June 2012, West Coast Dream Trip! An Aussie on Tour!

[Dustin Knight]

Hi All,

My name is Dustin Knight and I am a young golf professional based at the Newcastle Golf Club, Australia. I had the privilledge of meeting many fine GCA members during the 2011 Boomerang at Barnbougle Dunes last year. A round with the gentlemen of GCA, Mr Whittaker and Mr Mayhugh were highlights!. (sorry you were so sick that day Mike!)

This June I will be embarking on my once in a lifetime study trip to the US West Coast and would like to share my full experience with the Discussion Group, just as others have in recent times.

If anyone has any advice or recommendations along the way, I value the group's knowledge and suggestions (Venues, dining etc). I wish to extend a genuine public thankyou to all of you, who during the last 12 months have assisted throughout the planning stages. You know who you are, I could not possibly thank you all enough for turning such a dream into a reality!.

For those unaware at this point, I would like to share my current itinerary with the group and continue this thread throughout my adventures. This will be a surreal experience!. My one and only chance to witness some of golf's greatest properties, venues which I have researched and only ever dreamed of visiting over the last 20 years. I have dedicated my life to this game and look forward this amazing adventure.

I will split this current post into several parts..... Stay tuned for part 2

[Eric Smith]

Hi All,

Dustin,

Top of the morning to you! How long are you planning to stay?

[Dustin Knight]

This trip of a lifetime will see a schedule as follows:

June 7 - Arrive San Francisco.
June 8 - California Club of San Francisco.
June 9 - Fly SF to North Bend and arrive Bandon Dunes.
June 10-14 - Play all venues including the Preserve.
June 15-17 - Attend US Open @ Olympic Club.
June 18 - Pasatiempo.
June 19 - Pebble Beach
June 20 - Pebble beach
June 21 - MPCC Dunes & Shore
June 22 - Valley Club
June 23 - Riviera
June 24 - Lakeside
June 25 - ?
June 26 - ?

Any suggestions for free days regarding Golf,Dining,Sightseeing etc would be appreciated.

I can not wait to catch up with those of you I have already met, and I look forward to meeting many more of you along the way!

Dustin

[Jaeger Kovich]

As someone who just spent 10 days playing golf in SF, San Francisco Golf Club is as good as it gets. Also what about a couple municipal courses? Sharp Park is a pretty cool place to see, and who knows how much longer it will exist. There is also Pac Grove Links, which I didn't get to, but is certainly on the list for next time.

[PCCraig]

Dustin,

As soon as you can, try to call (or go through their website) and get a reservation at Frances ( http://frances-sf.com/ ) for dinner one night when you're in SF. Tables are hard to come by for good reason. Fantastic place.

If you have time for breakfast one morning in SF, head to Mama's ( www.mamas-sf.com/ ) near Washington Square. Lines form quickly so try to get there early. They have a dungeness crab Benedict that is outrageously good.

Also, one of the nights you're in SF, head over to Toronado ( www.toronado.com/ ) for a few pints. Incredible selection of West Coast beers and an interesting vibe.

As for sightseeing in SF, this may sound tacky to the locals, but I found the self guided tour on Alcatraz to be really cool. Plus the boat ride out there gives you a nice view of the city.

When you're in LA make sure you visit an In and Out Burger.

Have a great time!

[Dustin Knight]

Jaeger,

Pacific Grove is definately on the list, however just no firm plans there as yet. I have some spare afternoons in Monterey and will head over there for sure!.

[Dustin Knight]

Dustin,

As soon as you can, try to call (or go through their website) and get a reservation at Frances ( http://frances-sf.com/ ) for dinner one night when you're in SF. Tables are hard to come by for good reason. Fantastic place.

If you have time for breakfast one morning in SF, head to Mama's ( www.mamas-sf.com/ ) near Washington Square. Lines form quickly so try to get there early. They have a dungeness crab Benedict that is outrageously good.

Also, one of the nights you're in SF, head over to Toronado ( www.toronado.com/ ) for a few pints. Incredible selection of West Coast beers and an interesting vibe.

As for sightseeing in SF, this may sound tacky to the locals, but I found the self guided tour on Alcatraz to be really cool. Plus the boat ride out there gives you a nice view of the city.

When you're in LA make sure you visit an In and Out Burger.

Have a great time!

Pat,

In and Out Burger is my first stop on the way to the hotel! A friend of mine will not let me live it down, if my first american feed is not a double double meal with animal style fries, I have no idea what it means, he just keeps raving about it everytime he's home! .......

I will definately check out Frances and book a table!. I appreciate your recommendations and advice!

Dustin

[Dustin Knight]

Royal Melbourne, NSW, Kingston Heath, Barbougle & Lost farm always blow me away. I look forward to being able to compare our best with some of these venues. I hope to come back with an even greater appreciation of our finest designs. I think most golfers here in Australia are truly unaware of how good we have it.

I hope I still return with the same point of view, however we all suffer from "the grass is always greener on the side" syndrome at some point.

Time will tell!

[Andy Stamm]

Also, one of the nights you're in SF, head over to Toronado ( www.toronado.com/ ) for a few pints. Incredible selection of West Coast beers and an interesting vibe.

This is great advice. Don't forget to get sausages next door at Rosamunde's and take them with you to the Toronado. But this is a place I think an Aussie would love.

[Kalen Braley]

I can vouch for the Toronado as well...just make sure to bring cash cause they don't take a card and don't do tabs!!   

And if Beer is your thing and have a few spare hours, take a tour of the Anchor Steam Brewing company...its wicked cool and you get to sample a bunch of selections at the end.

In the Monterey area, if you end up having a free afternoon and are looking for something different to do, I would do some kayaking in the Monterey bay.  I did this a couple of times a number of years back and it was spectacular.  You'll see tons of sea life (otters, etc) and a one-of-a-kind view of Cannery Row and Pacific Grove/Monterey.

[Dustin Knight]

Wow, plenty of love for Toronado.... I will add that to the list, it would be un-Australian to turn down a pint  

I have spent so much time on arranging the golf that I have neglected the other little things to this point. I'm guessing with the Open in town I really need to look at booking dining options this far out.

Staying near Fisherman's Wharf, so any other dining suggestions nearby are greatly appreciated.

After Monterey I will be driving down the coast to LA. I Thought this would be easier and far more enjoyable by the time I drove back to SFO, flew to LA and negotiated Friday peak hour to my lodging. Is six hours about right from Pebble to LA? Any must see spots along the way down the coast?

Dustin

[John Kirk]

I think Stanford University GC is too often overlooked.  The architecture has changed from the original Thomas/Bell course in two major ways: the loss of holes 3 and 4, and the Harbottle greens, which provide challenges not present before renovation.  The big differences are greens that slope away in the back on #5, #6, #11, and #18.  Maybe a couple others.  The course is usually well maintained, considering that it receives 50+ thousand rounds per year.

Lovely walk through relatively untouched mid-Peninsula woodlands.  Perfect walking difficulty and unusually beautiful.  Not too hard.  A fine example of using a large creek (San Francisquito), similar to Pasatiempo in that regard.  The 18th hole is a sublime downhill finishing hole, where Stanford students are known to make the occasional nighttime ice slide down the steep fairway.  Solid, underrated 6.  Maybe too subtle for some folks, I suppose.  Jaeger and I seem to differ on both San Francisco GC and Stanford University GC.  I say the gap is closer than he does.

I hope this helps.

[Kalen Braley]

Dustin,

Just make sure when you do so, stick to Highway 1 (as opposed to 101) on the drive down when you leave from Monterey.  It'll take some extra time, but will totally be worth it.  Its one of the finest drives I've ever done in my life!!!

[Keith Doleshel]

Dustin,
Sounds like you have a great trip lined up.  Hope you enjoy your time out on the west coast.  I'll second Kalen's recommendation to take Highway 1 down south if you have the time.  Big Sur country is absolutely beautiful.  If you do take 101, make a stop in San Luis Obispo and grab a tri-tip sandwich at Firestone Grill.  SLO is a really cool college town and worth checking out on your way through.  Tri-tip is the quintessential California Central Coast cut of meat, really good eating.  You already have a lot of great golf lined up, but making a call to the Valley Club of Montecito for June 22nd would be well worth looking into.  Its a MacKenzie and Hunter design, and remains my favorite golf course that I have ever played.  Outstanding routing, great fun, beautiful setting, great design pedigree, its pretty much got it all.  A really special golf club.  It is on the way down to LA, just south of Santa Barbara.   

[Wade Schueneman]

Hi Dustin,

You clearly have lots of great golf lined up, but if this is truly a once in a lifetime (or in a very long time) trip, you might take those last few days (and some time between) to enjoy some of the unique sights that California has to offer (Muir Woods is easy; Yosemite and Sequoia are well out of the way, but you will never see anything like either again). 

Just a thought.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

[Dustin Knight]

Wade,

I had planned on some sightseeing and the like, however what was originally a 10 day trip has snowballed into the current 19 day version. GCA'ers sure know how to make it worth staying longer.... I'm sure you all just want my strong aussie dollars . I would love to see Yosamite etc but my wife is only so understanding to a point as she will not be with me... She is calling this my Golf Porn tour!....... Whenever I am on this site, I get the whole " Are you still on that golf porn site again!" My last chance before we start a family, so golf is the priority on this one.

Dustin

[mike_beene]

If you miss the cut at the Open do you have a backup plan?

[Dustin Knight]

Thank you very much for all the advice guys, I will take it all on board!. I think our dining options will now rival our golf schedule at this rate!

Brian,

Sorry for the confusion, we are staying in the Lodge at Pebble while in Monterey. Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran.

Regards,
Dustin