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Playing Rancho Cañada Golf Club is Like Taking
a Nature Walk
By David
R. Holland, Senior Writer
July 19, 1999
CARMEL, CA -- Loping across the fairway just 100 yards away
was a bobcat. A bobcat in Carmel
Valley? Just a short crow's flight from the famed Seventeen-Mile
Drive in Pebble Beach? You bet.
California may be the most populated state in the USA with more
than 32 million folks, but wildlife is still abundant.
Rancho
Cañada Golf Club is teeming with wildlife; quail
and deer are often dashing through the brush. Playing golf near
dusk, you may hear the hoot of an owl, witness fighter-pilot
agile swallows zooming grass-high looking for insects, or you
might have to dodge Canada geese feeding in the fairways.
Here on the Central Coast of California you can find one of
the most beautiful areas on earth. And Carmel
Valley has a different beauty from the Pacific-side golf
courses of the Monterey
Peninsula. Playing golf here is like a nature walk.
At the mouth of Carmel Valley one has a choice of Rancho Cañada's
East or West championship courses.
The site was originally part of a 4,366-acre California ranch
known as "Cañada de la Segunda". In 1970 this
spectacular land was envisioned as a golfer's paradise. Here,
on 270 acres in the shadows of the Santa Lucia mountains, amidst
beautiful Monterey Pines, oaks, cottonwood and sycamore trees,
and seven holes that cross the Carmel River, are two public
courses maintained like private ones.
The East Course is a Par 71, only 6,109 yards in length. That
sounds short, but after you have maneuvered all the potential
trouble, the "shortness" won't even come to mind.
A hole may appear "open" only to catch you napping.
And when you have to navigate the Carmel River five times you
will feel tested.
"Personally, I think there's
too much emphasis on the length of courses today," said
Todd Pontti, PGA Director of Golf at Rancho Cañada. "The
average player can't handle 7,000 yards, and the courses we
have here are challenging without the excessive length. One
has to think that perhaps a driver isn't the correct play on
a particular hole -- that he needs to be thinking about position."
The 6,349-yard West Course, also Par 71, is considered the tougher
of the two. Your tee shot from the first two tee boxes, both
par four, into the prevailing Pacific Ocean breeze require accuracy.
The first is 416 yards and the second 438 yards. After two holes
you will already have felt the challenge.
The start of the East Course is just the opposite. You may feel
pretty confident after the first two holes -- the first downwind
and the second crosswind. Then you step up to the par-three
No. 3, a 185-yarder through a chute and over the river. If you
miss hit this shot there's a certain double bogey on the scorecard.
No. 4 is a par-five, 472-yard handicap No. 1, narrow, tree-lined
event. It's imperative to place your tee shot and second shot
precisely, because this fairway shrinks the closer one gets
to the green.
"Most believe the West is more
difficult," said Pontti. "The West is longer, has
a higher slope rating and course rating. Most like the fact
we aren't encumbered by a lot of real estate, which opens up
the view and the vistas. "
"I think the
West course is more difficult and interesting," said Dave
Riney of nearby Seaside. "There are several water holes
and shots over the Carmel River. But the nice thing is the ability
to buy a mini-membership or a twilight card making it affordable
to area residents."
The mini-membership is $310. It includes gifts, discounted green
fees and carts, buffet coupons and a Northern California Golf
Association membership.
Mini-members can play on weekdays for $30 on the East and $35
on the West. Weekends it's $35 on the East and $45 on the West.
Pontti says a "Millennium" mini-membership deal is
currently being formulated that will reduce the price.
A $25 twilight card is also available for play after 3 p.m.
for an entire year. Twilight members play on the East for $10
east and the West for $15. It also entitles them to play at
nearby Laguna Seca for $10. Carts are discounted to $12. There's
no better deal in the area and the 3 p.m. time goes back to
2 p.m. on October 1.
Regular walkup prices are $75 on the West and $60 on the East
everyday. Twilight rates are $45 on the West and $35 on the
East (after 2 p.m.). Cart rental is $32.
Rancho Cañada has hosted a variety of events that attracted
celebrities such as Bing Crosby and Sam Snead. When Tiger Woods
was in high school the California state championships were held
here. "In fact, Tiger is one of the few golfers we know
of who hit the East's No. 16, a 580-yard, par-five, in two shots,"
Pontti recalled.
One of the largest NCAA Women's tournaments of the year, the
Colby Classic, is hosted by Santa Clara University on the courses
of Rancho Cañada .
El Niño hit Rancho Cañada hard, but the courses
have already rebounded. "We lost a few trees along the
river, but the only hole that was really rebuilt was No. 12
on the East. The fairway was washed away. We brought in 78,000
yards of soil, added two bunkers right and left, a new irrigation
hookup, added some rolling mounds to the fairway and three new
tee pods," Pontti said.
Rancho
Cañada Golf Club is located on Carmel Valley Road,
one mile east of Highway 1. |
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