#13 Pasatiempo
Designed in 1929 by Alister MacKenzie, who wrote the book on golf course design. Yes, he literally wrote the book.
He sure liked sand traps.
And false fronts.
They claim Juli Inkster as their home touring pro, with pictures of her next to pictures of Dr. MacKenzie in the clubhouse.
I failed to recognize the difficulty of the course until I started to play it. 6125 yards is well within my capabilities for a par 72 layout. This one is par 70. Rare is the course with a course rating from my tees higher than par, but this is one: 70.8. Those more subtle indications notwithstanding, the slope of 135 should have been a dead giveaway. I didn't look. On the first two par 3's I hit driver, and didn't get to pin high.
There is local knowledge required, too. Some shots that seemed well planned and well-struck rolled to some very bad places. The greens are reasonably fast, not as fast as many top modern courses, but contain slopes designed for another era, which today would be considered quite severe.
1929 was before the advent of electric carts, so the course is walkable, they say, although they warn of some "elevation changes"; and many players were walking. It is in fact very hilly, and by the 9th hole my arthritis had migrated from my knee to both hip sockets, and I was fatigued and in pain. It turns out most of those walking were actually training for a marathon to be held next week in the nearby hills. That is all my excuses for my round of 94: 43-51. In the last few holes I missed many shots in unfamiliar ways, as I just couldn't seem to swing the club any more.
A fine addition to your bucket list.
More pictures.
He sure liked sand traps.
They claim Juli Inkster as their home touring pro, with pictures of her next to pictures of Dr. MacKenzie in the clubhouse.
I failed to recognize the difficulty of the course until I started to play it. 6125 yards is well within my capabilities for a par 72 layout. This one is par 70. Rare is the course with a course rating from my tees higher than par, but this is one: 70.8. Those more subtle indications notwithstanding, the slope of 135 should have been a dead giveaway. I didn't look. On the first two par 3's I hit driver, and didn't get to pin high.
There is local knowledge required, too. Some shots that seemed well planned and well-struck rolled to some very bad places. The greens are reasonably fast, not as fast as many top modern courses, but contain slopes designed for another era, which today would be considered quite severe.
1929 was before the advent of electric carts, so the course is walkable, they say, although they warn of some "elevation changes"; and many players were walking. It is in fact very hilly, and by the 9th hole my arthritis had migrated from my knee to both hip sockets, and I was fatigued and in pain. It turns out most of those walking were actually training for a marathon to be held next week in the nearby hills. That is all my excuses for my round of 94: 43-51. In the last few holes I missed many shots in unfamiliar ways, as I just couldn't seem to swing the club any more.
A fine addition to your bucket list.
More pictures.
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