travelspin
by Jake Narro
When Amber asked me to review the following golf
courses I made sure she realized how great they all are.
Sypglass, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point are three of
the most beautiful places in the world. They are all in
immaculate condition and demand accurate ball striking
with sound golf course strategic strategy.
Everything a golfer would ever want in a round all three
provide. I hope I can do them justice with my critique.
I played Spyglass Hill Golf Course first on my trip, so
let’s start with the #49 ranked golf course in America by
Golf Digest, the gold standard of golf course rankings
since 1966. Spyglass gets your heart pumping right off the
start with a long, downhill par five that doglegs left. When
you get to within 150 yards of the green, the spray of the
breathtaking Monterey Peninsula hits you in the face.
Holes 2-5 are all played with unbelievable views of
the Peninsula before starting up on one of the hikes of
your life. The fifth green is especially interesting as it is
very long but also very thin. From the front right of the
green to the back left, it drops more than 10 feet and
hitting an extra putt from one end to the other is highly
recommended for a little fun.
The rest of the front nine is a climb back to the top of
the property that would make a mountain goat take a rest.
Tree lined fairways and elevation changes are the theme
of the rest of the course. The par four 8th and 9th are
demanding holes with severe greens contours. Getting to
the 10th tee without a three putt is a challenge.
The par four 10th and par five 11th each have a dogleg
in the middle of them but the 10th goes left and the 11th
goes right.
A fantastic par three awaits you on 12. It’s downhill and
relatively short, 160 yards, with a pond nearly touching
the left fringe. The par four 13th is long and tough, then
coming back the opposite way is the par five 14th.
Finally a slight downhill walk!! Another downhill short
par three with a pond but on the right side is next. We
walked by nearly 20 deer just hanging out, and who could
blame them?
Perhaps the toughest hole on the course is the par four
16th. A sharp dogleg right off the tee with a tree in the
middle of the fairway when the hole turns. A long second
shot into a green slopes sharply from back to front.
Seventeen is a birdie hole, and the 18th is a long but
perfectly straight par 4.
The walk is demanding
but well worth the tired
feet at the end of the day.
This Robert Trent Jones
design is a must play for
anyone in the Pebble
Beach area.
Next issue, we’ll take
a walk around Pebble
Beach together.
spyglass
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