Any Questions?

[John Kavanaugh]

I’m winding up the following:


Rustic Canyon
Valley Club of Montecito
Pasatiempo
MPCC Shore
Pebble
Spyglass
Pebble
Cal Club
Cal Club


Rather than regurgitate what we all know I thought I would open it up to a Q&A. 9 rounds in 9 days traveling by car. Easy peasy.

[Kalen Braley]

Awesome itinerary John, very nice!

I'll be interested to see how you rate/stack them up at the end of your trip, with your analysis on why.

P.S.  Any plans to sneak in at least the back 9 at Pacific Grove while you're in Monterey?

[John Kavanaugh]

If we do this again we will leave out Pasa and play something more like Pacific Grove. Just not this trip.

[John Kavanaugh]

On a side note Tommy hit a few shots with us at Rustic and we had dinner afterwards. Always good to revisit old friends.

[Kalen Braley]

I just have to mention, I saw the video of you 3 riding in Tommy's truck on Erics FB page.  Funny reaction from you! 

P.S.  Any other courses you would add on a Cali 2.0 trip?  So many greats and lesser gems to choose from....

[Ira Fishman]

John,


Only one question: do have an open spot in the group?


Ira

[John Kavanaugh]

John,


Only one question: do have an open spot in the group?


Ira

We had an open spot yesterday at Pebble. It was filled by a fantastic gentleman named Alejandro. En su bolsillo.

[MCirba]

Happy for you John.


Come to Pennsylvania sometime.

[Tim Martin]

John-Where does Pasatiempo stack up? If you were given 3 plays on a return trip with the same lineup would it get another play?

[Nigel Islam]

Great rotation JK! Hope your trip was as great as it looks.

[John Kavanaugh]

John-Where does Pasatiempo stack up? If you were given 3 plays on a return trip with the same lineup would it get another play?

Pasa is by far my least favorite course on the trip. I had played it years ago with GCA legends Huck, Rich and the giant USGA official. I was expecting great things. Disappointing on every level. I can not imagine it ever being included on another itinerary.

[Peter Pallotta]

JK
I can understand you skipping a Pacific Grove, at least this time, but I can't quite understand you not making a visit to your beloved Torrey Pines - South. Granted, you instead spent the final two full days at the Cal Club, which is understandable; I've read it's a top flight course and even better experience. But I thought that, just on principle and to prove a point, you might've gone down to TP.
P

[John Kavanaugh]

JK
I can understand you skipping a Pacific Grove, at least this time, but I can't quite understand you not making a visit to your beloved Torrey Pines - South. Granted, you instead spent the final two full days at the Cal Club, which is understandable; I've read it's a top flight course and even better experience. But I thought that, just on principle and to prove a point, you might've gone down to TP.
P

Have you ever ridden in a car?

[Peter Pallotta]

Indeed
I drove a car across the US from Toronto to LA several years ago -- about 12 hours a day, 4 1/2 days (the extra 1/2 day because I detoured to Las Vegas to spend an evening there)....found it actually easier to do than a two hour daily commute, cause you get into a zone and just drive. So a trip down to San Diego, after all that driving anyway, didn't strike me as too onerous.
But never mind, was just having a little fun based on your oft-mentioned affection for TP as a good test of golf 

[John Kavanaugh]

In all seriousness flying into LAX, driving to Monterey and then on to San Francisco for the flight back home is a trip that I would have never considered before. The ability to book one way flights with little to no penalty and then share the cost of a rental car puts a trip such as this within the reach of most people who love travel.


One of the reasons I wouldn’t include Pasa again in a trip such as this is that it’s location was out of sync with our flow up the coast. It was a very late addition that wasn’t as well thought out as it could have been.

[John Kirk]

The drive on highway 101 from Los Angeles north to Salinas/San Francisco is sensational.  I hope you enjoyed the drive.

Any thoughts you feel like sharing about the Valley Club?  It's a private club, so I understand if you're reluctant to share your experience.  One thing that amazes me about the course is how hard it is to see the prevailing slope of the valley on the greens.  You get disoriented there.

Sounds like a great trip, and as I said before, that drive is a favorite of mine.  Nothing like driving a car. 

[Tom_Doak]

One of the reasons I wouldn’t include Pasa again in a trip such as this is that it’s location was out of sync with our flow up the coast. It was a very late addition that wasn’t as well thought out as it could have been.

Yeah maybe the guy who organized the trip should be able to read a map.  Did you notice on your way from Pebble to the Cal Club that you drove right past Pasatiempo again?  That would have been the day for it, to break up the drive a little.


I must have done that same trip 4-5 times in my younger days, though usually from N to S.  The Cal Club wasn't worthwhile back then, and Rustic Canyon didn't exist, but SFGC and Riviera are more to my liking anyway.

[Jason Topp]

John - should California courses embrace Poa Annua greens or fight?

[Kalen Braley]

John K,


I hope you meant Highway 1, once you hit San Luis Obispo as opposed to 101. Nothing against 101 but most of it is fairly bland once it takes you inland.

[John Kavanaugh]

Keep the questions coming. I’m about to tee off on Pebble for my second go. I hope not to go all Wolfian again.

[John Kavanaugh]

John - should California courses embrace Poa Annua greens or fight?

Those with the technical expertise and unwavering dedication to excellence should fight.

[Michael Moore]

John -
 
Would you agree that Pebble Beach is one of the quirkiest great courses? The ditch on two, the tee shot on three, the size of the fourth green, the wall on six, the missing chunk of eight, the last one hundred yards of nine, the angle to the green on eleven and fourteen, whatever is in front of the sixteenth green, and finally, of course, that wretched tree in the middle of eighteen?

[John Kavanaugh]

Everyone should play Pebble when they are young. It creates memories to be cherished and nurtured over a lifetime. I should have come much sooner.

[Adam Clayman]

What were your scores?


Did you feel right at home at Spyglass Hill?


How much did you fleece from Smith, with your superior athleticism?


Did Dr. MacKenzie's optical tricks have any effect on you at The Valley Club? (How perfect was the agronomy there?)


Which Doorman gives the best BJ tips?

[Jeff Schley]

What were your scores?


Did you feel right at home at Spyglass Hill?


How much did you fleece from Smith, with your superior athleticism?


Did Dr. MacKenzie's optical tricks have any effect on you at The Valley Club? (How perfect was the agronomy there?)


Which Doorman gives the best BJ tips?

I played there in August and they keep it about as close to perfect as can be.  Bunker maintenance is amazing and they are cut so very tight as the good doctor would have liked. Generous fairways and more undulations than I would have thought. They bounced back very well from the mudslides and I know Tom helped with that. Bonus points for a really cool locker room / clubhouse as well.