Cover Story Monterey Golf 2007 Spotlight on Affordable Places and Programs December 2006

by Dan Shafer, with Jeff Ward
Images provided by golf courses

The words “affordable” and “golf” are not often found in the same sentence. There is a broad perception, particularly among people who don’t play much golf, that the sport is one that only the very wealthy can afford. Not only are green fees assumed to be exorbitant, but the amount of time it takes to play 18 holes of golf (on the order of four hours for a typical foursome) makes it all but impossible for the gainfully employed to enjoy the game except on weekends. And, of course, weekends is when the green fees go up even more, right?

We set out in this article to ferret out the ways you can play golf regularly on the Monterey Peninsula without mortgaging your house or giving up your first-born child. While we readily agree that “affordable,” like “beauty,” is in the eye of the beholder, we think we’ve pulled together some reasonably accessible fees and programs for the linkster who is interested in maximizing play time and minimizing wallet impact.

Golf is a Buyer’s Market
One factor that is helping to keep the cost of golf in the affordable range, at least at most of the daily-fee courses in the area, is the fact that business hasn’t been as good the past five years as it was in the boom years around the turn of the millennium. “Golf has been a buyer’s market on the Peninsula since 2001,” says Gary Cursio, president of Laguna Seca Golf Ranch. “We have plenty of inventory, which leads to the creation of excellent values for the golfer.”

Hilary Howard, Director of Communications at the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) at Poppy Hills agrees. “There’s been about a 1/2 per cent decline in golf rounds played in the region each year since 2001,” she told 65° Magazine. Indications are that the downward slide may have been halted this year, which she describes as “largely flat” compared to last year. In fact, she says a number of NCGA-affiliated courses are offering radical changes this year including some that are providing three- and six-hole rates in recognition that the amount of time it takes to play an entire round of 18 holes of golf may be prohibitive for some players. (As of this writing, none of the Monterey Peninsula day-fee courses appears to have such plans.)

Competition from new courses built particularly in the Silicon Valley area in the past year or two has also figured into the local need to keep pricing competitive and affordable. “New courses in San Jose, Gilroy, and San Juan Bautista have had a particular impact on golfers who live and play on the Peninsula,” Cursio said.

Of the 24 golf facilities on the Monterey Peninsula, 10 are day-fee public courses. This article focuses on the seven of those layouts that tend to be the most affordable.

For each course, we provide basic information (par, NCGA championship rating, slope rating, the phone number to reserve tee times, and the website where you can get more information). We also describe the membership, mini-membership, coupon or other discount plans available for each course, along with some of our own evaluations of the pros and cons of each program and its discounted offerings.

You won’t find standard green fees listed here for a couple of reasons. First, some of the courses vary their fees with the season, which would have meant an unwieldy and largely unreadable listing. Second, that information is readily available on each course’s website.

Speaking of websites, many of the courses discussed in this article offer Web visitors two major advantages. First, it may be possible for you to reserve tee times online, often farther in advance than the course accepts such reservations by phone. Second, and more important to the subject of this article, some of the courses offer email-only specials from time to time. If the course site offers an email sign-up for a newsletter or occasional special values, we suggest you sign up for it. As a rule, these tend to be low-frequency lists that won’t clutter your email in-box unnecessarily and you may find yourself able to take advantage of short-term opportunities to save big bucks on your golf fees by paying attention.

Another great website for up-to-date golf information, special deals, and nationwide data that might prove helpful on your next business trip is www.golfnow.com.

NCGA Membership
Before we get into the individual courses and their programs for 2007, it’s important to take a moment to discuss membership in the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA). That organization, which is affiliated with the USGA nationally, is based on the Peninsula, where it owns and operates Poppy Hills on the Peninsula and Poppy Ridge in Livermore.

NCGA is the official handicap-issuing and certifying organization for golf in Northern California. To be a member of the NCGA, you must join through a local club. That doesn’t mean you have to belong to a golf course’s club, however. There are literally hundreds of affiliated clubs formed for social and professional reasons all over the Peninsula.

Once you are a member of NCGA, however, you can play Poppy Hills, one of the most famous Robert Trent Jones II designed courses in the country, at extremely affordable rates.

Bayonet/Black Horse
The Bayonet/Black Horse 36-hole layout in Seaside is undergoing a radical construction project (see the “Face-Lifting Bayonet” article in this issue for details). The course operators are committed to keeping at least 18 holes of golf open at all times.

This historic layout offers a coupon-based plan rather than a membership approach. The Winter Coupon Card is on sale now and expires on March 31. For $99, you can buy 12 coupons redeemable for various combinations of rounds of golf. Russo says it is possible to save as much as $650 using the coupons, which have some restrictions and special considerations associated with them.

Del Monte Golf Course
Del Monte Golf Course is the oldest golf course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. The links opened in 1897 and are part of the Pebble Beach Resorts group of courses and activities. That association enables those who join the Del Monte course’s Dukes program as members to play two of the most famous private courses in the area, The Links at Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill, at steep discounts.

A Dukes membership carries an initiation fee of $255 and offers a number of advantages, chief among which are:

• Green fees of $39 Monday through Friday; $55 on Saturday and Sunday
• Free golf cart December-February; $17 per person thereafter
• A free round with every 10 paid rounds
• Merchandise discounts
• Guest discounts
• Play the Links at Spanish Bay for $125
• Play Spyglass Hill for $175
• Family plans offering spouse cards for $80 or children’s cards for $55 each

Play at Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill is on a space-available basis with 14 days advance notice and compares to standard green fees of $240 and $300 respectively.

Pacific Golf Group
The big news from the Pacific Golf Group for the 2007 season is the fact that members now have four different courses at which their memberships are valid. In addition to Laguna Seca, members can play at special rates at either of Rancho Cañada’s courses, or new for this year, at Eagle Ridge in Gilroy.

Laguna Seca offers two different membership-style plans: a mini-rewards program and a full membership program. The mini-rewards program is priced at $129 for the full calendar year of 2007. Those renewing their 2006 mini-rewards program may do so at $99. Either way, a one-year NCGA membership (value $45) is included with the program. This is a points-redemption plan; members earn points on the basis of one point for each dollar in green fees paid. They may then redeem those points for additional rounds of golf.

The full membership program at Laguna Seca is an “all you can eat” style plan. You pay one annual fee which entitles you to play unlimited golf, unlimited guest privileges at special rates, discounts at the pro shop, unlimited access to the practice facility, an annual NCGA membership, plus a number of additional benefits. Note that this membership does not provide unlimited access to other courses in the Pacific Golf Group. Initiation fees for this package are $1,500 before December 31 and $2,500 thereafter. Monthly dues are then $225 to $280 for individuals, $305 to $335 for families.

Monterey Pines
One of the best-kept secrets among Peninsula golfers is Monterey Pines, located at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. It was formerly a U.S. Navy course, but is now open to the public, though active duty and retired military and civilian employees qualify for discounted green fees and priority tee times. Though this course doesn’t offer any membership plans, it is one of the most affordable daily-fee golf courses in the area, so we’re including it here.

Pacific Grove Golf Links
The only municipally owned and operated golf course on the Peninsula, Pacific Grove Golf Links boasts one of the most beautiful back nines around. The back half of the course wends its way along the ocean, providing breathtaking views and tricky winds — making this one of the most popular golf courses in the region. Players refer to the course as “The poor man’s Pebble Beach.”

In addition to the most affordable daily green fees in the area, this course offers a 20-play card ($200 for residents, $250 for non-residents) and an annual card valid from July 1 to June 30 at prices ranging from $575 to $774 depending on age and residency.

The course opened its brand-new and somewhat controversial clubhouse in February and the Point Pinos Grill in March. The grill is operated by the owners of the well known Red House Café in Pacific Grove, Christopher D’Amelio and Laura Medina-D’Amelio.

Poppy Hills
Poppy Hills, the NCGA-operated course in Pebble Beach, is widely acknowledged as a beautiful championship course. Daily green fees are on the high side but all NCGA members — and that includes close to 100,000 golfers within a 65-mile radius of Pebble Beach — can play this fine layout for just $52 Monday through Friday and $66 on the weekend. Poppy Hills is, of course, one of the three courses that hosts the annual AT&T ProAm tournament, easily the most famous annual golf tourney on the Peninsula.

A CLOSER LOOK
Jeff “ProGoofer” Ward, a well-known local golfer and pundit and co-author of this article, points out that local golfers almost all hold one of the membership or reward plans discussed in this article. “But,” he says, “you can often get much greater benefit by going for two programs instead of one. The question is which second one to choose.”

Here are Ward’s thoughts on the main programs from which local golfers looking for affordable fees and a broad menu of benefits might choose.

Del Monte Dukes Membership
BREAK-EVEN RATE:
4.5 rounds of golf

PROS:

• Great rate for a “resort feel”
• Discounts at Spyglass and Spanish Bay (almost 50% discounted rate)
• Discounts for guests at Del Monte, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay for your complete foursome, great for business play
• Great golfer’s grill for breakfast, lunch or drinks

CONS:

• Slightly high initiation fee
• Twilight is defined as  after 2:30 pm, making it hard to finish a complete round
• No driving range

Pacific Golf Group Mini-Membership
BREAK-EVEN POINT:
4.1 rounds of golf

PROS:

• Four courses from which to choose, all in good shape despite the amount of play they get.
• Low initiation fee with great discount rates all year long

• Initiation fee includes NCGA membership (saving $45), giving you NCGA discount rate at Poppy Hills
• Frequent-play points for free golf
• Great twilight rates
• Full facilities
• Great Mini-members tournaments during the year

CON:

• No special rates for your guests (but check out www.golfnow.com and you may find them anyway)

Bayonet/Black Horse Coupon Programs
BREAK-EVEN POINT:
1.6 rounds of golf (there are 2 coupons for a free round)

PROS:

• 12 coupons for various discounts, including 2 free rounds and 2 “2 for 1”
• Quick re-pay on coupon program
• Full Facilities
• Good twilight rates
• For most golfers this is a great second program

CONS:

• Coupon programs more limited and limiting than other membership-style plans
• Not a full year coupon program, 2 separate programs — Winter then Summer, so you need to factor in 2 times $99 ($198) for a year
• Once coupons are used, must pay full rate, so average cost of program goes up the more you play
• Only 18 or 27 holes open at one time during construction