[Niall Hay]

I also just played the Cal Club last week and would say that I was blown away by how good it was. The new holes were spectacular -the usage of the ridgeline to create new holes  was very crafty. The greensites were beautifully bunkered ,fairways were firm,and the greens ran well. The tree removal completely opened up the vistas of this gem. Coming from Chicago I left the Cal Club thinking why have I never heard of this place?  If there are 10 better courses in California I would like to know where they are. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the hospitality of a fellow GCAer who hosted me and also 2 other gents that I could drink wine with all afternoon! What a place!                                                              Jack

Jack

I agree with you, I think it is the third best in California and the best in San Francisco.


Chip

Third best? Cypress and what? Also where do you put SFGC and OC?

[Niall Hay]

I had the fun of riding around the course three weeks ago with Kyle Philips who redid the course. Iy was a golf architecture junkies dream day! The course is wonderful and the restoration was done superbly.

How did you pull that off? Must have been pretty awesome....

[Joel_Stewart]

3rd best in California is a reach but we are cherry picking here.

CPC and Pebble are easily top two.  I would place Riviera and SFGC ahead of it as well.  After those you could flip a coin for MPCC, OC, LACC and Cal Club.  Regardless it's pretty good company.

[Chip Gaskins]

As Joel said its pretty strong company, but my favorites in CA are:

1) Cypress
2) Riviera
3) Cal Club
4) Pebble Beach
5) Pasatempio
6) Olympic Club
7) San Francisco
8 ) Valley Club
9) Mayacama
10) Rustic Canyon

Not played LACC, MPCC or Bel Air and I could probably make the argument that Cal Club is more of my favorite than Riviera.  Though it is really hard to compare something like Pebble to something like SFGC, etc etc

[J_ Crisham]

Chip,  Cal Club is on the same level as MPCC in my book. The Shore gets great fanfare here as it should -it's a hell of a course but my opinion is that the Dunes is a better overall course. After the first 3 holes at the Dunes the course just takes off. Collectively the best set of par 3's on the Monterey Peninsula. That includes the other club just down the road and I'm not talking about Spanish Bay! The par 3 holes at the Dunes are that good. CPC's  are damn good but #3 and 7 are not in the same league as MPCC's. Just my opinion ,
                                                           Jack                                                                                           

[Niall Hay]

As Joel said its pretty strong company, but my favorites in CA are:

1) Cypress
2) Riviera
3) Cal Club
4) Pebble Beach
5) Pasatempio
6) Olympic Club
7) San Francisco
8 ) Valley Club
9) Mayacama
10) Rustic Canyon

Not played LACC, MPCC or Bel Air and I could probably make the argument that Cal Club is more of my favorite than Riviera.  Though it is really hard to compare something like Pebble to something like SFGC, etc etc

Where does Meadow Club fit in the NoCal landscape?  Or on the opposite end of the spectrum CordeValle?

[Joel_Stewart]

Meadow Club is a very nice members course but it doesn't rank among these championship golf courses.  Cordevalle pretty much the same.

My top 10 would probably include Spyglass and Martis Camp and Mayacama would definitly be out.

[Mitch St. Peter]

I know this topic is a bit old...

I played Cal Club for the first time yesterday. I played with two friends - we were all guests. It rained yesterday for the first time in (literally) months, but given Ran's profile and all the commentary about the Cal Club, I was going to play no matter what. We saw exactly 5 other golfers in 4 hours due to the conditions.

We played from the Venturi tees (7200 yards) and it rained pretty hard for the first 5 holes. I was amazed at how firm it fast it played in the rain (especially relative to other offerings in the Bay Area). I would love to play it again when the ball is really rolling. I've never shot 89 and had so much fun.

I'm not going to add much to previous discussions other than to say that the Cal Club now owns probably the finest course in the Bay Area (and this is coming from a biased Olympic Club member). I think California golf clubs have a lot to learn from the restoration (the sandy, firm and fast conditions, the open playing areas, the tree removal, the shaved "run-off" areas beside greens). It was a pleasure to play, especially for a someone who misses East Coast golf a bit. I used nearly every club in my bag (other than a 3-wood or 2-iron off of a par 4 tee). 

Out of the courses I have played, it reminds me the most of Old Sandwich - it has a "Coore & Crenshaw" feel. This is a "product" not readily available in California.

There is no question that this a top 10 course in California...I think its at least top 5.

What features disappointed you all, if any? Why isn't this better than OC of SFGC?

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