Pasatiempo or MPCC

[DFarron]

Pasa is front 9 only until next April and as great courses go is pretty accessible. MPCC is brutal to get on so do MPCC Shore or Dunes.


In my opinion there is no where on earth that’s like the Monterey Peninsula.

[Scott Warren]

I had the great pleasure of playing MPCC Dunes twice with Bob Huntley in 2010 and 2012 and loved it -- and it looks even better now with the work that has occurred since.

The routing is a great walk, feels like an adventure exploring the various terrains and environments it winds through, with some great visual reveals culminating in the 14th hole, before winding back inland and up the hill.

Over the years I've felt like the reviews I've heard of Shore have cooled quite a bit from the late 2000s following Strantz's redesign to now, with more and more people playing both and saying they preferred Dunes.

I still have the two $1 bills I won from Bob in a game of Wolf (alongside Mike Huckaby and Mike Benham) on the 2010 visit. We walked up off 18 green and Bob referenced my winnings, put an arm around my shoulder, gestured to the view and said "Scott, I suggest you take a minute to really soak this in, because after what you just pulled, you're never fucking coming back!"

[Ally Mcintosh]

Part of the reason I posted was because of Scott & David’s subsequent responses.


The Shore was wonderful: Strantz taking his ideas and toning down anything outlandish to leave an incredibly elegant course absolutely chock-full of angles, choices and openings to greens. Supremely playable, thoroughly enjoyable and very comfortable in its own skin.


The Dunes looked liked a few other modern courses built on sand, except with a parkland feel due to Rye grass fairways (The Shore being Fescue). Someone mentioned that The Shore felt over-landscaped. The Dunes looked more landscaped to me, just in a minimalist style. The Shore - whilst clearly built to one man’s vision - was a piece of art. I didn’t care if it was landscaped or not (unusual for me). It was unapologetic.


Of course, I didn’t play The Dunes. Just seeing if anyone understands my point of view.

[Mark Mammel]

I live in Carmel and have played the MPCC courses and Pasatiempo many times. Jim Urbina has completed a restoration at Pasatiempo. The from 9 opened last year and the back 9 opens December 2 I believe. I played the restored front 9 and its great; I've seen photos of the back 9 and it looks really fabulous. So first, if you want to play Pasa, wait until December. If you have access to MPCC and can play both courses, go for it as it's a special place. For my tastes, Pasa is the best course of the bunch and a great way to enjoy a MacKenzie design if you can't find your way on to CPC (and even if you can!). Maybe you can find a way to do them all.....

[Peter Bowman]

If you're playing Strantz course at MPCC, that's a definite choice over Pasatiempo for me.  I've played both.  Pasatiempo is great, but I yearn for another round at MPCC Shore.  I havent played Dunes since before R Jones did the renovation

[David_Tepper]

"I havent played Dunes since before R Jones did the renovation."

I believe much/most of the design work on the Dunes course renovation was actually done by the Jackson-Kahn firm.

https://www.jacksonkahndesign.com/mpcc-dunes.   

[Wayne_Kozun]

If you're playing Strantz course at MPCC, that's a definite choice over Pasatiempo for me.  I've played both.  Pasatiempo is great, but I yearn for another round at MPCC Shore.  I havent played Dunes since before R Jones did the renovation

So are you saying Strantz > MacKenzie?

[Scott Warren]

David T — Peter is referencing the renovation prior to the most recent Jackson/Kahn one. Rees renovated Dunes in the late 90s and then Jackson/Kahn did theirs mid 2010s.

[Joel_Stewart]

I've played MPCC Dunes twice this year and maybe 7 ties total since the renovation.  I'd play Dunes 7-3 over the Shore.

[Ally Mcintosh]

If you're playing Strantz course at MPCC, that's a definite choice over Pasatiempo for me.  I've played both.  Pasatiempo is great, but I yearn for another round at MPCC Shore.  I havent played Dunes since before R Jones did the renovation

So are you saying Strantz > MacKenzie?

I don’t think he’s saying that. But why not?


The Loop is the best piece of architecture I’ve seen. The Shore course is an architect delivering a singular vision with supreme confidence. MacKenzie never had to create anything nearly as intricate as those two courses. So that’s one way to look at it.


Of course, that is only one part of the equation. But The Shore course is being underrated, I can say that with certainty.