I have played a lot of golf courses throughout this great land of ours as well as in the British Isles and Ireland. Every now and then someone will ask me a question that can take on one of several forms. What is my favorite golf course? What is the best golf course I have ever played? If I could play any golf course in the world one more time, which one would it be?
From my perspective, each and every form of that question causes me to ponder, regardless of how many times I may have answered the question. There are a lot of great courses in our Northern California backyard that could easily qualify as a great, favorite or memorable day on the links. There are three courses on the Monterey Peninsula that easily fill the bill. Pebble Beach is not only one of the most beautiful courses I have ever played, but it is historic in nature, having hosted the PGA Tour for close to 70 years as well as a handful of United States Open championships. Its pair of next-door neighbors are equally outstanding, namely Cypress Point and Spyglass Hill. Because of the NCGA connection with Spyglass, it is the California course on my “greatest” list that I have played the most. I have teed it up at Spyglass some 40 times. You just can’t go wrong with Pebble Beach, Cypress Point and Spyglass Hill.
North of Monterey in the town of Santa Cruz sits the Pasatiempo Golf Club. A high-end course that is open to the public, it too is a real gem. Farther up the coast in San Francisco sits the Olympic Club, a true test of golf that has broken the hearts of Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson in past U.S. Opens. One would need to also rank the Meadow Club in Marin as a great golf course, and farther along the Pacific Coast Highway in southern Oregon sits Pacific Dunes, a great Tom Doak design that is part of the 85-hole Bandon Dunes complex. Not looking to avoid all the great golf that Southern California has to offer, I have high regards for the PGA West Stadium Course in the desert. The pros hate it, but once upon a time they hated Spyglass Hill too. PGA West is Pete Dye at his diabolical best.
Because of my Midwestern roots, I carry a very high regard for a number of tree-lined, traditional courses that spend a good portion of the winter season under snow. Crystal Downs in northern Michigan is a hidden gem, Kent Country Club in Grand Rapids is a 120-year-old masterpiece, and Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, is well worth the hundreds it costs to play. The Chicago area is home to some top-notch courses including Ravisloe, Midlothian, Cog Hill and the Donald Ross-designed course that first introduced me to the game, Beverly.
Of course, the West Coast and Middle America don’t have a monopoly on great golf. The birthplace of golf, St. Andrews in northeastern Scotland, is golf’s version of the holy land. Every true lover of the game has to experience the Old Course, the site of the British Open every five years. On Scotland’s opposite coast sits Turnberry, the Pebble Beach of Scotland. It too has its great British Open history, namely the Jack Nicklaus-Tom Watson Duel in the Sun of 1977. It’s just a short hop across the sea to Ireland where I still maintain great memories of Ballybunion, Lahinch and perhaps my favorite course of all, Waterville.
Nonetheless, the questions about best, most memorable or favorite course of all is one I am not very comfortable in answering. It’s like trying to name the best Beatles song or the greatest movie of all time or the greatest team of all time. There are so very many answers and it’s all totally subjective.
However, on another note, if you asked me to name my favorite, most memorable or best nine-hole golf course, the answer is much clearer. True, there are a whole lot more great 18-hole golf courses than niners, and oftentimes nine-hole courses are mere afterthoughts. Also, there is little history behind nine-hole courses because they don’t host major championships or professional tour events although the very first U.S. Open was on a niner played four times.
Northwoods along the Russian River is a true golfing gem. I think Arbuckle in Colusa County is very well done, and I have many fond memories of the little nine-holer in faraway Weed in Siskiyou County. McCloud has a great nine-hole course as does San Francisco’s McLaren Park complex, now called Gleneagles International. The Sydney Marovitz course within walking distance of Chicago’s Wrigley Field has a great locale alongside Lake Michigan and is a fine test of golf. Lost Dunes in Michigan is a Tom Doak design that is often ranked No. 1.
Yet after having been to Aetna Springs Golf Course in nearby Pope Valley on two occasions during a six-day period this month, I need to put in my two cents out there about one of the finest nine-hole courses in America. Originally built in the 1890s as part of a high-end resort complex that catered to the elite of the silent film industry and theater, the golf course at Aetna Springs was redesigned some six years ago by well-known golf course architect Tom Doak (Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal, Streamsong, Cape Kidnappers). The all-new design at Aetna Springs is top notch with every hole fitting the bill as extremely memorable. The greens are fast and deceptive. You can power your way around the golf course or you can play smart golf and be equally rewarded for your good play. There are many different ways to play Aetna Springs.
Aetna Springs had the gifted Dick Rudolph as its superintendent for a number of years. Its head professional, Steve Flick, formerly of Cobb, treats the golfing public with class and dignity. While I have been a longtime member of local nine-hole golf courses Adams Springs and Buckingham, and have many fond memories of both venues, I can go on and on about the merits of Aetna Springs because of its outstanding design features, great course conditions, shot making features, and the way the public is treated by the staff. You can own a winery or you can be a high school kid from Kelseyville and you always seem to get the impression that you are the most important golfer to set foot in their pro shop that day at Aetna Springs.
If I had just one 18-hole round of golf to play, I’d could easily debate the merits of St. Andrews or Pebble Beach or Pacific Dunes or Ravisloe. Yet if there was only time to fit in a last-minute nine-hole round of golf, I’m quite sure that I would want to take the 44-mile trip to the Napa County line and tee it up at Aetna Springs. It’s a world class niner that sits in our own backyard.
