 Pasatiempo's Way to a Better Game
One of the first things you notice when you flip through Pasatiempo's yardage book is list of principles for good golf course design. These commandments of sorts, complied by the golf course architect Alister MacKenzie, were followed to a tee when he created this gem that sits tucked just off Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With beautiful surroundings, holes with plenty of character, and a course arranged so that everyone can enjoy a round in spite of piling up big scores, Pasatiempo offers golf at its finest.
Seven-time major winner Juli Inkster grew up and lived here in one of the many 1960-style houses that are adjacent to the course, and it was here that she began learning the game at age fifteen. Crafting one's game at Pasatiempo is akin to a musician going to Julliard - you are pretty much guaranteed a rewarding career simply due to your level of education. But for those of us who have the opportunity to play here as amateurs, the education is swift and incomplete: one quickly realizes how much more there is to learn about the game of golf.
 Mackenzie, who also designed Cypress Point and partnered with Bobby Jones to create Augusta, believed that a golf course should be designed in a way that encourages the player to think his or her way around the holes. And Pasatiempo, which had its inaugural event over eighty years ago, is no exception - from fairway to green, players need to be mentally sharp or their scorecards will easily reflect their missteps.
This "thinking" philosophy became quickly apparent to roughly 150 amateur players who took advantage of a special Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) outing on November 2, 2009. For the last couple of years the NCGA has been providing their members play dates to a variety of golf courses in the California region. Members have the opportunity to play some of the best private and semi-private courses at a significantly reduced rate; courses such a Mayacama, Stanford University, and Pebble Beach. Pasatiempo, which will set you back $220 a round was offered at $150, with cart, a plentiful boxed lunch, a Nike hat, and tee prizes.
"Of all our events, this one sells out the fastest," said Ali White, the member programs coordinator for the NCGA. "It's a very popular event and the waiting list can get very long." And no wonder, it is a great deal, particularly on a sunny California November day where temperatures reached over seventy-five degrees.
The format for the Pasatiempo event (they vary from outing to outing) was Four Horsemen - with each player playing his or her own ball but after the round the course handicap is deducted from each gross score and added together for the team score. The team with the lowest score wins. But at the end of the day, even the winning team members were scratching their heads about their games. "My scores were surprisingly higher," said one NCGA member. "I mean I knew they would be higher because I never played here before, but I really thought I'd do better than this. The course makes you want to come back and try it again."
 Indeed, Pasatiempo is a place to be played more than once, not only for its stimulating golf but also for its beautiful surroundings. The drive to the clubhouse winds past a couple of pristine fairways to an unassuming white southwestern-style building. Opposite the clubhouse you'll find the first tee, which sits high up on a hill overlooking the fairway, with Monterrey Bay in the far distance. And down the road about fifty yards past the 10th tee (which looks like it has a crater just past the tee box) is the historic Hollins House, named for Marion Hollins, a U.S. Women's Amateur Champion and pioneer in the field of golf course development. In the Hollins House you'll find the Tap Room, named one of Golf Digest's Best 19th Holes, and with its oak bar, leather chairs, and walls lined with historical photographs - it is a great place to relive your round ... or plan your next.
On this day, many of the golfers found their way to the compact practice area directly opposite the first tee and to the driving range, which can be reached by walking down the very left side of the first fairway. Although it was uncertain if this was an acceptable way to get there, the worn-out path along the way suggested members used this route often.
After testing the greens (fair warning: they are fast here), players were then carted to their beginning holes for a shotgun start. Rustic red-post fences outline the cart paths with the grand, sweeping elevations of the fairways just beyond. If you can walk this course, and it is walkable, you'll see more of its beauty (principle #1 for good golf course design), and you'll have a greater understanding of the layout.
 MacKenzie, whose game must have been without a slice or hook, has placed very few angled fairways here. Instead, there are various plateaus that can leave you visually perplexed about what club to pull next. He believed there should be minimal blind approach shots, so there's no doubt about where you are going, but take more club. You'll be happy you did.
"What's interesting about this course is the holes look doable enough when you first step up to them; there are very few doglegs, but once you start playing you realize the comsplexity. You want do-overs on all the holes," said an NCGA member who came to the event from Marin County, California.
This becomes apparent when you step up to the first tee - one of most beautiful holes imaginable, not only for its views but for its majestic and inviting downhill fairway with the green just beyond. Getting home to this narrow green that falls off into a deep rough is no picnic. Ask yourself what kind of third shot you want before you even contemplate hitting your second. The chances of putting for birdie are about 50/50, so guard against the traps on the right, and beware of the rough on the left. It's a lot of mental work for just one hole... and the day has just begun.
After a couple par fours and two long par-threes, you'll find the very difficult par-five sixth hole, which looks almost like a carnival fun house from the tees. With narrow, tree-lined walls and a sideways-sloping fairway, be sure to choose your aiming point wisely. Hug the left side on your second shot for a good approach in, which, opposite the fairway, is approximately where you'll find the house Dr. MacKenzie resided for several years.
 The par-3 eighth hole is a deceivable little number. Don't bother to adjust for the downhill distance. Player after player in this tournament did just that only to watch what they thought was a good tee shot land disappointingly short. And on this course it's either up or down. The elevation changes among the natural hazards are classic MacKenzie design. So, if you are hitting downhill you can bet the next shot is uphill. On this green a chip shot that isn't carefully positioned will travel ever so happily right by the hole and down to another section of the green. Three putts are evitable, maybe four.
The par-5 ninth takes you back up to the clubhouse and illustrates another of MacKenzie's principles - (Where possible, the course should be arranged in two loops of nine holes.). Beginning the second loop, you'll find yourself overlooking the tenth fairway.
MacKenzie believed in having a sufficient number of heroic carries and it's here that you'll see that aforementioned "crater" - a roughly 250-yard shot over a ravine that, if made, should be celebrated by a twelve-piece marching band. But if you opt out of all that pomp and circumstance, you can take an escape route to a landing spot on the right. Much shorter, yes, but at least you are safe. Your next shot (if hit well) advances the ball up and over a rather large hill and then travels down, leaving you about 100 yards to a pretty little green nestled in a neighborhood valley.
What follows on this scenic back nine are more classical holes that wind up and down through the natural layout of the land. But the sixteenth hole, which MacKenzie called "the best two-shot hole I know," stands out and needs mentioning. Affectionately named the "hellhole" by some members of the NCGA event, it begins innocently enough with a good drive down the middle right side, but a second shot uphill and traveling a little too far right is jailsville. And one lucky enough to hit the putting surface has nothing to celebrate. This multi-tiered green is a challenge at best. A putt gently tapped can easily travel all the way down to a false front. After about, say, your fourth or fifth putt, you'll likely notice the foursome behind you waiting in the fairway wondering what the heck is taking you guys so long. Give them a wave; they have no idea what is in store for them.
 The sun began to set during the last couple holes of the event and for those players ending their day on the eighteenth, which finishes off that second loop of nine, they were able to play a rare par-three closing hole. This delightful looking, all carry, hole ends up roadside and is a short walk back to the clubhouse bar, where the beer is waiting and the popcorn machine runs nonstop.
While the NCGA players had a few drinks and waited for the announcement of the winners, some of the participants wandered over to the memorabilia cases that are filled with the history and pictures that make up the traditions of this course - pictures of MacKenzie himself, Bobby Jones, and other famous players of the last dozen decades who visited here. One display case, dedicated to Juli Inkster, includes her coveted U.S. Open trophy. Seems fitting to have it displayed here at her alum mater; the place that helped her become a great golfer.
Alister MacKenzie's Thirteen General Principles of Golf Course Architecture
- The course should have beautiful surroundings.
- The course, where possible, should be arranged in two loops of nine holes.
- There should be a large proportion of good two-shot holes and at least four one-shot holes.
- There should be little walking between the greens and tees.
- Every hole should be different in character.
- There should a minimum of blindness for the approach shots.
- There should be infinite variety in the strokes used to play the various holes (in other words, expect to use all your clubs here).
- There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries.
- There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls.
- The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game.
- The course should be so arranged that all levels of play can enjoy the round in spite of piling up a big score.
- The greens and fairways should be sufficiently undulating.
- The course should be equally good during winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens.
NCGA outings information can be found at: www.ncga.org/about-ncga/member_outings/
The NCGA Members-Only Outing program is a new addition to the ever-growing list of NCGA member benefits.
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