Pasatiempo, located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountain range, is one of the finest courses designed by one of the finest course architects that ever lived, Dr. Alister MacKenzie. If I could sum up the greatness of Pasatiempo with one thought-provoking fact, it would be that Alister MacKenzie, the same guy that designed Augusta National Cypress Point to name a couple, considered Pasatiempo his favorite layout and where he decided to live until his death in 1934.
The course has sweeping views of Monterey bay, plenty of interesting elevation change, wonderful contour, some rad mid-century modern houses lining holes, and plenty of challenge for golfers of all skill levels. At a hair over 6,500 yards it’s not the longest course you’ll ever play but don’t fool yourself to thinking you’ll bring the course to its knees. If anything, it will be quite the inverse!
The course has 18 awesome holes but I’m going to focus on a handful that I enjoy just a little bit more than the rest.
Hole 2 – Par 4 437 yards
A long par 4 that is aided by a downhill sloping fairway, the second hole offers a fun challenge and a lesson on shooting to certain spots on the green. My favorite pin location is anywhere on the left half of the green. The green naturally pushes approach shots that way. Aiming to hit the right side of the green, successfully executing, and then reaping the rewards of watching your ball funnel towards the hole is almost as good as golf gets.
Hole 6 – Par 5 567 yards
The most interesting aspect of this hole may be completely unrelated to the hole itself. About 125 yards from the green to the left of the hole is Alister MacKenzie’s house. It’s not small but it’s simple, modest, and quite charming to think that the man that designed some of the greatest golf courses across the world lived there for many years. The hole itself is a challenging par 5 with an interesting green complex that is flanked with classic MacKenzie bunkering. Take a second to be nostalgic as you play this hole and good luck finding a birdie!
Hole 9 – Par 5 500 yards
The closing hole on the front nine presents you with a great birdie opportunity to feel good about yourself as you make the turn. A relatively straightforward par 5 marches back up a hill and is framed with the simple but classic Pasatiempo clubhouse in the background. If you don’t get home in two, have fun throwing a wedge into a green that is sloped from back to front. You often get to watch your ball hit the green and spin back so you get to feel like a pro, if only for a minute.
Hole 10 – Par 4 440 yards
The back nine starts with a long par 4. Have no fear though, the fairway slopes down a hill towards the green and generally gives you a bit of roll out to make the hole play a little shorter than listed. The green is preceded by a wild set of bunkers short left and flanked with a pesky bunker long right. The green itself will generally feed balls from right to left. Enjoy the view of the green from the fairway as this is one cool hole.
Hole 11 – Par 4 392 yards
Ugh. This hole is hard. That is actually an understatement. This hole is really hard. The hole is bisected by a barranca and comes into play on both the tee and approach shots. The tee shot is a classic risk reward. Laying further back is generally safer but leaves you with a longer approach into a tough green. Going further off the tee plays into a narrowing fairway that is surround by trouble. Even after a good tee shot the approach into the eleventh is not a simple task. The barranca lines the right side of the fairway and the green and forces a carry over trouble if you have aspirations of hitting the green in regulation. If you get a par here thank your lucky stars and quickly move on to the next hole!
Hole 15 – Par 3 141 yards
If you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that I have professed a deep love for short par 3s and 4s. Well here’s another gem. At 141 yards this hole is usually no more than a pitching wedge. But the green is surrounded (decorated might actually be a better word) with beautiful bunkering and has a good bit of contour once you get on the surface. Take in the views off the tee as this hole is parkland golf art at its finest.
Hole 16 – Par 4 387 yards
I can’t say with 100% certainty, but this might be the finest hole that Alister MacKenzie ever designed. I’m sure there’s some gems at his other courses that are on the same level as this hole, but I can’t imagine anything surpasses it. The green on this hole is quite simply, the crème de la crème! A three-tiered nightmare of a green is fed by a short dogleg left that forces you to hit to truly quality shots if you expect to get a par or birdie. Do your best to get the ball on the right tier of the green otherwise it’s probably better to be on a lower tier as opposed to above the hole. If you end up above the hole… well have fun chipping your next shot from the front of the green! Enjoy the madness of this hole because it’s quite unique.
Hole 18 – Par 3 169 yards
Who said that you can’t end your round with a par 3? MacKenzie created an epic finishing hole at Pasatiempo and only used 167 yards to do it. The hole is kind of surrounded by a natural amphitheater of pure nature and set behind a baranka and classic MacKenzie bunkers. Snap a few photos, pose with your buddies, drink it in because this is sadly the last hole of your day at Pasatiempo.
Note: Yardage listed above is from the Championship tees.
Eye Candy
Grades (where 1 is significantly below average and 5 is significantly above)
Scenery: 4 stars
Design: 5 stars
Condition: 5 stars
History: 5 stars
Practice Facilities: 4 stars
Experience: 5 stars
Click here for a more detailed breakdown of how I think about course ratings.
Closing thoughts: I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far into this post and haven’t mentioned what might be the coolest course logo ever! Pasatiempo’s napping man rocking a sombrero is all time cool.
Pasatiempo is one of the premier courses on the west coast. I thought about stating how it’s one of the premier public courses in CA but then rethought and realized that I want to make sure people realize that it stands tall amongst the greatest courses in America. Though that statement about public courses in CA is accurate I didn’t want it to be implied that I don’t think it ranks amongst the great private courses; that’s far from the case.
