[Jack Davis]

Hello All,

 After reading this website for a couple of years now I am really excited to become a member. I am currently sitting in my apartment at Penn State waiting for my Nittany Lions to dismantle Syracuse. A little about myself:

 I am currently a student at PSU (although a NJ native!) and a part of their Professional Golf Management Program. Over the past two summers I have interned at Plainfield Country Club and Spyglass Hill. In the 9 years since I started playing golf I have been very lucky to play some of the courses in the country. My favorites so far are as follows,

1. Spyglass Hill
2. Pebble Beach
T3. Plainfield
T3. San Francisco Golf Club
4. Somerset Hills
5. Meadow Club

Other notables I have played include Baltusrol, Harbour Town, Ridgewood, Links at Spanish Bay, and loads of other NJ greats. This past summer in California was the best three months of my life and you bet I took a lot of great pics!

I'm looking forward to sharing my pics and opinions on this great site!

P.S. I'm going to see my first Crump Cup in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if cameras are allowed?

Thanks,

Jack Davis

[Kenny Baer]

That is an awesome list of courses; what made Spyglass your favorite?

[Jack Davis]

I thought that Spyglass was a phenomenal test of golf every single day. Yes during a US Open Pebble is a championship golf course that produces high scores, but regardless of course conditions Spy is a beast. Unfortunately, because Pebble is a factory, they are forced to keep the rough very low and in essence produce a wide open golf course with the exception of the water holes. On the other hand Spy has a reputation of being difficult and the grounds crew has no problem living up to that. Over the span of dozens of rounds in several different weather conditions, Spy made me use every club in my bag and produce countless different types of shots. I also feel that Spy gives the golfer so many more options in terms of risk reward shots. The hazards are perfectly placed and the green sites are angled perfectly. The extremely small greens at Pebble force your hand many throughout the round. On a side note, the Pebble is going through some pretty extreme changes in preparation of the 2010 US Open. About half the holes are being tweaked, some more severe than others.
 

[JNC Lyon]

I have similar things from other people regarding Spyglass versus Pebble.  I know Spyglass gets a bad rap on this site sometimes, but it has looked very neat (even the inland holes).  Whenever I get out to the Peninsula, I'll certainly make a great effort to see Spyglass.

Welcome to the site, it's the best in the world of golf!

[Dave_Miller]

Hello All,

 After reading this website for a couple of years now I am really excited to become a member. I am currently sitting in my apartment at Penn State waiting for my Nittany Lions to dismantle Syracuse. A little about myself:

 I am currently a student at PSU (although a NJ native!) and a part of their Professional Golf Management Program. Over the past two summers I have interned at Plainfield Country Club and Spyglass Hill. In the 9 years since I started playing golf I have been very lucky to play some of the courses in the country. My favorites so far are as follows,

1. Spyglass Hill
2. Pebble Beach
T3. Plainfield
T3. San Francisco Golf Club
4. Somerset Hills
5. Meadow Club

Other notables I have played include Baltusrol, Harbour Town, Ridgewood, Links at Spanish Bay, and loads of other NJ greats. This past summer in California was the best three months of my life and you bet I took a lot of great pics!

I'm looking forward to sharing my pics and opinions on this great site!

P.S. I'm going to see my first Crump Cup in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if cameras are allowed?

Thanks,

Jack Davis

Jack:
Welcome.  Come often, post frequently, don't be bashful and don't let Mucci or TEPaul intimidate you ;)great list.
Fariways and Greens,
Dave

[Jack Davis]

If anyone has one round to play in Monterey play Pebble but if you can play several rounds on the peninsula, spend most of your time and money at Spyglass.

[David Stamm]

Jack, welcome. Quite a good list of courses. I will say though that while Spyglass is good, it is not in the same league as Pebble in terms of architecture, IMHO. Spyglass is no doubt a difficult course, one of the toughest I have had the pleasure to play, but difficulty is not the sole   barometer of greatness. Spyglass is anitclimatic, with the first few holes in the dunes the best of the bunch and the 4th one of the best holes I think RTJ ever designed. While Pebble is not as diffcult as SH in calm conditions, Pebble is no push over either. And Pebble has significantly more great and interesting holes. I find your comments interesting in regards to the lack of rough at Pebble. Those type of conditions are always going to give the golfer, whether good or bad, more options than penal rough. I concede the greens are quite small at Pebble (some of the smallest in golf), but I think Pebble's design offers alot more options than Spyglass. In other words, Pebble is more strategic, which IMHO, is what makes a course great.

[Jack Davis]

    I think my personal experiences at Spy (i.e. playing it multiple times per week under various conditions) make me bias towards the glass. I think the changes they are making at pebble will make the course even better and a shot or two more challenging to the pros. Your right that difficulty isn't the only thing that matters, but having the larger green sites at Spy also gives you more options. With the exception of few holes, each pin location at Spy can greatly affect your decision on every shot.
    I will say this though...each time I was able to play Pebble over the summer (4 in all) I was excited all day. There is something amazing about being 3000 miles away from home standing on the newly redone 7th tee box. At Spy the experience is wholly golf whereas Pebble is rightfully something more.

[Andy Troeger]

Jack,
Welcome to GCA. Ironically, on my trip last year my best round of the trip was actually at Spyglass. Go figure, I do agree its probably the most difficult course of all I played. Its certainly the challenging test of golf compared to the other courses I played in the area.

My personal preference is for Pebble, but I certainly would say that if one is going to spend the time and money to go play Pebble that they certainly should also see Spyglass. The first few holes and some of the ones in the trees are wonderful. #4 is really special.

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