Pasatiempo Fantasy

[DFarron]

Forgetting about stuff like logistics and too small of a range, how great would it be to have a US Women’s or Senior Open at Pasatiempo.


Even better if they restored #1 to a par 5!

[Jim Hoak]

I have maintained for sometime that Pasatiempo had maybe the best 15-hole course in golf--excluding #6-7-8.
Talking with a friend, who is a member, the other day, he tells me that #6 and 7 have been substantially improved since I last played it--basically greatly improved green complexes in both cases.
What has been done?  Do you agree that the course is greatly improved?
I love Pasatiempo!  Would love for it to have more acclaim.

[Colin Sheehan]

I find it interesting that Pasatiempo can have moments of grandeur while occupying about 103 acres. Counting the range, clubhouse, pool, parking and entire maintenance compound, the total area is about 114 acres.

[Kevin_Reilly]

I played the front nine last month with a friend who is a member.  #7 is still the odd hole with the narrow feeling tee shot that hasn't changed. 


It was hard to judge the course as it currently is set up, as there are two pins on each green (so you can play to a different pin on your second nine*) and the greens were "firm but slow" as they are continuing to mature.  But from an aesthetic perspective, the nine looked beautiful. 


* I understand the rationale for it, but to me it is overkill for the average player.  I would prefer just playing the same nine twice, not one set of holes for the first nine and another for the second.

[Ira Fishman]

We played Pasatiempo on a Dream Trip that included CPC, Bandon Dunes, Old Mac, Bandon Trails, and Pac Dunes. It was a fairly close second behind CPC, a view confirmed by a second trip a few years later to Bandon.


Jim,


I liked 7 and 8 (6 was not a very good hole). But there is a thread somewhere about Jim Urbina restoring all of the greens within the last year or so.


Ira

[Matt Schoolfield]

I played the front nine last month with a friend who is a member.  #7 is still the odd hole with the narrow feeling tee shot that hasn't changed. 

As most people know here, #7 is narrow because of a death in 1955:



The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), Volume 96, Number 244, September 1, 1955

I remember playing it a few years back and thinking it was a fantastically interesting aside from the frustrating narrowness. Here is a aerial from 1940 that illustrates the original strategy better:



A shot played left leaves a good angle along the length of the green, but there is a tree that may interfere with the approach, which needs to be high for that line given the fronting bunker, there are also bunkers short forcing a carry to this position. The easier play is right, but the approach will be semi-blind, with a worse angle, over a fairway bunker.

It's a good hole, and can still be played as intended I think. It's just got less room for error off the tee.

[Brent Carlson]

The old photos of the shared 1-9 fairway look really good.  I believe #1 fairway also used to extend to the current driving range and appeared to be the best angle into that green.  It will probably never happen but I'd like to see 1 and 9 restored.

[Matt Schoolfield]

[Will Thrasher]

We played Pasatiempo on a Dream Trip that included CPC, Bandon Dunes, Old Mac, Bandon Trails, and Pac Dunes. It was a fairly close second behind CPC, a view confirmed by a second trip a few years later to Bandon.


Jim,


I liked 7 and 8 (6 was not a very good hole). But there is a thread somewhere about Jim Urbina restoring all of the greens within the last year or so.


Ira

Ira, I'm glad to hear you say this. I haven't had the privilege to play (yet hopefully) as many as some on here, yourself included, but I have been able to play enough top 100 courses and I don't hesitate to say that Pasatiempo was my favorite. I'm sure that would change given the chance to play some of my Long Island bucket list, but I find it to be criminally underrated. I'm eager to see it after the completed restoration.