San Francisco vs Monterey - or both

[Brett_Morrissy]

After I leave Bandon, for Eugene (middle of July) – I want to get down to Monterey, but would like to stop on the way to stay and play at Pasatiempo.
Then after a few days in Monterey, down to LAX on the Thursday and Riviera before flying home to Oz the next day
-   All this from a Sunday to a Friday.

I think I will be catching a late pm flight from Eugene on the Sunday.

Q: Can I fly from Eugene direct to Monterey?

Q: Or arriving into SF, should I hire a car, drive to Santa Cruz and stay somewhere near Pasatiempo, play it in the morning and then continue down to Monterey?

Q: Do domestic flights use SF International or Oakland?

KP advised that the driving around the cities can get pretty busy, so I thought I would return back to where I hired the car and fly to LAX – how long is the drive from Monterey to LA?

Cheers
Brett

[Kevin Pallier]

Brett

I'd suggest you stay in Pacific Grove and drive upto Pasa. it was < 1hr and a pretty easy drive. You can also access Monterey easily from it.

Depends on which route to LA. I was pushed for time so took the inland route and it took between 4-5 hrs from memory. Others take the scenic route via the Sur.

[Ross Tuddenham]

Hi

I will be going to San Fransisco and would like to visit Monterey and Pasatiempo.  It is near US open time so I am not holding much hope of a game on pebble.  I am travelling with a non-golfer so what is the policy in US about making reservations for 1? Will the clubs happily pair you up or will this be difficult?

Other than the course at Monterey and Pasatiempo what courses in San Francisco area are worth a go? I checked out San Francisco golf club but that seems to be guests of members only.

[JLahrman]

Brett,

Domestic flights can use SFO or Oakland, and you may also want to consider San Jose.  It's a small airport but easy in and out, and it will give you a head start down to Santa Cruz/Monterey.  Not sure where you can fly direct from Eugene though.

Ross,

How much many rounds will you have time for in San Francisco?

[David_Tepper]

Brett -

Plenty of domestic flights flight in & out of San Francisco and Oakland airports. I doubt you will be able find a non-stop flight from Eugene to Monterey.

San Francisco airport is 10-15 miles south of the city proper. My guess is you could drive from that airport to Pasatiempo in 75-90 minutes, assuming it was not at rush hour. My recommendation would be to hire a car at SFO and drive to Santa Cruz/Pasatiempo and then on to Monterey.

The drive from Monterey to LAX is probably 6 hours or so, a couple of hours longer if you take the classic drive along the coast down Highway 1. Dropping off your car at Monterey airport and flying to LAX makes sense if you are pressed for time.

It just occurred to me that another option to explore is flying from Eugene to San Jose airport, picking up your car there and driving on to Pasatiempo/Monterey. You could drive back to San Jose from Monterey (less than 2 hours) and fly on to LAX from there. That would save you the drop off charge on your rental car. My guess is flights to LAX are much cheaper from San Jose than from Monterey.

Hope that helps.

DT  

[Tom Birkert]

The drive from Monterey to LA took me 4 and a half hours on a Friday. I think a lot depends on which route you choose (there's the scenic, the interstate and a part scenic / part interstate which I took) as well as the speed at which you feel comfortable driving. Not to mention the ever possible traffic problems which can hit you in LA.

[Ross Tuddenham]

JLahrman

Probably no more than two, as my Girlfriend is not a golfer, and I would like to make Pasatiempo one of them.   

[JLahrman]

JLahrman

Probably no more than two, as my Girlfriend is not a golfer, and I would like to make Pasatiempo one of them.   

I see...I sent you a PM...

[Adam Clayman]

Brett, Can't answer if Eugene to Monterey, by air, is doable, but if it is, it is advisable. Monterey is one of those smaller airports that cuts the hassles in more than half. SFO, can be a nightmare. As I type this there's a four car pile up on Dumbarton Bridge. That guy Bart is so stupid.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

check ou www.kayak.com... you can search specific and/or nearest airports to find the best itinerary for your plans.

[Mark Provenzano]

As I sit in the shadows of the flight paths at SFO...

From Eugene, your only direct options here in July are to SFO (United--daily) and OAK (Allegiant--certain days only).

To get to Monterey, you need to go EUG-SFO-MRY, or a longer connection at LAS/LAX/PHX/DEN.

To get to San Jose (closest Bay Area airport to Pasa), you need to go EUG-PDX-SJC, or a longer connection as above plus SLC/SEA.

The drive from SFO to Pasatiempo isn't bad, just take 380/280/85/17 and stay off 101. I do the first three legs of that drive every day, figure 90 minutes or so.

The drive from OAK is similar (880/17), and Allegiant has some really cheap fares, but I'm in the airline/transportation industry and honestly don't know much about them.

[Jason McNamara]

If you're a train guy, depart Eugene at 5:10p on the Coast Starlight.  Arrive San Jose 10am, or Salinas (15 mins from Monterey) at 11:45am.

[Robin Doodson]

Brett,

would be very interested to hear how your travels go as myself and a bunch of other aussie supers are planning to visit Pebble/Cypress Point on the way back from the golf show in Orlando in February. seems like san francisco is the best stop to do this as la is 6 hours drive according to Google maps.

robin

[Michael Huber]

Man, trying to decide whether you should play golf in monterey or san fran, and if you should drive the pacific coast highway or interstate five or even take a train.

some people in this world have it tough 

[Brett_Morrissy]

Thanks guys,
Michael - trip of a lifetime - getting to the States to play golf and arranging access ssuch a big task - cant do it regularly!! Make the most of it while I am there.

North Bend to SFO or Portland - are these the flights that they bump your sticks all the time.

Jason - the thought of the train is a new one - will look into it.

Definetly like the idea of skipping SFO and straight down to San Jose or Monterey.

I could fly into SJC, transit bus to Monterey, hire car, return hire car to Monterey and then Monterey to LAX?

Cheers

[Michael Huber]

Since I already added my two wise guy cents, I'll share my contribution.

When I went to Monterey last summer, I took a flight to San Jose, rented a car, and drove down to salinas, stopped at the Steinbeck Muesum, and then ended up in Monterey.  I didn't have any problems with San Jose's airport, and it's more than a reasonable drive.

[Bill_McBride]

Flying into San Jose and driving to Santa Cruz (play Pasatiempo  ) and then on to Monterey is a nice itinerary with no back tracking. 

[David_Tepper]

Brett M. -

There was a recent thread on golf clubs being dumped on flights from SFO to North Bend. You many want to think about flying into Eugene, OR, as it is closer to Bandon than Portland.

DT
tcmnav@aol.com

[Mark Provenzano]

Brett M. -

There was a recent thread on golf clubs being dumped on flights from SFO to North Bend. You many want to think about flying into Eugene, OR, as it is closer to Bandon than Portland.

DT
tcmnav@aol.com

The SFO flights to/from North Bend are in 30 seat turboprops (EM2) for now. Eugene service to/from SFO is in the larger CR7/CRJ regional jets.

[Brett_Morrissy]

assume I cannot fly direct from Eugene to SJC though?
Direct flights are my goal...

[Will MacEwen]

assume I cannot fly direct from Eugene to SJC though?
Direct flights are my goal...

I have no clue what time of day you are travelling/flying, but you may want to drive to Portland and then fly to wherever. 

[Mark Provenzano]

assume I cannot fly direct from Eugene to SJC though?
Direct flights are my goal...

No, as I mentioned above, only SFO and sometimes OAK are the direct options from Eugene. SJC or MRY will require a connection.

[Mike Jansen]

Brett here is something to look into... the Nor Cal Golf Assoc. (NCGA) is offering a special where you get one round at Pasatiempo and one round at Cordevalle, with a nights stay at Crodevalle for $495... which is an incredible deal.
The green fees at Pasa are around $200 and the fees at Cordevalle are even more, and the rooms they have there are incredbile... 5 star all the way.
Cordevalle is in San Martin which is 20 minutes south of San Jose, and it is about an hours drive to Pasa.  It is a great RTJ2 course and will be hosting the PGA Frys Open in Oct.
Check out the NCGA.org website to get info on the special and how to join... you could probably join for less than $50.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Mike - thanks - do you know if I join up with NCGA, will that get me a good rate at Harding Park also?

[Ross Tuddenham]

On the pebble beach website I can find many tee time for the week after the US open but they all seem to require a stay in one of the hotels.  If any of the hotels are on priceline will that count as having a reservation?  Or is there a way just to book a tee time?