Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach is a coastal resort community in Monterey County, which houses four world-glass golf courses. The first and most famous is Pebble Beach Golf Links. This 6,828-yard course is known for its stunning views of the coastline and rocky elevation changes. The course has hosted four U.S. Open Championships and will again be the site in 2010. It was named the top public course in the country by Golf Digest in 2009, but it comes with hefty greens fees ($495). The Pebble Beach community also offers three other challenging designs at The Links at Spanish Bay, Del Monte and Spyglass Hill, the second-most played course. Spyglass Hill has hosted numerous PGA Tour events. The first five holes play alongside the Pacific Ocean.
Pebble Beach
2700 17 Mile Drive
Pebble Beach, California 93953-2668
(800) 654-9300
pebblebeach.com/
La Costa Resort and Spa
La Costa offers just the right blend of relaxation at its 400-acre resort and risk-and-reward golf on its two championship courses in Carlsbad. Before you pull out the clubs, get pampered with a professional massage, a facial or take a steam at the 43,000-square foot spa. Be prepared for anything but relaxation, though, when you step foot onto the 7,021-yard North Course or the 7,004-yard South Course. While both have a steady supply of streams and have well-positioned, high-lipped bunkers, the North Course plays longer with more room for errors off the tee, while the South features mostly narrow fairways. Each course maintains garage-floor slick, bent-grass greens. If you have enough energy left after 18 holes, you can unwind at the water slide park, swimming pools or grab a first-class meal at Legends Bistro or BlueFire Grill.
La Costa Resort and Spa
2100 Costa Del Mar Road
Carlsbad, California 92009
(800) 854-5000
lacosta.com/
San Diego
Carlsbad isn't the end of the southern California experience. Travel about 35 miles south to San Diego. There, you'll find a couple of must-play golf courses, Torrey Pines and Maderas. Host of the 2008 U.S. Open Championship, the 7,607-yard South Course at Torrey Pines is the longest course in the PGA Tour. It sits on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, as putts break toward the ocean. Maderas, meanwhile, plays 7,115 yards and features a more hilly terrain settled on outcroppings of the Pacific Ocean. Creeks and elevation changes dominate this Johnny Miller design. If golf isn't in your vacation plans this time around, you can always check out the San Diego Zoo, which houses more than 4,000 animals. Check out the Panda Research Station, the Polar Bear Plunge and the Elephant Odyssey at one of the country's largest zoos (100 acres).
Torrey Pines Golf Course
11480 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, California 92037
(800) 985-4653
torreypinesgolfcourse.com
About The Author
Sean Quinn is a writer and editor based in New York City. He has spent the last decade covering major sporting events from the NFL playoffs to the U.S. Open. He has written for the Kansas City Star and ESPN, among others. He is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
