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The Links at Spanish Bay: Protected Dunes, Authentic
Scottish Golf, Weather
By David
R. Holland, Senior Writer
PEBBLE BEACH, CA -- Standing on the Spanish Bay Beach, one can
almost envision what it was like for Juan Portola in 1769, when
he led a land expedition from Baja California to find the Monterey
Peninsula.
Portola
left, disappointed, thinking his mission had failed. Perhaps
some golfers leave this area of wind-swept sand dunes, one as
tall as 24 feet, a little disappointed, too.
You won’t be disappointed in The Links at Spanish Bay,
an award-winning links golf course, but because the weather
can mimic Scotland -- damp, cool, windy and gloomy -- your score
might just soar if you are a fair-weather golfer.
“Golfers tend to say this layout is too tough,”
said Rich Cosand, PGA Professional. “Why? Because it challenges
you? I think it is one of the hardest courses in the Monterey
area from the back tees (6,821 yards), but that’s why
we have three closer tees. Actually, the gold tees, at 6,422
sea-level yards plays more like 6,800.”
The
Links at Spanish Bay, ranked No. 43 on Golf Magazine’s
Top 100 You Can Play List, is a stern test especially when the
breeze off the Pacific Ocean is bending the flags in half. It’s
a par 72, but breaks down into 35-37. One six handicap said
he shot an 85 from the tips and was thrilled.
It’s probably the most authentic replication of pure Scottish
links golf you can find in the USA. Sure you can play a “prairie-links
course” in Colorado, but you can’t smell and feel
the bite of Central California’s brisk Pacific gale. You
can play a links course on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean in
Myrtle Beach, but 90 degrees and 100 percent humidity don’t
come close to the real climate in Scotland.
 “This
Spanish Bay golf experience is so different from parkland golf
courses,” Cosand said. “The fairway is laid out
in front of you, but at times the fairway stops, and there’s
a target to hit or a forced carry over the dunes. It’s
a big challenge for a 20-handicapper. This golf course teaches
you that you have to manage each shot and make decisions constantly.”
And the Pacific Ocean views, with the rugged coastline, are
always there to make your mind wander.
Back in the depression years of the 1930s, the Spanish Bay area
was a sand-mining business for the Del
Monte holdings, the forerunner of today’s Pebble
Beach Company. And at that time it was the only profitable
operation the corporation had. After the 1982 U.S. Open, the
company’s leadership started to focus on this area, which
was basically a massive hole in the ground.
Plans had been envisioned in the 1970s for the Inn and Links
at Spanish Bay. Jack Neville, who designed Pebble
Beach, and Roger Larson had already mapped out the course.
But those plans were set aside and Pete Dye was prematurely
hired in 1980 to design Spanish Bay. CEO Marvin Davis, however,
wanted Jack Nicklaus, but when the Golden Bear forwarded his
proposal with a “not negotiable” clause, the company
said no.
At the same time Robert Trent Jones II was designing nearby
Poppy Hills, the
golf course owned by the Northern California Golf Association.
Jones was selected along with Tom Watson and former USGA president
and local resident Sandy Tatum -- both advocates of Scottish
links golf.
By 1985 the design was complete and construction started. In
the plans and approvals from the local government, it was agreed
that construction would include protection of the native sand
dunes and plants and the recreation of other dune habitats.
Thus was born one of the first Environmentally Sensitive Area’s
for golf courses, something we see on a daily basis for new
golf course construction today.
That’s probably the main reason The Links at Spanish Bay
is not included on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
rotation, which is played on Pebble
Beach Golf Links, Spyglass
Hill and Poppy Hills.
There’s no way you could allow spectators roaming through
the protected dunes areas.
“We
have more than 20 fenced off dunes areas with native plants,”
said Cosand. “When these plants are stepped on, they die.
So we continually monitor this and protect the areas. We are
stewards of this environment.”
So when The
Links at Spanish Bay was opened in 1987 it included the
rehabilitated dunes environment, lupine, sage and thistle. And
most likely you will have to dodge a deer at least one time
in your round.
No. 4, Shepherd's Haven, is a 190-yard par-3 that is surrounded
by dunes. It has a demanding multi-tiered green. Don’t
be long or you will face a downhill shot from the sandy amphi-theater
of the dunes.
Left Begone is the name of No. 7, a 418-yarder, which takes
you right into the ocean breeze. This fairway funnels to a narrow
landing area and you might have to lay-up with 180 yards remaining
to a kidney-shaped green.
The 15th, Missing Link, begins a homeward bound trek that requires
lots of target golf. The island landing area demands the tee
shot be placed just left of the bunkers. The next stroke must
clear a patch of gorse and dunes to a severely undulating green
with marsh and reeds to the right. If you hit too much club
off the tee you will find trouble.
Whale Watch, No. 17, brings you right to the ocean’s edge.
It’s a 417-yard, par-4, that requires another accurate
tee shot to be followed by the second over a dunescape to a
narrow landing area.
As you head for home near dusk on the 574-yard, par-5 18th,
you can hear the kilted bagpiper’s music, as he paces
the grounds of the Inn and its terrace. Guess that was a vision
Tom Watson had when he said: "Spanish Bay is so much like
Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes."
You may be chilled to the bone, but you will definitely remember
the experience.
The Links at Spanish Bay
2700 17 Mile Drive
Pebble Beach, CA 93953 |
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