[Jim Johnson]

In early May my wife and I traveled to California and had the pleasure of golfing at Pacific Grove, Pasatiempo, San Juan Oaks, Monarch Dunes, Sandpiper, Oak Quarry, Desert Willow-Firecliff, and LaQuinta Mountain.

Sandpiper was the 5th course played on our trip. From their website...

The championship golf course at Sandpiper has been rated by Golf Digest in the top twenty-five public golf courses in the country. It was designed by William F. Bell and opened in 1972 featuring beautiful rolling fairways and challenging greens in a seaside links style layout. Sandpiper's dynamic design attracts players of all skill levels including players of the highest caliber.

Measuring over 7000 yards, with championship rating of 74.5, Sandpiper has challenged the abilities of the PGA and LPGA players alike, playing host to several professional tournaments including: The PGA Tour Tournament Players Series, The LPGA Tour Santa Barbara Women's Open, and the prestigious final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying school.

Unfortunately, this course just didn't do it for us. In fact, of the 8 courses on our trip, this one ended up dead last as a favorite. Can't quite pin it down exactly as to why. Possible reasons ... we thought the green complexes uninspiring. The views, other than the 5 holes directly on the ocean, were mediocre. And the location of the golf course has 4 of those 5 oceanside holes well above the water so one must look sideways up or down the coast for a good view, if not looking out directly to the ocean (not a bad thing I suppose).

Tees are 5,701/6,597/7,068 yards. Which may explain my wife's overall disdain for the course, playing from 5,701 yards. Other than the 252 yard 12th (which is severely uphill), her other par 4's measured 376, 353, 336, 359, 372, 315, 385, 341, and 304 yards. And these days I find that 6,600 is about 300 yards longer than I want or need.

I started taking pictures on the 1st hole but soon found that I was only snapping the odd one, so below is my entire collection of pictures from throughout the round.

Opening hole, par-5 525 yards. Nice rolling topography.


6th hole, 195 yard par-3.


Approach on #10, dogleg left par-4 of 381 yards, heading to the sea.


Par-3 11th, 224 yards. Dramatic and picturesque. Their signature hole.


Tee shot on #12, uphill and around to the right along the ocean, par-4 of 341 yards.


Green on hole 12. Nice views, but...


13th hole, 532 yard par-5. Tough approach shot over a small chasm.


14th hole, par-4 of 444 yards. Note cart path on side towards the ocean.


Looking back on 14th hole. Note that "the boys are back in town". Love watching those guys.


And there they go. Looking down the 6th hole (par 3) from the 14th green.


I'm sure there are those of you who enjoy Sandpiper and would rank it higher than we have (at least, on the list of our 8 courses played). But for my wife and I, on an enjoyment level, and hey isn't that what it's all about(?), this course didn't rank up there for us.

Three days later we played a course which (pleasantly) surprised us ...

Cheers,
Jim

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jim,

I liked Sandpiper.
It's a very nice local course.

Co-incidently, the day I played there, I ran into 4 fellows from my home town, 3,000 miles away.

I believe that the 13th has been in a number of commercials.

[Bill_McBride]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

[Mike Sweeney]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

Bill,

You need to try some other courses on Long Island:

[Patrick_Mucci]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

Bill,

Doubtful that anything can top the Inn at Spanish Bay, although my old pal Tommy Naccarato would probably argue for Sand Pines in Oregon.

[DMoriarty]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.  

Sandpiper is far from a great course, but I am not sure I agree with this.   From the 13th green east (14th hole, 6th hole, 5th green) all of the coastal frontage slopes away from the ocean instead of toward it.  So as you approach the ocean you are going uphill and the view is blocked by the rising land (thus the reason for the absurd cart path placement on the 14th.)  With that somewhat odd land formation I am not sure how they could have better utilized that section of the coastline.  

As for the rest of the coastline, the 10th and the 13th are very good natural holes, and the others fit in where they the fall.  The one area I wonder if they could have better utilized is the range area, but it drops off precipitously on the right.   The 18th is a bad hole but I am not sure that one hole condemns the entire place.  

Not saying it is a great course or even very good. Just suggesting the site might not have been as great as everyone assumes.  

P.S.  At one point they planned to scrap it and route another course over the top.  I saw the routing and it looked much worse to me.  More holes "on the ocean" but all this meant was lots of holes playing uphill toward the ocean (like 5 now) and more oceanside tees where one would have been hitting directly inland.

[Dan King]

What ever happened to the other course they were going to build just north of Sandpiper? It was Arco oil fields and I think the name was something like Dos Pueblos Golf Links. I think at one time Coore and Crenshaw were involved.  It looked like much cooler potential.

Cheers,
Dan King

With a fine sea view and a clear course in front of him, the golfer may be excused if he regards golf, even though it be indifferent golf, as the true and adequate end of man's existence.
  --A.J. Balfour

[DMoriarty]

Long battle over various environmental and coastal issues.  A water shortage issue, a frog or some small type of small creature, maybe even a waterway or wetland issue or something.  Don't remember all the details, but it went on forever, the issues kept changing, and eventually I think the potential developer decided it wasn't worth it.

[Bill_McBride]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

Bill,

You need to try some other courses on Long Island:

Since I have only played NGLA, Friars Head and The Creek Club on Long Island, I have no idea what you are talking about.   

[Tim Leahy]

I think the 13th is a great par 5 and in general really liked playing the course. Lots of different shots needed. It's not Pebble but there is nothing south of Monterey that is in Cali.

[Mike Benham]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

Bill -

First, is it really that great of a site?  As David M. correctly points out, much of it moves away from the ocean and are flat slopes.

[Garland Bayley]

...
Tees are 5,701/6,597/7,068 yards. Which may explain my wife's overall disdain for the course, playing from 5,701 yards. Other than the 252 yard 12th (which is severely uphill), her other par 4's measured 376, 353, 336, 359, 372, 315, 385, 341, and 304 yards. And these days I find that 6,600 is about 300 yards longer than I want or need.
...

It seems to me that you and your wife were presented with a collection of the much beloved par 4.5 holes, and for some reason you didn't like them. Being par 4.5 holes they probably gave you the thinking choice of do I try to reach in two? Will I endanger myself with an awful recovery chance if I miss? Are their good places to lay up to that will give me a good chance to get the 4 instead of a 5? If there is more than one lay up possibility, which should I choose?

[Matt_Cohn]

Kind of reminds me of the old Torrey Pines South. I'll be in Santa Barbara next month but to be honest these photos do not make me want to play Sandpiper, especially for the $159 they charge on weekends...

[David Kelly]

Kind of reminds me of the old Torrey Pines South.

Torrey Pines also has that uphill sweep to the cliffs that David M was mentioning.

To me the 10th hole at Sandpiper is a great hole and I would say it is one of the top 50 holes in the state. 

[Alex Miller]

Kind of reminds me of the old Torrey Pines South. I'll be in Santa Barbara next month but to be honest these photos do not make me want to play Sandpiper, especially for the $159 they charge on weekends...

Nothing wrong with La Purisima or Rancho San Marcos.

[DMoriarty]

Matt they used to have very affordable twilight which allowed more than enough time to finish, provided you book one of the first twilight times.  Might be worth checking out.   The course won't blow your socks off but there are less pleasant places to play golf.

Alex, I'm not a big fan of Rancho San Marcos, and La Purisma has its positives and negatives, as we have probably discussed in person.

[Bill_McBride]

Is there another course, anywhere, that failed to take advantage of a great site than Sandpiper?    It is such a disappointment.   

Bill -

First, is it really that great of a site?  As David M. correctly points out, much of it moves away from the ocean and are flat slopes.

I have made no effort to return since my one play of Sandpiper over 30 years ago, but I do remember asking myself, couldn't this have been a lot better?   So maybe not...

[Jim Johnson]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.

The greens weren't overly interesting (see photo of hole 12 for example) and that upward tilt that David M refers to definitely does something to the overall views.

Unlike Pasatiempo, ending the round at Sandpiper with a par-3 hole seemed like mini golf to me. Can't explain the difference why, aside from quality of the courses.

Matt, the day before we'd golfed at Monarch Dunes, which we both really enjoyed (other than the overly done water hazards) and paid $30 each + $18 each for power cart, and teed it up at 2:00pm (their twilight rates start at 1:00). At Sandpiper we teed it up just after 2:00 (their twilight rates Apr-Sept start at 2:00) and we paid $90 each, cart included. Hmm.

Cheers,
Jim

[Alex Miller]

Matt they used to have very affordable twilight which allowed more than enough time to finish, provided you book one of the first twilight times.  Might be worth checking out.   The course won't blow your socks off but there are less pleasant places to play golf.

Alex, I'm not a big fan of Rancho San Marcos, and La Purisma has its positives and negatives, as we have probably discussed in person.

Let me rephrase that...

Nothing more wrong with them. 

[Garland Bayley]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.
...

Someone hitting driver-3wood on holes with those yardages probably should see a club fitter to get an appropriate set of clubs.
I don't carry a 3 wood, and I don't hit it that short.

[Bill_McBride]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.
...

Someone hitting driver-3wood on holes with those yardages probably should see a club fitter to get an appropriate set of clubs.
I don't carry a 3 wood, and I don't hit it that short.

Garland, I think he was talking about his wife.  Mine hits driver and two 4-woods frequently on 350 yard holes.

[Jim Johnson]

Bill's correct. And Sandpiper has a Slope rating of 132 from the 5,701 yard tees. Pretty high for her.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.
...

Someone hitting driver-3wood on holes with those yardages probably should see a club fitter to get an appropriate set of clubs.
I don't carry a 3 wood, and I don't hit it that short.

Garland, I think he was talking about his wife.  Mine hits driver and two 4-woods frequently on 350 yard holes.

I know he was talking about his wife. A player that hits driver and two 4-woods on 350 yard holes has the wrong clubs in their bag. Any qualified club fitter would determine what wood other than driver would be their longest hitting wood from the fairway. And, I guarantee that it would not be a 4 wood. Probably at least be a 7 wood. And if that player is carrying a 4 wood that player probably has the wrong loft on their driver too. The driver should probably be at least 16^o in loft.

[Bill_McBride]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.
...

Someone hitting driver-3wood on holes with those yardages probably should see a club fitter to get an appropriate set of clubs.
I don't carry a 3 wood, and I don't hit it that short.

Garland, I think he was talking about his wife.  Mine hits driver and two 4-woods frequently on 350 yard holes.

I know he was talking about his wife. A player that hits driver and two 4-woods on 350 yard holes has the wrong clubs in their bag. Any qualified club fitter would determine what wood other than driver would be their longest hitting wood from the fairway. And, I guarantee that it would not be a 4 wood. Probably at least be a 7 wood. And if that player is carrying a 4 wood that player probably has the wrong loft on their driver too. The driver should probably be at least 16^o in loft.

Sometimes you are even more full of BS than usual.  Go out and play with some older little women some time and get educated. 

[Garland Bayley]

Garland, all I know is that with par-4 yardages like that (for my wife) she was hitting driver-3 wood all the time and I don't know about you but if I had to do that on every par-4 I don't think I'd really enjoy it either.
...

Someone hitting driver-3wood on holes with those yardages probably should see a club fitter to get an appropriate set of clubs.
I don't carry a 3 wood, and I don't hit it that short.

Garland, I think he was talking about his wife.  Mine hits driver and two 4-woods frequently on 350 yard holes.

I know he was talking about his wife. A player that hits driver and two 4-woods on 350 yard holes has the wrong clubs in their bag. Any qualified club fitter would determine what wood other than driver would be their longest hitting wood from the fairway. And, I guarantee that it would not be a 4 wood. Probably at least be a 7 wood. And if that player is carrying a 4 wood that player probably has the wrong loft on their driver too. The driver should probably be at least 16^o in loft.

Sometimes you are even more full of BS than usual.  Go out and play with some older little women some time and get educated. 

An older couple sponsored us into our club. I have played many times with the wife. I always encouraged her to stop using the low lofted woods and irons. She ignored me. We had an assistant pro that was popular with the ladies who left to work at the closest Golfsmith. One day when visiting my friend she couldn't wait to show me her new clubs she had bought from him at Golfsmith. The were a 7 wood and a 5 hybrid, which are now her go to clubs for long shots.

The information I gave earlier is right out of Common Sense Clubfitting by Tom Wishon. I'll send him a note telling him you think he is full of BS.

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