Monterey Peninsula Country Club
(Dunes), CA, USA
Green Keeper:

8th hole, 400 yards; This downhill hole was at one point a standout on the course. Little was done to it during the renovation, and yet this hole no longer seems to be clearly better than the other holes featured in this Holes to Note section. The conclusion?  Jones did a fine job of raising the overall standard of these other holes, and thus the course in general.

One of the most inspiring shots on the course is to watch a well struck tee
ball at the 8th as it falls from the sky to the wide fairway well below.

Assuming the golfer finds the fairway off the tee, the creek that
bisects the fairway shouldn't be a factor.

9th hole, 480 yards; None too taxing unless you want to give the green a go in two shots. In that case, the golfer must cross a natural sand ridge that juts across most of the fairway some 30 yards shy of the green. The contrast of the sand, ice plant, cypress trees and fairway is invigorating and signals one's proximity to the Ocean, which the golfer now hears for the first time. 

The contrasts in colors down the 9th and the sound of the Ocean provide an inspired
setting for golf, even by Monterey Peninsula's own impossibly high standards.

10th hole, 165 yards; The tee is perched on top of a sand dune. Below is the green with the Pacific beyond. To one's right is Spanish Bay. To one's left is the stunning coastline as it heads toward Cypress Point.The hole is simple enough except for that other dimension: the wind, which plays havoc with the best laid plans. Placing his Short hole on the windest spot on the course was a shrewd move by Raynor: few Americans can properly control their ball flight, and this hole ruthlessly exposes that flaw.

In any kind of wind, this Short green proves to be an elusive target.

13th hole, 505 yards; The original green complex was devoid of interest and big hitters often got the ball up and down from any area around the green for an easy birdie. Jones created  a tightly mown chipping area to the left of the green that changed all that.

The chipping area immensely improved the 13th green complex.

14th hole, 175 yards; The nearby onlookers from a State coastal lookout point guarantee the golfer an audience as he flights his tee ball over the rocks and crashing surf to the distant green.

Just re-turfed, it is indeed accurate to say that the 14th tee is along the shoreline!

The view from 14th tee makes clear the golfer's task.

The 14th is obviously a great environment, both golfers and non-golfers alike. As seen from
the left of the 14th green, no mounds clutter the green's glorious backdrop. 

16th hole, 380 yards;  One might think that holes with some curvature in them is an obviously desirable feature for windy sites as in that manner, the golfer is always caught second guessing himself on the exact affect the wind will have on any particular shot. Yet, many links in the United Kingdom lack such holes. Indeed, Old Tom Morris preferred straight holes such as those found at Lundin Golf Club. Thankfully, Raynor did not and the Dunes course is more engaging for it, especially as one approaches the Pacific with curving holes such as the 8th, 9th, 13th, and 15th. Interestingly enough, Raynor's routing had the 16th as a straightaway 340 yard hole. Ray Leach, who Johnny Miller claimed in Golf Digest was the finest striker of a golf ball he ever encountered, once drove the 5th, 11th and 16th greens of the Dunes in a round in 1982. The current dog-leg left hole was suggested by Bill Brandt and Andy Nottenkamper, a five time club champion, in the early 1990s. John Zoller, the father of the current Green Keeper for both courses at MPCC, created this very clever dogleg shortly thereafter when he was the Green Keeper here (and before he went on to become the General Manager, then a head figure for the Pebble Beach Corp, then General Manager of the Northern California Golf Association and finally running Tehama for Clint Eastwood before passing away in early 2007).

The dogleg left 16th leaves the golfer guessing as to the effect of the wind on his approach
shot, with the stunning backdrop offering some consulation for a miscalculation.
The day's hole location is one of the single toughest on the course.

Though Raynor died before the Dunes Course was completed, his exemplary routing remains the highlight as it takes full advantage of the property's natural beauty. Indeed, Raynor historian George Bahto considers Raynor's 'routing skills as his strongest asset.'

In the case of the Dunes course, the first three hole go uphill and away from the ocean. These holes were never going to make the course but individually, they are each fine holes (in fact, Rees's bold contouring back left on the 2nd green makes for an inspiring hole location). Having rid himself of the least appealing land at the start, Raynor turns things up a notch with the downhill Bairritz 4th and the golf stays exciting all the way through at least the 16th hole. The last two holes again head away from the Ocean and toward the clubhouse. The golfer can't help but appreciate how much more appealing such a sequence is than the one at nearby Spyglass Hill, where its blazing start fizzles out in a series of fine - but uninspired - holes.

The Board at Monterey Peninsula Country Club had no easy decision. To renovate rather than restore a Raynor course was a difficult decision, especially given the current euphoria that surrounds Raynor courses. However, for drainage reasons, coupled with the fact that Raynor never saw this design through himself, the Board made the right decision. The course plays faster and firmer than it ever has and the golfer delights in having all options available to him.

In summary, the golf on offer here today is the best it has ever been  - surely, that is what matters the most?

The proud Spanish style clubhouse provides a perfect vantage point for 
members to soak up the action along the three shot Home hole.

MPCC is justly famed for its relaxing environment.

© Copyright GCA 1999 - 2000. All rights reserved.