[Ash Towe]

I am planning a trip to California in 2007.  Flying in to San Francisco from New Zealand.  This will probably be a once only trip.  Due to time and family demands there has to be a choice between the two destinations.  What would you guys recommend?  You could look at it strictly from the golf/architecture point of view or the whole experience.  Really appreciate your choice and reasons.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Ash One has to go to Monterey/pebble/carmel/sf first before Bandon. However I would figure out a way to pull the wool over the fmailies eyes and do both if at all possible.

[David_Tepper]

Ash -

You should be aware that you can drive to the Monterey Peninsula from San Francisco in an easy 2 1/2 hours. From San Fran to Bandon, it is roughly 9 hours on the road, some of it on 2-lane roads.

DT  

[THuckaby2]

Ash:

Yours is a familair name but I can't place why - apologies there!  But in any case, obviously this all turns on whether or not you have access to private clubs.  If you can play MPCC and Cypress, then it's a no-brainer:  as great as Bandon is, it's not those two.

Money also could change this also.  Bandon is expensive but Pebble is EXPENSIVE, as you know.

But from your post, I gather we're not to consider that.

So leaving it just to golf/architecture, well I refer again to my first point.  If you can do Cypress/MPCC/Pebble/Spyglass, that to me would be a better trip once in a life-time trip than the three courses plus Sheep Ranch at Bandon.

You can't go wrong with either.  Bandon is fantastic.

But there is only one Cypress, and only one Pebble.

Delete the private clubs from the equation and the no-brainer moves northward.  Bandon it is.  Think about that for a second, it ought to give you a sense of Bandon's greatness.  Their courses make for a better trip than Pebble/Spyglass/Spanish Bay.

TH

[THuckaby2]

Ash -

You should be aware that you can drive to the Monterey Peninsula from San Francisco in an easy 2 1/2 hours. From San Fran to Bandon, it is roughly 9 hours on the road, some of it on 2-lane roads.

DT  

David - very true - but can't we assume he can fly into Portland and either fly/drive from there?  That makes Bandon more doable.  But it is a good point anyway - coming from NZ no matter how he does it, Bandon will be much more difficult to get to.

TH

[Geoffrey Childs]

I am planning a trip to California in 2007.  Flying in to San Francisco from New Zealand.  This will probably be a once only trip.  Due to time and family demands there has to be a choice between the two destinations.  What would you guys recommend?  You could look at it strictly from the golf/architecture point of view or the whole experience.  Really appreciate your choice and reasons.

Ash-

I am of the opinion that Bandon Dunes is the best golf resort in the US.

That said- for a tourist from New Zealand I must recommend the SF Bay area and Monterey courses.  Having lived in the area for 5 years I can say that it is a unique and wonderful place with much more then golf to offer.

Pebble Beach is a must "experience" and if you get access to some of the private clubs that only makes the golfing even better.

Just don't go home to NZ having been at either of those great resorts believing that they represent golf in the US  

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

I second everything in Tom's post above..if you have access to Cypress..then it is Monterey, if not head up to Bandon...but both would be great

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I will beg to differ from Tom a little bit for Pasa is part of the Monterey/sf experience and it is not private either. I do agree with Geoffrey about the here and now on Bandon but agree totally with the reality of a first time trip to US and Monterey's accessability and over all tourist appeal and the fact that Bandon is not and is totally lacking outside of golf. One may like Dornoch or East Lothian more than TOC and Fife, but on your first trip to the UK one has to go to St. Andrews. The same is true of Pebble and the US.

[THuckaby2]

Tiger - good call adding in Pasa, especially now.  As a local I don't tend to think of it as part of "Monterey" but for visitors it surely should be.

So the question then becomes

Pebble/Spyglass/Pasa/Spanish Bay

v.

Bandon Dunes/Pacific Dunes/Bandon Trails/Sheep Ranch(assuming that still exists in 2007).

THAT is a much tougher call.  I'd call it a tossup.  What might make me lean back toward Monterey then is only the travel ease.

Once again though if Cypress/MPCC are a part of it, no way one goes farther north.

TH

[Ted Kramer]

For a once in a lifetime trip, Monterey is a must. Pebble 6-10, and 18 are too good to miss. And 1-5 Spyglass is pure joy!!!

-Ted

[Mike Benham]

We must also ask about your travelling companions ... will they be golfing too?  Or would they prefer sightseeing, wine tasting, shopping?

Bandon is a no-go if you have non-golfers ...

SF/Monterey/Carmel is a go if you have non-golfers ...

[Brent Hutto]

Ash,

I live on the east coast of the US and I've made exactly one trip to California (so far). I was fortunate enough to share a day at Cypress Point and MPCC Shore with a few other guys from this forum and it was just about the most fun I could imagine having. If you get a chance to play either of those courses then Bandon isn't even in the running.

Assuming only courses with easier access, I would still recommend Northern California over Oregon. I've yet to play at Bandon but by comparison Pasatiempo and Spyglass Hill are surely in the same league. If you can also play Pebble Beach that makes three courses which are very different from each other but all three of world-class quality. And they're in a beautiful area with the best climate and scenery I've ever experienced.

[THuckaby2]

Mr. Benham makes perhaps the best point of all.  Oh yes, if there are non-golfers along, then absolutely no way do you choose Bandon over Monterey/Carmel/San Francisco.  

Bandon is all about golf.  That's not to say there aren't other things to do, nor that it would be awful to spend non-golfing time there... But once again for tourist purposes, there is only one Carmel, only one San Francisco.

TH

[Ash Towe]

Thanks guys for the replies.  They make for very interesting reading.  Let me clarify a few points, my wife will be travelling with me and is a non-golfer.  Secondly cost is a factor but it is a once only trip, so if the heavy green fees have to be paid then so be it.  Regarding the travl to Bandon I would look at alternatives to driving there if that is the option chosen.
Mant thanks once again.

[THuckaby2]

Ash:

I can't stress this strongly enough:  go to Monterey.  Unless your wife has absolutely no interest in shopping and doesn't care a whit about the fantastic restaurants and sights to be sampled in the greater SF Bay Area, then you will never live down the time you forced her to spend in Bandon.

There really is little there besides the golf - at least little compared to the incredible wealth of ways she can occupy her time in California.

Re costs, although the golf in Monterey area is very expensive, Bandon isn't exactly cheap.  You're also going to spend a lot more to get there no matter how you do it.

But the bottom line remains this:  for a non-golfer there is absolutely no comparison to be made.  Save yourself.  Save your marriage.  Go to Monterey, and make sure and allow at least a day to spend in San Francisco.

TH

[Bob_Huntley]

Ash,

IM me.

Bob

[Garland Bayley]

It depends on what your nongolfing wife values.
If cities are interesting, then I suppose SF would be worth a visit.
If nature is interesting, then you can't beat the scenic beauty of the southern
Oregon coast (Big Sur pales in comparison).
North of Bandon is the Dunes National Recreation area.
Near Bandon are jet boats rides up scenic rivers into wilderness.
If you fly into Eugene, winerys making Oregon's famous Pinot Noir wines are
nearby.

Country boy a heart. (I'll let you guess what I would choose).

Garland

[Eric Johnson]

Ash -

You should be aware that you can drive to the Monterey Peninsula from San Francisco in an easy 2 1/2 hours. From San Fran to Bandon, it is roughly 9 hours on the road, some of it on 2-lane roads.

DT  

David - very true - but can't we assume he can fly into Portland and either fly/drive from there?  That makes Bandon more doable.  But it is a good point anyway - coming from NZ no matter how he does it, Bandon will be much more difficult to get to.

TH

Another alternative route to Bandon via SFO:  Fly from SFO to Eugene (EUG) and a 2 to 3 hour drive to Bandon.  Although I am not sure if they still provide service to Eugene, United Express used to have direct flights from SFO to EUG.  Alaska-Horizon Air is another alternative from Oakland.

Eric

[THuckaby2]

Garland does make a good point.  BUT, it's not like the Monterey area is lacking for natural beauty, nor is San Francisco.  Anything you can do or see there, you can do or see in at the very least equal measure in Monterey.   Having been to both places several times, I have to beg to differ that Big Sur pales compared to south Oregon coast.  But even if it does, the point remains what you can't find in So, Oregon are the restaurants, shopping, urban culture, etc.  And Garland, do you forget the wine we have here?  Heck if Ash was so inclined, it's not all that far to Napa/Sonoma.  

So yes it would turn on what interests the non-golfer, but he or she would REALLY have to be into river rafting to make her or he favor Bandon.

Eric - good call.  I've done Alaska Airlines from San Jose to Portland, which connects to Horizon Air flight to North Bend.  it's a pretty easy morning.  I have no doubt that Ash could get himself to San Francisco or San Jose or Oakland and find ways to make this work.  Heck, odds are he could also skip all that and get to Portland directly, or maybe even Eugene.

So it's not THAT bad.  It's just always going to be a bit more difficult than getting to Monterey.

TH

[Garland Bayley]

...
So yes it would turn on what interests the non-golfer, but he or she would REALLY have to be into river rafting to make her or he favor Bandon.

...
TH

Tom, some people just don't care for cities. If the wife is one, she doesn't even have to like river rafting to prefer Bandon.

And yes, those North Coast Pinots from near SF seem to be coming into their own.

Garland

[THuckaby2]

Garland:

Gotcha.  Yes, if river rafting is the goal, then Bandon is the call.  I'd just have to guess that wives of golfers who are river-rafting aficionados themselves are a unique breed.  

And I understand that some don't like cities.  But do you consider the entire area from Monterey to SF and beyond one big "city"?  I'd say it does have some natural scenic value.  Just a little.

As for wine, the point is that a little over an hour north of SF, they could find themselves in Napa or Sonoma.  No offense, but for wine aficionados this is Cypress Point and Southern Oregon is Bayonet (a fine public golf course).

Hey, I love Southern Oregon - I have relatives in Grants Pass, I've done rafting on the Rogue River several times, it's great fun.  The coast is beautiful, also.

I'd just have to guess the vast majority of visitors would prefer Carmel-SF-Napa.  That is unless they are 100% river rafting only.  In that case, while they still could find some fun around here, well, the Rogue River would be better.

 

[Kevin_Reilly]

Go to Monterey, and make sure and allow at least a day to spend in San Francisco.

I'm sure Ash could find some golf diversions in SF (assuming he doesn't come the same time as the US Am).

[THuckaby2]

Go to Monterey, and make sure and allow at least a day to spend in San Francisco.

I'm sure Ash could find some golf diversions in SF (assuming he doesn't come the same time as the US Am).

VERY good point as well.  Very, very good point.  But sadly there is no river rafting.

Sorry about that Garland, just having fun with this.

 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ash Towe,

You can't make a bad or wrong choice.

Both are fabulous.

And, after your trip, you can begin to make plans to visit the other site.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland:


And I understand that some don't like cities.  But do you consider the entire area from Monterey to SF and beyond one big "city"?  I'd say it does have some natural scenic value.  Just a little.

As for wine, the point is that a little over an hour north of SF, they could find themselves in Napa or Sonoma.  No offense, but for wine aficionados this is Cypress Point and Southern Oregon is Bayonet (a fine public golf course).


 

I agree there is "some natural scenic value. Just a little."

Tom, the topic has been Pinot Noir. Napa and Sonoma Pinot Noir pale in comparison to Oregon or California North Coast.

Since Ash is coming from NZ, Pinor Noir or Sauvignon Blanc are the appropriate wine topics.

Garland

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