Mr Huntley flushes one on the 10th at MPCC Dunes. Finished 30 feet right of the hole, easy win for he and his partner (moi!) in the game of Wolf!
MPCC Dunes was my final golfing stop on what has been an amazing tour of America.
I had the pleasure of not just Bob's company, but also Tom Huckaby and Mike Benham's.
A sunny afternoon, a sporty breeze off the ocean, the Monterey coastline stretching out in the disance and a great fun golf course... what more could you ask for?
The par threes and fives were a particular highlight. 14 rightfully gets a lot of ink, but the Biarritz 4th, Eden 7th and thrilling, oceanside 10th are all quality one-shotters, and all very different to one another.
The par fives were a good mix of sporty and meaty. 9 is wonderful the way it kinks through the sand dunes, 13 has a wonderful greensite, 15 is just a beautiful brute and 18 has a perfect green for a reachable par five.
Of the fours I really enjoyed the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th and 17th.
While much of Raynor's fingerprint is gone from the course, features like the steep drop-offs at the back of greens with a narrow bunker at the bottom (6th and 18th) join the reinstated Biarritz swale at the 4th and Eden 7th as lingering links to his involvement.
I also really enjoyed the routing, moving initially away from the ocean before a run towards and along it, then back inland to finish.
From the 7th tee, spying the ocean down past 8 and 9, is an electric feeling of some great golf being just around the corner.
It's a wonderful golf course that suffers the curse of proximity to some of golf's greatest, or it would rightfully be more celebrated. For me, the combination of course and company was a great way to farewell US golf for the time being.
Approach to the 1st, with ability to run your approach on one that is a feature throughout the course.
Benham bunkered.
The Biarritz 4th, pinned in the swale (reinstated by Rees during his renovation - thanks to Tom Huckaby for the beard pull on that one!), which is wider and shallower than I saw at Fishers Island, making for a different challenge.
The 6th green, the horizon line on the back of the green giving some idea of the hell that awaits if you go long.
The Eden 7th, which, Huckaby informed me as he stroked his beard, has benefitted from tree clearing behind to give you that tempting view of the sea.
The 8th also seems to have had some tree clearing down the right when this image is compared to
Ran's 2007 review of the course
The 10th hole - looks much less harmless when you can't feel the wind ripping across you!
Looking back down the 11th, the sandy area left of the fairway (as you play it, in the right as you look here) creates a great "bite off as much as you can chew" tee shot.
Looking down to the 9th green from behind the 11th. Just a beautiful spot.
The view from the 14th tee is both awesome and terrifying.
Approaching the par five 15th - an absolute beast into the wind.