SLO County Golf, Wine & Real Estate

Golf, Wine & Real Estate News and Events Blog

The Beauty of Golf

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

There is much to like in golf - the competitive element, whether against yourself or an opponent; the companionship offered by a foursome, the satisfaction in launching a long, straight drive or dropping a 40-foot putt; the improvement realized through practice and lessons, the character exposed and developed by its challenges, successes and failures, and the exercise offered by walking a course.

But what also attracts me to golf is an intangible element - the opportunity to experience beauty. Many golf courses offer more than an enjoyable "walk in the park", they offer communion with nature. As Bob Weisgerber describes in "The Softer Side of Golf--Beauty", this communion is "sometimes wild and raw, sometimes glistening with pristine elegance. It's a chance for man to walk in the sunshine or rain, watch the squirrels, spy the hawks, and glory in leaves as they change color.

Here on the Central Coast, beauty is easily experienced on the golf course, whether spotting a fox, deer, heron, pelican, newborn duckling or other wildlife; capturing an early evening sunset over the Pacific Ocean or rays reflecting off a tranquil pond; feeling the afternoon's coastal breeze or warm sun; smelling the salt air, newly cut grasses and springtime fragrances; watching the cypress trees and clouds move with the gusts of wind; or in the song of the mockingbird, cry of the red-tailed hawk, and chirp of the sparrow.

"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses."
~Adlai Stevenson

But beauty is experienced not only through the senses, but in the experience of golfing. An element of beauty exists in reading the undulating greens, reading wind direction and speed, estimating the distance to the green, making decisions whether to shoot over or between some trees, lay up or go for the green, in the flight or roll of the golf ball, and in the feeling of finding the right grip or making a good swing.

"What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive."
~Arnold Palmer

An element of beauty is even present in the challenges and tests presented in golf. There is beauty in maintaining composure after a poorly played hole and shooting a birdie on the following hole, hitting the green after an errant tee-shot, holing a chip after taking a penalty stroke or breaking 90 or 80 for the first time, or reducing your handicap after weeks of practice and lessons or from staying focused or sticking with a pre-shot routine. As Bob Rotella shares, "Golf is not a game of perfect."

"Beauty must contain within it not just the sunshine but the shadows. It is in that precarious balance at the edge of heaven and hell that the power of Beauty lies."
~James Hubbell

Tolosa Invitational at Cypress Ridge

Saturday, May 28, 2005

June 10 - Come experience the way golf should be played and how fine wine should be made!

Join us at Cypress Ridge on June 10, 2005 for the Tolosa Invitational - a 4 Ball Better Ball Net Format Shotgun Start tournament including wine tasting and putting contest.

An $88.00 registration fee includes your green fee, wine tasting, a bottle of Tolosa wine, range balls, gourmet box lunch, cart and on-course competitions.

Registration and wine tasting begins at 11:30 am, putting contest at 12:00 pm and the tournament begins at 1:00 pm. An awards distribution concludes the invitational at 5:30 pm.

Register by contacting Joe Kolina, Director of Special Events at Cypress Ridge - jkolina [at] cypressridge.com, (805) 489-2781 ext. 1. Provide your name, address, phone numbers, email address, handicap, and team name (Individuals will be placed into teams).

Overcast at Blacklake Golf Course

Friday, May 27, 2005

I hooked up on this gloomy, overcast afternoon at Blacklake Golf Course with a friend I've wanted to play golf with for some time. We joined two singles to make our foursome. Tony, a policeman, just crushed his drives and complimented that with a great short game. He indicated he shoots between scratch golf and 5-over. He only played 9 today due to the slow play and was 3-over. The other single, Gary, also plays often and came in with a respectable 80, highlighted with a 1-foot birdie putt on our last hole - Oak's 9th.

Managed by the same friendly bunch at Avila Beach Resort, this 27-hole complex in Nipomo has the feel of a private club. Strung through an established residential neighborhood a couple miles from the ocean, Blacklake boasts three distinctive nines - the original Lakes and Canyon, which make up the most challenging 18-hole configuration with a slope of 123 from the back tees, and the newer, shorter and tighter Oaks. We played Canyon, then Oaks. We were scheduled to play Lakes on the back 9, but we moved to Oaks to escape the conjestion.

I showed up early to practice chipping and putting. This week I searched the internet for putting instruction to see if I could find a quick fix to my poor putting. I found a multimedia how-to tutorial on putting at Easy2 Technologies that helped improve my grip. Just a simple change in my grip removed some unnecessary wrist movement and helped keep my stroke on line. On the practice green, I was leaving chips within 2-3 feet of the hole and consistently sinking putts from 3 to 10 feet. Unfortunately, I didn't do as well on the course. I think I 3-putted at least 4 holes. However, I did hole one chip and made a birdie putt from 10 feet out.

I had my standard game of 86, made up of some very good holes and some very bad holes. I 3-putted 3 holes in a row on the back, and on Canyon - our front 9 - had a double bogey and 2 triple bogeys, followed by my birdie on 7. I was very inconsistent today. But, like my last round at Avila, I feel like I'm so close to getting back to the low 80's and breaking 80 will come with patience and practice - putting practice. Breaking 85 now seems to be more of a mental challenge than anything else. Looking forward to more opportunities next week.

Central Coast Golf Trail

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Fairways & Greens highlighted San Luis Obispo County's Golf Trail last month in an article titled "Time to SLO Down - Make Tracks to California's Central Coast Golf Trail".

The article points out that although Central Coast Golf may not have the uppercrust pedigree, global recognition or geographic grandeur of the Monterey Peninsula, that San Luis Obispo County deserves mention among the Golden State's top golf and recreation destinations.

A two-hour drive south from Pebble Beach puts visitors into a climate and terrain-spanning region of sun-splashed beaches, fog-kissed seaside villages, oak-dotted hills and verdant valleys.

Between Paso Robles at the county's north edge and Nipomo an hour to the south down Highway 101 (or from San Simeon-Hearst Castle south via Highway 1), visitors pass through a good half-dozen temperate zones, often by simply turning a corner. Along the way they'll find more than 60 wineries, resorts ranging from funky and colorful to reserved and relaxing, scores of unique shops and gourmet restaurants, incredible recreational opportunities and ocean vistas that rank with any coastal locale in the state.

Though the Central Coast's golf story doesn't extend that far back, it reaches to the 1920s, when Morro Bay Golf Course opened and quickly became known as "the poor man's Pebble Beach." A handful of public courses debuted over the succeeding decades. Today there are 11 to choose from. Each is as scenic and playable as San Luis Obispo is inviting and addicting. During a summer three-day weekend, it's possible to play a half-dozen of them.

Last year, the courses, in concert with the San Luis Obispo Convention & Visitors Bureau, formed their own "golf trail" to better market the region. The courses making up the golf trail are included on our Golf Courses page.

Says Jonni Biaggini, visitors bureau executive director: "In this highly competitive world of golf, our golf course managers are realizing that strength is in numbers. By collaborating, instead of competing with each other, we can promote San Luis Obispo County as a major golf destination."

Read the entire article for information about each of the golf courses along the San Luis Obispo County Golf Trail.

SLO County for Wine and Golf

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Forget Napa Valley. Forget Sonoma Valley. If it is a wine and golf excursion you are looking for try the Central Coast of California -- some 120 miles of coastline loaded with quaint, friendly, seaside and inland towns and affordable golf.

The wine business on the Central Coast dates back to 1797 when the first grapevines were planted at Mission San Miguel Archangel in San Luis Obispo. The golf business didn't arrive until the 20th century, but today this beautiful, rolling terrain, dotted with ancient oaks on the Pacific Ocean, is a popular getaway for wine tasting and golf.

This is David R. Holland's introduction in an article written for TravelGolf.com. He goes on to highlight La Purisma Golf Course in Lompoc and San Luis Obispo County's own Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles and Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande.

Hunter Ranch

There always seems to be an old oak in your way on Hunter Ranch, a 6,741-yard, par 72, in northern San Luis Obispo County's picturesque wine country. Designed by owner Ken Hunter and Mike McGinnis, the blue oaks are everywhere, and there's enough water and rolling terrain to keep the challenge noteworthy. Greens roll about 10 on the Stimp meter and countless bunkers surround them and confound you from the tee box.

Hunter Ranch Golf Course No. 6 is a par 5 of 509 yards. From the tee you can't see much fairway, just problematic oaks, but over the top of them things open up and then right smack dab in the middle of the fairway are two other trees just on the pathway toward the green.

The 415-yard par-4 12th requires a solid tee shot to the top of a hill where you eyeball the green. If you are far enough back you won't even see the trouble -- the putting surface is fronted by water. If you have hit it to the 150-yard marker you can play without even thinking about the wet stuff.

Hunter Ranch's spacious clubhouse is rustic and reminiscent of the ranch houses in the Australian Outback. Here you can relax after your round in the Caddie's Grill while soaking in the panorama of the golf course and surrounding vineyards.

Cypress Ridge

This Peter Jacobsen, Jim Hardy 6,803-yard, par 72, is set on a mesa not far from the Pacific Ocean with rolling terrain and plenty of challenges. The bunkers are huge and deep and tricky, subtle greens with hidden breaks might frustrate you.

Mature cypress trees, fragrant eucalyptus, lush green fairways and cool fresh ocean air make Cypress Ridge a new gem on the Central Coast.

Cypress Ridge "At Cypress Ridge we were given a great piece of property and our team allowed the land to be the hero, resulting in a natural, beautiful course," says Hardy, who is based in Houston. Jacobsen said he knew it was special once he reached No. 14 and had used every club in his bag.

Cypress Ridge is certified as an Audubon Signature Sanctuary -- said to the 13th golf course in the world to receive this elite distinction and the first to be designated as a Silver Signature Sanctuary in the state of California. Fringe areas surrounding each hole are planted with native grasses, and there are wildflowers and ponds offering cover and food for wildlife.

No. 16 is a beauty. This par 4 plays 418 yards uphill with a slight dogleg left to an elevated green fronted by a bunker. Huge cypress and eucalyptus trees line both sides of the fairway. Head down the hill on No. 17, another fun hole, a demanding par 3 of 201 yards.

Read entire article here.
On the road in California: Central Coast sprouting with wineries, affordable golf.
TravelGolf.com, David R. Holland

Taking up Golf - again

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Just two months ago, I took up golf again. This will be the 5th time I've taken up the game.

I was introduced to golf in junior high school in the suburbs of Chicago. A friend and I got a summer job working as a cadie at a local private golf club - Inverness Golf Club. They taught us how to cadie, about golf rules and ettiquete, and let us play on Mondays when the course was closed to members for greenskeeping. While playing on these hot and humid summer Monday's I broke 100 for the first time and have shot under 100 ever since. I remember my first round of shooting under 50 for 9 holes. I shot a 55 on the front, but came through with a 45 on the back. I also remember my Dad giving me a few swing pointers to get me started. He, however, never played. Didn't have the patience for it. I got by with a good natural swing, but no lessons. Since then, my only lesson was for 30 minutes on a cruise to Mexico, not counting all the tips from playing partners on the tee.

I didn't stick with the game however. Got too busy being a teenager. I picked the game up again when I was about 20, while stationed in Idaho Falls in the Navy. I bought a complete set of irons and woods at a K-Mart like store for $99, complete with a bag. I spent considerable time here practicing my chipping and putting, but rarely practiced on the driving range since that cost money. As I remember, I got my game down in the 80's, and even broke 80 once. There were 2 courses in Idaho Falls that I remember playing. I think I only played for less than a year... then got shipped off somewhere else and didn't play again for another decade.

In my early 30's, I started playing again with some friends at work in San Diego. Played Balboa Park, Carmel Moutain Ranch, Torrey Pines (once), and a local executive course at Lake San Marcos. Again, during this time, I got my game back in the 80's, and broke 80 once or twice. During this time, I took up roller hockey which put golf on the back burner again.

I tried one more time about 4 years ago in my early 40's. After quiting my job to try making a living from home, I decided to get serious about playing golf. I started playing 2 times per week and spent quite a bit of time practicing my short game - but sill no lessons. During these 3-4 months, I was consistently shooting in the low 80's and breaking 80 on occasion. I remember one round where I shot 45 on the front and 36 on the back - my first (and still only) round of par-golf - even if it was only for 9 holes. On that back nine, I shot 1 triple bogey and 3 birdies at Cypress Ridge in Arroyo Grande. During this time, I read a few books on golf - Nick Price's "Swing", Bob Rotella's "Golf is not a game of Perfect", and a couple others. I began to start improving my swing, mental game, and course management. But, I only played at Cypress Ridge and Blacklake Golf Courses since they were so close to home.

This effort at playing golf also came quickly to and end. After less than 4 months, I developed a serious case of tendonitis in my left arm. I eventually had to quit golf to let it heal. I later quit playing roller hockey too due to back pain. With this decrease in activity, my back is now better, even while still spending so many hours sitting in front of this computer all day.

A couple months ago, I received a call from a friend who wanted to play during the week while between jobs. I used this opportunity to take up the game again. So far, so good. I've been playing a couple times a week since then. My game isn't back to where it was 4 years ago, but I think it's on the verge of improving. I'm stuck in the mid to high 80's right now. Instead of only playing 1 or 2 courses like I have in the past, I'm trying to branch out a little more and play a variety of courses - but still only playing locally. Here in San Luis Obispo County, I've played Blacklake, Cypress Ridge, Avila Beach, Morro Bay, and Dairy Creek so far. I'm waiting until I break 80 to try Hunter Ranch for the first time - as a reward. I'm still expecting the course to humiliate me. I hear the greens are very hard to read.

Hooky at Avila Beach Golf Course

Monday, May 23, 2005

I had to run up to San Luis Obispo this morning to drop of a proposal for a new client. The drive up Hwy 101 along Pismo Beach was so gorgeous that I decided on the way home to postpone work until tonight and play a round of golf at Avila Beach Golf Course. Turned out to be a good choice! We had another hot day today, so the coastal breeze along the coast was welcome.

Avila Beach is one of my favorite courses to play this time of year. The coots, mallards and canadian geese are all proudly floating and waddling around with their newborns ducklings. The eucalypus tree on the 11th green is full of activity with nesting blue herons. Birds are happily chirping away along every fairway. Much of the wildlife can be found on the back back nine which meanders along San Luis Obispo Creek which dumps into the Pacific Ocean in Avila Bay right by the 10th tee.

According to an article by Fairways & Greens, Avila Beach Golf Course plays like two courses in one, and is the perfect introduction to the vagaries of SLO County weather and terrain. The first nine squirrels its way through a heavily wooded canyon, with some serious changes in fairway width and elevation from tee to green. The back nine hugs a tidal estuary for half its holes and zigzags through a flat parkland-like atmosphere for the other half. Your job is to shape your game to the various flavors of golf that Avila's designers have cooked up, eat heartily yet carefully and come away with a pleasant aftertaste.

I started the round by myself, but quickly caught up to a traffic jam that lasted the entire round. I played the first hole alone, but joined a twosome on the 2nd tee. Bill and Delbert were both visiting from Visalia and staying in an RV Park for 12 days in Pismo Beach in their 5th wheel trailers - planning to hit different San Luis Obispo County golf courses each day. They played Pismo Beach's executive course yesterday and plan to play Morro Bay tomorrow. I think they plan to hit Hunter Ranch, Blakelake and Cypress Ridge later in the week. Bill is 70-ish, retired, once a single handicap golfer, and still has a great swing. Delbert is 65-ish, a builder, and suprised me with a few great shots. They play lots of golf near home in their church league.

Not only did I enjoy the company, but I had one of my best rounds since returning to golf a couple months ago. I shot a 40 on the front 9 (+5), even after missing 3 short putts. I hit 6 greens in a row in regulation - quite a feat for me - and left myself with a couple 3-4 foot putts for birdies - both missed. I was hitting my irons better than I ever have and continued to hit my good drives. Putting was truly the only part of my game keeping me from shooting close to par on the front 9. I didn't shoot any double bogies - a first!

However, the back 9 got off to a horrible start. Even though I nearly got a par on the 10th after hitting a great drive, but overshooting the green with a strong 7 iron, I then shot a triple bogie on 11 (starting with an OB), quadruple bogie on 12 (see next paragraph), and double bogie on 13 (duff, tree). Almost in an instant, I was 10 over on the back 9! Seemed as if a 90+ round was on the horizon - argh. Amazingly though, I birdied 14 with a long putt, then shot a par on the remaining 4 holes to pull out a 45 on the back - an 85 overall!

My quadruple bogie on par-4 12 started with a poor club choice on the tee. The 12th fairway is bordered on the left by a road that makes up the end of the Bob Jones Trail and on the right by San Luis Obispo Creek. From the tee, the fairway narrows, then ends, and continues on the other side of the creek where the green is located. The tee-shot requires a long iron up to a 3-wood (for some) to avoid over-hitting into the creek. I chose a 3-wood and smashed it, but landed beyond the end of the fairway, on the road, then bounced to a dirt clearing - in bounds, but behind a tree. I actually had to lay up by shooting backwards towards the fairway with a short wedge. A little lack of composure at this point contributed to a duffed shot, and left the ball in some deep rough short of the fairway, but with a view across the creek towards the green - reachable with a wedge. Another bad lie contributed to the next shot landing in the creek. So now, I'm still on the tee-side of the creek lying 4. The 5th shot crossed the creek, but came up short, ending up in the sand trap. Finally on in 6 with 2 putts led to my quadruple bogey.

After a double bogey on the next hole, I then regained my composure after remembering the guy I played with a couple weeks ago at Cypress Ridge Golf Course who shared that he'd recently had a round where he started 16 at 2-over, but finished with a triple, double, and triple bogey. Being reminded that this happens to even the good players helped me finish with a birdie on 14, then 4 pars. Good lesson in taking it a shot and hole at a time.

Since getting back into golf two months ago, I've shot anywhere between an 84 and 94, mostly in the 86-88 range. Although my goal is to get my game into the low 80's and eventually break 80, I was very pleased to pull out an 85 today after my string of big bogies on those three holes. My goal started to seem achievable, especially with some time spent on putting practice!

The Woodlands on Nipomo Mesa

Sunday, May 22, 2005

I had the honor of playing golf this morning at Blacklake Golf Resort with the builder heading up the new Woodlands development on Nipomo Mesa - a development described as one of the largest developments in San Luis Obispo County history. I learned that SLO County golfers have much to anticipate!

Nestled in the awe-inspiring eucalyptus groves just minutes from the Pacific Ocean is the future home of The Woodlands. The Woodlands includes 1,300 properties - 1,100 of which make up a new resort-lifestyle community by Trilogy Central Coast, 2 top-notch 18-hole golf courses along with a 9-hole executive course, a shopping center, business park and 500-room full-service resort including a day spa - it's simply massive in size, with quality to match.

The Woodlands is located just southwest of Blacklake Golf Course, 10 minutes from Pismo Beach and only four miles away from the Pacific Ocean with 18 miles of the largest and most biodiverse, coastal-dune lagoon ecosystems on earth, with 1,400 known species of birds, plants and animals.

Designed to blend with nature and fully embrace the culture of hospitality, Woodlands will offer everything you could hope for in luxury living; close to every convenience, yet far removed from the reminders of modern life you yearn to escape.

Although the development has required the removal of thousands of eucalyptus trees, a 20 acre grove is being set aside as monarch butterfly habitat. The first of the 18-hole courses is already under development along with the 30,000 sq. ft. clubhouse and resort facility, situated near the 1st tee and 9th green. Many of the original eucalypus will line the course's fairways and man-made lakes.

This course is designed to challenge the best, surpassing in difficulty San Luis Obispo's current top-tier golf courses at Hunter Ranch and nearby Cypress Ridge. Woodlands should certainly help secure SLO County as a premiere golf destination.

Trilogy, a division of Shea Homes, plans to have the first models of the Woodslands ready for viewing this year.

For more information, visit Trilogy Central Coast or call (800) 685-6494.

Welcome to Golf SLO

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Welcome to GolfSLO.com, your online golf guide dedicated to California's newest golf destination - San Luis Obispo County. With over a dozen top-notch courses, San Luis Obispo County makes for an unheralded golf getaway.

Relaxed and uncrowded, the San Luis Obispo County golf courses and golf resorts cluster within 30 miles of each other and have tee times available for players of all skill levels. Enjoy excellent year-round golf conditions in the Mediterranean climate of San Luis Obispo County, and you will have one of your most memorable California golf vacations ever.

SLO County Golf Courses are indeed as varied as a scratch player or a weekend hack could want. Topping the list are the two big layouts, the 4-star-plus-rated, championship 18-hole layouts at Hunter Ranch, a few miles east of Paso Robles, and Cypress Ridge in Arroyo Grande. The latter is a Peter Jacobsen Signature Course built on the wildlife-rich Nipomo Mesa. The course has been awarded Audubon International status for its sensitivity to its surroundings.

On the next tier are the perfectly pleasant, full-length tests at Avila Beach and Blacklake (Nipomo) Resorts; the parkland experience at Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero; the wild and wooly Dairy Creek Golf Course, exposed to the wind that pours down Highway 1 from Morro Bay to San Luis Obispo; Morro Bay Golf Course itself, perched on a bluff above the Pacific; the Links Course at Paso Robles - a bit of Scotland out near the city's airport - and, finally, three nine-hole courses: Sea Pines (Los Osos); Laguna Lake (San Luis Obispo), and Eagle Creek (Atascadero).

"Every course has a different personality," says Billy Gibbs, director of instruction at Avila Beach and a Central Coast golf instructor since 1993. "At Avila, we've got two distinct nines. Morro Bay? Beautiful - you look out at the ocean. We've got beautiful weather 340 days a year; you've got a huge destination for people to play golf."

Gibbs said that "in a few years" the county could be ready to go out and seek a professional-tour event for a course such as Hunter Ranch, which demands A-game performance, especially in the afternoon wind. The only professional tournament currently being played in the county is the Straight Down Invitational, a successful two-day pro-am that brings a handful of big-name players to San Luis Obispo Country Club each fall.

Excerpts from an article written by Pat Sullivan for NCGA Magazine - SLO Hand - about the San Luis Obispo County Golf Trail.