Heavyweight Championship Bout: Pebble vs. Bandon

by Vic Williams and Darin Bunch

Let’s get reaaady to ruuuuuuumble!

Welcome to the main event of the ’07 Signature Series championship card, presented by Fairways + Greens, the first of its kind in the long and colorful annals of golfdom! Hundreds of qualifying rounds in every region of the wild West now culminate in the ultimate showdown between some of the world’s great resorts, courses and destinations, led by our featured bout! We’ve waited 12 long months for this heavyweight matchup, and now it’s time to decide which team has the training, talent, blood and street cred to take the belt! Let’s get it on!

In this corner, hailing from California’s Monterey Peninsula, wearing the Pacific blue trunks with gold trim, is the perennial Top 10 contender in every major golf magazine in creation, an FG favorite from the very beginning, sporting nearly 90 years of experience in the high-end golf resort wars, with a three-pronged attack (and another salvo in the works) that’s among the most graceful, scenic and memorable collection of golf holes anywhere on earth. The lead weapon is a multimillion-dollar, 89-year-young superstar that attracts major champions, captains of industry and simple, adoring golf pilgrims to its flanks every year, all of them more than happy to shell out big bucks to take him on, toe to toe and tee to green, and shows no signs of slowing down for any challenger, now and forever. Please welcome, the four-time U.S. Open host, 1977 PGA Championship and multi-U.S. Amateur site, home of the biggest Pro-Am in the land ... Pebble Beach Resort!

And in this corner, hailing from the Southern Oregon Coast by way of Chicago, wearing green trunks with fescue-colored trim, is the most heralded contender to come down the golf resort pike in recent memory, a juggernaut of sinew and windblown swagger with a stark, handsome quality that appeals in a big way to testosterone-pumped, cigar-chomping, scotch-swilling male visitors — or those who just want to cram as much golf into each day as possible in a more genteel, reverent way. It brings to the ring its own triple-headed onslaught of incredible linksland golf, with a more recently developed forested weapon to give it added power — with a fourth dimension yet to come! It’s been on the scene for less than a decade, but in that time has racked up more raves among the golf cognoscenti than anyone could have predicted. Let’s see how it fares against Pebble’s proven power — ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the out-of-the-way must-play on the tip of all true golfers’ lips … Bandon Dunes Golf Resort!

•••

Could it be any other way? Could we have pulled off this issue’s admittedly off-the-beaten-path boxing theme by giving top billing to anyone else? No way. Pebble Beach vs. Bandon Dunes — that’s the matchup discerning, quality-minded (and yes, fat-walleted) golfers up and down the West Coast, and anywhere else we can think of, want to see. In fact, it’s getting to the point that a true golf-centric excursion to the Pacific Ocean’s precipice simply must include a visit to either of these destinations, and preferably both.

So for this headliner, we decided to augment our own scorecards (based on boxing’s 10-point must system) with comments from readers and a special weigh-in from PGA Tour pro Scott McCarron.

And let’s keep in mind that this is a perpetual bout, one so deeply ingrained in modern West Coast golf discourse — and so fervent in the minds of journalists, too — that it’ll never really end. So let’s go blow-by-blow, without going hole-by-hole, to glean, as best we can, which destination has all the goods to be champion ... at least for this year.
Again, some of the “scoring” is based on direct FG experience, some on the observations and hand-to-hand combat of others. And it’s all clearly powered by passion — for the game itself and the emotions these great places generate.

ROUND 1: THE GOLF

Pebble Beach’s iconic status is well-deserved, well-documented and seems to grow every year. Even in the so-called dark days of the 1980s when a Japanese company owned the resort and some would say the service model and course conditioning suffered, it never left the Top 10 on any major magazine’s “Best” list. Nor should it. Holes 4-10 are arguably the greatest stretch of golf on earth, and though a handful of holes — 1, 2, 11, 13 and 15 — are fairly pedestrian to some, the course’s designers, Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, had the good sense to bring the routing back to a rousing finish at 17 green and along the unforgettable cresent-shaped homeward hole. Overall the course’s views, God-given setting and dramatic rhythm give it an aura like no other seaside course, certainly in the States if not the world. Its beauty prompted Jack Nicklaus to call it the one course he would play the rest of his life if he could choose only one. Tom Watson offered that it might be the world’s greatest course.

McCarron, a three-time PGA Tour winner and West Coast native who grew up in Sacramento, played collegiate golf at UCLA, now lives in Reno and is gearing up for a comeback after nearly two years on the sidelines with an arm injury, echoes Nicklaus’ famous sentiments. “Pebble is one of my favorite golf courses to play,” he told FG in October. “If I could only play one golf course the rest of my life, it would probably be Pebble, over any other golf course.”

In terms of hole-to-hole strength, however, McCarron points to the Robert Trent Jones Sr. masterpiece just up the road from Pebble. “Spyglass is actually the best golf course down there,” he says, “but it doesn’t quite have the scenery of Pebble. It’s got a lot of different looks to it, with those first four or five holes [easily America’s finest opening stretch], then going back into the trees. It’s one of the best courses we play on Tour.”

James C. Hadley, an avid player from San Lorenzo, Calif., agrees. “To me Spyglass Hill is ‘The Pebble Beach’ of Pebble Beach — thanks to the character, difficulty and fantastic condition it seems to always be in. My attitude might have to do with the abundance of play Pebble Beach gets, and what I think is a course that gets played on a pure nostalgia basis and the ‘I will play Pebble Beach at least one time in my lifetime’ attitude.”

Hadley is right on the money — as in the nearly $500 per round Pebble now commands, year-round, rain or shine. It’s a blow-the-wad type of course, a needed notch on most serious golfers’ travel bedposts. On how many other American public courses can you tread the same fairways Nicklaus, Watson and Woods walked during their most famous U.S. Open triumphs, approximate their shots or simply remember them as your round unfolds next to Carmel Bay? How many public courses are so familiar and thrilling the first time you play them that you want to freeze every moment in time, soak up the experience like a first-blush love affair? Not many. Its cognitive power over all comers is what keeps Pebble at the top for many, McCarron included. “I think Pebble Beach, as far as the golf course and the history, you can’t get anything better, especially on the West Coast. You’ve got to go to Pebble.”

Chas Halcomb of Santa Cruz, Calif., doesn’t stop there when comparing Pebble’s three marquee courses (and one private interloper) with Bandon’s trio. “Having played both areas several times, the Monterey Bay courses in my mind spank Bandon’s attempts,” he says. “Bandon is nice (c’mon, we’re playing golf) but as far as scenery, overall aesthetics and the experience, Pebble, Cypress, Spanish Bay, etc. is quite a step above.”

But are Pebble’s three resort tracks — we’ll keep the ultra-exclusive Cypress out of this “public play” argument — better overall, especially for road-tripping males with nothing but wall-to-wall golf on their minds? Not if you put a lot of stock in recent national rankings, which place Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails higher, collectively, than Pebble, Spyglass and the oft-overlooked but gorgeous Links at Spanish Bay, which, even Watson (one of its three designers, along with Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Sandy Tatum) admits could have been a lot better had they had more control over its routing and vegetation. In other words, compare each resort’s three courses hole by hole, and Bandon supporters believe Southern Oregon gets the nod.

“Although Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill have some memorable and legendary golf holes (mostly on Pebble Beach), the combination of memorable, unique and challenging golf holes at the three Bandon courses far outweighs the Pebble Beach holes,” argues Greg Reese of Seattle, Wash. “When you are at Bandon, even though you still spend a lot of money, you always feel that golf is the reason you are there and that any person can walk up and play these courses. You see the ocean on one side and the forest on the other.”

Adds Scott Raaum of Walnut Creek, Calif., “There are no houses, hotels or roads to be seen. The courses test you to the maximum; Pacific [Dunes] is almost beyond my capability. I love the walking-only rule, and the views are as breathtaking as the holes themselves. Pebble is on a par with Bandon Dunes and has the history and mystique, Spyglass to a lesser extent, but Spanish Bay is hard to even remember, whereas I can picture virtually every hole at the Bandon courses.”

And that goes back to the forethought and gambling instincts of recycled greeting card magnate and Bandon developer Mike Keiser, who hired a young Scot named David McLay Kidd to lay out Bandon, then brought in then-unsung but current superstar Tom Doak to conjure Pacific out of the sandy soil, and finally Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore to create Bandon Trails — all in a spot that, geographically, is about as remote as the West gets and, says Reno, Nev., reader Dean Menante, “has the feel of Scotland — few other places in the United States give us Americans that feeling.”

McCarron agrees. “What Michael Keiser has done up there, he’s quite a visionary to think he could build all those golf courses in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “It’s a beautiful property, and if I’m going to play links golf, the closest I’m going to come in the United States is Bandon Dunes, all three of them.”

And in 2010, when Old MacDonald debuts — a second Doak product to be built just inland from Pacific Dunes — Bandon could stretch its lead even further, at least for purists. Not that Pebble is just going to sit back and rest on its lofty perch; Tom Fazio, arguably the world’s — and the West’s — most consistent big-name designer, has his hand in the famed 17-Mile Drive’s fourth resort track, The Forest Course. “It’s not oceanfront golf, so it’s not Pebble Beach.” Fazio told FG in late 2004. “It is kind of like the interior holes of Cypress Point or the interior holes of Spyglass Hill. So if you’re going to say, ‘What’s it going to look like?’ It’s not gonna look like either of those, but that’s the type of land that it is.”

We can’t wait for both to be finished. Anybody up for a little four-on-four?

 

ROUND 2: THE VALUE

Unless you’re independently wealthy, a celebrity, a pro, part of the Pebble Beach Company’s corporate structure or just plain crazy about the place, playing Pebble more than once or twice in a lifetime is out of reach for most regular Joes and Janes. All three Peninsula courses clock in above $250 per round, year-round, and even Del Monte Golf Course, which opened in 1897, fetches  more than a C-note most of the year. And while Bandon is by no means cheap, it’s more within reason for a lot of players. They find Bandon’s replay rates and overall value, real and perceived, a comparative bargain.

“As for value, the prize goes to Bandon hands down,” says Curtis Fong of Corte Madera, Calif. “First round of the day is under $200, the replay rate is $100, and if you have enough daylight, you can go out again for free. Free! I played 44 holes our first day and then 36 holes the second day for less than what it cost me to play 18 at Spyglass Hill. Add in caddy fees and gratuities and the 44-hole day was still less than the green fee at Pebble Beach. And don’t even get me started on comparing the cost of food.”

Actually, as of press time, Bandon’s green fees had gone up to $265 max for any of the three courses during high season (May-October), $210 for hotel guests, with $105 replays. From November to April, it’s $100-$220 for non-hotel guests, $75-$165 for hotel guests and Oregonians (who get no break during summer months, a bone of contention for some), with replays of $40 to $85. Still, for avid players there’s savings gold to be mined if you don’t mind a little rain and wind. Says Seattle’s Reese, “You are happy to pay the bill when you leave and you can’t wait to make your next reservation. Bandon’s replay rate helps you digest the money you spend to play, especially when you play three times in one day.”

“To me, golf is a function of value,” adds Jim Keenan of New Bedford, Mass., who organizes a lot of golf road trips all over the country. “When you factor in their replay special, we played four rounds for around $400 — how do you beat that?”

In the end, it all comes down to who you’re with and whether golf is the center of your universe. Kevin Fry of San Ramon, Calif., pretty much has that dichotomy dialed in. “If you’re looking for a golf ‘resort,’ Pebble is your place,” he says. “If you’re looking for a golf ‘mecca,’ Bandon is hands down your choice.”

He goes on. “If you’re looking for a wonderful, albeit very expensive, getaway with your wife and in-laws, take them to Pebble Beach and play three great golf courses, play tennis on perfect courts, stay at the finest of hotels, eat world-class meals, shop in the finest boutiques, and then totally relax at the spa.

“At Bandon, you take your pals and play golf, talk about golf, eat great reasonably priced food, drink at the pub, play poker and smoke cigars in the Bunker, stay in a reasonably priced (hardly used) room, and then play more golf.”
McCarron is down with that, too: “If I had three of my buddies to take on a road trip to play golf for a couple days, I’d probably go to Bandon,” he says. “I just love playing those golf courses. That’s a great feeling sitting up there — it’s strictly just about golf.”

It’s a sentiment that’s nearly universal among golfers we’ve come across, like California Chuck West. “It’s been awhile since I played Pebble; it’s too costly and too hard to get on, though I have played the others on several trips in the last few years,” he says. “My wife and I took a trip to Bandon last fall and I must say it’s as good as it gets for golf. But other than that, the food choices are limited and just OK. A group of guys would for sure have a better time at Bandon: Golf, Drink, Sleep, repeat as needed. But otherwise Pebble is still king.”

 

ROUND 3: THE ACCESS, HISTORY and MARQUEE EVENTS

Even if the Southern Oregon coast someday undergoes some sort of building boom — and that’s doubtful — Bandon will never match Pebble Beach when it comes to hosting big-name tournaments. The Monterey area made its name in golf circles way back in the early 1900s by attracting the day’s top amateurs, then the pros. By the 1930s it was known around the world as a competitive mecca. Then came Bing Crosby to seal the deal by creating the modern pro-am model — which, as today’s AT&T, is still considered the best there is.

Then there’s the access factor. Monterey is about 100 miles south of San Francisco, easily reachable via major highway. United Airlines serves Monterey’s small airport several times a day, and three full-service international airports are within a two-hour drive. Bandon is 100 miles from nowhere with very limited direct air service (through Alaska/Horizon and charters), and Portland’s airport is at least a 21/2-hour jaunt north. Getting to Bandon by car is a day-long ordeal, and once you’re there, lodging and dining choices are limited — which is just the way it should be, and should stay … meaning we won’t be seeing a U.S. Open or even a PGA Tour stop come Bandon’s way. Ever.

“I don’t think it’ll ever host a pro tournament, just because it’s so far away,” McCarron says. “There’s no place for galleries to come and stay; unless they build a lot of stuff out there, I don’t think you’ll have Tour events for quite a long time. Then again, they just hosted the U.S. Mid-Amateur, and it went really well.”

Geoff Koren of San Diego expects more out of Bandon, simply because the golf is so good — even if, by today’s standards, the courses are considered too short for the big boys. “As far as strategic golf, all of the courses at Bandon Dunes have it, especially in variety of shots and shot selection,” he stresses. “I have played many of the courses in Scotland and I don’t know how they were able to replicate the ground conditions at Bandon Dunes, but it is very similar in the shots you have to play on the ground. The only edge I give to Pebble Beach is tradition and history, but in the near future I believe that Bandon Dunes will host some important events.”

Until then, Pebble rules. The Open returns in 2010, with more Opens and other USGA events sure to follow. Then there’s the AT&T every February, the Champions Tour’s Wal-Mart First Tee Open every Labor Day weekend, etc.

ROUND 4: THE DIGS

If we keep a lodging comparison just to what the resorts themselves offer, it’s really an apples and oranges proposition. The rooms at Bandon — the Lodge, Chrome Lake two-story cabins, Lily Pond rooms and newest Grove foursome-friendly cabins — are well-appointed yet basic and unpretentious in flavor, designed to appeal directly to mostly male golfers who plan to whip out their room keys only long enough to sleep, shower and perhaps feed their SportsCenter habit. The Lodge rooms offer golf course, ocean and dune views, while the others are ensconced in the forest or next to small ponds, with any hint of a tee or green seemingly miles away. That’s part of their magic —  you know that trio of tracks is just over the next hill, and you can’t wait to get back there. Then again, you can stagger from the Lodge to the tee in seconds, and that’s worth considering. Bandon’s rooms start at $220 in high season and $100 November-April, all the way up to $1,700 for a Lodge suite. So you can go whole hog if you want, but if it’s all about golf, why blow those extra bucks on a room you’ll barely use?

On the other side of the luxury coin, Pebble’s three main lodging options — the Lodge at Pebble Beach, Casa Palmero and the Inn at Spanish Bay — are full-blown hotels (and in Palmero’s case, a super-high-end retreat just off Pebble’s No. 1 fairway) with all the bells and whistles for golfers and non-golfers alike. All are spacious, beautiful, warm, richly outfitted mini-palaces that rival any five-star hotel on the planet, with the added cachet of being a top-tier getaway for a lot of famous people, including vacationing Tour players. Service at each Pebble property is prompt and polished and accompanied by a built-in charge, while at Bandon you’re pretty much on your own away from the Lodge, apart from shuttle service and some basic room service. FG’s staff has long loved Spanish Bay for its more serene and sunny setting just off the Links’ rolling, treeless flanks, but a brief stay at the Lodge this summer (see Weekend Wisdom, Page 12) gave us a true appreciation for its setting alongside perhaps the world’s most famous golf course and views of Carmel Bay from the second floor. But you’ll pay handsomely for this caliber of creature comfort — starting at $565 for a garden-view room at Spanish Bay and $645 at the Lodge, topping out at $2,550 for the “Palmero Suite.”

Pebble Beach Resorts are the real deal for over-the-top luxury, and you’ll need to stay there at least two nights to snag a tee time at Pebble, four nights for two rounds, etc. For Spyglass and Spanish, it’s one round per night’s stay, though you can make a tee time at those courses without booking a room — which is the case across the board at Bandon. Again, it just depends on what kind of experience you’re out for, and who’s along for the ride.

ROUND 5: THE CHOW

No surprise here: Pebble out-gourmets Bandon by miles, and exacts considerably larger prices for its cuisine. The Lodge has it all, from man-sized, meat-driven portions at the Tap Room (augmented by any cocktail, brew or grape you desire from behind the always-raucous bar), jacket-and-tie glory overlooking No. 18 at Club XIX just down the hall, upscale casual seafood-intensive fare at Stillwater Bar & Grill (home of the $15-and-up breakfast, but who’s counting), solid salads and burgers at the Gallery Cafe (overlooking the first tee) and sun-splashed lunches down at the Beach Club between the No. 4 fairway and 17th green. And Spanish Bay might be even better, with the Asian fusion wonderment of Roy’s, rarefied Italian of Peppoli and Bandonesque comfort food at Sticks. A seat in any of these eateries carries either a famous bay, ocean or course view — or a million stories. Or both. And just minutes away is Fisherman’s Wharf and its myriad seafood treasures, or Carmel Village with its quaint hideaway-style dining. Really, it’s no contest in the food department.

Then again, in its narrow appeal to hungry hackers, Bandon is no slouch, serving everything from Northwest-inspired seafood and world-class wines in the Lodge’s Gallery Restaurant to pot roast, ribs, burgers and big ol’ steaks in McKee’s Pub — which is already renowned for its collection of single malt scotches. Down the path in Bandon Trails’ own clubhouse is Trails End, with its own comfort menu and sweeping views of the restless Oregon Pacific. And the Bunker Bar, hidden in the Lodge’s basement, is FG’s consensus favorite for billiards, stogies, flat-screen sports and a cocktail or four. It all strikes that perfectly rendered, no-nonsense Bandon chord and just what most folks are looking for. And it’s even better if you’ve just pounded out 36 in a day, shot a career number and invited your expert caddy in for an extra reward.

ROUND 6: THE EXTRAS

Speaking of caddies, both resorts offer them in great supply, though at Bandon they’re almost a necessity of you want the full-on experience and don’t relish lugging your own weapons over sand bluffs and around hedges of gorse. Keiser takes good care of his loopers; word is he’s building housing for them, and no doubt more than a few of the several hundred-strong crew decide that there are worse things to call a career than strutting others’ stuff — and your own much-appreciated golf knowledge — around three modern masterpieces once or twice a day. Fees are $55 for a single, $110 for a double, plus tip, and we haven’t come across a guy yet — from scratch-shooting college kid to stubble-faced vet who doesn’t know the lay of each hole and roll of each putt like he knows his own nose.

You’ll find the same caliber of caddy at Pebble’s three tracks as well, many of them so chock full of name-dropping stories and tasty lore that their actual bag-management skills take a back seat. But a lot of the time they also take a back seat to a power cart, which by its nature takes something away from the experience, though we’ve both rode and walked our way through all three courses, and enjoyed them just as much either way. In the end, Bandon wins the caddy battle simply because they’re such an essential part of the experience.

So, it turns out, is the practice facility at Bandon, which makes the ranges at Pebble and Spy look like the afterthoughts they obviously are (Spanish Bay has no range at all). Covering more acreage than some pitch-and-putts, Bandon’s practice area is a masterpiece of design and strategy; a guy with time and creativity could fashion an entire round and use every club in the bag to full, meaningful effect out there, with a thick wall of pines and Oregon’s coast range as a cloud-shrouded backdrop. Designed to foreshadow every possible shot you’ll come across on the actual tracks, it’s damn-near scintillating, even for the most egregiously practice-averse soul, and heightens the anticipation of that around-the-corner tee time even more.

That said, a lesson or two with Pebble’s Top 100 teacher, Laird Small, makes its facilities’ inadequacies fade away. The man is a genius at crystallizing the game into the relaxing-yet-intense exercise it’s supposed to be, and a joy to talk to. Bandon has a great teaching crew, too, but Small looms large in this matchup. Call it a draw.

ROUND 7: THE SERVICE

Every minute of each resort’s experience is framed by excellent service, though rendered in much different ways. Pebble is built on a more traditional hotel model; Bandon is looser, more casual and, ironically, more private club-like. Let’s leave it to reader Curtis Fong to render an apt comparison:

“The level of service, I would have to say, is where the resorts are tied. Service at both locales is superior. Granted, once they get to know you at Bandon, things get a little more laid back (which I like — c’mon, it’s Oregon), whereas at the Pebble Beach resorts they maintain the, as I call it, ‘Mr. Fong Treatment’ as in, ‘How did you play, Mr. Fong?’ ‘Is there anything else I can get for you, Mr. Fong?’ ‘May I tie your shoelaces for you, Mr. Fong?’ That level of service hits right back against the “value” column, though, as it made me feel like I needed to tip the guy who used an air compressor to blow grass off my spikes and out of the cuffs of my pants after my round. It was like landing on the Luxury Tax square in Monopoly, only I gave the guy $5 instead of $75. ‘Thank you, Mr. Fong!’”

So there you have: Want to be king or queen for a day? Pebble rolls it out. Want to be treated like an old friend, wrapped in a sort of well-studied warmth? Bandon has that covered. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

ROUND 8: INTANGIBLES

This is where it gets tricky. Both places exercise almost indescribable power over a golf traveler’s psyche, with the unspoken goal of leaving every guest fundamentally changed — if not a better player, then better at enjoying the play, at mixing the smells and sights and tastes that define each destination with the actual eye-blink swings that make up a round of golf. And, of course, to embed these sensory elements into the memory in such a way that you’re compelled to return, and bring someone new along next time. But can one love both places equally? Yes, we say — but differently. Consider these two reader views.

Steve Henderson of Carlsbad, Calif.: “As much as I have loved the experience of what Bandon has to offer, I must go with my heart and all the heritage and aura that accompanies the thoughts and memories of Pebble Beach. If I had but one last round to play, I must say that I would play it at Pebble Beach.

“As Jack Nicklaus has stated, ‘I loved this course (Pebble) since the first time I saw it. It’s possibly the finest course in the world.’ Tom Watson, another lover of links golf (just consider his British Open success), said, ‘Pebble Beach is the closest thing to perfection in a golf course.’

“I rest my case on the reputation and record of these two men. I think they may know a thing or two about great golf courses.”

Gerry MacDonald of Sparks, Nev.: “It has been about seven years since I last played the Pebble courses. Since that time I have played at Bandon Dunes three times, twice since the Trails opened. I have to go with the Bandon area as the best overall golf experience — true golf without the frills. It’s walking-only on courses that appear to be part of the land. Pebble has become a place where people play to be able to say they have played Pebble Beach. People want to look good around the Lodge and look important. Bandon is where people play just because they enjoy the game. No frills in the clubhouse, lounge, dining room or in the accommodations.

“Avid golfers will love Bandon. Those who would like to be pampered will not. Avid golfers will also love Pebble Beach but will have to put up with ‘spa’ people and those trying to impress those around them. Bandon is pure golf. Pebble offers much more in luxury accommodations, amenities and dining choices and certainly more upscale dining choices. I truly love both places but am inspired when playing the courses at Bandon.”

Clearly both places ignite passion. Clearly they’re larger than life in their own ways — Pebble through its history and physical beauty, Bandon through a raw sophistication that’s beyond its years. And clearly the battle will go on. Now all that’s left is for you to take a ringside seat and decide for yourself. FG

www.pebblebeach.com

www.bandondunes.com
 

Personal Best List: Vic Williams

Pebble Beach  |  Pacific Dunes  |  Spyglass Hill  |  Bandon Trails  |  Bandon Dunes  |  Spanish Bay

A year ago I’d have put Pacific Dunes on top, but a recent Pebble circuit earns it the pole position thanks to conditioning, history, the views, the service. Pacific Dunes is right there, though — more scintillating and dramatic hole for hole. Spyglass’ opening quintet and overall difficulty earn it a high rank. Bandon Dunes might be the most “authentic” links, but it’s also the least memorable. And Spanish, though wonderful as a whole, has too many awkward 4-pars and one very strange volcano-shaped green. 

Personal Best List: Darin Bunch

Pebble Beach  |  Bandon Trails  |  Spyglass Hill  |  Pacific Dunes  |  Spanish Bay  |  Bandon Dunes

I might be biased, having had one of my two holes-in-one at the Nicklaus-designed No. 5 at Pebble, but I can’t think of a place I’d rather play every day, if I had the money and the access, even with the tourist traffic. From a strategy standpoint, Bandon Trails is superior to them all — not one fairway bunker on that course is out of place. I’m a big fan of Spanish Bay, but Bandon Trails is what Spanish should have been. And for pure shotmaking challenge, Spyglass Hill still reigns supreme above all courses I’ve played. 

THE FINAL TALLY

9      Course Architecture    10

10    Course Conditioning    10

10        Service Level        10

8               Value             9

10        Dining Options       9

10             Lodging           9

10     Non-Golf Amenities    8

10     Travel Accessibility    9

10            Weather          9

97           Final Score      93