Nice. Is Corica South also good? Worth doing all 27, or is the North 9 that much better?
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Doing 27 would be fun. You’ll probably like the nine on North the most but the South was recently rated as a top muni course in the country so don’t skip it. That would be a fun day.
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The south course is okay and it would be a good 27 hole day. I’ve played it a fair amount, when it first opened and was quite firm and fast. It’s not as firm and fast anymore. But the North is really fun.
If you have to be at Stanford in the evening, you could also play Baylands - it’s a favorite of folks on here.
Another course you could try is Cinnabar hills. It might be easier drive depending on the traffic. Palo Alto to Corica and back could get dicey. It’s pretty wild course with lots of elevation changes - you have to take a cart. When I used to visit the Bay Area from the Northeast, I’d play that since it was so different than anything I could play.
Hope this helps.
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Very helpful, much appreciated!
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It will be 2.5-3hrs round trip, but if you’ve never been to Monterey, that could certainly be worth the trip.
Going to be ~70* and is one of the cooler places in the world imo.
The course at PG is cool, probably won’t knock your socks off but it is on an awesome piece of land and on a nice day, its unbeatable should it be in solid shape.
After the round, drive thru 17 mile or check out Carmel by the Sea or snag some food in Carmel or Monterey. Would be a very worthwhile day given the warm weather if you’re willing & up for the drive.
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Thanks again for the helpful suggestions, guys. I wound up booking a 9:20 at Presidio on Friday morning, appears to still have 3 spots available if anybody wants to join.
And I’m going to play Corica North on Saturday morning. Harding Park, Presidio and Corica North feels like a pretty badass three-day itinerary (and oh yeah this is a work trip so I’ll squeeze some of that in there too). The Pacific Grove option was very tempting, but maybe a bit too much driving for this little weekend.
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Have a time!
Figured I would report back with some impressions from a pretty excellent four days here in NorCal, in case it would be helpful for any future visitors.
– Flew in from Raleigh-Durham on Thursday morning and landed a $90 Golfnow hot deal at Harding Park that afternoon. Great value at that price, and I’m super jealous that all you locals get to play that place regularly for even cheaper than that. Started off the back and was enchanted with the place by my third hole, just a lovely walk with some very recognizable holes and a dynamite vibe on a gorgeous April afternoon. The back nine was so cool, and obviously the front nine was less memorable but still solid. Thought the course was a great walk and felt surprisingly gettable for a PGA Championship venue, although that’s surely due in part to the fact that tees were up a bit while they prepared the back tees for the upcoming ladies event. Highlight for me was No. 16, the par-4 where Morikawa drove the green with that gorgeous cut 3-wood – I blocked my tee shot right into the trees but managed to make birdie from this position:
– Friday morning I played Presidio, and this was probably my favorite course of the week. I don’t always love mountain golf, but this felt like mountain golf done right – it was dramatic but not overly extreme, and playing with a local sherpa who told me where to hit made for a much better experience, I think (especially since I mostly hit my targets off the tee). Sure, you get some unjust hanging lies, but I thought that added to the experience rather than detracted. I found a whole bunch of holes to be very memorable, I loved the fescue-lined bunkering and the trees and the views. The whole thing just felt like a perfect fit for the land. A delight.
– Woke up early Saturday to play 2 loops at Corica Park North, and you guys were spot-on: it is firm, fast and very fun. I went to Scotland last summer and this place definitely felt like the kind of course you would find in Scotland. It’s gettable, but still has a lot of shot value, and the greens were the best of the weekend – large and undulating and in outstanding condition. My only gripe was the pace of play – I teed off at 7:45 a.m. on a Saturday and the round took 5 hours, 15 minutes, due in part to the fact that they don’t seem to have any good procedure for players making the turn to repeat the nine. We wound up having to wait 25-30 minutes to tee off again on No. 1. I found that frustrating – if you’re going to sell pre-booked 18-hole rounds on a 9-hole course, feels like you should have a better system in place to avoid the logjam with people making the turn and people just starting.
– I was in town for work (I’m a baseball writer, here to cover the UCLA-Stanford series), so I stayed in Palo Alto for the weekend. I looked for someplace nearby to play, but the Stanford course was booked up for the Pac-12 tournament and I didn’t find anything else great available close by. So being the hopeless golf sicko that I am, I took @SweepingDraw’s advice and woke up at 4:30 a.m. Sunday to make the drive down to Pacific Grove for a 7 a.m. tee time, managing to make it back to Stanford in time for a 1 p.m. first pitch. And it was worth it – that place is a jewel for $78 on a weekend. The People’s Pebble! For some reason the greens vexed me all day – they were much less dramatic than the other greens I played this weekend, but it felt like you could look at any putt from either side of the hole and it looked like it was downhill in both directions, or vice versa. But I thought they were in good condition, and the views were delightful, of course. Fun little course with some quirk but nothing crazy; felt like a place you could really go low if you had some familiarity with it, and if you can keep the ball in the fairway.
That’s what I got. You folks are very lucky to have so many excellent public golf options in the region, and I look forward to hitting up some more new spots on my next trip to the Bay Area. Cheers!
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Uh … we do not. That’s a fantastic deal. Sounds like you did this weekend right! Glad you had a great one and let us know whenever you make your way back.
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If you have a resident card you can play it for $65 on weekdays @greebs
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Well I say goddamn. Us suburban olds are missing out
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They try to keep the riff raff like us out, @greebs
Glad you had a great time, @Chester.Copperpot!
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Still have a free ticket for tmrw (Thurs) @ LPGA International Crown at Harding Park. Message me if interested!
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Hey gang, first time, long time. Born and raised in Atlanta, moved to Austin and just relocated to the Bay. My partner and I are in Monterey temporarily until the end of May, then moving to Mill Valley.
Looking to get involved with the RACDG and get steep on some Bay Area golf.
If you’re in Monterey and want to play before the end of the month, hit me up. I’m a Dukes Club member so have preferred rates at Spanish Bay and Spyglass for the year. Also love playing Poppy, Del Monte, PG, Bayonet, Blackhorse etc.
as Doc Holiday said, “say when”.
Once I’m in Mill Valley starting in June, looking for regular games.
Little about me: former (mediocre) mini tour pro, going for reinstatement. Current golf degen and equipment junkie.
If you’re looking for Austin or Atlanta recs, also feel free to hit me up.
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Welcome!
Hop onto the slack channel as well
If you are ever in Sacramento, im down to host
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Just shot ya a DM
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Beautiful morning from Lincoln Park. Fyi, greens are in a really fantastic place since the Washington crew played here.
Don’t know what it was like when y’all played the Black Bear event here. But for me way different.
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Tell the Moms, Happy Mothers Day.
Short notice but 2 spots open at Poppy Hills tomorrow at 1:40. Only $45.00 dollars to play.
Let me know if anyone is in?
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Wish I could!
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