On Wednesday, I had good fortune to enjoy a Monterey sunset on the back 9 at Pacific Grove. What a lot of fun, and I'm envious of the local residents that get the opportunity to play here on a regular basis.
Local residents enjoy the 11th hole:
An inviting fairway on the 11th, with the cross-wind blowing about 25mph, it provided ample width for an introduction to the ocean-front holes:
The awe begins after climbing the dunes to the Par5 12th tee:
Light from the sunset washes across the 12th fairway and green:
No, those trees weren't planted crooked...Mother Nature's constant whispers are reflected in the angles of their trunks:
Playing back into the wind on the mid-length Par4 13th, which also offers a glimpse of Monterey's famous coastline:
Approaching the 13th green, set back into the dunes:
There are minimal greenside bunkers at Pacific Grove, but Neville built the contours of the surrounding land directly into the greensite:
Looking back from the 16th green towards the double-fairway (16 & 17) and the Pacific Ocean.
Sunset amongst the dunes and on the links around Monterey....it doesn't get any better than this: