Every person I spoke to that has been to Pebble Beach has said that it is just Amazing i.e. the Mecca of Golf. Although I had some doubts in my mind while flying into Monterey, it turns out that if you play golf you HAVE to go here. The trip would not have been nearly as successful without the amazing trip planning skills of Tyler Meth. My old-er son is amazing at trip planning and even making changes on the fly! All this with Molly’s fur “issue” and the pending birth of his first son/daughter.
We landed and took a courtesy van over to Inn at Spanish Bay. Although Spanish Bay golf course is not ranked as high as its more acclaimed neighbors, this course was harder than we thought and a great first round of the trip.
Our second round was a 7:10 am start at Pebble Beach, so that we could play Spyglass later in the day. The placement of the first tee which is right off of the Pro Shop (One of 200 stores by my count!). There are a lot of golfers waiting there and people eating on the porch which you can feel their eyes piercing you and anticipating your shot. If you are the anxious type this could be really scary but we all striped it (well that may be an exaggeration for me but I hit it decent). Everyone playing Pebble has the 7th hole in the back of their mind but be careful because those early holes are hard.
For some reason, Pebble seems kind of other-worldly as you go through the holes and just take it all in since this place is really special. We came to the 7th and luckily we had our professional cameraman (our fourth in the group). The views just take your breath away but no I did not hit the green 😦 . Connor, my golf architect guru marveled at the set up of every hole. Each hole thereafter was so enjoyable even though i had some ‘issues’ with the bunkers and the hazards (no I did not put a ball on the beach) but the Meth Troika had some really good shots and had an awesome morning.
Having Spyglass on the schedule after Pebble is kind of like riding up a hill on a bike and then you realize there is a higher hill next! (Nashville reference). Spyglass is a remarkable course and I played well until the last two holes when I just hit the wall. Both Tyler and Connor loved this course because they don’t have the old man’s lack of length and amazingly inconsistent shots.
The next day we rented a car to go to Pasatiempo golf club who Tyler (correctly) advised us that this is a really good course and “devilish greens” so get ready. If possible, Tyler actually undersold this place. All you need to know was that as one publication said about Pasatiempo: “The great golf architect Alister MacKenzie also designed Augusta National and Cypress Point, Pasatiempo was his favorite layout and where he made his American home, which still borders the sixth fairway. ” Me and Connor both said that this course (even with a light rain all day) as well as Esplanade Azario in Sarasota are our most fun and most enjoyable rounds anywhere.
The afternoon brought a fun par three course called “The Hay”. For a par three this was really tricky but as usual I won the Par 3 game! Hey I had to win something that week. As the PGA advertisement says: “Those guys are good!”
Although we did not get into Monterrey for food we had some excellent meals on the Pebble property. With a great selection of beers from my favorite brewery, Russian River, this just was a cherry on the top.
I have had a number of really special golf trip memories with my boys (Streamsong and Whistling Straights) this trip was the best, absent the hole-in-one by Connor at Streamsong. Here is my favorite picture but more to come!
Karl's Korner 
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