Cypress Point Club

This, our final game on a golf trip of a lifetime, was to be played on the world's number two ranked course, Cypress Point Club. There is a certain mystique about Cypress, so private, that very few are blessed with the opportunity to experience it. Fortunately, very fortunately, Dad and I were kindly given this opportunity by Cypress' Head Golf Professional, Casey Reamer.

Located around the corner from Pebble Beach and in view from Spyglass Hill, Cypress Point Club possesses a golf course like no other. There are three distinct aspects to the course - inland, duneland and seaside.

To give you an idea of what Cypress Point Club is like, I have re-written the summary found in the Club's yardage book.

"Cypress Point, opened in 1928, affords a peaceful embrace on the senses. Its coastal splendor is to be seen, felt, heard and inhaled. Fortunately for those who possess an affection for golf, the precious land is also to be played in the process.

The walking of its eighteen holes can be something of a spiritual journey through shadowed pine forest, over sparkling dunes, around beach grass, along restless sea. Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the physican-turned-architect, crafted a course meant to offer pleasurable excitement. For certain, the breathtaking views of nature's beauty can overwhelm. "Cypress Point," O.B. Keeler once wrote, "is a dream - spectacular, perfectly designed and set about white sand dunes and a cobalt sea, and studded with the Monterey Cypress so bewilderingly picturesque that it seems to have been the crystalization of the dreams of an artist who has been drinking gin and sobering up on absinthe."

Cypress Point is about cliffside vistas. It is about aesthetic wonder. It is about contours and diverse terrain. It is about raw wind off the ocean. It is about camouflaged fairway bunkers that can't be seen when looking back from the green. It is about a rare collection of holes - some seaside, some tree-lined, some inland and hilly. It is about pure golf - enjoyable and, at only 6,524 yards, challenging even for the touring professional. "I do not expect anyone will ever have the opportunity of constructing another course like Cypress Point," Dr. MacKenzie said in 1932, "as I do not suppose anywhere in the world is there such a glorious combination of rocky coast, sand dunes, pine woods and cypress tress."

If there is a more anticipated and scenic walk in golf than the one up to the 15th tee, then perhaps it is the trip to the 16th. The latter par 3, measuring 233 yards, has been called the game's best, most feared and most photographed hole. One can either go for the green at the 16th or lay up with an iron to the fairway on the left. That type of strategic design was in keeping with Dr. MacKenzie's prescription of many playing options. He believed in constructing risk-reward holes that demanded skill and smarts. A player attempting a dangerous carry will encounter advantage or penalty. "There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries, but the course should be arranged so that the weaker player...shall always have an alternate route open to him," said MacKenzie, the architect who probably had the greatest influence on contemporary design.

By any measure, Cypress Point provides pleasure and adventure worth treasuring. "Gentlemen," member Boney Bearden once said to his playing partners, "I suggest that we pause for a moment, admire the beautiful view, count our blessings - very few of us are privileged to pass this way."

Again, we had delightful weather during our round at Cypress. At most, a one club breeze and heavy air affected the flight of the golf ball. For much of our round, the morning cloud kept the temperatures perfect for golf.

While Dad played the front nine extremely well with 19 Stableford points, the sense of occasion go to me somewhat, swinging the club poorly, particularly on the short par four 8th hole, getting stuck in the sand dunes up the right after a poor tee shot.

Thankfully, my fortunes changed on the back nine, swinging it easier and enjoying the experience, I had 19 points or one over through holes 10 to 18.

Highlights during round came at almost every hole. The 5th is a terrific dogleg left far five with super bunkering in the lay up zone. With back-to-back par fives, the 6th was also an awesome hole with its green set at the foot of a large sand dune. Short par fours at the 8th and 9th holes rounded our the front nine. While I played the 8th extremely poorly, I appreciated the design of the hole for what it is. As for the 9th, this is simply the best short par four I have ever seen or played. Surrounded entirely by sand and at just 289 yards, it is drivable. For the last six months I told myself that I would hit driver and go for the green. I did and i hit it left into the sand. The result was a bogey. From the tee, there is an incredible view of the 12th, 13th and 14th holes with the ocean in the background.

Personal highlights came at the 12th, where I birdied Ben Hogen's favourite hole in golf, the 13th where i go up and down from the greenside trap to make par, the short and spellbinding 15th, where I hit a wedge to 8 feet, only to lip out the birdie putt, and on the 16th, the most famous par three in the world, where I hit driver over the Pacific Ocean to the back of the green and got up and down for par. It must be said though that this was my second ball, as the first cut a little right, hit the rocks and found a new home. Our caddie said, "great mulligan par." Who am I to argue!

Following the back-to-back par threes at 15 and 16 the 17th completes what is the finest stretch of three holes in all of golf. A mid-length par four hugs the Pacific Ocean on the right. And now for the 18th, a much maligned hole and unfairly in my opinion. If it wasn't for the previous three holes, I think the 18th wouldn't receive so much criticism. Its a shot par four, dogleg right and up the hill to the green. From the tee, you must play over a Cypress tree while hoping to avoid being obstructed by more Cypress trees down the right. Perhaps my opinion is somewhat persuaded by the fact I hit a perfect drive, fading ever so slightly around the inside corner, leaving just a wedge in, resulting in a par.

Cypress Point is simply the most amazing golfing experience I have had, and probably will ever have. Combined with what is the world's best course, the staff were incredibly hospitable and genuine. I have never felt so welcome. Everyone at Cypress Point Club shares the same passion - golf and their golf course.

Thank you to Saint, our caddy for the day, Terry, the golf shop attendant who is apparently still regarded as a junior, having worked at Cypress for just 17 years, and of course Casey Reamer, the Club's Head Golf Professional, for allowing us the opportunity of a once in a lifetime experience!

Finally, you are probably wondering why you haven't seen any photos. With the exception of the photo above, showing myself at the Club's entry point on the day before we played, Cypress Point Club does not allow people to post photos of the golf course on the internet. While people have posted photos and video online, I cannot disrespect the Club's wishes, for they were the ones that made our experience possible. For that reason, I hope the words you have just read will somewhat do this special place justice.