King's Putter 2013 (Gettysburg edition)

[Dan King]

Many years ago I supplied the trophy for the King's Putter so that I would never have to organize one of these things. However, I'd like to try a cheapo King's Putter next year. It looks like to do that I'll have to be a little more a part of organizing.

Next year the plan is to return the King's Putter to California. The plan is to play on the central coast. I have a piece of a beach house in Cayucos, just north of Moro Bay. It has four bedrooms, and plenty of futons and room for sleeping bags, etc...  We could also rent a neighbors house if we need more room.

The plan is to have it the weekend of June 28, 29, and 30. That is the weekend before the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Teams representing Northern California will be dressed in blue, teammate representing socal will wear grey. We will give extra points to your team for members dressed as Civil War veterans.

The drawback will be that there isn't any spectacular courses on the central coast. There are some good courses, but I don't think anything to knock your socks off. I'm hoping it would give us the opportunity to play different games, such as foursomes and fourballs.  I'd also like to include a 3-club event at Sea Pines. We could also include a part that includes creating and playing a 3-hole course on the beach below the house -- when the tide is out.

For those needing a spectacular fix, you could fly into Monterey, play some golf around there, and then head down Highway 1 to Cayucos. For those with cheaper budgets, you can play San Juan Oaks on the way down, or Sandpiper on the way up, or numerous other choices.

I haven't been playing much golf lately, so I don't know much about any of the new courses on the central coast. I personally like Hunter Ranch in Paso Robles and we might consider the drive down to La Purisima.  I'm open to suggestions for courses.

The good news for  some of us during non-golf time is that the Paso Robles area has an enjoyable wine trail. Cayucos also has one of the world's great saloons, a liquor store with over a 100 brands of tequila and a different liquor store with 100s of brands of beer.

Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas about central coast golf.

Cheers,
Dan King

Sam Snead will fly anywhere in my plane with me. Sam's not as worried about the danger as he is about saving money.
 --Arnold Palmer

[Alex Miller]

Dan,

I'm in. I haven't played much any Central Coast golf, but perhaps Monarch Dunes?

Also what are your thoughts on the local Dairy Creek and Morrow Bay courses?

Morrow Bay has ocean views and could make for a nice twilight round while Dairy Creek claims to be "the worlds first zero-waste" golf course. It's a Harbottle design and could be an interesting exploration. Someone with more knowledge of the area is going to have to chime in, but it sounds like a fun weekend will be in store.

Also here is a flickr set I found with relevant courses: http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfslo/with/82759830/

Edit: it appears to be former poster Richard Boult's photo set which I just found through Garland's links. Credit where it is due.

[Kris Shreiner]

Dan,

That central Cali, coastal area does have some good golf AND great wineries!  You are dead on with Hunter Ranch, but there is another little hidden gem down there, kind of like a Brora of the Central Coast. The caddies at Pebble used to play Hunter and then scoot over to this place for an afternoon round. I'll get you the name because the boys always had a blast playing it, even though it was a little scruffy.

Cheers,
Kris

[Garland Bayley]

I did not enjoy Hunter Ranch. IMO what you pay for there is acres and acres of lush rough, all consistent, and all cut to the same height.
Then there is the matter of too many trees in the way.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39744.0.html

I did enjoy Diary Creek. A little scruffy, perhaps a little narrow in a couple of places, and perhaps one too many redans.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39639.0.html

From what I have played in the area, my favorites are the back nine of Monarch Dunes, and the back nine of Santa Maria Country Club.
I have GCAers and nonGCAers recommend Marshallia to me, but they punched the greens when I wanted to play there, so forwent the opportunity.

There is a place just across from Hunter Ranch that JVB wrote up as fast and firm and fun. EDIT: The Links of Paso Robles or the Links at Vista del Hombre.

[Dan King]

It's been around a dozen years since I played Hunter Ranch. It didn't seem to have uniform rough then. It's problem was burrowing squirrels leaving holes all over the place. I'm not married to the idea of playing Hunter Ranch.

I believe the course on the other side of the highway is the Links at Paso Robles -- a very pretentious name. I've never played it. My buddies and I had a tee time there, but they didn't like the shagginess of the course and wanted to play Hunter instead.

I kind of likes Paso Robles CC -- another pretentious name. It's a muni, not a CC. It is also in the town of Paso Robles and much more surrounded by homes and apartments. But I do remember a couple good holes and at least back then, it played fast -- both the firm and fast and the under 4 hour variety.

I played Dairy Creek.  It is only about 10 miles down Highway 1 from the beach house. I liked it.  Again, it isn't going to make anyone's top-100 list, but it has plenty of fun.

Perhaps instead of playing on the beach we could create a wee little course on the Moro Bay Dunes.


There are probably rules against playing golf on top of the dunes, but there is also rules against sledding down them, and my family loves doing that.

Cheers,
Dan King

“Sponges grow in the ocean. That just 'gets' me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.”
 --Stephen Wright

[Tim Leahy]

Dan,

That central Cali, coastal area does have some good golf AND great wineries!  You are dead on with Hunter Ranch, but there is another little hidden gem down there, kind of like a Brora of the Central Coast. The caddies at Pebble used to play Hunter and then scoot over to this place for an afternoon round. I'll get you the name because the boys always had a blast playing it, even though it was a little scruffy.

Cheers,
Kris

You might be talking about Chalk Mountain in Atascadero, which is pretty close to Hunter Ranch and is a fun hilly muni course.

[Mike Hendren]

I'm tempted to come dressed as Union Major General Gordon Meade, complete with a yellow stripe down the back of the uniform.

Bogey

[Bill_McBride]

I'm tempted to come dressed as Union Major General Gordon Meade, complete with a yellow stripe down the back of the uniform.

Bogey

"General Meade, you, sir, are a poltroon!"

I have always wanted to use that word!

[Mike Hendren]

Bill, Meade joined a long line of Union generals who could have ended that horrible conflict much sooner and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process.  That is the great tragedy of the war.

Bogey

[Sam Morrow]

I would dress as Confederate General Cartman Lee, he was best known from the classic South Park episode "The Red Badge of Gayness."

[George Pazin]

Your thread title is kind of a cruel tease - I thought Dan King was coming to Pennsy.

I'll try to ship out some blue and gray golf towels, just remind me a couple months before the event.

[Bill Seitz]

The good news for  some of us during non-golf time is that the Paso Robles area has an enjoyable wine trail. Cayucos also has one of the world's great saloons, a liquor store with over a 100 brands of tequila and a different liquor store with 100s of brands of beer.

If you're going to Paso Robles, I'd skip the wine for a day and head over to Firestone Walker, one of the best breweries in the country.   Their Union Jack IPA is arguably the best standard American IPA on the market, and their specialty beers are fantastic. 
http://www.firestonebeer.com/home.php

[Garland Bayley]

... Firestone Walker, one of the best breweries in the country.   ...

You don't get out much do you Bill?

[Dan King]

Michael_Hendren writes:
I'm tempted to come dressed as Union Major General Gordon Meade, complete with a yellow stripe down the back of the uniform.

Not the most exciting facial hair.

How about Gen. Alpheus Williams.  Now that is some cool facial hair.


Sam Morrow writes:
I would dress as Confederate General Cartman Lee, he was best known from the classic South Park episode "The Red Badge of Gayness."

You are going to dress as a guy dressing as a guy? 

Here's a good choice for the South: General Richard Ewell:


George Pazin writes:
Your thread title is kind of a cruel tease - I thought Dan King was coming to Pennsy.

I'll try to ship out some blue and gray golf towels, just remind me a couple months before the event.

Come on George, how about you bring them yourself? All you gotta to do is get out here, and from there just some reasonably priced golf and walking around money for incidentals such as wine and poker. If there was ever a King's Putter calling your name, it is 2013.

Cheers,
Dan King

Sam Snead has more money buried underground than I ever made on top. He's got gophers in his backyard that subscribe to Fortune magazine. He's packed more coffee cans than Brazil.
 --Arnold Palmer

[Kalen Braley]

... Firestone Walker, one of the best breweries in the country.   ...

You don't get out much do you Bill?

Garland,

I can vouch for Firestone as well, certainly when it comes to their IPAs.  I've had most of the worlds best IPAs and Double IPAs and I'd put Firestones offerings up against any of those.  Firestone is the real deal when it comes to incredible IPAs.

[Garland Bayley]

... Firestone Walker, one of the best breweries in the country.   ...

You don't get out much do you Bill?

Garland,

I can vouch for Firestone as well, certainly when it comes to their IPAs.  I've had most of the worlds best IPAs and Double IPAs and I'd put Firestones offerings up against any of those.  Firestone is the real deal when it comes to incredible IPAs.

Kalen,

You best worry about vouching for your golf game after you go to 0-3 in GRUDGE MATCHes after the upcoming match at Sagebrush.

[Kalen Braley]

As Forrest Gump would say....my golf game is like a box of chocolates.....you never know what you're gonna get.

However with a Firestone IPA, or double IPA?  You know you're always getting something top notch!! 

[Tom Yost]

In

[Garland Bayley]

In

+1

[RJ_Daley]

I've already seen Dan King dressed similarly at a golf course!  He works the US Grant cigar very authentically.  And, does Dan similarly hold this US Grant approach to the grand old game?

The General at Eagle Ridge in Galena, overlooking Lake Galena was named for General Ulysses S. Grant, a resident of the town at the start of the Civil War. At the time of its opening in early 1997, the resort issued a press release claiming Grant had once visited the Old Course at St. Andrews and tried to swing a golf club. After whiffing several times, he reportedly said, "I fail to see the purpose of the ball."

Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-11/civil-war-links-whitten#ixzz1ubBWxMfV

And this from some guy's blog: "We recently replayed the Battle of Murfreesboro (or Stones River if you're with the Union). The leading general on the Union "team" was William Rosecrans or "Old Rosey" as he was known to the troops. We found a pink golf ball for him."

Finally:

captioned that this man is a groundskeeper at the local a NC golf course, and is known for his fierce "rebel yell".... I bet he has nothing over Pete Galea!

[Bill_McBride]

... Firestone Walker, one of the best breweries in the country.   ...

You don't get out much do you Bill?

I know this is to another Bill but have to say, you really have a way with words!

[Garland Bayley]

Apparently you guys can use the internet. The internet tells me that the World Beer Awards awarded the World's Best IPA to Deschutes Brewery.

The internet also tells me that Maxim Magazine chose the Firestone as the country's best IPA.

Now, I know what Kalen read's Maxim for, and it's not for beer recommendations. So who do you trust? The place where Kalen gets his info, or the World Beer Awards?

[Bill Seitz]

Apparently you guys can use the internet. The internet tells me that the World Beer Awards awarded the World's Best IPA to Deschutes Brewery.

The internet also tells me that Maxim Magazine chose the Firestone as the country's best IPA.

Now, I know what Kalen read's Maxim for, and it's not for beer recommendations. So who do you trust? The place where Kalen gets his info, or the World Beer Awards?

Beer Advocate readers give Deschutes' Inversion IPA an 88.  Union Jack gets a 94.  I'd prefer to sample for myself, but Deschutes doesn't distribute in Chicago.  However, I'd gladly give you my review if you'd like to ship a few bottles out this way. 

[Garland Bayley]

Duplicate

[Garland Bayley]

It's the Deschutes Hop Henge IPA that won world's best pale ale, which means it was best IPA and best of all other pale ales.

Caveat: I am not a beer drinker, but my group at work holds monthly beer tastings, so I hear all about beer from them, some of whom do their own home brews. I noticed that the Firestone advertised using Pacific northwest hops. Maybe the place to taste beer is the Pacific northwest.