning the 1921 U.S. Amateur, and she created several golf clubs from scratch, including the Women's National Golf Club on Long Island, a women-only club, Cypress Point on California's Monterey Peninsula and Pasatiempo. To design Pasatiempo, Hollins collaborated with her longtime friend Alister Mackenzie, and the rolling hills perched on the northern edge of Monterey Bay provided them a stunning setting for their layout that is noted for its bold bunkering and small, curvaceous greens.
For more information, go to pasatiempo.com.
Since invitations to play Augusta National or Cypress Point are about as common as ashtrays on motorcycles, course connoisseurs who want to experience the genius of Alister MacKenzie can sample the next best thing: Pasatiempo, the good doctor's finest public-access course. For this reason, it is often referred to as "The Poor Man's Pebble."
Opened in 1929, Bobby Jones scratched out a 1-over 75 to christen the course. While par has been chopped to 70 today, it seldom takes a beating. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods have all failed to better 67 here.
Pasatiempo sports stellar par-4s. Byron Nelson said the 384-yard 11th is one of the toughest he ever faced. MacKenzie's advice: "Do not hook on the par-4 11th. We have allowed for a straight drive and a crisp iron across the arroyo to the green." MacKenzie also said that the 395-yard 16th hole was the best two-shotter he ever designed.
Architect Tom Doak recently re-worked portions of the course to their former glory. You'll so enjoy the challenges at Pasatiempo that you won't even notice that it ends on a par 3.
From Sports Illustrated Writer-Reporter Rick Lipsey: Marion Hollins, the creator of Pasatiempo, is probably the most famous woman in golf you've never heard of. Hollins, who died in 1944 at age 52, was a flamboyant trailblazer on and off the course. Outside of golf, she was a female activist and a shrewd and successful entrepreneur. The daughter of a partner at J.P. Morgan, Hollins invested in one California oil strike that netted her $2.5 million. Hollins was also an expert horse rider and the only woman in America who had a men's handicap in polo. But Hollins made perhaps her biggest mark in golf. She was a top player, winning the 1921 U.S. Amateur, and she created several golf clubs from scratch, including the Women's National Golf Club on Long Island, a women-only club, Cypress Point on California's Monterey Peninsula and Pasatiempo. To design Pasatiempo, Hollins collaborated with her longtime friend Alister Mackenzie, and the rolling hills perched on the northern edge of Monterey Bay provided them a stunning setting for their layout that is noted for its bold bunkering and small, curvaceous greens.
For more information, go to pasatiempo.com.
Design - Golf Course at Pasatiempo Golf Club
- Year Built: 1929
- Designer: Alister Mackenzie
- Greens Grass Type: Bent Grass
- Fairways Grass Type: Winter Rye
- Water Hazards: No
- Sand Bunkers: 41-50
Spyglass Hill
Spyglass Hill has been ranked as one of the top courses in the U.S. and the World by Golf Magazine's panel of experts.
Spyglass Hill suffers in the long shadows cast by its neighbors, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point, but many serious golfers will claim under oath that Spyglass is harder than its more celebrated neighbors -- and more than a few will whisper that it's better.
The first six holes may be the most dramatic in the world. The first is a long par 5 that plummets down a hill and doglegs left, giving golfers a magnificent view of the Pacific. The second hole is a short, narrow, uphill par 4. The fairway is surrounded by ice plant, an indigenous weed that thrives in the sandy soil of the Monterey Peninsula. The 3rd hole, a mid-length par 3, again goes downhill toward the water to a green that is guarded by sandy mounds.
The 4th hole is one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s favorite par 4s. Players must choose between playing it safe off the tee, which means attacking the pencil-thin green (in some areas it is less than six paces across) from farther out, or challenging the ice plant and sand on the left to set up a shorter approach. The 5th hole is a 197-yard par 3 that plays toward the ocean once again.
Critics complain that, after the sixth tee, you're done with the ocean and the ice plant. That's true, but the inland holes are gorgeous and tough. Two are among the most underrated in golf: the reverse-cambered par-4 8th that slopes to the right but doglegs left, and the brutal 16th, a par 4 where merely hitting the green in regulation is cause for celebration. Recent improvements in drainage have Spyglass in its best shape ever.
For more information, go to pebblebeach.com.
Spyglass Hill suffers in the long shadows cast by its neighbors, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point, but many serious golfers will claim under oath that Spyglass is harder than its more celebrated neighbors -- and more than a few will whisper that it's better.
The first six holes may be the most dramatic in the world. The first is a long par 5 that plummets down a hill and doglegs left, giving golfers a magnificent view of the Pacific. The second hole is a short, narrow, uphill par 4. The fairway is surrounded by ice plant, an indigenous weed that thrives in the sandy soil of the Monterey Peninsula. The 3rd hole, a mid-length par 3, again goes downhill toward the water to a green that is guarded by sandy mounds.
The 4th hole is one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s favorite par 4s. Players must choose between playing it safe off the tee, which means attacking the pencil-thin green (in some areas it is less than six paces across) from farther out, or challenging the ice plant and sand on the left to set up a shorter approach. The 5th hole is a 197-yard par 3 that plays toward the ocean once again.
Critics complain that, after the sixth tee, you're done with the ocean and the ice plant. That's true, but the inland holes are gorgeous and tough. Two are among the most underrated in golf: the reverse-cambered par-4 8th that slopes to the right but doglegs left, and the brutal 16th, a par 4 where merely hitting the green in regulation is cause for celebration. Recent improvements in drainage have Spyglass in its best shape ever.
For more information, go to pebblebeach.com.
Design - Golf Course at Spyglass Hill Golf Course
- Year Built: 1966
- Designer: Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
- Greens Grass Type: Poa Annua Grass
- Fairways Grass Type: Poa Annua Grass
- Water Hazards: Yes
- Sand Bunkers: 71-80
- Yardage Markers: 200, 150, 100 Yard Markers
The Links at Spanish Bay
Ouch! 100+ sand bunkers! This information courtesy of golf.com
The Links at Spanish Bay is consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Magazine's panel of experts.
This gorgeous layout begins at the sea, eases through marshes and dunes, climbs into the forest and finally returns to the sea. A superb opening par 5 sets the pace; the green affords a panorama of Spanish Bay. Purists say there are too many woods, wetlands and forced carries to call it a true links, but with the breeze, the firm turf and a bagpiper sounding his tune along the first fairway at dusk, this could pass for Scotland -- except that the Scots never had it so cushy.
For more information, go to pebblebeach.com.
The Links at Spanish Bay is consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Magazine's panel of experts.
This gorgeous layout begins at the sea, eases through marshes and dunes, climbs into the forest and finally returns to the sea. A superb opening par 5 sets the pace; the green affords a panorama of Spanish Bay. Purists say there are too many woods, wetlands and forced carries to call it a true links, but with the breeze, the firm turf and a bagpiper sounding his tune along the first fairway at dusk, this could pass for Scotland -- except that the Scots never had it so cushy.
For more information, go to pebblebeach.com.
Design - Golf Course at Links at Spanish Bay, The
- Year Built: 1987
- Designer: Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
- Greens Grass Type: Poa Annua Grass
- Fairways Grass Type: Poa Annua Grass
- Water Hazards: Yes
- Sand Bunkers: 100+
- Yardage Markers: Electronic Range System
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