My wife and I are planning to drive down to San Diego from Seattle Sep 12.

Our idea is to make it leisurely with driving and golf en route till we get to San Diego in about 10 days. We have Pebble Beach very much in mind.

Any suggestions that will make this a once in a life time trip for 60 year olds will be much appreciated. Suggestions are particularly welcome for the route to follow, places to stop for the night, restaurants etc.

This might be asking for too much on forum member's time but I am sure that others have been through the experience and may wish to share it.

My husband is playing in Bandon, Oregon this weekend, Bandon Dunes Resort. It's a links course that follows along the Pacific and is spectacular. Supposedly it is about on a par, beauty-wise anyway, with Pebble Beach.

They played 36 holes Friday on two of the courses. The first 18 holes he shot an 83. By the next 18 holes the wind was coming in at 20 mph off the water and he shot 100.

These are courses you must walk, but everyone in the group was about your age as well, and although he estimates they walked 12 miles with the 36 holes, all were fine and thrilled with the experience.

For San Diego, try to get a tee-time at Torrey Pines, a US Open venue. I prefer the South Course, but the North one is quite good, too. Both feature gorgeous scenery. Conditioning could be better, sometimes, but then, these are public courses with quite some play to endure. The green-fees are comparatively affordable. If you could not get a tee-time, you might still go there. If you arrive by 05.00 h a.m. and place your bags in line, you can have breakfast nearby and will be most likely to be called up at around 09.00 h a.m.
A nice alternative would be a round on Coronado Island golf course, which is a pretty little public layout along Coronado Island's coastline. Rather affordable and enjoyable, too.
Pelican Hill near Newport Beach usually gets very good rankings, but is very expensive.
Restaurant tips for San Diego would certainly include George's at the Cove in La Jolla. For spending the night, I would recommend staying in either Del Mar, La Jolla or on Coronado Island. As these parts of the city (or suburbs, to be precise) feature a good combination of proximity to downtown, close proximity to good golfing possibilities, the beach, and a center of town that is inviting to walk it.
To recommend any hotels, you would need to be a bit more specific on your budget. The nicest lodging options for San Diego would include The Lodge at Torrey Pines at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, L'Auberge Del Mar in Del Mar, and the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado.
Have some great rounds!
hsv

For a once in a lifetime trip, you should consider stopping in the Napa Valley. You could stay at Meadowood (which is an absolutely gorgeous place to stay and has a nice 9 hole executive course, see www.meadowood.com). While in the valley you could play golf at Silverado Resort which has two 18 hole courses designed by Robert Trent Jones (See www.silveradoresort.com). Finally, the valley offers opportunities to visit some great vineyards during the fall harvest and some of the best restaurants in California. Certainly worth a couple of days.

Here's a second for Bandon and Pacific Dunes. Pacific Dunes is rated just behind Pebble Beach as the best course in the country available to public play, and Bandon Dunes is in the top 10.

As OO wrote, both Bandon courses are meant to be walked, though I have seen a few carts the several times I've played there. Whether walking or riding, though, I would recommend a caddy; he'll save you a bunch of strokes.

OO, your husband caught the courses on a good day. I usually play them in the fall or spring; 35-40 mph winds are not unusual, often with rain to boot. All part of the "experience" though.

I get so excited about Bandon... As to your other questions, you might consider the following in your itinerary....

1. Mount St. Helen's;
2. Pumpkin Ridge, 25 miles west of Portland, site of two US Women's Opens, and one US Men's Amateur;
3. Salishan, near Newport OR - decent golf course and nice accommodations and dining;
4. Sand Pines, near Florence, OR. Nowhere near the quality of the Bandon courses or Pumpkin Ridge, but a pretty good track;
5. Jet Boat up the Rogue River from Gold Beach, OR.
6. Avenue of the Giants, northern CA.

beachbum, he came home so enthusiastic about their weekend: the beauty of the courses, the ocean, the cool weather (Floridian and sick of heat), the lodge (perfect for groups of guys golfing together). They even had some sun! He says Golf Magazine rated the two Bandon courses #2 and #3 behind Pebble Beach, and ahead of Pinehurst #4. They all had a fabulous time (he from Tampa the other 3 from Dallas and all in awe of the scenery). I'm not a golfer but it looked so beautiful I'd love to have gone just to walk the course!

They also stopped at a vineyard I've seen mentioned here in current threads. Willamette? Had to learn the correct pronunciation ..."Dammit it's Willamette". Rhyme the words.

Fair is fair and while he was gone I did a little planning of my own. When he called from the Portland airport I told him he might start working on his French on the long flight home. (I looove being owed! ) Bon soir!

I'm laughing OO, because it was on my return from three days at Bandon last fall that my wife suggested (more like demanded) Paris this fall. Lucky me!! (and your husband too)

See ya there beachbum!! LOL

PS...I'd high five your wife if I could!

Thanks guys. You have given me a lot to work on.

One final help area. Any advice for Pebble Beach? Like it makes sense to me to stay at the resort and play atleast two courses. I don't much like the idea of hiring caddies. Does it matter?

I feel daunted at the prospect of Pebble. Does anybody share that feeling?

I imagine it would feel daunting. It has such an aura about it!! I've toured around the clubhouse area only...fun even for a non-golfer to be there.

DH and I continued our golf conversation last night (I told him how beachbum was going to Paris too )--I genuinely am interested as some of the courses have some of the most spectacular scenery in many tourist areas. The course he played in Maui had sweeping views to the ocean, Bermuda the same, and no, he did NOT do those islands "with the guys"! That would strain the strongest of marriages!

He was discussing another ranking of golf courses in which they took several factors into consideration in the rankings....value, speed of play as well as the usual, and in that ranking, Pebble Beach ended up 21 or 22. Value was an issue of course, but speed of play was a huge one. Evidently it can take 5.5-6.5 hours to play the course so you would definitely want to get on as early as possible. He was conjecturing about playing it and NOT getting to play the 18th hole because it got dark. What would you do? He would kill--this is serious golf.

If you have an interest in Bandon, make reservations for the resort early. Theirs were made in May and they still had to change rooms after the first night and the resort was full Saturday night. (They had planned on driving back to Portland anyway after that day's round.)

Caddy...like beachbum, he was saying that you really need one there...they are worth their weight in gold. They paid him the set fee of $50 per round per person, then tip on top of that. He was extremely knowledgeable about a course that would be very difficult to play without one, and entertaining as well--enough so they used him for the entire trip. This is how he makes his living...caddying in Bandon in summer and fall, then on to Boca Raton in the winter and spring. Tough life!

Yes, stay at the resort; It's hard to imagine a nicer overall golf experience. Not sure which of the other courses to recommend. I've walked (but not played) around Spyglass; it looks tough! Spanish Bay looks more suited to my game.

What do you mean by Pebble as daunting? First tee jitters, sure, but you'll quickly be taken in by the aura, beauty, and history of the place. The course is very playable from the tees; around and on the greens is more difficult.

The couple times I've played Pebble have been gorgeous sunny days with little wind. A caddy might have been useful to read putts, but heck, I can never hit them along the intended line anyway. On the other hand, if it's blowing hard, it would be nice to have someone who could tell you what club to hit.

A caddy is more important at the Bandon courses, where I find distances deceiving, and where you quite often have to carry shots over trouble/hazards.

Got any extra room in your car? I'll caddy for free.......

How about the Ritz Carlton Golf Links in Half Moon Bay CA as you travel down HWY 1 and The Quail Lodge Golf Course in Carmel? Both exquisite properties.

You've gotten excellent ideas for Oregon down through No Cal including Monterey. Except I hadn't seen Pasatiempo (Santa Cruz) mentioned yet..a course no one should skip.

From then on, let me offer the following suggestions:
Santa Barbara area courses: La Purisima (Lompoc), Sandpiper (Goleta), Alisal Ranch (Solvang-quaint Scandinavian town) and Rancho San Marcos (SB)
Accommodations: Bacara Resort & Spa (Goleta), Four Seasons Biltomore (Montecito), Alisal Ranch (Solvang)
Further south in Ventura County is the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

I'd skip Los Angeles / Orange County entirely--very few "world-class" public courses--believe me, I live here. But if you're interested, here's a few recommendations:
Riviera County Club (Pacific Palisades), site of PGA Tour's Nissan Open, private but there's playing privileges for those staying in the guestrooms of the clubhouse; Ocean Trails (Palos Verdes), Lost Canyon (Simi Valley), Eisenhower course at Industry Hills (City of Industry), Pelican Hills (Newport Beach), Monarch Beach (Dana Point)

Personally, I'd drive right around LA/OC and go directly to the Palm Springs area, the golf mecca of California; upscale La Quinta to be more specific. La Quinta Resort & Club offers 5 separate courses including the famed PGA West TPC Stadium. Nearby is the easier Indian Wells Golf Resort surrounded by the Hyatt Grand Champions, Renaissance Esmeralda and Miramonte hotels. Plenty of other excellent choices in the Palm Springs area: Westin Mission Hills, Marriott Shadow Ridge, Marriott Desert Springs Resort, Landmark, Cimarron just to name a few. And there's no shortage of excellent spa, dining, shopping, casino and other options to make it a worthwhile visit.

Then before heading down to San Diego and their wonderful courses down there, you might want to stop by Temecula, a nice golf and winery community. Redhawk and Temecula Creek are two of the better courses there. Accomodations are somewhat limited (Temecula Creek Inn is the only one I'm familiar with) and a bit further down SE is the Barona Casino Resort with two of the supposedly best newer courses in CA.

You've already been offered some of the finest lodging options in the San Diego area (The Lodge at Torrey Pines, L'Auberge Del Mar, Four Seasons Aviara, Hotel Del Coronado) but don't skip considering Rancho Valencia in Santa Fe for a memorable conclusion to your golf/travel vacation.

Oops--that should be Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe, not just Santa Fe.