Cypress Infatuation

[Brian_Gracely]

There are two of these signs on the road leading up to the clubhouse.  There is also a similar sign near the walkway (over 17 Mile Drive) between #14 & #15, except it adds some verbage about "Private Property.  Trespassing is a misdemeanor."

[THuckaby2]

Scott:

Gotcha, 1998.  And yes, each time I have been there there is no one watching the entrance of the road.  But they damn sure descend on you when you park your car!  Of course one can get "lucky", but in my mind one would have to be brash indeed to just blow past all onlookers and march into the pro-shop and take a scorecard... and from what I hear and have been told, particularly by a gentleman you and I both know, such things do get old for the staff there very quickly.  Oh yes, there are instances where sweet-talking works, but should one promote that here?  Not me, bruthah...

And I just don't know what you mean re illegal activities on 15 and 16.  

[Mike Benham]

And oh yes, lots of Olympic Clubs' Lake and Ocean courses can be seen from a road as well....

A hang-glider offers a better view ...

[Scott_Burroughs]

Didn't need to go in the pro shop.  Scorecards were in a bin hanging on the wall of the front porch.  Same at Merion, I think.

[Jfaspen]

Compared to those guys who said they've played #15 and/or #16 'illegally', what I did is small potatoes.  

Missed that the first time.  Wow.. It is kind of like that article about a PGA pro who climed the fence into Augusta National, threw a towel on the 12th green and hit a couple shots at it.  

That goes beyond what I would ever consider rational though.

Jeff

[Brian_Gracely]

Jfaspen,

Until that day when you get invited to CPC, here's a source of a few good pictures:

http://www.caddybytes.com/cypress_pt_club.htm

[THuckaby2]

Didn't need to go in the pro shop.  Scorecards were in a bin hanging on the wall of the front porch.  Same at Merion, I think.

Ok Scott.  Of course there's a difference between what one can do and what one should do, but we all have our own thresholds.

And Jeff, well... my threshold was crossed big time back in crazy teenage days, but that's all I'm gonna say.  Rationality had nothing in common with my friends and me those days...

 

[Jfaspen]

Jfaspen,

Until that day when you get invited to CPC, here's a source of a few good pictures:

http://www.caddybytes.com/cypress_pt_club.htm

Love that site, thanks  That site is actually what made me realize what a gem this course was.

Jeff

[James Edwards]

Jfaspen,

Just walk out between holes 4 and 5 and say University of California, research project on Monterey Pine Disease which means you can navigate the 13G Backwards, 12G Backwards (if your cheeky go left up the hill to 9 and 8 which means you'll get a good view of 7 and 6 looking back as well as 10 Tee and 11 green) then continue down 4 taking in the par 3 3rd)  that way you'll get a good look at some of the best holes..

Also, park up in the car park before the entrance to the Club, and if you look over the fence you'll see 16 in the background, 17 green on top of you looking back and the 18th hole.

 

[THuckaby2]

That's right!

James brings up another good legal vantage point... just before the entrance to the club (coming from Pebble Beach) or after it (coming from MPCC or Spyglass) there is an entrance for one of the landmark viewing points - name escapes me right now... but yes, look over the fence to one's right, and you are literally right on top of 18 tee and 17 green.  And yep, you can see a bit of 16 green way off in the distance.

As for the rest, well I never...  

[James Edwards]

Tom,

Of course I don't condone that sort off behaviour off any GCA member....  Of course not, bad form, bad form indeed!!!

Great views from that vantage point - like most along that coast line..

[Mike Benham]

And more photos to look at (along with the other seaside courses along California - Spanish Bay, Pebble, MPCC):

http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/image.cgi?image=1124&mode=sequential&flags=0

[ed_getka]

There is a completely legal way to see some of Cypress Point.
There is a public access horse trail that goes up between #3
Spyglass and #8 Cypress Point. Look for a wood sign, with I believe a blue square or circle on it, down near the road and just follow the sandy trail up about 500 yards. Below you will be #8 green, with #13 over #8 green. You can also see #1, some of #2, all of #9. If you follow the trail some more you will see #7 and most of #6.
   This trail is a great place to sit and pray for the day you can make out onto those magical holes. The downside is you won't see many people golfing, as the course is generally fairly empty. Enjoy!

[Dan Grossman]

Ed, check your gca.com instant messages.

[THuckaby2]

Ed - concur with Dan G. - need an answer to a question I sent you there.

But also, great call re this horse trail!  I completely forgot about it... and I have you to thank for checking it out, a year or so ago... I went and found it one time after you mentioning it in here.  Oh heck yeah, combine that little hike with what you can see from the road and the vista point and you have most of the course covered.

Which is kinda cool... the fact that one can legally get these glimpes at such an otherwise private gem.... Contrast to many others, behind locked gates and high hedges....

TH

[Tyler Kearns]

Jfaspen,

     While at Olympic, hope over to the site of the last duel in the United States. Just beyond the property fence sits the famous 'Duel' hole, #7 at the San Francisco GC.

Tyler Kearns

[James Edwards]

Just make sure that there are less than six people visiting otherwise you will need 'board permission'  - We found out last week.

[Bill_McBride]

When I was a college freshman in San Francisco in 1959, a new acquaintance, obviously a disreputable sort, led me to climb the fence to the 7th at SFCG, and we played maybe a half dozen holes before being gently ushered off the premises by the greenkeeping staff.  Wonderful fairway bunkers, I remember them well today, 45 years later.  I didn't realize the Olympic Club was right across the interior fence; we could have made it a double and played 'em both!

[Forrest Richardson]

"For anyone who has ever laid eyes on its ribbons of grass, its secluded forests, or its reach into the ocean is sure to behold a wondrous feeling. At any moment, and at any point, time may stand still in this small corner of the world. There comes an insignificance to the present when one realizes that nature has spent millions of years crashing against itself to make all this possible. It is an eye-opener to think that mankind’s time spent shaping the golf represents no more than perhaps one brief second in this life of the land."

[Forrest Richardson]

"Cypress Point is an adventure all the way."

— Herbert Warren Wind

Quite possibly the most condensed phrase to describe a truly great golf course. There may be no better description of one, nor any better subject.

[Mike Benham]

I didn't realize the Olympic Club was right across the interior fence; we could have made it a double and played 'em both!

Bill - not quite sure what you mean by the interior fence but OC is not exactly next door ... down the hill, along Lake Merced Blvd. will get you to the top-secret back gate entrance to the O Club ...

[Jfaspen]

Hey guys.  Through some random googling, I found some pictures of each hole on the course, some from several years ago.  
Although the pictures appear to be for sale on this site, I of course am not affiliated with the site.

Jeff

http://www.historicgolf.com/page_personal.cfm?subjectid=470&categoryid=2

[Mike_Sweeney]

For my friend FBD:



I hope to someday see FBD's wavy hair riding in a '59 Cadillac on his way to Cypress Point!

[Paul Richards]

There's Heaven,

There's Cypress Point,

and, then,


there is everything else.



 

[Brent Hutto]

There's heaven, there's Cypress Point and there's the seventeenth tee at Cypress Point.