Recommended courses in the San Fran/Monterrey Area

[David_Tepper]

Kyle H. -

Sorry you had a bad experience in early May.

All I can say is that the course has been in good shape since early June.   The green speeds are more than adequate.  They are still working on 3 or 4 bunkers, but the course is very, very playable otherwise.

DT

[Patrick Glynn]

Fellow Patrick - great call on Meadow Club. I cant believe I forgot to make it on the list (see how important this thread is ) I played there in 06 but I understand there have been a couple of changes since then...

[Patrick Boyd]

I am going to California in early September and I am looking to play a 4 or 5 rounds of golf.

What courses would you recommend in the San Fran area (within 30 miles) and down to Monterrey (excluding the 17-mile Drive courses).

I will try and get onto Pasatiempo as it is a long time must-play for me.

Old Del Monte can also be entertaining......and isn't on 17 mile drive.  Bayonet at Fort Ord is decent as well, but be prepared to be spanked (same goes for Black Horse, but to a lesser degree) !!

[Bruce Leland]

What are MPCC and Spyglass like? I will not pay the $$$ to play Pebble, but am open to other suggestions. And please someone tell me the weather is going to be good (sole purpose of this trip is to get away from our Irish summer, read wind and rain)

Patrick

Patrick, if you have a connection to play MPCC then make a day of it and play both courses.  Follow up with Spyglass and Pacific Grove or Ft. Ord and you will have a  very enjoyable stay indeed.  I have not played MPCC since it was renovated a few years ago but it was a treat to play.  I'm with you on Pebble and were it me, I'd play Spyglass again instead.

[Tim Leahy]

top 5 public access price is no object:
Pebble
Spyglass
Pasatiempo
Poppy Hills
Spanish Bay

top 5 bargains that are extremely fun to play:
Lake Chabot-Oakland-views of the bay including both bridges and extreme changes in elevation including a downhill par 6
Pacific Grove-Monterey-warm up on the front, then have a blast on a real links back nine
Lincoln Park-SF-great view of the Golden gate bridge-fun rolling course
Pajaro Dunes-bargain basement Olympic Club
Gleneagles International-nine holer near the SF airport-one of the toughest nine holes you will play-would be better than Harding if it were 18.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Check out Presidio GC.  I played it recently and have to say, was quite happy with my day.  Now understand this, I had written the course off for poor conditioning, and hadn't played it in an awhile.

However, the fairways and greens were in terrific condition.  Seems that some trees have been removed (behind #6 green and right side of #15 for instance) which I think has benefitted the turf.  The one issue I had is that they've seemed to have shallowed out the bunkers, meaning they're just not as deep as they once were.  This, and the fact there was only one teeing option, seems to be a move to improve the pace of play.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend Presidio.  It's a quality, classic design in a beautiful setting. 

[Bill_McBride]

Peacock Gap if you are in the Marin County area, just redone by Forrest Richardson with some of the most interesting greens you've ever seen or putted on. 

Wait, he's coming from Ireland and you're recommending Peacock?

Holy letdown, batman!

New and interesting with fantastic greens.  I don't know where he wants to play, this all comes under the Tom Paul "wide wide world" theory.

[Jon Spaulding]

Kyle Henderson -

You describe the conditions at Haring Park as "abysmal." When did you play there last?

I have played Harding 4-5 times in the past 6 weeks, including this past Saturday morning. I thought the course was in pretty good shape and did not see or experience any problems, condition-wise.  It may not be up to country club standards, but it is certainly comparable to the majority of the better daily fee courses in the SF Bay Area.

DT

May 6th, 2008. The fairways were in decent shape. Many of the bunkers were being rebuilt, despite the complete course overhaul 5 years ago. The greens were the slowest I've EVER played on. They literally stimped at 5-6 and were very bumpy. Mud bogs around the greens... Very poor overall.

I'm a public golfer. I don't need perfect conditions by any stretch, but for the $90 "Nor Cal Resident" rate it was not acceptable. I've played sand greens that were better.

Spaulding was there, if he would like to chime in.

The conditioning on May 6th was an F-minus by any standard. An estimate of 6 on the stimp is quite generous.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Harding on Friday June 6th was pretty poor also.   Quite a bit below Metro, Monarch and Tilden - three courses I've played recently.

[Carl Nichols]

In SF, Olympic Club Lake Course. It's almost public if you know someone. Seems do-able

Just curious, but how exactly does this work?  Aren't most places "almost public" if you know someone?  Now if you mean, "might as well be public for all the guests out there," then I understand, but I sort of chuckled at the phrasing there.   

Olympic is pretty easy to get on as an unaccompanied guest, even if you don't know a member, so long as you have (for example) a pro who will make a call for you.  SFGC, on the other hand, is not. 

Not necessarily the Lakeside course.....Sure you could get on Ocean, but come on....who wants to play Olympic for the first time and not play the Lake?

I was referring to Olympic Lake, and know for a fact that a call from a pro at a non-top 100 course can get you on as an unaccompanied guest. 

[J_ Crisham]

Pacific Grove is a fine little course that is quite sporty-particularily the back nine. Just a funny little story of putting one's foot in one's mouth-During KP I was paired with an elderly fellow who was a PGM member. Incidentally he had an unbelievable short game. On the 3rd hole which was the 1st par 4 I asked if we would be rolling them in the fairway due to the fact that the fairways appearred to have been recently aerated and were rather patchy. Said elderly member stated that the fairways always look this way and have not been aerated!OOOPs, Jack

[Jed Peters]

In SF, Olympic Club Lake Course. It's almost public if you know someone. Seems do-able

Just curious, but how exactly does this work?  Aren't most places "almost public" if you know someone?  Now if you mean, "might as well be public for all the guests out there," then I understand, but I sort of chuckled at the phrasing there.   

Olympic is pretty easy to get on as an unaccompanied guest, even if you don't know a member, so long as you have (for example) a pro who will make a call for you.  SFGC, on the other hand, is not. 

Not necessarily the Lakeside course.....Sure you could get on Ocean, but come on....who wants to play Olympic for the first time and not play the Lake?

I was referring to Olympic Lake, and know for a fact that a call from a pro at a non-top 100 course can get you on as an unaccompanied guest. 

Agreed, but depending on the club will they "reciprocate" with a good time, at a good rate, etc.

If your schedule is open, by all means go for it.

[Patrick Boyd]

top 5 public access price is no object:
Pebble
Spyglass
Pasatiempo
Poppy Hills
Spanish Bay

top 5 bargains that are extremely fun to play:
Lake Chabot-Oakland-views of the bay including both bridges and extreme changes in elevation including a downhill par 6
Pacific Grove-Monterey-warm up on the front, then have a blast on a real links back nine
Lincoln Park-SF-great view of the Golden gate bridge-fun rolling course
Pajaro Dunes-bargain basement Olympic Club
Gleneagles International-nine holer near the SF airport-one of the toughest nine holes you will play-would be better than Harding if it were 18.

Gleneagles is my favorite stomping ground when I'm in the Bay.  The course is amusing and definitely reveals any weaknesses in your game quickly.

Your best bet to really get the experience is showing up on a Wednesday afternoon for the skins game.....the folks that hang out there are quite the bunch of characters (and mostly solid single digit players).

My only piece of advise is: don't drive past the golf course (which isn't very well marked at all) or you're going to feel out of place (there's a housing project down the road).

[Wayne_Freedman]

Patrick,

You should add that he'd best leave his money and his watch in his hotel safe, and wear a kevlar vest.

[David_Elvins]

Walking around Pebble Beach in the late afternoon is the best value in the san francisco/Monterey area.

[Matt_Cohn]

The guy's coming from Ireland and you're telling him to play at Lincoln, Gleneagles, Peacock Gap, and Lake Chabot?

[Tom Huckaby]

I'm rather with Matt here - I'm also quite incredulous that advice to a visitor from Ireland who seems to have time for only 4-5 rounds would include courses like Lincoln, Gleneagles, Peacock Gap and Lake Chabot.  Come on guys, we can do better than that!  Of course if he has lots of time and wants to seek out the weird or get more local flavor, each of those is worthy.  But with only 4-5 rounds?  Come on....

I'd say Wayne Freedman nailed it and this thread could have ended there - but the addition of Meadow Club is a good one.  Of course that assumes he has access to private clubs; and this all turns on that issue, of course.

One other large elephant in the room hasn't been mentioned, though:  PRICE.  Be prepared to spend a LOT of money if you want to play our best courses.  If price is an issue, that changes things quite a bit also.

SO... my question to Patrick is this:  can you access private courses, and how much are you willing to spend on these 4-5 rounds? Answer that and we could all suggest specific intineraries that would likely knock your socks off (one way or the other).

Tom H.
San Jose, CA

[Matt_Cohn]

Walking around Pebble Beach in the late afternoon is the best value in the san francisco/Monterey area.

Good call.

[Patrick Boyd]

Patrick,

You should add that he'd best leave his money and his watch in his hotel safe, and wear a kevlar vest.

LOL......maybe 5 years ago, but it's better now (kevlar is no longer mandatory) and honestly, the risk adds to the whole experience.

[John Keenan]

Tom H

Price is not an issue when coming from Europe to the US No matter it it is Euros or Pounds we are on sale and at a very nice discount.  Now if we are headed over the pond look out!!

I agree that Lincoln. Gleneagles and so forth are not exactly the best the Bay has to offer. I love Gleneagles and played there last Saturday but if I only had 4-5 rounds well I think I could do better.

Wayne nailed it

John

[Tom Huckaby]

John K:

I understand the weak dollar, believe me.  But even at a discount our courses might charge fees some might not want to pay... sadly.

TH

[Wayne_Freedman]

Philip,

Check your PM

[TX Golf]

The new Cal Club of San Francisco is a must. Many people are placing it in a league with SFGC and I wouldn't disagree with them. It is one of he best renovations I have ever seen.

[Patrick Boyd]

The new Cal Club of San Francisco is a must. Many people are placing it in a league with SFGC and I wouldn't disagree with them. It is one of he best renovations I have ever seen.

Nice....I wasn't sure if it had re-opened for play.  How long ago did you play it?

[Ray Richard]

Play Pebble-the golf course police will insure that you'll play a quick round-if they think that you are holding up play they bring you up a few holes and tell you to speed it up-these guys act like retired East German Border guards. I play quick and I got threatened 5-6 times by these guys.
Finish the day off on the far right corner of the deck facing 18 with a few slow beers. It was the best 700.00 I ever spent in golf ( Green fee, caddie, beverages, dinner).
I'd also do Spyglass and skip Spanish Bay for Pasa.