Banking on a poor man's Pebble Beach
The PGA Tour spoils us when it's here, but consider this a Monterey tee time on a dime
Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club for ESPN.comGolfing the Monterey Peninsula doesn't have to be a drain on your wallet. Take a look at these options.When the PGA Tour visits Pebble Beach -- usually in early February -- we hunker down in front of the television and watch the scene unfold on three of the planet's prettiest golf courses.
And we fantasize about strolling Pebble's links and wonder what it would cost.
Currently about $1,000, including lodging, food and your round, thank you very much.
But you don't have be a gazillionaire to put on Pebble-like airs on the Monterey Peninsula, one of the hautest spots on California's breathtaking coast. Views worth millions can be had at muni-track prices.
And you can play inside the Pebble Beach gates and have an ocean view, too, without draining your bank account.
We're going show you how.
Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links is considered the poor man's Pebble Beach, because all the holes on the back nine front the water. Del Monte Golf Course is the oldest layout in continuous operation west of the Mississippi, so there is the tradition factor that's so important to the sport. And the course at Quail Lodge is private, but members of the public also can play there.
And here's one relatively little-known way to maximize your oceanside experience. Book an afternoon time at Pacific Grove, take a ride along scenic 17 Mile Drive and stop at the 9-hole Peter Hay golf course (Web site) to warm up for your round. It's just a few minutes from Pacific Grove, right across the street from Pebble, and costs $25 to play. It won't wear you out, either, because it's only 725 yards from the back tees. But there are billion-dollar views from every hole.
Advance planning for this kind of trip is a must, unless you live close enough to drive in for a day. And like most of California, this is an all-year golf destination; still, the weather can turn gnarly, as the AT&T National Pro Am reminds us on many winter weekends. Take something warm no matter the season because coastal courses, especially this far north, can always get a blanket of chilly fog.
This is a stay-and-play place, too, so shop for ways to enhance your experience. The best prices are usually available Sunday through Thursday, with a variety of discounts available. Also, check one of the various online tee-time booking services, because discounts abound there, too.
(Quail has had packages starting at $279 that included a room and two rounds of golf or two spa treatments or one round of golf and one spa treatment.)
On a five-night trip from Los Angeles we split our time between La Playa Hotel -- a charmer with a boutique vibe just blocks from the beach in Carmel-By-The Sea -- and the Quail Lodge resort in Carmel Valley. These are base camps in different microclimates even though they are just a few miles apart. Both featured on-site dining facilities and great lounges (Quail has two) that provide a nice 19th-hole experience.
If you are traveling with a non-golfer, places like Quail and La Playa are good choices because they have spa facilities and great strolling-about opportunities.
"So is Pebble worth the cost?" I asked W. Lawson Little, Quail's president, during a round at his course.
He should know. His father, Lawson, is considered the best amateur golfer between the Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods eras, and his family lived along Pebble's first fairway from 1954 to 1968.
"If you are a golfer then yes, it is worth the money for a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Little said.
So until that time is financially right, consider these alternatives.
Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links
77 Asilomar Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
831-648-5775 | Web site
Yardage: 5,305/5,727
Cost: $40 to $48
On a clear, cold morning we took an early drive through the Del Monte Forest to Pacific Grove north of Carmel-By-The-Sea.
Late autumn can turn brutally cold, even close to the Pacific Ocean, and an overnight frost coated the greens, pushing back tee times. Not a problem, because we settled into the course's Point Pinos Grill for breakfast and watched the Pacific abuse the coastline.
This is actually two courses. The front nine, designed by Chandler Egan and opened in 1932, winds through portions of the forest for a parkland-like experience often found on old courses back East.
This course is a kissing cousin to Pebble, just a few miles south. Jack Neville, Pebble's designer, is responsible for the back nine, which opened in 1960 and is within a short iron of the ocean.
And this is why you go: the wonderful views of the Pacific, Lovers Point, Point Pinos Light (the oldest working lighthouse in the West), Crespi Pond and Asilomar's natural sand dunes.
The Zagat Survey has ranked it one of America's best golf courses.
The 10th hole offers an unpretentious albeit dangerous start to a stellar nine lined with sand dunes, ice plant and totally exposed to the Pacific.
It's a par 3 of just 106 yards, and the flag can get lost in sharp morning light.
"Another simple-looking hole that after 1,000 rounds, garners more respect than on one's first attempt. A stiff south wind can cause the golfer to club down to a mid-iron. With a deceptively sloped green and back bunker looming, bogie is often in play on this apparent luller," wrote Adam Clayman in a posting in the My Home Course section of GolfClubAtlas.com.
Hole No. 11 heads straight toward the ocean, and usually into a stiff wind. Then at 12 the fairways mostly parade back and forth in front of waves that crash in a frothy spray over rock outcroppings. This must be what Ireland is like, I think to myself, after catching a glimpse of the shore between two dunes.
A few holes later Mike Ottmar, a retired schoolteacher, joins us. Pacific Grove is his home course, too, and he plays it about four times a week … sometimes just the back nine.
"This course is just beautiful in the morning," he said. "When the sun comes up and the waves are crashing and there are sea birds over the water, it doesn't get any more beautiful."
Here, along this fusion of land and sea, nine is enough.
