THE (FAIR) WAY TO MONTEREY
The (Fair) Way To Monterey - Luxury Travel Magazine
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The (Fair) Way To Monterey | |||||
| By: Rob Woodburn, Issue 16 – Spring 2003 | |||||
| (Monterey, Golf, California, The 17 Mile Drive) | |||||
| GOLF ISN’T A SPORT IN CALIFORNIA, IT’S A WAY OF LIFE. | |||||
Mention either Monterey or Pebble Beach and soon you’ll hear reference to the 17 Mile Drive. Pebble Beach is considered ‘golf’s kingdom’ in the golf-obsessed United States, but the drive in question bears no relation to the game. The 17 Mile Drive is a private toll road that meanders through a forested coastal portion of the Monterey Peninsula, about two-and-a-half hours by car south of San Francisco. The coastline presents a captivating panorama of bluffs, beaches and ocean, where seals and birds bask on rocks and bobbing pelicans dip their elastic beaks expectantly in the Pacific shallows. The famous Lone Cypress, an ancient, gnarled solitary tree positioned on rocks high above the waves, is one of the most photographed landmarks in California. Only a fool, however, would publish such a photo without prior permission from the Pebble Beach Company, which has trademarked the Lone Cypress and uses it as its logo. A consortium of wealthy property developers and Hollywood stars, this company stamps its imprimatur on most of what constitutes the ‘Pebble Beach zone’. The 17 Mile Drive, accessed through guarded entrance gates, is one of only nine private toll roads in the US. The Pebble Beach Company is the parent company of The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay, Casa Palmero, The Spa at Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course. Together, these properties occupy a good portion of the peninsula between Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-Sea. The Pebble Beach area is synonymous with great golf and the eponymous course is arguably the most famous in the country. It was chosen to host the 100th anniversary of the US Open Championship in June 2000 when, fittingly for such an auspicious occasion, golf’s reigning superstar, Tiger Woods, tore the course apart over four days to win by a staggering 15 strokes and tie the record for the lowest-ever 72-hole US Open score. Almost a century earlier, in 1908, the perceived popularity of the area as a holiday haven had prompted the first traveller’s inn, The Lodge at Pebble Beach. It is still there today, albeit extensively re-fashioned, and is most definitely the place to stay whether you play golf or not. The special allure of playing Pebble Beach is captured best in the phrase often used in relation to the Monterey Peninsula as a whole; that of being ‘the greatest meeting of land, sea and sky’. Pebble Beach Golf Links measures 6,719 yards off the back tees and demands the finest touch and total concentration. Many holes play right along the cliff tops with yawning chasms leading to a watery grave awaiting any errant strokes. The famous 5th hole – a 187 yard, par 3 – was redesigned in 1998 by Jack Nicklaus. It requires steel nerves, keen awareness of wind speed and direction, and pinpoint accuracy off the tee. Holes four through to 10 are beside the ocean with fairways and greens sloping towards the beach. Overshoot the 7th, a spectacular par 3, and your ball may well disappear over a cliff; from the 11th, the course turns back inland, flanked by towering Monterey pines. The 13th, with its sloping, slippery green, proves unlucky for many. The monster 14th hole approaches 600 yards off the championship tees while Pebble Beach’s 18th is one of golf’s most famous finishing holes. A 548-yard, par 5, it follows a lazy arc along the curve of a cove with a long, narrow bunker hugging the fairway’s left flank. The venerable tree overhanging the green was recently replaced by a younger one of exactly the same size. Such obstacles, however, pale into significance to finishing your round under the gaze of the gallery on the balcony of The Lodge. Nearby Cypress Point is an exclusive private course and nigh impossible to play unless you happen to know a club member, of which there are only about 100. The popular Del Monte is the oldest course in the Pebble Beach complex but still quite a test. It opened as a nine-hole course in 1897 and was extended to 18 holes in 1903. Spyglass Hill, named from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island, opened in 1966 with holes called Black Dog, Billy Bones and Long John Silver. This 6,855 yard, par-72, designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr is regarded as one of the toughest courses in California. The Links at Spanish Bay, 6,821 yards off the back tees, is a replication of a Scottish links course with open rolling fairways, dunes and a gorse-strewn and marshy rough that’s often lashed by wind. Outside The Inn at Spanish Bay each evening, a lone, kilted bagpiper plays a swirling dirge, the perfect accompaniment to drowning your golfing woes in single malts. Guests of the Lodge at Pebble Beach and The Inn at Spanish Bay may book up to 18 months in advance and those of Casa Palmero may book up to a year in advance, subject to availability. Guests should request golf tee times when they make their hotel booking. A four-night stay is required to play two days at Pebble Beach Golf Links, six night to play at three rounds, and so on. A single round can be booked with a one-night stay if play is on Monday to Thursday. On all the other courses, one round may be booked per night of stay. A four-night package, including breakfast, green fees and a cart for one round each of Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay and Spyglass, was recently advertised on the Internet at US$2,325 a person. Non-resort guests pay US$380 a round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, plus US$25 cart fees per player. | |||||
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