Golf suggestions for a tourist

Unfortunately Spyglass and Pebble Beach are 2 hours south of San Francisco, but there's Harding Park in SF.

Also in Utah, St Georges, Entrada Canyon.

Good courses in Las Vegas and Mesquite too. Do you pass Mesquite on the way to Vegss, I forget.

Also LA has some great courses, but I don't recall them other then the Riveria, but that's private.

You're going to have a great time. The American West is Stunning. Absolutey stunning.

Your map has a line connecting La and SF, but if you are starting in SF and eending in nLA, you'll miss the drive bewteen SF and LA, which means that you'll miss Pasatiempo, and Pebble Beach.

 

Here are some suggestions. Some of these are expensive. They all have websites

 

Near SF: Harding Park, Wente Vineyards, Cinnabar, Half Moon Bay, Cordevalle and Poppy Ridge. Less expensive are Metropolitan and Monarch Bay 

 

Las Vegas - Paiute (3 courses) Primm Valley (2 courses), Shadow Creek, Cascata, The Chase, Bears Best

 

Mesquite - Wolf Creek

 

St Georges Utah - Coral Canyon

 

L.A - Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles National, Ojai Valley Lost Canyons, Robinson Ranch, Industry Hills, Trump National

 

In that case, Pasatiempo is a must play. If you want to play 36 holes that day, there is a local course nearby called DeLaveaga.  If cost is not a factor, Play Pebble Beach if you can get a tee time. However, I don't think they make advance tee time reservations unless you are staying there.
 

That is an awesome tour of one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

 

There's been some good suggestions already.

 

I would amend your travel plans just slightly to include Lake Tahoe.  I would move the dotted line from San Fran up north just a bit to Lake Tahoe; then go to Yosemite after Tahoe.  Lake Tahoe is an amazing area with lots to do.  Gambling, golfing, tours of the lake, skiing/snowboarding in the winter.

 

Lake Tahoe Golf Courses:

http://www.tahoesbest.com/golf/laketahoegolf.htm

 

Edgewood Tahoe GC in S. Lake Tahoe; and : Lahontan GC, Coyote Moon GC, and Old Greenwood GC in Truckee get the best reviews

 

 

I can't speak to Las Vegas courses but if you have the budget try to play the great courses around Monterey bay. These are Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and The Links at Spanish Bay. Also, as mentioned above, Pasatiempo which is a great, great course. Not far from there is San Juan Oaks in Hollister, a tough track but a really nice course. Ojai, near Santa Barbara has a fine reputation and was designed by Alistair McKenzie.

Is it just you golfing, or will others in your party be playing as well?    Also, you didn't mention what time of year - that makes a huge difference.  

 

Since you indicate you'll only be able to play 2-3 times, I'd suggest focusing on just a few premium destinations.      And if it is just you playing and the inlaws need something else to do, I'd skip all those intermediate suggestions and make sure you're playing where everyone else can go do something else for the day.    I'd suggest Monterey, Palm Springs, and probably Las Vegas as the places to play (assuming you arent' doing the trip in the middle of the summer - if so I'd skip the desert golf!).      If you're playing as a single, try to play Pebble Beach - they won't take advanced reservations more the 24 hours ahead unless you stay at their resort, but a single usually can get out.   And there is plenty to do in Carmel and Monterey to keep everyone happy.    

Driving in the American SouthWest is nothing like Europe. I've owned  convertibles since 1994 and  I would not want one going into Las Vega and coming back to Los Angeles via the Grand Canyon. You want to be covering that ground quickly at 120-140 kph in a comfortable quiet car. Perhaps you can swap into roadsters for the drive up the Pacific Coast Highway or in the hills outside San Francisco and Los Angeles. In August, the best time for a convertible is in the early morning hours, and late afternoon into evening, when the sun will not bake you silly. And in general, freeway driving with the top down for long periods of time might wear you out.

 

It sounds like a wonderful trip. I have driven the roads  between all those cities on your agenda for fun and sightseeing. Never have golfed anywhere but the central USA though.

 

 

Please get a convertible. You will thank me when you drive around LA top down.

Skip Pasatiempo. It is not with the price. Trust me. I have no idea why people think it is a must play course. It has a typical muni course feel but over priced.

Cinnabar in San Jose, poppy ridge (not poppy hills in Monterey) in Livermore, wolf creek in mesquite Nevada, rustic canyon in L.A. area are definite must. I would also add San Juan oaks near San Jose, went vintage in Livermore (a bit pricey-not a must but a strongly recommended), falcon ridge in mesquite Nevada, pelican hills in Newport beach (about an hours drive south from downtown L.A.).

Wolf creek in mesquite is a must but tends to play very slow. Since you are going in august, it will be hot as hell in mesquite. You've been warned.

I agree, if you are going in the middle of the summer, the most comfortable places to play will be in Northern California (San Fran and Lake Tahoe)  Utah St. George and Nevada Mesquite areas will be hot.