Northern California Golf Course Reviews
Pasatiempo Golf Club Review
Santa Cruz, CA
72.6 rating; 139 slope |
Pasatiempo Golf Scorecard, from the longest tees as of the date of last review
Pasatiempo Golf Club Overview: Designed by famed architect, Dr. Alistair MacKenzie, this is where he retired and played the majority of his golf in his later years. Characterized by his unparalleled bunker mastery, this golf course is a prototype for great golf course design, even though the length and layouts aren’t the most spectacular. The golf course is more difficult than one would expect, and is great in an understated way. The best golf holes are mentioned below: |
|
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 1: The opening hole is the longest par four on the course and is downhill dead straight. From an elevated tee box, one can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance and all of the trouble one faces on this tough test. With large trees on either side, the drive must stay straight to give any chance to hit the well-bunkered green in regulation. (not pictured)
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 5 (right): One of the best designed par threes anywhere, this fantastic one-shot masterpiece features deep bunkers and a green that snakes its way between all of them. Pin placement will determine the type of shot hit and, if not hit well, bogey or worse will be the most likely outcome.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 5 (right): One of the best designed par threes anywhere, this fantastic one-shot masterpiece features deep bunkers and a green that snakes its way between all of them. Pin placement will determine the type of shot hit and, if not hit well, bogey or worse will be the most likely outcome.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 7 (left): A very tight, but short par four, number seven requires dead accuracy and distance control on both shots. The green is small and undulating so anything off-line or the wrong distance will make par a challenge.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 8: Another great par three from MacKenzie, this one is slightly downhill and is a bowl-shaped green surrounded by deep and well-sculpted bunkers. (not pictured)
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 8: Another great par three from MacKenzie, this one is slightly downhill and is a bowl-shaped green surrounded by deep and well-sculpted bunkers. (not pictured)
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 10: This brutal par four features a partially blind drive over a ravine (visually intimidating, but not in play) that must find the slanted fairway between trees left and right. The downhill approach is brilliant as an enormous and scary bunker complex greets the eye for anything that goes short and left.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 11: One of the greatest and most difficult par fours on earth, this hole is uphill all the way. The drive must find the fairway between the ravine left and the OB right. The longer the ball is hit, the shorter the approach, but more difficult the angle to the green, so the choice of which evil to be faced is the player’s. The approach is to a green perched with ravine to its right and a couple of bunkers and a hillside left. The putting surface is wickedly sloped and anything above the hole is a big mistake.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 12: Never has a drive been designed to lull a player into a greater false sense of security. This downhill hole features an extremely wide fairway and only seems to require an iron off the tee. However, the green is across a valley and is well-bunkered, slopes away from the player and is small. Additionally, anything hit left of center off the tee will most likely be blocked by trees that seemed harmless from the tee. So, the ideal tee shot must be hit long and on the right side of the fairway to leave a short, unmolested iron to the green.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 15: This is another short par three that is strategically engineered by the master of bunkers. There are so many pin placements and things to think about that, this otherwise ordinary par three becomes much more.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 16: This hole is quite famous from tee to green as it has a blind hog’s back tee shot followed by an approach to a three tiered green snuggled against the small road on the left. However, the road is actually not OB, so anything left may be played off asphalt. (not pictured)
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 18: On a golf course with arguably one of the better collections of par threes in all of golf, it is fitting to end the day with one last short hole. This one holds no secrets as short is dead and long will leave a nasty downhill chip or sand shot. But, the shot is elevated and the green is not deep so: easier said than done.
Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole 18: On a golf course with arguably one of the better collections of par threes in all of golf, it is fitting to end the day with one last short hole. This one holds no secrets as short is dead and long will leave a nasty downhill chip or sand shot. But, the shot is elevated and the green is not deep so: easier said than done.
