First, I love this place and anytime I play it I feel really happy. So I played it on July 27, and was happy to be out there. I never expect truly pristine conditions at Rustic as the place has always seemed a bit rough around the edges, and that fits perfect for the course. But the place is sort of really rough at the moment. Many of the greens have mushrooms growing on them. Yes, the mushrooms have been cut off at the stem but there are little white spots all over many of the greens. Some dry spots here and there but nothing major. So over all it was fine, but there are some worrying signs out there.

Played here Sunday November 15. Started at 7:00 AM and finished at 11:00AM, great pace of play! The course was in excellent condition, everything, greens, tees fairways, bunkers, all great. Santa Ana winds were blowing I'm guessing from 30-40 mph, which made the course interesting if unplayable, 124 yard 3 wood anyone? The problem was more with the greens and the ball had a difficult time stopping, and in most cases was just would not stay on the green, and if it did stay on the green, putting was impossible. I look forward to a return to Rustic Canyon once the Santa Ana's are over.

Played this morning, started a few minutes before 6AM and finished around 8:20AM. Pace of play was fine. The course was in good condition, they had done small plugs on the green a week ago, but those were gone, They are doing plugs on the 16th fairway now.

What made play a little hard is the fog on the lower section of the course. Visibility was 100 yards but much less for seeing the golf ball. It cleared up when I came to the cross bunker at #10, and it was truly a magical experience.

I've read many of the other reviews of Rustic Canyon and read of the hard bunkers, the dried out fairways and so forth. The thing with Rustic is that a dry spot here or there in the fairway, or the sand that is hard in the bunkers fits in so well with this place. Even the bunny rabbits and ground squirrels running all over (and their holes) just fit in with the property. The place is absolutely great right now.

I played twice over the weekend, the greens were fine, although beat up in spots as they were pretty soft. Fairways were thin in a lot of places, wet in others, and fine in yet others. Tee areas were generally very poor, bordering on destroyed. The driving range was very very wet, I would call it standing water wet in fact.

For the price charged you'd expect a much better conditioned course.

I played Rustic Canyon this morning starting at 6:00AM. I went there as a single and was paired up with Chuck, another single. I've played with Chuck in the past. My favorite thing about going to Rustic as a single at 6:00AM is that I will be paired up with good golfers who have all been very pleasant to spend the round with, and today was no exception.

The course is in good condition, there is no move evidence that the greens were ever plugged except a touch more sand in certain parts. The fairways were in good condition. There were some spots that were slightly brown, but that really fits in well for Rustic. I love to see great big bounces, and there were some today. The tee boxes were in good shape. The sole exception here was #4, the par three that was over watered and had standing water off to the side. Also if you wonder what is going on with the putting green that was by the first tee, it is going to become more tee box.

The pace of play today was fine. We were the first off and we walked and finished up in 3 hours and 13 minutes. The staff was fine. Ho, please not that although they have carts at this course, that it can only truly be appreciated by walking. This is an easy and pleasant walk and there is no reason to be in a cart unless you have a doctors note or are truly lazy.

Special Section #1, An Interesting Occurrence: On the 200 yard par three 6th I hit a nice 5 iron right where I was aimed a bit to the right of the green planning for it to come down the slope. It never did, it stayed there. Chuck then hit a fairway wood that started off perfect and only got better. I saw it bounce a couple times then it looked like it went in the hole. On this hole its hard to tell however because of the hummocks and whatnot. As we approached the green, I didn't see the ball. Chuck got a hole in one! I had never seen one live before, and he did it on a tough hole with a great shot. As the Australians would say, good on you Chuck.

Special Section #2, My Game: 40-45=85. I've gone back to a very old Big Bertha driver, that goes much further than my modern Taylor Made Burner. Having not hit the driver for the past year however led to one OB. Other wise the game was good for he most part. #11 was a disaster as usual, and a few three putts hurt. I think the difference of me as a 10.1 index and a 4.1 index player is stupid mistakes. I'm going to work on that part of my game next.

If you read down two reviews down you will see my last review of Pebble Beach Golf Links from just over one month ago. In that review I don’t think that I mentioned that I had a 14 on the 18th hole (3 OB’s). That has weighed heavily upon me over the past month, so much so that I had to return to Pebble Beach this morning to seek redemption.

This morning I had a 7:00 AM tee time, I was playing with a gentleman from Texas and in front was a foursome some and behind was a threesome. Pace of play was excellent, very little waiting and the round was completed in 4 hours and 15 minutes. This is perfect for Pebble as we never felt rushed, yet we kept moving.
Weather was perfect, in fact it felt hot at the start of the round around the 14 hole a gentle breeze came up to make things even more pleasant.

The course was in excellent condition. The work that I saw them working on last month (bunker at the 14th green) is complete and now work is going on with the 13th green. This isn’t like a muni however, these guys work quickly, and by the time you play Pebble they will be onto something else. Absolutely no complaints with tees, fairways or greens, or bunkers, everything was great. The greens were quick and completely true. The rough is not US Open length yet but does add to the challenge with the ball settling down very deep.

The staff was very nice today. The slightly odd guy that was in the pro shop last time was not there this time. The pro shop staff this time was a non-quirky nice. Jim the started gave me two ball markers, and all the tees I could grab. On the course the marshals only had pleasant talk for us. A good staff all way around.

All in all this was another absolutely wonderful experience. I was concerned as the first time played it was simply magical, and I was concerned that a replay might be an expensive ($375.00) let down. Things that I picked up on last time were very useful this time, plus having already played the course took much of the jitters out of the picture, not all of them as this is Pebble beach after all. Also please note that during this economic downturn Pebble is hurting and you can get on for $375 now if you ask for the Northern California Golfer discount. If you don’t ask for this its $495. This lasts through the end of the month. If you sign up on the Pebble Beach website you can get their emails, and keep track of how long this discount lasts.

Now I will review my round at Pebble. I will try to keep this brief, but if you are not my mother you may wish to stop here.

I played the blue tees this morning; this makes the course 6737 yards long. After my last round there I changed the clubs that I carried. I got rid of my 4 hybrid for a 2 wood. I also added a 56 degree wedge because of all the little lob shots around the greens that I had last time. So I carried 1-2-3 woods, 3-SW+56 degree and putter. I hope that is only 14 clubs.

On the front 9 I shot a 46. I managed this with four pars and three 7’s. I knocked two balls into the ocean and one OB. My driver caused me fits as I was pulling it very badly, such as the OB left on #2, and trying to fix your swing while playing Pebble is not ideal. On the bright side, on the 1st, I hit the perfect drive using the 2 wood. In fact this was the only reason I carried the two wood, that one shot. I had pars on both of the par three’s hitting the green on both (5 iron on 5, PW on 7). And on 8 and 9 I had very nice drives, that I was unable to follow through on.

On the back 9 things came together a bit more and I had a 41. I had par on 10, which was a very nice hole to par. A horrible drive pulled way left followed by a 5 iron to the fringe and two putts for par. I will note that this green may perhaps be the most beautiful spot on the course if not in the world. From there on I played very steady with pars on 13,15 and 17. I gave up completely on my driver on the 14th hole and began using the two wood which worked on two on three attempts thereafter.
When I got to the 18th tee, on the back nine I had 4 pars and 4 bogies.

The last time I played the 18th I had the 14. Standing on the tee very intimidating if you are not driving with confidence, like me. I used the 2 wood, pulled the drive and watched it bounce off a rock next to the ocean and disappear in the rough down by the water. Amazingly enough I was able to find the ball and hack it back onto the fairway with a pitching wedge. A hooked six iron put me in the long bunker along the seawall. An 80 yard shot from the sand came up 15 yards short of the green. This is followed by the 56 degree to 6 inches for a bogie. 46-41=87 and I feel redeemed. Yes I threw away lots of shots but I am a 10 handicap and that is to be expected. I leave the course happy and redeemed.

A few things that I have learned from my two rounds at Pebble: Much of what I read about how to play the holes was written for pros not for people like me. For instance I tagged a driver on 8 and still had a long ways to go on the second shot. I read a few times not to use a driver as you may go over the cliff. Next, try never to get above the hole on the green and if you can avoid chipping from above the hole you will have saved yourself a handful of strokes. Next, on the first tee just hit a club that you have confidence in even if its going to only go 150 yards. It is the most intimidating shot on the course especially if it is your first round there. Next, there are many blind tee shots that you will face. Google earth the course and check out the distances, and fairway widths, it will pay dividends. Next, just play the course. Yes it is expensive and you can only make the tee time a day ahead of time, but it is worth every cent if you love golf. Finally, walk! You don’t ride a golf cart through the Louvre, so why would you at Pebble. The joy of walking down the fairways is just incredible, and it just can’t be replicated in a cart.

Played this morning starting at 6:00AM finishing at 9:05AM, simply a wonderful pace of play for a twosome. You really have to walk this course, as it is magical in the early morning.

The course is in wonderful condition also. The greens are in good shape now with no signs of the plugs and no odd bounces. According to a knowledgeable inside source the greens should be completely normal next week. Fair ways and tees were in great shape also.

My game was OK bordering on good. The putting on the front suffered from over analysis, but on the back I decided not to think so much and had 5 one putts with pars on 13-18, with the exception of 17.

Played this morning teeing off at 6:10AM. The greens are doing nicely since the plugging. The first few holes were real slow due to the plugging and the wetness on the greens. After the 4th hole the greens were just slow from the plugging. Although plugged the greens were looking real nice, in a couple of weeks they should be back to normal. Pace of play was good (4h15m), never saw the group in front, never had a group behind. Aside from the greens, the course was in fine shape. Oh, and walk this course, the walk down the 13th in the morning is glorious, and cannot be replicated in a cart.

Played on 5/23/09 with an 8:20 tee time. Course was in good shape, although there are lots of dry brown patches in the fairway, and some animal holes where I hadn't seen them before. Green were fine but not as quick as I was expecting.

The wind kicked up on the back 9, making the tee shots on 14 and 16 pretty challenging. Pace of play was fine for a weekend.

I played Pebble Beach this morning (5/12/09) in the first group out. First, this was the single greatest golf experience that I have ever had. the round took 4 hours, 5 minutes, and ever second was just fantastic. It took about four holes to get over the jitters of playing on such a wonderful, historic and great course. Once the jitters were gone and there were no more excuses you find out how difficult the course is. Playing from the blue tees this is not a Driver/Wedge course. Lots of mid to long irons into small greens.

The greens are incredible, very fast and 100% true, and what ever you do, keep the ball below the whole. In a true golfing feat, I had no three putts. It helped that I only one green in regulation, but was on the fringe of most of the others in regulation.

Tee's and fairways were also in perfect condition. There were a couple sections that had recently been sodded and there was a bunker rebuild going on at the 14th green, but otherwise just perfect condition.

And the course itself. It is just completely great. I read people that feel let down as the course turns inland at 11, but I did not feel that at all. I don't think thats the case at all, the course is is still great, its just not directly on the water. I thought all the holes were excellent, even the ever maligned 12th and 15th. I didn't think there was a weak spot in the entire rotation.

As the first group out we set the pace of play, and although we seemed a bit rushed at times in the first 6 holes, from 7 on, we had a nice pace that allowed viewing the beauty of the place while still playing the course in just over four hours.

Service seemed fine. The guy in the pro shop was sort of hard to figure out, but everyone else was pleasant without being over-bearing.

And the price, $495. Well you know what, I joined the NCGA as an associate member for $25 yesterday and suddenly the price of a round dropped to $375. That softened the blow. But the experience of playing the course was just amazing. I played OK, actually good, considering the course, but that did not matter. Its just being in such a wonderful place for four hours, and experiencing it, that I think is worth $495. The morning started out a bit overcast and breezy, but when the sun finally broke out while we were walking down the 15th fairway, it made the whole experience magical.

If you still have a job, and want to play the best course that the public is allowed on in the United States, make the trek to Pebble.

Played this morning joining up with a couple other guys as the first group out. The course is in wonderful condition. The ground is very hard but there wa a nice grass covering where the grass should be. Greens were excellent as were tee boxes. As a threesome and the first group out we finished 18 in 3.5 hours which seemed good. The next group behind us was 7 holes back.

I played the course today and found it to be in good condition. If any complaint, I'd say there was a bit too much water in some places, the greens were moist, but putted true, although not very quick.

This is the third time in the past 9 years that I've played Chalk Mt., and I'd have to rate it as one of my favorite courses. It isn't long, but there are lots of interesting holes, and fun holes. I prefer the back nine, and like all the holes although the 18th is weaker than the former 18th (now the 9th).

I played 18 in about 4 hours and the people in the pro shop and snack bar were nice. Green fee was $20.00.