[James Bennett]

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here


And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'




Well, The MPCC's Beach House was built in 1926 and was then known as the Bath House. The beach in front was sandy and a delight. The sand was eventually washed away leaving nothing but rocks. The Club rented it out as a private residence for some twenty or thirty years and just in the last eight or nine has it become the private party house of record.  Perhaps a bit of a ‘Hotel California’.

One of the locals has arranged for some photos showing how heaven became hell in the recent storm.  The recent storm, the worst in fifty years, smashed the windows of The Bath House, the surf breached the house and the clean-up crew found a four pound salmon inside amongst the kelp.











Out on the course, the storm would have put the recent photo-fest of MPCC Dunes #14 to shame.  Even after the storm, the seas look pretty big.  One can only imagine what is was like at the height of the storm.  Perhaps Raynor knew what he was doing when he ventured no further west than he did.  The Rees Jones green will be back in play on Wednesday.





Any thoughts of a Cypress Point #18 tee would appear to be pure folly in such weather.

This photo shows the Dunes #14 green where a huge rock embedded in the turf and then the surging water moved it along like a knife carving through butter.  Yes, back in play on Wednesday (so the local tells me).  These course staff guys are GOOD!



Dunes #2 (I think) – have they added a fairway bunker on the right in the last 18 months?





Shore #1 (I think)





James B, for the Local

[Tom Huckaby]

Holey-moley....

Amazing they report 14 green will be back in play Wednesday... though I doubt they meet that now - reports are we get another storm starting later today and lasting through Thursday.

That is some massive damage... very sad about the beach house particularly.  

TH

[Joel_Stewart]

It almost looks like damage from a storm surge because of all the rocks but I have to believe its from the wind?  Perhaps Bob Huntley knows.  

[Stan Dodd]

It was a combination of wind, high surf and storm surge.  I was out there the day after the biggest part of the storm, probably when these pictures were taken.  There were large boulders on the other side of 17 Mile Drive.  I saw waves breaking OVER Bird Rock.
I also watched the tow in surfers at Ghost Tree, easily 50 foot faces.

[Bob_Huntley]

It almost looks like damage from a storm surge because of all the rocks but I have to believe its from the wind?  Perhaps Bob Huntley knows.  

Stan Dodd is right, it was all three. I'll get James to post some more photos later.

Bob

[JohnV]

I'm in Florida right now, but I was told that approximately 30 trees were downed at Poppy Hills including some quite large ones.

[Matt_Cohn]

How did rocks get 50 yards inland?

[Stan Dodd]

Storm Surge and waves.  It really was quite a powerful storm.  Power is still out in parts of PG and Pebble Beach.

[rjsimper]

What was the final tally on rain on the peninsula and maybe more importantly, wind speeds?  

Mammoth Mountain got 6-8 feet of snow from the storm, but I read that LA only got about 1.25 inches of rain, hardly a 50 year storm.  Looks like NorCal got it a bit worse to say the least.

[Stan Dodd]

We got over 2 inches in Monterey in a 24 hour period and over 7 in Big Sur.  Wind speeds were 50 mph gusts.  Waves in the bay were 32 feet.

[Bob_Huntley]

How did rocks get 50 yards inland?

Matt,

When you next play the Dunes course, move up from the back(Gold) tees, pass the Blacks and stop at the Blues. You will see the remnants of a huge log weighing well over a thousand pounds that was washed across the fourtheenth hole, across the Seventeen Mile and then another thirty yards to its current position. This, some thirty five years ago. The sea around here can get very nasty.

Bob

[ed_getka]

Wow, that is amazing. Here I am thinking the storm wasn't as bad as people were making it to be. I guess Pleasanton is just sheltered in such a way by the ridges around here to minimize our appreciation of the weather along the coast.

[James Bennett]

Ed

I guess Pleasanton is just sheltered and is aptly named, in more ways than just the weather.

James B

[Kyle Henderson]

How did rocks get 50 yards inland?

Matt,

When you next play the Dunes course, move up from the back(Gold) tees, pass the Blacks and stop at the Blues. You will see the remnants of a huge log weighing well over a thousand pounds that was washed across the fourtheenth hole, across the Seventeen Mile and then another thirty yards to its current position. This, some thirty five years ago. The sea around here can get very nasty.

Bob

This one perhaps (taken during medal play at the 2006 Cal Amatuer)?

[JSPayne]

Just added input on the storm (though the damage at MPCC in these pics looks to be about the worst I've seen)....

We got AT LEAST 4 inches in east Roseville. That was how much was in our rain gauge with a 1x1 inch opening. Problem is, the majority of the rain came on Friday and was literally blowing sideways all day so who knows what the real total was. We lost about 8 trees and innumerable branches (we're still cleaning up branches and will be for the rest of the week). The water has receeded in our creeks and lakes but the rain today pretty much ensures we won't be mowing anything until next week at the earliest (besides greens).

Turkey Creek near Lincoln reports losing about 40 trees and power until late last weekend. Crystal Springs in the south Bay Area only lost one tree, as did Meadow Club in Marin County. Haggin Oaks in Sacramento lost a couple dozen trees and very loose reports are that the Presidio course in SF had quite a bit of damage (most eucalyptus trees there). (I just went to a seminar today with a bunch of superintendents.)

Numerous houses in this area (east Sacramento) had fences knocked over, and my dad, living in a farming community just north of Sacramento will be without power until Friday or Saturday.

Not the worst storm I've ever seen, but it definetely wrecked some havoc over NorCal.

[Bob_Huntley]

How did rocks get 50 yards inland?

Matt,

When you next play the Dunes course, move up from the back(Gold) tees, pass the Blacks and stop at the Blues. You will see the remnants of a huge log weighing well over a thousand pounds that was washed across the fourtheenth hole, across the Seventeen Mile and then another thirty yards to its current position. This, some thirty five years ago. The sea around here can get very nasty.

Bob

This one perhaps (taken during medal play at the 2006 Cal Amatuer)?

Kyle,

Thank you so much, that is the one to which I referred.

A friend of mine, now deceased, who taught at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey calculated the force necessary to propel that monster almost two hundred yards from the surf and said, "It's not posssible." However, a local fisherman who played alongside  us pointed out that "The effing thing could float and that's what happened."

Bob

[RJ_Daley]

When facing clean-up like that, and all the repair work to the turf, etc., I renew my great respect to the real heros of golf, the superintendents.

[Joel_Stewart]

I received an email today saying the Dunes course at MPCC lost 65 trees.  Hopefully they are the smaller ones?  

Any word Mr. Huntley.

[Patrick Kiser]

Wow!  That's incredible.

I wonder why Pebble looked so good on Sunday when compared to this.

I definitely saw somewhat similar housing damage around and on PB, but the course was in rather good shape ... considering the weather.

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