Course I have played

I've been keeping track of the many courses I have played over the years. Close to breaking 100 in total. There were a few years that I only played at my home course. Now I try to play whenever I travel.

Course List

Fantastic photos of Pebble Beach

While at Pebble, I discovered an amazing golf photographer. Rather than trying to take pictures myself, here is the link to her shots of Pebble Beach.

Joann Dost

Intro

Today was one of those “once in a lifetime” moments and a dream come true – 18 holes at Pebble Beach. I was invited on a golf trip by one of my best vendors (Precor - click here to visit their website) just prior to the big fitness industry trade show in San Francisco.

I hope you enjoy my posting as much as I enjoyed the golf. Thanks for reading.

Ted

Sunday Arrival - Spanish Bay Resort

I arrived on a flight Sunday from Dulles through San Francisco to Monterey. Was met at the baggage claim by a fellow former Pennsylvanian named Tom. As we talked, he told me that today was his last day before retirement and that I was his last passenger. He’d driven hundreds of elite golfers, business tycoons and regular Joes like me – and I was honored to be his last. Turns out he is a 1969 Penn State grad, had been a bartender at the Phyrst and was roommates with a fellow Erie native. Small world.

Stayed at the Spanish Bay resort - one of the resorts associated with Pebble Beach. Assigned a roommate from Chicago - Joe. I didn’t know I had a roommate until after I checked in and had requested a king size bed. Quickly changed that back to two queens. Decided to hit a few balls – Spanish Bay doesn’t have a range, so took the shuttle to Spyglass. In hindsight, I wish I would have hit more balls in the weeks prior to my trip. I felt pretty good at the range. Balls were going long and straight – I was in the grove and decided not to waste my hits on the range, so I only hit two buckets. Watched part of the second half of the Georgetown vs. UNC game while waiting for the return shuttle.

Click here for more pictures of Spanish Bay Resort. On the main picture, click VIEW GALLERY on the right hand side.

The Bagpiper

A nightly tradition at the resort is a marching bagpiper that starts at the #1 Tee, walks through to #2 and then stops at the back of the main building overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Was lucky enough to get a few pictures with my camera phone and an overpriced resort disposable camera (I left my digital camera on the bed at home).

Dinner at Roy's

Great dinner at the Spanish Bay Resort – Roy’s - with the rest of the golf group – I knew a few of the 40 players. It was a late dinner – 6:30pm PST. Seated at my table were Joe, Rich and Alec - a father and son from a Kansas City dealer and three co-club owners from Arizona. The group shared appetizers

Deep Fried Lobster & Shrimp Dumplings -Yuzu-Miso Butter

Roy’s Original Blackened Rare Ahi - Spicy Soy Mustard Butter Sauce

Wood Grilled Szechwan BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs - Roy’s Original BBQ Sauce

Coconut Crusted Skewer Shrimp - Tamarind Sweet Chili Sauce

That would have been enough, but ordered an entrée:

Five Spices-Grilled Rib Eye Steak - Mushroom Garlic Butter Sauce

Dessert was a wonderful crème brule.

My head hit the pillow about 11:30pm after a long but exciting travel day.

Monday - Spanish Bay course

We played our first round at Spanish Bay. Woke up about 6:30am. Roomate Joe had an early tee time, so I got up after her left. Breakfast was at the resort restaurant – banana pancakes, glass of orange juice and milk. I wanted some fuel in my system for the day’s events.

Spanish Bay is the only course of the resort that doesn’t have a driving range. You can take the shuttle to any of the other ranges, but I decided to just pitch and chip and putt for an hour before the 11:35am tee time. I had purchased a new hybrid chipping club at the Washington Golf show – good for 100 yards and in with a full swing, great touch for the chipping. Putting green was pretty true – short and fast with lots of movement. Weather looking questionable, it was cold and windy and the clouds were forming over the Pacific. I had on my long sleeved white polo from Farm Neck, khaki Tommy Bahama long pants and a red rain/wind jacket from Lighthouse Point.

I was partnered with Nick from Malibu – owns a used fitness equipment company, Dan the Sales Director from Precor and the Director of Football operations for the San Francisco Forty-Niners. We were all pretty much the same level of golfer. Our group was assigned one caddy – can’t remember his name. This was the first time in my golf life I have ever had a caddy, so I was excited about this special treat. He turned out to be an average caddy, more interested in listening to the stories about the 49er players than looking for our balls and giving advice. I was disappointed.

I hit first from the #1 Tee. Decided to hit my 5 wood to get the ball in the fairway. Nice easy swing, slight draw to the left, landed in the fairway. Good start to the day. Nick didn’t make it past the lady’s tee and the others were off the fairway to the right. I should have stopped there. I three putted and posted a 7 on the first hole.

One of the memorable holes was along the Pacific, where a family of deer grazed on the right side of the fairway. Like a laser guided missile, my tee shot ended up rolling to a stop under the biggest of the deer, didn’t even move – caddy said that they are use to golfers feeding them all the time. Great picture of the me and the deer.

At the turn, the weather started to get worse and so did my game. In the weeks prior to the trip I had been working on my flexibility. The good news is that I was much more flexible than before, the bad news was that my golf swing was still the same, so the two weren’t quiet in sync yet. Decided to just enjoy the rest of the round and not let my poor playing dampen my spirits. The other two decided to put some money on their game – skins for $20 a hole – too rich for mine and Nick’s game that day. Worked well for those two – they played much better with money on the line.

There is a rumor that "someone" pulled one of their drives left off the tee and hit the condo of former Miami Dolphin Coach Don Shula. I can neither confirm nor deny that report. Damn rain.

Rain started on #12 fairway. Fine mist at first. By the time we reached the #15 tee it was a torrential downpour with the Pacific Ocean fueling the storm. Wind was blowing the rain sideways, everything was wet, my pants were now a dark khaki. We were miserable. One of the guys even wrapped the grip of his club with a towel so he could hang on. We teed off at #15 and decided that was enough and left our tee shots in the middle of the fairway (figures we all hit our best drives of the day).

We found the maintenance road that led us back to the pro-shop. I’d share my scores with you from the day, but the rain destroyed my golf card, so I have no record of my poor performance.

Precor was a fantastic host. They had a gift card waiting for me at the pro-shop. So much fun to shop for memories – a new half sleeved rain vest, a water proof Pebble Beach hat, a Spanish Bay polo shirt, a Pebble Beach shoe bag, and a few souvenir golf balls. I was $.02 over my card limit, the pro was so impressed that I could shop that well, he put in the $.02.

Monday Dinner

I was so wet after the round, I had to wring out my clothes and I swear I was less wet after the shower! We had a group dinner at the Sardine factory in downtown. Click here for their website.

Great atmosphere, great service, great food. I had the New York strip – although the lobster tail looked even better. I was anxious to get back to the room as I needed to pack up and be ready to check out as we left for Pebble on Tuesday morning.

My head hit the pillow at 10:30pm and I didn’t move again until the 5:30am wake up call – my dream day was about to begin!

Tuesday morning - pre round

I had everything laid out from the night before. Even though I had enough clothing, I decided on the same pair of pants and the long sleeved polo with the red jacket. Also put on the new Spanish Bay vest as the forecast was for cold winds and a chance of showers. Hotel staff was great, I just put everything on the bed, they came later to check me out and put my bags in storage.

Joe and I were playing partners the morning of Pebble. He had a car, so it was a quick trip to Pebble from the resort. We arrived at 6:30am in pitch darkness - we had the 7:20 tee time – the third of the day. We had breakfast at the Gallery Café. I went with the fairway breakfast. I definitely wanted a full stomach for my big day. As we finished our breakfast, the sun came out – what a sight!

Click here for their website.

After breakfast, we packed our bags in the shuttle van and went to the Pebble Beach driving range (about a mile from the pro-shop). It was smaller than I thought. Aside from the ranger workers, we were the only two at the range.

I felt pretty good, worked mostly on my short game shots, pulled out the driver and hit it only 5 times. Shuttle was back to get us at 7:00am – back to the pro-shop and the start of my dream round.

Tommy the Caddy

At about 7:15am two caddies walked out of the Caddy Shack. The first was Casey, he was assigned to Rich and Alec. He is the #2 ranked caddy at Pebble Beach and has won a number of amateur tournaments including the California Amateur. Our caddy was Tommy – the #3 ranked caddy at the course. He has been at Pebble for 25 years and knows everything about the course, the layout, the homes surrounding and the history of this golf mecca. We got along great from the start.

It is cart path only at Pebble which was fine with me. I don’t like walking while I golf and I didn’t want Tommy to lug around my cart bag along with Joe’s. Besides, it would be just like the pro’s did it, walking up the fairways with putter in hand (as Tommy pulled the cart around to the green).

Tee time - 7:25am

Took a few early pictures of the official Rolex of Pebble Beach, the pro-shop and me at the #1 Tee. The starter came to greet us – I don’t remember a word he said. My heart was racing a mile a minute.

I couldn’t believe that I was standing at the #1 tee of Pebble! Our playing partners were a father and son from Kansas City. Dad – Rich – is a Precor dealer in the MidWest, his son Alec is an Electrical Engineering student at University of Missouri. Rich is a great golfer, one of those guys that can remember every shot he has made on every hole of every course. He had played Pebble once before 10 years earlier and remembered the exact location of the #1 tee box and the pin placement. I am amazed by guys like this – I have trouble remembering what club I just hit and these guys remember things from years ago!

The first hole...

Starter gave the instructions, I don’t remember a thing he said other than we were the third group of the day. I had the honors, pulled out my driver (it was Pebble Beach for goodness sake) and proceeded to pull my drive to the right into the trees about 200 yards to the right. Starter offered me a provisional ball, I turned to Tommy and he said “we can find it, you will be fine, got through the trees”, so I declined the starter.

Wouldn’t you know it, Tommy was right. Rule #1 – Always Trust Your Caddy. Ball had gone through the shrubs and trees but I was at the base of a tree – so I had to take a little punch shot that placed me in the middle of the fairway. I had a nice 115 yard shot to the green. Tommy handed me my wedge, told me to swing easy and land the ball somewhere near the green. Nice backswing, nice follow through and the ball sailed into the air, ball landed with a thud on the green, 20 feet from the pin. I was ecstatic, I was going to use my divot tool on the #1 green!

My approach shot made a nice big divot on the green, the ball bounced just inches from where it hit. I marked it as Tommy walked up to me, took my ball and cleaned it (that was cool), handed me my putter and pointed 2 feet to the right of the cup and said “Teddy, hit it here”. What? Is he crazy? I’d never had picked that line to putt. Maybe I should aim dead straight at the hole. Then I remember Rule #1 and I putted just as Tommy said. It started slow, picked up speed as it rolled down the hill turned left towards the hole, it was tracking well, starting to slow, just one more roll, but it stopped, on the lip of the cup. I couldn’t believe it! I tapped in for a Bogey at #1 at Pebble Beach. Nothing shabby about that!

Second hole

This hole was pretty much a blur. The winds started blowing, the nerves started but I had a great hole. Started off the tee with my 5wood - just left of center, great second shot with my 5 iron leaving me about 100 yards from the green. I had a good wedge, straight at the flag but came up short and in the trap. I am the first to admit that my sand game is the weakest part of my game, but somehow got it out to 6 feet of the pin and made that for par. I was +1 at Pebble Beach after 2 - nice.

The rest of the front nine...

Third hole - Again a nice drive, iron and pitch onto the green leaving me with about a 90 foot putt. Speed was the key here, nice easy lag putt with a short tap in for a bogey.

After the third hole, things took a turn for the worse. I was +2 after 3 and it finally hit me that I was playing at Pebble Beach, where the legends and greats play. Wrong thought. Holes 4-9 were a nightmare. Didn’t help that the wind picked up as we played along the Pacific. Between #4, #5 and #6 I had a total of 5 sand shots.

#6 the Signature Hole, a par 5 with the ocean on the right and the famous Cyprus tree protecting the uphill green. I again found the sand on this hole, pulled a Jean Van deVelde – first sand shot went nowhere, second one I blasted only a few feet to the uphill of the trap, third one finally out. I hate when that happens. Finally on the green. I know that wind can change the direction of a ball in flight, but I had never seen the wind blow a golf ball during a putt. Like he had for every other hole, Tommy cleaned my ball, handed me my putter and showed me the line. I two putted, again just missing a great putt and tapping in. Picture is from the left rough with tree in background.

#7 is a "fun" 100 yard par 3 with the ocean on the right. The wind was so strong that the flag was actually bent. I aimed 15 yards to the right of the pin, directly into the ocean and the wind still blew the ball to the left trap. Another fun time in the beach - another 3 stokes to get out and 2 putt for a 6.

#8 - Highlight was another great putt thanks to Tommy's advice

#9 - Was able to turn things around and get a bogey.

My goal for the day was to break 100 at Pebble. Front nine I ended up with a 5o, 17 putts. I wasn't happy with the sand play, costing me 8 strokes on the front, but the short game and the putts were better than I had expected.

At the turn...

Intersting halfway house - they ask that you tee off from #10 first, then hit the food shack. I was hungry but choices were limited so a hotdog, chips, a banana and a coke hit the spot.

At the half way house, Tommy pulled me aside and said – “Teddy, you are thinking too much. This is Pebble Beach, relax and enjoy. I want you to think of only two things – load the gun, shoot the gun and take a wider stance”.

His advice sounded too easy, but I remembered Rule #1 again and took his advice – that is when my round took a turn for the better. I started hitting my irons better, managed to have only 2 sand shots on the back, drives stayed in the fairway, I even blasted my driver on two consecutive holes setting up for great second shots. I was in heaven.

The holes of the back nine

I decided to enjoy the back nine and not worry about the score. Now remember I am not like Rich and can't remember all my shots, so my story telling is a bit weak up until #18

#18 - "The Walk"

The picture is looking back from green to tee. As we approached the #18 tee, I felt a calmness. Here I was, final hole of Pebble.

To the left, is the Pacific Ocean. Between the ocean and the tee box is a weathered split rail fence – I remember a shot of of Jack Nicklaus sitting on the fence during one of his visits to Pebble Beach.

My camera was empty so Rich graciously took my picture in the same spot that Jack stood years earlier. The walk was amazing, just like what you see on TV during the AT&T Pro-Am. Clubhouse is in the background, winds blowing off the ocean with the magnificent views of the cliff. I was reminded of the history of the course, having watched from TV, never dreaming of being on the course, maybe as a fan, but never as a golfer.

I had been pulling everything to the right all day, but I still aimed right to avoid the ocean. Great drive to the right of the fairway. Tried my 5 wood on my second shot, topped it a bit so I was left with about 120 yards to the green. With the wind, it was a full wedge and I was still short, chipped from the fringe and two putted for a bogey.

Shot a 49 on the back, 2o putts giving me a total score of 99, better than I had hoped. I really didn't care about the score - it was dream come true just to be there.

View of #18

19 Facts Interesting Facts about Pebble Beach

• The front nine has twice as many holes with the Pacific in play -- six versus three -- but the back nine is at least two strokes tougher.
• When 20th Century Fox purchased Pebble Beach Resort in 1979 for $81.5 million, most of the money was profit from Star Wars.
• When Pebble opened in 1919, the turf was not the lush green we know today. The grounds crew struggled with the spotty grass, until someone came up with the bright idea of driving a truck over to the presidio at Monterey, scooping out some stables and using the manure for fertilizer. That's the honest poop.
• David Duval (1997) and Tom Kite ('83) share the course record with a 62, but that number is not recognized by the Pebble cognoscenti because both rounds benefited from lift, clean and place, as did Tiger Woods's 63 in '97. The best round ever shot at Pebble is Davis Love's 63 in 2001, which rocketed Love to victory at the Clambake.
• Pebble does 64,000 rounds a year. At $395 a pop, that's a staggering $25 million-plus per annum, even if you take into account that Clint, Arnie and the occasional media hack don't have to go to their wallets.
• Pebble has a decent driving range a quick shuttle ride from the 1st tee, but one of the planet's most pleasant practice areas is just a mile down the road at Spyglass Hill. Warm up there and enjoy the Zen vibe of a range nestled among towering pines and grazing deer.
• If you need a good caddie, ask for Casey Boyns. The longtime looper is a two-time winner of the California State Amateur, the finals of which are always played at Pebble.
• If you hook your tee shot O.B. on 5 and hop the large fence to retrieve it, there could be a payoff: That's Charles Schwab's yard, and he might have a stock tip or two.
• The best place to spot harbor seals is from the 7th tee. Walk to the back of the tee box and look down into the little nook of Stillwater Cove, where dozen of the spotted cuties usually hang out.
• Standing on the 8th tee, looking to the right, you'll see a rock outcropping offshore. With a tailwind you could launch a drive out to it, though Greenpeace might not approve.
• Legend has it that a tipsy Japanese duffer died when he drove his golf cart over the cliff bordering the 8th fairway. Pebble Beach Company officials deny the story, but some veteran caddies still call the spot "Kamikaze Cove."
• You always need two extra clubs for the third shot into 14.
• Forget about sandwiches at the snack shack off the 10th fairway. About 100 yards from the 1st tee is the Pebble Beach Market, which has scrumptious delights packed to go. The stuffed shells pasta will change your life, if not your swing.
• Houses on the course are outrageously expensive. A bungalow on the 14th fairway recently went on the market for $31 million.
• You can't see the putting surface on the 17th thanks to Arnold Palmer, one of the course's co-owners. When various upgrades were discussed a few years ago, there was a movement to raise the 17th tee. The King said he had always liked the look of the hidden green. End of discussion.
• The world-renowned par-5 18th hole was originally a 325-yard par 4.
• The 18th tee doesn't sit on natural rock but on cleverly painted cement, installed in 1997 to prevent erosion.
• The celebrated 19th hole, the Tap Room, was opened in 1933 to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.