Donna Weigelt , Monterey Area Director
The Monterey Area consists of 15 PWGA Ladies groups at very beautiful and unique courses in the Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey County area.
Bolado Park
This is in Tres Pinos is a few miles south of Hollister. This is a level course with tree-lined fairways, a creek running through a couple of holes and well-conditioned greens. There are no water hazards, but there is two-inch rough outside the fairways. It is an easy course to walk and the green fees are affordable.
Coyote Creek
This is located in San Jose, California. It features two spectacular 18 hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses, and a Golf Instruction Center. The first course, the Tournament Course, opened in 1999 and runs right along Route 101 giving it high visibility to the heavily traveled freeway. The course is set up with five sets of tees and plays from 5,184 yards up front to 7,027 yards at the tips. The Blue tees create a strong, demanding course at 6,633 yards. The second course, the Valley Course, opened for play in July 2001 and utilizes the mature cypress, oaks, and Monterey pines that lined the original holes of the old Riverside course. The first challenge to designer Nicklaus was to create a routing that would take the course out and back to the new clubhouse setting that was built for the two courses. To do this, Nicklaus had to create seven new holes to get over to the old course location.
DeLaveaga
Located in Santa Cruz, this tight, rolling course in the Santa Cruz Mountains has lateral hazards on nearly every hole. Staying on the fairways off the tees is vital. This course may give the appearance of birdie opportunities, but the do not come easy. This is a fun and challenging course.
Del Monte Golf Course
Located in Monterey, part of the Pebble Beach Company courses, this is the oldest course west of the Mississippi, and hosted the first California Amateur and is the prime amenity of an adjacent luxury hotel. Pebble Beach? Nope. Try Del Monte Golf Course, co-host (with Pebble) of the Champions Tour's Wal-Mart First Tee Open. The 6,357-yard, 109-year old track is crammed into a small plot, its narrow fairways hemmed in by oaks. There's nary a water hazard, but tiny greens, plenty of bunkers, overhanging branches and coastal breezes make this an honest, if old-fashioned, test of golf skills.
Eagle Ridge
This course is located in Gilroy. The public venue's 18 holes were meticulously designed by Ron Fream and David Dale to incorporate the existing movement of the land, frequent natural water features and spectacular views. And like many relatively upscale modern courses, six sets of tee boxes offer plenty of options, making the course range from 7,005 yards from the black tees to slightly more than 5,102 from the burgundy markers. Tree-lined, swelling fairways lead to multi-tiered greens that are protected by dramatic bunkering, a scattering of rocks and diverse water features. The layout is sprinkled with 92 bunkers, three lakes on two holes and creeks on seven holes. Yet it remains a fair-minded test to a variety of challengers. Eagle Ridge has notably been named among the top “50 Women Friendly Courses" by Golf for Women Magazine.
Gilroy Golf Course
There are actually 11 holes on this course, changing the back nine into a different layout. This mature course is situated in oak-studded foothills. The terrain is rolling and hilly with small greens. Panoramic views of the valley are offered on the 8th and 17th hole. This is a very affordable and challenging golf course.
King City Golf Course
Located in King City, this course opened in 1953 and Robert Dean Putman redesigned it in 1976. This flat, short course has tree-lined fairways and small, tricky greens. A creek meanders through the terrain and comes into play on four holes. This is a very affordable and challenging golf course.
NPS
This is located in Monterey; Monterey Pines is owned by the United States Navy and offers the golfing enthusiast an 18-hole golf course, two practice putting greens, a full service driving range, a snack bar and a Pro Shop. Additionally they offer “on course” beverage service and catering for your golf event. This is also affordable and challenging.
Pacific Grove Golf Course
This tight, scenic, Oceanside course has a Scottish links – style flavor and is fun to play. The front nine weaves through the forest and is flanked with trees, while the back nine is bordered by sand dunes and natural foliage. An old lighthouse stands guard over the course.
Rancho Canada
Located in Carmel Rancho Canada consists of two courses – East and West course. These courses are nestled in the scenic Carmel River Valley and are tight with plenty of mature pines and oak trees. Both courses offer excellent greens that hold your approach and roll true. The West Course is tougher and tighter. The 15th hole is one of the tightest par 4s you will ever play. The East Course is short, surrounded by trees and crosses the Carmel River five times. Yard for Yard, these are two of the most challenging in the area.
Roving Rascals
These are a group of ladies who play in the Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo area and belong to Monterey Area PWGA. They do not have a home course but are a traveling team. We try to go every other year to their area and have a play day. We did Hunter Ranch two years ago and Paso Robles this year. They have been very supportive of functions in our area and we are so glad to have them as part of our groups.
San Juan Oaks
Every hole of this well designed, old style course course located in the San Juan Babtista/Hollister area, is different. The course meanders through the rolling hills, where players encounter native oaks, plenty of bunkers and undulating, well paced greens. This is a very challenging test of golf located in an awesome scenic area. The amenities at San Juan Oaks are outstanding.
Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Course
The 9-hole "Bayonet Back 9" course at the Bayonet/Black Horse Golf Course facility in Seaside, California features 7,117 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 75.6 and it has a slope rating of 136. The 9-hole "Black Horse Front" course at the Bayonet/Black Horse Golf Course facility in Seaside, California features 7,009 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 135 on . . The 9-hole "Bayonet Front 9" course at the Bayonet/Black Horse Golf Course facility in Seaside, California features 7,094 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 75.1 and it has a slope rating of 139 on .
Spring Hills
This course situated in the foothills of Watsonville is a challenging course and is tight with lots of trees. The many doglegs make placement important. The back nine is rolling and scenic. During your round you may see deer, bobcats, rabbits, quail, coyotes, foxes and hawks in this country setting. The Clubhouse is an old farmhouse built in 1911. It is a wonderful place to hold tournaments as Amy always surpasses all expectations.
Twin Creeks
Twin Creeks Golf Course, located in Salinas, is a new 9-hole 3 and 4 par golf facility including a 30 station night lighted driving range. Steve Halsey, ALSA, Halsey Daray Golf designed the $7 million facility. The par 31 golf course is 1,850 yards in length and has four par 4 holes that range between 250 and 375 yards. The course of gentle rolling hills with USGA greens is surrounded by protected wetlands, Natividad Creek and Gabilan Creek with vistas of the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges. Twin Creeks is a complete facility offering 9 and 18-hole rounds of golf, a fully equipped practice and teaching facility complete with golf carts. The 5,000 square foot Twin Creeks Clubhouse contains a pro-shop and snackbar that is available for meetings, parties, and banquets. Twin Creeks is a fun facility that will challenge the experienced golfer while providing excellent learning opportunities for youth and the novice golfer.
We hold playdays in the Monterey Area once a month in April, May, July, August and October. We hold our team play qualifying round in June at Ridgemark, Laguna Seca or Aptos. We take the month of September off as we usually have 3 Monterey Area Teams going to Team Play finals. We compete for Monterey Area Team Play net and gross champion and Winner’s circle for gross and net.
Please visit our Monterey Area eClub for further information and updates.
