Golf Suggestions for 2 week Roundtrip in LA/SF/Las Vegas Area

[retozimmermann]

Dear Community

My wife and I plan a 2 week roadtrip together with a friend in the area of LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas. 3 Days Las Vegas are a must due to a seminar there and also a stop in Los Angeles at a friend's place has to be on the agenda. All else is now in the planning stage and I would appreciate some suggestions for it.

We will be travelling in June or July 2009, none of us has ever been in the US west cost area (we're from Switzerland) and we would all love to visit some nice (and if possible not horribly expensive) golf courses on our trip.

Do you have any special places one should visit on such a trip? What are courses to play which could nicely be integrated in the trip? Are there special things to keep in mind when travelling in the area in June/July?

Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Reto

[ks8829]

Harding Park in SF, CA
Pebble Beach in Monterey, CA

Go to Golf Now for discounted tee times and information about other golf courses below and sign up for on-line special e-mailed rates

http://www.golfnow.com/sanfrancisco/...D=226944838011

[retozimmermann]

Harding Park in SF, CA

Thank you for the suggestions. I came across harding park already. Seems like a course worth looking at. Pebble Beach, I wouldn't have dared to look at that

I'll read up on the course now, though

[retozimmermann]

Thank you for the suggestions. I came across harding park already. Seems like a course worth looking at. Pebble Beach, I wouldn't have dared to look at that

Just saw the green fees of Pebble Beach

Might be bit much for two who really aren't that good yet...

[Fat Slice]

It would be helpful to know what kind of courses you and your wife like to play, what style and what level of difficulty. Do you have a budget range per round? Do you prefer to walk or ride? There are some nice courses here in Northern California (San Francisco area) - so many, that a little more data from you would make it easier to put together a list.

Also...what areas outside of the city would you like to visit? Napa Valley, for example?

[retozimmermann]

It would be helpful to know what kind of courses you and your wife like to play, what style and what level of difficulty. Do you have a budget range per round? Do you prefer to walk or ride? There are some nice courses here in Northern California (San Francisco area) - so many, that a little more data from you would make it easier to put together a list.

Certainly. Well, my wife has actually just started to play this year and hasn't much experience of different courses yet. Generally I would say we like flat courses better than mountaineous ones. Personally I prefer walking with a trolley to riding in a cart, particularly if one has to stay on cart paths and cannot drive on the fairway.

Given that the entire trip will not be cheap for us I would say we wouldn't mind greenfees below 100 USD, although an occasional course with more might be considered if it is exceptional in a way (Pebble Beach would qualify in this category, although the 400+ USD fee is stretching it a bit at the moment). Apart from all that we appreciate a nice view and landscape and generally nice course architecture. I don't particularly like courses that are not well taken care of, particularly hate bumpy greens and rocky bunkers Don't know if all of this helps much as I don't have a clue what is on option over there. Thank you for your help Reto

[Fat Slice]

It's very helpful, and I think people will be able to give you some good suggestions. I will work on my list. The thing about course condition is that it can change from now until June 2009! The trick is how a greenskeeper will recover from winter. Still, there are courses with good overall reputations for maintenence. I also prefer flatter (not TOO hilly) courses and walking.

One other thing...some areas can get really HOT. Is that an issue for you two?

[retozimmermann]

It's very helpful, and I think people will be able to give you some good suggestions. I will work on my list.

Thank you!

I also prefer flatter (not TOO hilly) courses and walking.

My home course is mostly flat and I was in for quite a change when I recently played a mountain course in Austria

One other thing...some areas can get really HOT. Is that an issue for you two?

Well, I thought there probably isn't much choice regarding heat at that time of the year, or is there? I don't mind hot weather at all and can stand quite a lot. My wife slightly less so but she's used to quite high temperatures...

Years ago, I was in Mississippi and played at about 100° F. Even with a cart I was absolutely exhausted afterwards

[firstcut]

A few of my favs that might be in your path. They are all courses with ocean views that won't break your bank, but are usually in good condition. Two are in Santa Barbara which is one of the nicest spots in CA IMHO.

http://www.sandpipergolf.com/

Pretty flat with multiple holes ON the ocean.

http://www.glenanniegolf.com/main/

It's a tough course and hilly but has GREAT views of Santa Barbara and the ocean.

http://www.slocountyparks.com/facilities/morrobay.htm

Hilly with GREAT views of the bay and ocean. Not too tough tho..

Plenty in the Bay area, but all my Favs are hilly. The ones above are worth the hills because of the views.

[tjy355]

Would you be returning to Las Vegas after your San Francisco visit?

There is a whole lot to see on that trip, and I must assume that golf will not be your primary goal ?

Vegas is Vegas - lots of $$ for mediocre golf. It will be very hot in Vegas in June/July, I might skip golf there and save it for California.

You would want to cruise up the coast of California on Highway 1 from LA to Monterey.

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

If returning to Vegas after San Francisco, you really should head east into the Sierras - Yosemite perhaps, and then down to Vegas (as opposed to returning thru Los Angeles).

Sounds like fun!

[retozimmermann]

Would you be returning to Las Vegas after your San Francisco visit?

Good morning all

How nice it is to start a working day by planning holidays I don't think we'll be returning to Vegas. I always assumed that three days in which my wife and friend are on their own in that place (they're probably not attending the conference - The Amazing Meeting, btw - and my wife isn't much into gambling.) is quite enough. So I think I'll follow your suggestion and skip golf there in order to safe some cash and not prolong the stay. So far we haven't decided where to fly into either. Probably not Las Vegas but LA and SF are equally fine for me. You're right, golf is not the primary goal of the trip, but the more I think about it, the more I feel the urge to make it a bit more of a point in the trip Thank you for the aquarium tip and the mention of Yosemity. I haven't really looked into which national parks would be close on our route (as far as one can call the three points SF, LA and LV a route) I can see it coming slowly together. Do you have any suggestion in terms of starting point and direction we should take? Clockwise or counter-clockwise? From LA or SF? Have a great day Reto

[retozimmermann]

The URL you gave lists three courses: Morro Bay Golf Course, Dairy Creek Golf Course and Chalk Mouontain Golf Course.

Which one of those would you recommend most?

[firstcut]

The URL you gave lists three courses: Morro Bay Golf Course, Dairy Creek Golf Course and Chalk Mouontain Golf Course.

Sorry.. I meant to link it to Morro Bay.

As a side thought, one thing you may want to do is a google map of the courses. You could then see where they are and how they run. You should see why I like Morro Bay.

[tjy355]

So here is an idea for a budget round of golf when you visit the Monterey penninsula: Pacific Grove.

This is a municipal course (city owned) and is known as the poor man's Pebble Beach. The front nine is not too interesting, but the back nine is in the dunes with Pacific ocean views. By no means as well conditioned as PB, but 1/10 the price!!

In my other post, I mentioned the Sierras and Yosemite, but of course, being from Switzerland, mountain scenery may not be what you are looking for in a holiday trip

I mentioned the Monterey Bay Aquarium - really, aquariums mostly bore me, but this one is really neat.

[retozimmermann]

Sorry.. I meant to link it to Morro Bay.

I'm already all over Google Earth to get a feeling for the trip. So far I didn't have time to really look into the possibilities of Google Earth but I once I have and once I've put together all suggestions into a nice route I might post it here for download.

[retozimmermann]

So here is an idea for a budget round of golf when you visit the Monterey penninsula: Pacific Grove.

I'll immediately add the course to my map.

About the mountain scenery: Our's here is very different from what you would find in California, Nevada or Arizona, so I'm not at all worried. As for the Aquarium: thank you for this assessment. I've only been to one aquarium I can remember: the one in New Orleans. I don't remember beeing bored although I too am note one to be all exited once he comes near something like an aquarium

[Jonny Cab]

If you head down the coast from SF, think about stopping at Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz. http://www.pasatiempo.com/web/ It's an Alister MacKenzie course and a true classic.

[sabram]

1. Las Vegas - Golf Courses in Las Vegas are generally very expensive. One of the best values in Vegas is the Pauite Reservation. They have three courses. The Wolf is the most expensive and difficult og the three , but for beginners, you will find the Sun Mountain and Snow Mountain courses, beautiful, fun and less difficult and less expensive. Primm Valley has two fantastic courses, the Lakes course and the Desert course. Primm is located about 40 minutes Sothwest of Las Vegas. If you are driving between Vegas and LA you can play it on the way. Boulder Creek and Wildhorse are less expensive options, but not as nice as Paiute or Primm. If you want to play some fantastic but expensive courses, take a look at Reflection Bay and the Falls at Lake Las Vegas, which is about 20 minutes South of the Vegas Strip.

2. LA - There are some great courses about 30-45 minutes North of LA. Consider Angeles National, Lost Canyons, Rustic Canyon and Robinson Ranch. Those are my favorites. Just East of LA is Industry Hills which has two excellent courses, the Eisenhower ("Ike") and the Zaharias.

3. SF - Others have already mentioned Harding Park, which is among the best courses in SF. However, the Est Bay(the Oakland side of SF Bay has more options, many of which are reasonably priced. Wente Vineyards is excellent. Monarch Bay and Metropolitan are close to the Oakland Airport and are very good options that are relatively inexpensive.

The following are links to photos I have taken of many of the courses that i have mentioned.

http://sports.webshots.com/album/560063224BBFsdX

http://sports.webshots.com/album/558446739FpadGy

http://sports.webshots.com/album/558126168OGfGhq

http://sports.webshots.com/album/557826506HYlPLl

http://sports.webshots.com/album/557831461nMfftu