I've been over to California several times, but always to SoCal and never to Monterey. Well I've just got back from California and it was absolutely amazing.
I was astounded by the beauty of the Monterey Peninsula. We were fortunate enough to play pretty much all of the courses we wanted to given our time restraints (only MPCC was missed due to a competition clashing with our schedule).
Cypress Point was as magical as I expected it to be, the feeling of expectation rising as you progress through the round before the sensational ending to the round. The whole experience was one I will treasure for the rest of my life, augmented by the superb caddies we had and the feeling of being on such hallowed ground. Personally it was the absolute highlight of my trip by some distance. I can picture each hole in my mind as well as the shots I played. We were very lucky with the weather throughout our time there (no “June gloom” at all) and this made scoring conditions much easier than I expected. I can certainly see how tough 15 and 16 could be with a fair wind blowing in from the ocean! Loved the 9th and the bunkering throughout the course is spectacular, the best I've seen. I actually enjoyed the 18th, I think it's a really good match play hole.
I was amazed at how small the greens were at Pebble Beach. It really makes the approach shots more intimidating. Pebble is another magical setting, albeit a huge contrast to CPC in terms of speed of play and number of people around. The stretch of holes along the ocean are as good as any I have played, and the 8th green looked so small from all the way at the top of the hill, especially with a 4 iron in my hand! I think the 8th was made even more intimidating by the 20 minute wait we’d had on the tee though… Again the caddies were excellent, although I didn’t think it was too tough a test in the conditions we played off the tips, I can easily see how it would be with a stiff wind and with the rough up.
I also really enjoyed The Links at Spanish Bay. I probably didn’t have that high expectations, but I thought it was challenging, fun to play and visually very appealing. I actually preferred it to Spyglass, which was the only course I didn’t really consider to be a knockout. I found it to be rather mundane compared to the other three courses I have mentioned, personally I didn’t like the 4th hole at all for a variety of reasons (chief of which was the pin position, which had been placed just at the edge of the upper portion of the green and was nigh on impossible). None of the holes stick out as memorable to me, whereas multiple holes at the other courses do.
I then carried on to Vegas and Palm Springs before hitting LA and I have to say that Rustic Canyon was an absolute joy to play. The choice of shots, the variety and the contours of the greens made for a really fun day of golf. I loved the fact that the golfer isn’t told where to aim but has to figure it out, and the pin placements really make you decide from where you need to approach the green.
I did take plenty of pictures but I haven’t yet downloaded them which might take some time (over 800 pics at 10 megapixels per pic!) but I am determined to return at some point to the Monterey Peninsula and am envious of those who live near enough to be able to experience the delights of the area more often that I am able to! I’d been looking forward to this trip for months now and not only did it not disappoint, it excelled in so many ways. I’m also thankful I was able to play some half decent golf during the trip!