Monterey Trip Questions (and report to come!)

[newg33b]

My dad and I are off to Monterey next week for an incredible golf trip! We're hitting Pasatiempo on the way down to Monterey and will then play Poppy Hills, Spanish Bay, Spyglass, and wrap up with Pebble. Tee times at all are booked but I wanted to throw out a few last questions to the crowd before we get there:

 

1. I noticed most courses are CPO. How walkable are each of the five we're scheduled to play? We're in decent shape and I walk some and ride some when playing at home. Is it worth taking a cart at some/all? Or is walking preferable?

 

2. Our plan is to walk Pebble and I will get a caddie for the round. Are there any suggestions for particularly awesome caddies? I'm not sure if it's too late to request a particular caddie at this point (about a week and a half in advance), so I'll have to see what pans out.

 

3. We're playing one round of golf each day we're there and staying at the Inn at Spanish Bay for two of the nights while we're there. Are there any must-do things off the course while we're there? I've read other threads and seen that the Tap Room after the round at Pebble is a must, for example.

 

4. Are there any particularly nice meals that shouldn't be missed while there?

 

5. Finally, any other tips/tricks would be much appreciated! I've read a couple other threads on here that have been invaluable in planning the trip, which I can't wait for.

 

I'll try my best once we get out there to update the thread with my experiences/thoughts since it was so valuable for me to be able to read about everyone else's experiences. I'm incredibly excited! Thanks in advance, everyone!

[teeituphigh]

1) I walked Spyglass and Pebble in the same day. Pretty easy walks in my opinion.

2) I had a caddie. He was a legend. Made it all the more special as he could take photos!

3) Tap room....enough said. Probably end up spending some time looking in the retail areas too - some cool kit to be had.

4) There is a craft beer bar in Monterey which my wife and I enjoyed. Nothing like tasting some really odd beer.

5) Play the tees that allow you an iron into the greens. I played blue and was fine but I had a guy with me who should've been forward and he battled all day. I felt bad because it was like I dragged him back to my tees!

 

Enjoy. Have fun. Photos on the 3rd at Spy from the blue tee and then from the 7th tee at Pebble!

[txeconomist]

Doing a similar trip week of July 4th - Bayonet and Blackhorse, Poppy, Spyglass, Pebble, Spanish, MPCC (maybe), Pasatiempo, Cordevalle. I like drinking cocktails at Spanish Bay with the fires in the evening and Italian food at Casanova’s.

[aloha b.]

1. I think that if you're in decent shape you can walk.

 

2. The two best are Casey Boyns and Robert "The Rocket" Lytle. There's a picture of Casey on the wall

of the Tap Room and I believe that he's won two State Amateur at Pebble plus he's in the California

Golf Hall of Fame.

 

3. The Tap Room has really good Ribeye chili with cornbread, the Kobe burger with truffle fries is really

good and so is the Chocolate Sundae. My friend Kip is the GM of Golf Links To The Past with amazing

golf memorabilia, next to Pebbles putting green. The 2019 US Open store is also open. As a guest of

Pebble Beach properties you have access to the private Beach & Tennis Club at Pebble

and they have a private restaurant with views of Stillwater Cove. You can also use the Spanish Bay

Club. If you like riding horses Pebble has an equestrian center. There's a Pebble Beach outlet store on

Cannery Row.

 

4. If you like Italian La Mia Cucina in Pacific Grove is really good. Vesuvio Restaurant in Carmel is a local

spot with the only rooftop bar in Carmel. The owners also have Peppoli find dining restaurant at

Spanish Bay. There are a lot of excellent restaurants on the Monterey Peninsula.

 

Have a great time! I'll be playing Poppy Hills this Saturday and we'll probably eat at the Tap Room since Dukes Club is eliminating the 20% discount on food and drinks on July 1st at all Pebble Resort restaurant's.

[North Texas]

Doing a similar trip week of July 4th - Bayonet and Blackhorse, Poppy, Spyglass, Pebble, Spanish, MPCC (maybe), Pasatiempo, Cordevalle. I like drinking cocktails at Spanish Bay with the fires in the evening and Italian food at Casanova's.

 

Man, what a trip!

 

I definitely second the recommendation to sit out by the fire pits at Spanish Bay especially as the bagpiper walks down the fairway playing. Pretty cool. As well as Casanova's. If you go there ask for a tour of the hand-dug wine cellar. Also pretty cool. And if you a wine-drinker, check out Stave's at Spanish Bay. Drink some Kosta Browne for me.

[newg33b]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I appreciate the info immensely! I'll be sure to update the thread once our trip gets under way.

[dave willie]

The posts above didn't mention Pasatiempo, which some people rank as the best course of the bunch. I played it a week ago and it was in great shape. Nice course to walk, just be aware that there are some shortcuts from the green to the next tee, so don't follow the cart path. Nice bar/restaurant, too. You can sit out on the deck with a nice view of the ocean. The food is good with generous portions. I ordered a half size salad and it was huge.. I'd also recommend Uncle Dave's Rye IPA, a nice local brew that was on tap.

[newg33b]

Here's the start of the trip report section of the thread!

 

Round 1: Pasatiempo.

 

We started the trip with a stop in Santa Cruz to play Pasatiempo before making our way down to Monterey for the rest of the trip. What a great decision that was! Pasatiempo was a fantastic track that we thoroughly enjoyed. It was in tremendous shape with lush rough, firm, well-mown fairways, and greens that ran plenty quick for us even though we were told they were a touch slower than normal today. I found the course to be a challenging test, especially as you got closer to the greens, which are wonderful. Mackenzie's artistic, jigsaw bunkering and green contours are both incredible to look at and engaging to play. It took me a few holes to get the speed and undulation right, and even then the greens challenged me all day. Pictures do not do the elevation changes of the course justice, in my opinion: several holes (9 and 11 in particular) are significantly affected by elevation change. In spite of only tipping out at 6500 yards, there is a ton to chew on here and I suspect that repeated plays would only yield more appreciation of Mackenzie's work. A few holes that stuck most with me: 3, the uphill par 3 with seemingly nowhere to miss the green; 11, the 1 handicap hole that requires two precise shots, the second up and over a barranca, to get a look at par; and finally 16, which had maybe the most elevation change from front to back of any green I've ever played. I had no issue with 18 being a par 3 due to the quality of all the par 3's on the course, also. Overall a tremendous round of golf only made better due to the nice weather we had this afternoon. I was left very impressed.

[aloha b.]

Here's the start of the trip report section of the thread!

 

Round 1: Pasatiempo.

 

We started the trip with a stop in Santa Cruz to play Pasatiempo before making our way down to Monterey for the rest of the trip. What a great decision that was! Pasatiempo was a fantastic track that we thoroughly enjoyed. It was in tremendous shape with lush rough, firm, well-mown fairways, and greens that ran plenty quick for us even though we were told they were a touch slower than normal today. I found the course to be a challenging test, especially as you got closer to the greens, which are wonderful. Mackenzie's artistic, jigsaw bunkering and green contours are both incredible to look at and engaging to play. It took me a few holes to get the speed and undulation right, and even then the greens challenged me all day. Pictures do not do the elevation changes of the course justice, in my opinion: several holes (9 and 11 in particular) are significantly affected by elevation change. In spite of only tipping out at 6500 yards, there is a ton to chew on here and I suspect that repeated plays would only yield more appreciation of Mackenzie's work. A few holes that stuck most with me: 3, the uphill par 3 with seemingly nowhere to miss the green; 11, the 1 handicap hole that requires two precise shots, the second up and over a barranca, to get a look at par; and finally 16, which had maybe the most elevation change from front to back of any green I've ever played. I had no issue with 18 being a par 3 due to the quality of all the par 3's on the course, also. Overall a tremendous round of golf only made better due to the nice weather we had this afternoon. I was left very impressed.

 

What a great start to your golf trip and glad to hear your thoughts about the course. I'm lucky that I only live about 40 minutes from Pasatiempo. See my thread below on Poppy Hills for some pictures of Primerib chili and chocolate sundae from The Tap Room plus Stave Wine Cellar at Spanish Bay.

[NativeTX]

Here's the start of the trip report section of the thread!

 

Round 1: Pasatiempo.

 

We started the trip with a stop in Santa Cruz to play Pasatiempo before making our way down to Monterey for the rest of the trip. What a great decision that was! Pasatiempo was a fantastic track that we thoroughly enjoyed. It was in tremendous shape with lush rough, firm, well-mown fairways, and greens that ran plenty quick for us even though we were told they were a touch slower than normal today. I found the course to be a challenging test, especially as you got closer to the greens, which are wonderful. Mackenzie's artistic, jigsaw bunkering and green contours are both incredible to look at and engaging to play. It took me a few holes to get the speed and undulation right, and even then the greens challenged me all day. Pictures do not do the elevation changes of the course justice, in my opinion: several holes (9 and 11 in particular) are significantly affected by elevation change. In spite of only tipping out at 6500 yards, there is a ton to chew on here and I suspect that repeated plays would only yield more appreciation of Mackenzie's work. A few holes that stuck most with me: 3, the uphill par 3 with seemingly nowhere to miss the green; 11, the 1 handicap hole that requires two precise shots, the second up and over a barranca, to get a look at par; and finally 16, which had maybe the most elevation change from front to back of any green I've ever played. I had no issue with 18 being a par 3 due to the quality of all the par 3's on the course, also. Overall a tremendous round of golf only made better due to the nice weather we had this afternoon. I was left very impressed.

 

Great write up!

 

I'm making the trek out to Pasa in August while on vacation in the Bay Area and can't wait.

 

Keep the updates coming and enjoy the rest of the trip.

[newg33b]

Back again for another update!

 

Round 2: Poppy Hills

 

Our first round in Monterey was at Poppy Hills, and we had another really nice day for it. Slightly cooler than yesterday (low 60's) but with brilliant sun throughout our round, it was a pleasure making our way through the forest. We were impressed with all the work that had been put into the course in recent years, both the course renovation and the upgrade to the clubhouse. As I had read, Poppy was CPO, and this led us to walk with push carts. It was by no means an impossible walk but neither would I consider it a "walk in the park" either: again there were fairly significant elevation changes throughout the course. For all but maybe two or three holes due to new construction, there was a peacefulness to the course that I really enjoyed: the tall Monterey pines, rugged waste areas, and well-mown fairways were lovely to look at. The course felt challenging off the tee: fairway bunkers and doglegs complicated the landscape and I definitely needed to do some thinking about which club to pull off many of the tees. The par 5's on the course were interesting: three of the four were on the shorter side and I think I only hit driver on 13, which played about 550 from my tees today, and all seemed to meander and demand multiple well-placed shots. Some of the more memorable holes included: 6, a redan-esque par 3 that emphasized the firm turf's bump-and-run potential; 12, a dogleg left, uphill par 4 that demanded two good shots; and 13, a good example of the meandering, almost S-shaped par 5's. This was my first round at Poppy so I have no idea how it played pre-renovation, but the firm turf definitely made the round feel different and interesting: I had to take my ball's rollout and the hole's slopes into consideration, not just trying to land it next to the flag. I should mention that the view off the back of the clubhouse is really cool: the confluence of four or five different golf holes in one vista is really neat. I definitely enjoyed myself at Poppy Hills but my biggest recommendation for those playing Poppy in the future is to take the time before coming to join the NCGA: even if you are only coming for the one round, it still makes financial sense to join the NCGA ($80 for the year). This made our two rounds (one NCGA member, one guest) come to an average of $135/player whereas they would have been $250 without the NCGA discount. I thoroughly enjoyed myself today, but again I would be sure to join the NCGA and take advantage of the stellar discount when coming back. I think I'll hold off on trying to rank the courses until after the trip is over!

[ebrasmus21]

Great thread and great write ups so far. I'll be there next week playing Bayonet, Poppy and Pasa. Can't wait!

 

 

I know it's not golf but if you've never been before I'd strongly recommend heading over to the aquarium for a couple of hours. It's an amazing place.

[RSinSG]

Nice. My buddy and I are headed to Monterey on July 6. Playing Spyglass on Saturday and Pebble on Sunday. Pretty excited about the trip.

[mneumann]

Great writeups. I definitely like the new look to poppy vs the old

 

 

Just my opinion but if you had any trouble walking poppy I would consider a caddy or cart at spyglass, it a definitely the hilliest of the bunch. In difficulty of walk with where you are playing I would rank them spyglass by far, then pasa and poppy in some order, then pebble and Spanish which are easy. I've walked all 5 and cant recall being worn out by any parts except a few at spyglass. Caveat, I hit the ball all over the place there, but there are still some gnarly elevation changes

 

[aloha b.]

Nice. My buddy and I are headed to Monterey on July 6. Playing Spyglass on Saturday and Pebble on Sunday. Pretty excited about the trip.

 

The weather is supposed to be really nice when you're on the Peninsula which is lucky because many past years have been really foggy during the beginning of July. Have a great time! May have to see if my wife wants to drive down to the Monterey Peninsula this weekend.

[newg33b]

Great thread and great write ups so far. I'll be there next week playing Bayonet, Poppy and Pasa. Can't wait!

 

 

I know it's not golf but if you've never been before I'd strongly recommend heading over to the aquarium for a couple of hours. It's an amazing place.

 

Thanks! We've heard the aquarium is great. We're definitely going to make it there while we're here.

[aloha b.]

If you go to the Aquarium, I'd recommend the short walk to the Pebble Beach outlet store as they have some really good deals.

[vietnameeh]

WOW I am jealous and I live in the Bay Area.... if you can get Casey Boyns as your caddie he;s your man.

 

Probably one of the best amateurs in Norcal... He can compete with the youngsters at his age

[aloha b.]

Casey and Robert "The Rocket" are the two best caddies at Pebble.

[newg33b]

Back again for another update!

 

Round 3: The Links at Spanish Bay

 

Today we transitioned to the Pebble Beach Resorts section of the trip with our round at The Links at Spanish Bay. As advised in other threads, we organized our rounds in "ascending quality" by starting with Spanish Bay, then going to Spyglass, and finally wrapping up with Pebble. We got another glorious day for golf with highs in the mid 60's and a nice breeze off the Pacific, which added to the intended links-y feel of the round. I have to start off my thoughts about Spanish Bay by saying that the course sits on a beautiful piece of property amidst the sand dunes between the Inn and the Pacific. It is truly a pleasure to take in any and all seaside views possible here. I have some mixed thoughts when thinking about our round at Spanish Bay likely due to the fact that I played terribly (worst scoring round of the trip thus far) which did not help given the generally tight corridors and target-style golf that frequently arise at Spanish Bay. There were a number of target-style holes that jumped around the sand dunes as if some principles from Arizona golf had been transported to Monterey. I frequently pulled irons or a hybrid off the tee today rather than a driver since many holes were either short or ran into scrubby dunes where a 3-wood or driver might have landed. All the holes that gave you an ocean view were a pleasure to play and soaking in the atmosphere is truly a joy. I will say that there were some funky holes out there also, and 10 comes to mind specifically. It just seemed like an odd hole to me, a shortish par 5 that narrowed, doglegged, and had a two-tiered fairway separated by rough around the area someone would want to put a drive. It also put three center-line bunkers just short of the green to tighten the landing area of a potential second shot, since it would've been difficult to go for the green in two. The section of the course from 10 through 13 that played through the trees wasn't quite as memorable as the seaside beginning and finish. I will say that 14-17 is a very nice stretch going to and playing along the ocean. It was also nice that the end of our round on the 17th green and 18th tee coincided with the bagpiper playing up at the Inn, which was a very nice touch. Some memorable holes include: 1, a really intriguing par 5 that tempts the player to go for the green in 2 getting the first taste of a panoramic ocean view; 8, a short par 3 parallel to the ocean and ringed by bunkers and scrub; 16, a medium to long par 3 playing parallel to the ocean. I had a blast playing Spanish Bay but felt myself wondering how much added value the architects brought to the site. In spots the humps and bumps felt a touch large and the multiple sections of the greens maybe a bit much. A couple other notes: the course wasn't filled with the lush green we had seen at other courses. Either this was a watering issue or they were letting it get a touch dry to go for the "firm and fast" links golf style. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was the latter. The greens were plenty quick though and putted very smoothly. We took advantage of the 4th of July special that Pebble has this week, so the round at Spanish Bay was steeply discounted ($140 vs $290 rack). I enjoyed my time at The Links at Spanish Bay but I'm not sure I would pay the rack rate to come back. A steep discount such as the one we had today would do the trick, though.

[b.helts]

Awesome write ups. Thanks for taking the time!!

 

When did they flip the nines at poppy?

[aloha b.]

My wife and I drove to Pebble this morning and had breakfast at Stillwater's and we saw some friends.The omelette that my wife had was perfect and I had the chicken and waffles with a fried egg that was really good. The morning started out foggy and now the sun is shining.

[newg33b]

It's me again, with another update!

 

Round 4: Spyglass Hill

 

The middle day of our stay with Pebble Beach Resorts was mostly spent making our way around Spyglass. I'm sure there's been a lot written on here and other places about the course, but it was really enjoyable today. It's fairly unassuming driving up to a small pro shop that is detached from the Spyglass Grill (a great turn stand/breakfast spot also!) yet knowing that behind the shop lies the beginning to one of the top public golf courses in the country. If I could describe Spyglass in one word, it would be "varied". It's mentioned everywhere, but the first five holes sweep down from the clubhouse to give you an up close and personal taste of the Pacific ocean. Perhaps the coolest three hole stretch that we've played on the trip comes from 2-4, a short par-4 to a green perched way up on the hill, the subsequent picturesque, downhill par 3, and 4, a medium length par 4 with probably the narrowest and longest green I've played on any course ever. It's hard to fathom a couple hours later in the peace and quiet of the Monterey pines of the back nine that you're playing holes from the same course! I didn't have that awestruck grin on my face throughout the back nine like I did visiting the sea on the front, but what I did find was solid golf hole after solid golf hole winding my way through the beautiful forest of the Monterey peninsula. We got wind, elevation change, and subtly breaking greens in bunches, and a really strong test of golf. Spyglass had been built up as a tremendous challenge, and by no means was it easy, but for someone spraying the ball a bit off the tee, it was actually easier to find my wayward tee shots today than it was yesterday in the environmentally sensitive areas of Spanish Bay. I made a few pars out there (including back-to-back at 4 and 5, which was fun!) and even birdied 7. The two downhill par 3's on the back side were picturesque and fun, and there were enough doglegs (including the brutal 16th) to keep things interesting. Of course everyone will talk about the seaside holes on the front nine, but what I think Spyglass does better than any other of the courses we've played on the trip is showcase the natural diversity of Monterey's landscape: it juxtaposes over the course of 18 holes the beautiful, rugged, rocky coastline with hills, tall pines, and rolling terrain in one continuous journey. The most memorable holes for me were 1-5, but of the inland holes I really enjoyed 12, 15, and 17, a short par 4 with lots of challenge in the form of bunkers and a sloping green. It was an absolute joy to play Spyglass, and I'll certainly remember draining my par putt on the impossibly skinny 4th green for a long while. Finally we're on to a little course called Pebble Beach tomorrow to wrap up what has already been an outstanding trip.

[newg33b]

Forgot to update this yesterday after our round, so I'll add our last course update!

 

Round 5: Pebble Beach Golf Links

 

There's so much written on so many different threads/sites/publications/rankings about Pebble, so I'll try to only offer a couple thoughts on the experience. I loved it. The whole experience. As advised on here, we walked the course and I took a caddie, which really enhanced the already special feeling of the round. The fog (er marine layer) lasted a little longer than the days before, so it was a touch cloudy as we were teeing off late morning, but the clouds burned off by about the third hole in time for us to play the ocean stretch in full sunlight. The greens were probably the slowest of the three rounds at the Pebble Beach resorts tracks, but were not slow by any means and rolled nicely for us and I was able to sink a few putts with the help of my caddie. The only less-than-perfect thing about the round was the strong winds all day, which certainly added to the challenge. It didn't dampen the experience at all, though. I had played Pacific Dunes before (along with the three other full-length Bandon courses as well) and I have to say that I was more impressed by Pebble than I was Pacific, which isn't meant to take anything away from Pacific. I found that the longer exposure to the ocean on Pebble more than made up for the inland holes, which I actually thoroughly enjoyed, especially the stretch of 11-14 where the ocean was still clearly visible from a nice, higher-up vantage point. The experience of teeing off in the small shopping village that Pebble has near the first tee is wonderful. Finishing with the gleaming sun over Stillwater Cove and a small gallery of tourists watching is even better. I was glad I was able to sink my par putt on 18, and walking up that fairway with my dad is something (along with the rest of the trip and round) that I'll never forget. For me, Pebble more than lived up to the hype. I'll remember basically every shot I hit there for a long while afterwards, and have more than a few cool pictures (thanks to my caddie for taking most of them!) to help me fondly look back on the experience. The order in which we played the Pebble Beach Resorts courses, with Spanish Bay first, Spyglass second, and Pebble third is absolutely the order in which I would recommend anyone else play them. Wrapping up with Pebble felt completely natural and frankly it would have been impossible not to have been let down if we were to have saved one of the other two courses for after our round at Pebble. It was nothing short of an amazing experience and certainly worthy in my book of all the accolades it receives. We finished our day in the Tap Room and it reminded me of something I read on another thread here: the greens fee at Pebble is more than just the 18 holes you play that day. It's about the whole day's experience of arriving early, hitting range balls with the butterflies in your stomach, teeing off on 1 with potentially a few onlookers, all the beautiful views, historic shots, and finishing up the day with drinks and food at the Tap Room afterwards. And at least for me, it was an absolutely unforgettable experience that is without question my favorite golf course I've had the pleasure of playing.

 

I'll try to add to this soon afterwards with some more color on the off course experience such as the food we ate, and I'll attempt to rank the five courses we played. Could even throw a picture or two up here as well!

[ebrasmus21]

Really great thread, thanks for sharing. Sounds like you’ve had a wonderful time - congrats on a fun trip!

[sharkiesj]

Bruddah thanks for taking the time to post all your thoughts and for sharing your experience. Great read!!

[RSinSG]

I’ll be playing PB this Sunday. We have reservations to eat at The Bench after the round. Any opinions on whether I should switch that to The Tap Room? Which is a better post-round experience?

[aloha b.]

I'll be playing PB this Sunday. We have reservations to eat at The Bench after the round. Any opinions on whether I should switch that to The Tap Room? Which is a better post-round experience?

 

I've only eaten at The Bench a few times but I've eaten at The Tap Room many more times in fact my wife and I ate at The Tap Room last Saturday, my friends and I the previous Saturday. The main reason for eating at The Tap Room with my friends is that none of them had ever had the chocolate sundae.

 

I think that it depends, The Bench of course has the views of the 18th and also outdoor seating. The cooking is wood roasting or open flames. I've had some of the flatbread and the Bench Burger is very good. Don't order the duck fat potatoes they're awful. They have micro draft beers and specialty cocktails.

 

The Tap Room has comfort food and is much smaller than the The Bench and doesn't have any views but does have golf memorabilia on the walls.

We've had the prime rib chili with cornbread, Kobe brie burger with truffle wedges and chocolate sundae many times and you wouldn't be disappointed with any of them. The New York steak is one of the best, this coming from someone that usually eats ribeye steaks.

I've attached a picture of the chocolate sundae and the picture doesn't do it justice as the Martini glass is approximately 8" across. I forgot to pour the sticky hot fudge over the sundae before taking the picture. My wife and I usually get a half order which isn't on the menu.

[RSinSG]

aloha - is that bacon on there?

[aloha b.]

aloha - is that bacon on there?

 

No, it's thinly sliced honey almonds and the sundae comes with double vanilla bean ice cream, warm buttered bananas, sliced honey almonds, cookie pieces & sticky hot fudge and some whipped cream. If you like coconuts they have a really good southern coconut cake. They also have a dessert of the month where the pastry chefs come up with a new dessert and one is selected .