Short Pebble trip review

[youngun87]

Poppy Hills: This was a real treat. Course is in excellent condition and is a great value. We had a lot of fun. The no rough concept is really cool and conditions are firm

 

Spyglass: What can I say? This is one of the best courses on the planet. They did however do a small tine aeration the day before we played. They offered no discount. The greens were actually in pretty good shape all things considered but the overall course conditions were not what they should be. We left a little disappointed but still amazed at how beautiful the course is. I would still recommend it to someone visiting the area but ideally the course needs 3-4 more weeks to recover.

 

Bayonet: Great course that is in great condition. It is not the most unique golf course out there (no views or anything) but it is a fantastic track. It provides great value and is a good test of golf. I would highly recommend this course if you are in the area.

 

Pebble Beach: My favorite course on earth. I could play this every day and not get bored. They did small tine aeration about 3 weeks ago but the greens are recovering nicely and it is not that noticeable. The occasional weird wobble on some putts but approach shots and chips were not affected at all. No discount was offered but it is still well worth the full rate in my opinion as the "casual" golfer may not even notice that the greens had recently been punched. Pebble is hosting a collegiate tournament at the moment (morning tee times) and the players didn't think the recent aeration had any significant effect on play.

 

 

Spanish Bay: I actually really enjoyed this course and is a must play if you are doing a Pebble trip. I know it doesn't have the reputation that Pebble or Spyglass have but it is still an amazing track. The front nine has fantastic views. The course is short but it is really fun. It is in excellent condition and a nice change of pace from other courses in the area.

 

Pasatiempo: I started another thread discussing the condition of the course in greater detail but I will summarize it here. The course is in TERRIBLE condition. The only grass that is alive is on the greens and tee boxes. Even the fairways are half dead. When I say dead I mean it is dirt. They charged us the full rate but offered a $50 voucher for next time we play the course. The voucher is non transferable and is only good until the end of 2015. I can not recommend the course to anyone at the rate they are charging. The condition takes A LOT away from the experience. DO NOT play this course right now. This was really disappointing for us. Even with the condition one can see how this is a great course but it is just not worth it now. I have heard some people claim that it was meant to play this way but hard and fast is different from dead grass and dirt fairways, rough, etc I grew up in Texas and know a lot about firm golf courses and the grass does not need to be dead to play firm. Plenty of firm courses that play "hard and fast" that are 100% green. Stay away

 

 

Overall we had a fantastic experience. Even though we were disappointed with Pasatiempo we didn't let that stop us from having fun while playing. If people are looking to plan a Pebble trip I would play all the courses above except Pasatiempo until they get rain and the grass grows back.

[poppyhillsguy]

Great trip review. I played Poppy on Saturday with guys who had played Spyglass earlier in the morning. They were pretty upset at Spyglass Hills greens and that they were not warned when making the tee time.

Glad you had a fantastic trip.

[youngun87]

[quote name='poppyhillsguy' timestamp='1409615753' post='10046837']
Great trip review. I played Poppy on Saturday with guys who had played Spyglass earlier in the morning. They were pretty upset at Spyglass Hills greens and that they were not warned when making the tee time.

Glad you had a fantastic trip.
[/quote]

We were also disappointed at Spyglass but I can still recommend it for someone that is there on a trip and hasn't played it before. For those that have, I would say wait another 3-4 weeks for sure. We were not warned about the greens either and I feel that we should have been.

I actually really enjoyed Poppy. Being from Texas and a natural high ball hitter I didn't mind the firm greens but my father and our other playing partner were frustrated at how firm they were. They had trouble holding the greens on the approach shots but still had a blast. It is a cool course and if you haven't played it before (like I hadn't) and are there for a destination trip, I would recommend it, but I wouldn't play it again for at least another year to let the greens settle if you live in the area and it is easily accessible to you.

[callawayjay]

I'll put in my review of the others in this thread too. But I'm biased towards the pb resort courses as I've been a frequent flyer of late

[Roody]

I only got to play Pebble and Spyglass when I was out there last year, but both were fantastic. Was just talking with the guys in my foursome yesterday about setting up a future guys-only trip out there.

[OCdog]

I played pasatiempo a few weeks ago and can echo the bad conditions. The drought has left them in a bad position.