News:

This discussion group is best enjoyed using Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

Pages: [1]

Anton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« on: February 11, 2011, 09:42:15 PM »
In honor of the AT&T this week and all of the great golf holes out there....On the whole pennisula....What is your pick for the best par 3 /par 4 / and par 5?  Overall, factoring in the scenery, playability, shot values , architecture / design, etc. etc. etc.

Here are my picks

par 3 = Cypress 16th  classic long par 3 (or more) and amazing beauty
par 4 = Spyglass 4th  RTJ best short par 4.  Bottle-necking fairway to a sliver of green set in the dunes and ice plant
par 5 = MP Shore 12th  Odd pick to some but for those who have played it may agree that it is a better designed hole than the 18th at pebble.  Mike Strantz did a fantastic job with this course and turned it into a coastline masterpiece!
Logged
“I've spent most of my life golfing - the rest I've just wasted”

K. Krahenbuhl

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2011, 10:12:49 AM »
My favorites...

Par 3 - 16 CPC
Par 4 - 8 Pebble
Par 5 - 6 Pebble
Logged

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2011, 12:46:39 PM »
Quote from: Tony Schmidtner on February 11, 2011, 09:42:15 PM
In honor of the AT&T this week and all of the great golf holes out there....On the whole pennisula....What is your pick for the best par 3 /par 4 / and par 5?  Overall, factoring in the scenery, playability, shot values , architecture / design, etc. etc. etc.

Here are my picks

par 3 = Cypress 16th  classic long par 3 (or more) and amazing beauty
par 4 = Spyglass 4th  RTJ best short par 4.  Bottle-necking fairway to a sliver of green set in the dunes and ice plant
par 5 = MP Shore 12th  Odd pick to some but for those who have played it may agree that it is a better designed hole than the 18th at pebble.  Mike Strantz did a fantastic job with this course and turned it into a coastline masterpiece!

Tony, funny but when I saw your headline #12 on the Shore leaped into my mind before I saw your post,  What a terrific hole in a run of very good holes!
Logged

Anton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2011, 02:05:12 PM »
Bill,
That is funny.  While it is not as famous as the 18th at Pebble, I really believe it is a better designed golf hole.  The natural dune-scape that it tumbles over is really awesome.  It has length and great use of sand.  The bunkering is done in such a way that it looks so natural and like it was built by nature.  Beautiful golf hole.  One of the best par 5s in the world if you ask me.  Most designers would have not put such a large hole directly on the coastline.  they would try and cram as many holes along the shore as possible but Strantz found a spot for a big golf hole that is a perfect fit for this course. 
Logged
“I've spent most of my life golfing - the rest I've just wasted”

Tim Bert

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2011, 06:33:33 PM »
I don't feel qualified to determine best, but these are my favorites.

CPC 15
CPC 9
Pebble 6

I think you need to go top 5 or 10 of each to really show off the variety of the peninsula.   It is too easy to pick holes from the two courses above.  There are so many good holes at MPCC Shore, MPCC Dunes, Spyglass, Spanish Bay, and even the back nine at Pacific Grove that will never get included in a short list like this.
Logged

Adam Clayman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2011, 06:44:36 PM »
8th at Pebble? Anybody?

There's just no way the 4th at Spy is a better golf hole. Granted it's likely one of Jones' best. The ninth at CPC beats it to death in a heads up comparison.

16th at CPC is a given, so if we just stick to the holes played in the rota, the 7th at Pebble wins hands down for the par 3. Especially if mother nature wants to have a say in things.

And it's hard to beat the 14th hole at Pebble Beach, for it's shot demands are high. But the setting and circumstance coming up the last are hard to ignore.

It's an interesting question and even more interesting to hear everyone's answers.
Logged
"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing your whole life." - Mickey Mantle

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2011, 07:06:28 PM »
Adam:

I remember an article which interviewed a bunch of architects years ago, where four of the five best par-3 holes in America they chose were on the Monterey Peninsula -- the 15th and 16th at Cypress Point, and the 7th and 17th at Pebble Beach.

Personally, I think the 7th at Pebble is almost as overrated now as the 17th.  Since they widened the green, there hasn't been much to the hole unless the wind is blowing hard ... and in those conditions, nearly every par-3 in your neck of the woods is just as good as the 7th at Pebble, save for the ocean view.

After the two holes at Cypress Point, I'd go for the 5th at Spyglass as a very good one, or the 14th on the Dunes course at MPCC.
Logged

Adam Clayman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2011, 08:08:17 PM »
Tom, As I intimated, there's no disputing Cypress' supremacy on the one shotters.

 I agree under benign conditions the 7th hole @ PB is just a great setting, that never sucks. But in the context of the whole, the hole is really special sandwiched between the 6th and 8th. I'm not a detractor of the 17th there, and consider the back left pin, to be one of those identifying moments of one's golfing life. One either rises to the occasion, or they have to come back.

The fifth at Spyglass was a brute even before they put in a new back tee 10-12 years ago. It has a special kind of Mojo when played down wind, as the green is exposed and putts can break up to 5 feet off line of what they'd normally break, windless. Sometimes even uphill.

Logged
"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing your whole life." - Mickey Mantle

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2011, 08:56:17 PM »
Adam:

Agreed that the best part about the 7th at Pebble is what it adds to the golf course overall.  I remember Pete Dye saying years ago [maybe in that same article I cited earlier] that he didn't think any modern architect would even have thought about squeezing another hole into the routing there, we all would have just gone from #6 straight to #8.
Logged

Scott Warren

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2011, 09:20:51 PM »
On the 'Best in Monterey' list for their respective pars, where would 9 (p5) and 14 (p3) at MPCC Dunes be likely to feature?
Logged

Mike Jansen

Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2011, 09:46:58 PM »
Par 3: Black Spot (#3) @ Spyglass

Par 4: I like a three way tie here... Billy Bones (#2), Blind Pew (#4) & Black Dog (#16) @ Spyglass

Par 5: Treasure Island (#1) @ Spyglass

Logged

Tim Leahy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best par 3 / par 4 / and par 5 on Monterey Penn.
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2011, 01:52:46 PM »
How can you ignore 18 at Pebble for best par 5 after yesterday?
16 at Cypress for par 3, although I really like No. 3 at Spyglass too.
8 at Pebble has the best par 4 finish, but the layup drive is not fun. I actually like No. 10 at Pebble better.
Logged
I love golf, the fightin irish, and beautiful women depending on the season and availability.
Pages: [1]
Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back