Stanford Golf Course
October 9, 2021 Off By BBF

Stanford Golf Course

Four Buckets

It’s a tenant of Big Ball First that we only review public golf courses. We figure the whole point of the blog is to ensure people who are planning a bucket list golf trip can learn the pitfalls of the big bucket list or buddies golf trips and avoid them. Well, everyone will be surprised to know that Stanford Golf Course is actually a public golf course. The trick is you have to be a Stanford student, a Stanford alumni or work or associate with Stanford University in some way. So we managed to sidestep our rule by recommending that you look at your Linkedin network and start pinging all the people you know who graduated from Stanford to get them to get you a tee time. 

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Bucket List Golf Trip VS. Buddies Golf Trip
July 23, 2021 Off By BBF

Bucket List Golf Trip VS. Buddies Golf Trip

Buddies Golf Trips

We take a break from our regularly scheduled blog posts featuring trip guides and our tongue-in-cheek golf course reviews to provide some handy information on the type of golf trip you are going to take, or plan. Specifically, the difference between a Bucket List Golf Trip VS. Buddies Golf Trip. To some this might seem like we are splitting hairs, however, having a solid idea of the goal of your trip will help you plan, set expectations, and guarantee the best outcome possible. We will also provide tips for both types of trips. Some tips overlap both types of trips, and in some cases, the trips themselves can be on the spectrum from one type of trip to the other. It’s important to have a strong understanding of your groups goals up front. 

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“The Hay” at Pebble Beach Resort
May 1, 2021 Off By BBF

“The Hay” at Pebble Beach Resort

Four Buckets

One of our favorite recent trends in golf resorts is the addition of golf playing areas that are not a full 18 hole course. Maybe a short course or a putting course.Think of the Preserve and PunchBowl at Bandon Dunes as well as the Sand Box at Sand Valley. These challenging “featurettes” give golfers a place to socialize, compete and have a fun time after playing 18 without having to do a full 36. Sometimes, the best memories of a golf trip can be had in these “real golf” adjacent areas.

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Pebble Beach Golf Links
February 1, 2021 Off By BBF

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Five Buckets

There is no way to overstate it: Pebble Beach Golf Links is the very yardstick by which all other bucket list golf courses should be measured. There are better golf courses in the world, for sure, (hell there are better golf courses in the Del Monte Forest), and there are courses with more history. But when it comes right down to it Pebble is the pinnacle of the public Bucket List Golf. The only other course that comes close? The Old Course St. Andrews.

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Spyglass Hill Golf Course
January 12, 2021 Off By BBF

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

Five Buckets

It’s very possible that the first five holes of “Spyglass” golf course are the best consecutive opening holes on any public golf course, period. It’s after the opening 5 when you take a right turn and head into the Del Monte Forest that things take a more ominous turn.

Opened in 1966 the Robert Trent Jones course design was developed under the name Pebble Beach Pines Golf Club, but was re-monikered Spyglass Hill Golf Course by the founder of the Pebble Beach company.

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Bayonet Golf Course
December 22, 2020 Off By BBF

Bayonet Golf Course

Two Buckets

High in the hills above Seaside, California sits a pair of golf courses that tower over the bay below… sentinels protecting the entrance to one of the best golf Mecca’s in the world. The complex is called Bayonet and Black Horse. Originally built as military golf courses on Fort Ord, this complex was handed off to the local municipality in 1997 and thus they became public golf courses.

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Black Horse Golf Course
December 7, 2020 Off By BBF

Black Horse Golf Course

Three Buckets United States: California

When planning your bucket list trip to Pebble Beach it’s easy to overlook all the world class golf in the area. Because there is so much of it. Of course, you have some of the most magnificent courses in the world in Cypress Point, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and of course Pebble Beach Golf Links. However, there are robust choices in local public golf that you can use to flesh out a comprehensive bucket list golf trip without having to open a home equity line of credit in order to finance it.

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Pacific Grove Golf Links
November 23, 2020 Off By BBF

Pacific Grove Golf Links

Two Buckets

Pacific Grove Golf Links is a municipal course in the center of some controversy. It has unique features that makes this a near demigod among giants (and gods of golf) on the Monterey Peninsula— at literally a small fraction of the price. So that drives the debate, when doing a bucket list golf trip to Pebble Beach, should Pacific Grove, (or the Poor Man’s Pebble) be in the mix?

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Poppy Hills Golf Course
November 16, 2020 Off By BBF

Poppy Hills Golf Course

Do not use this category

Poppy Hills Golf Course is a parkland golf course in the Del Monte Forest near Pebble Beach that was built in 1986. It was purpose built to be the headquarters and home course of the Northern California Golf Association. To our knowledge, the first time this happened in the United States. The Robert Trent Jones Jr. course design was embraced by the tour very quickly and over the subsequent 20 years it became a perennial favorite of the PGA tour hosting events from the Spalding Invitational, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (formerly known as the Crosby Clam Bake) and even the NCAA finals.

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Pasatiempo Golf Course
October 26, 2020 Off By BBF

Pasatiempo Golf Course

Five Buckets United States: California

The significance and history of Pasatiempo golf course simply cannot be overstated. When you visit and play the course, the morsels of history (and impact on golf) will be discovered while you stroll along the Santa Cruz hills routing like carefully placed Easter eggs. We understand that you might be somewhat confused as to why we are writing about a Santa Cruz golf course when we are in the middle of a series on Pebble Beach. However, the answer is somewhat simple. This is one of the only (well maintained) examples of any Alastair MacKenzie designed golf courses that the public can readily play. Yes, that Alastair MacKenzie, the one that designed Cypress Point and Augusta. Probably the most influential golf course designer since Old Tom Morris. Since most people headed to their bucket list Pebble Beach trip will be landing in the Bay Area, this golf course will literally be on the way. Given the history and significance of it, you should seriously consider adding it the mix.

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The Links at Spanish Bay
October 6, 2020 Off By BBF

The Links at Spanish Bay

Two Buckets

A visit to Pebble Beach without a visit to Spanish Bay is like traveling to Disney World and not going to Epcot. A wasted opportunity. There are so many wonderful things about Spanish Bay that have absolutely nothing to do with golf. The accommodations are fantastic; it’s a lovely property with amazing views and an amazing patio, the drinks are second to none, and it’s a must visit during sunset when the bagpiper is playing. It’s also home to arguably the best restaurant in the Pebble complex… Roys.

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Del Monte Golf Course
September 22, 2020 Off By BBF

Del Monte Golf Course

Two Buckets

Del Monte is definitely the “runt of the litter” when it comes to golf at Pebble Beach. Even though it’s officially a “Pebble Beach Company” golf course, I’m not sure it even makes the “must play list” when staying at Pebble for your bucket list golf trip. For sure- if you are playing only 3 rounds it’s not the third round to be played. After Pebble and Spyglass the plan of attack would be to play Poppy Hills, Spanish Bay, Black Horse or even Pacific Grove before you play Del Monte. Another approach would be to have your round number 3 be at Pasatiempo on your way from the Bay Area to the Monterey Peninsula.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort: Definitive Trip Guide
September 8, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort: Definitive Trip Guide

Bandon Oregon Buddies Golf Trips Five Buckets

The tagline for Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is “GOLF AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE…”. While this may be true, we think the better tagline should be “The Buddies Bucketlist Golf Trip: As it was meant to be… Full Stop”. Bandon Dunes sets a bar by which every other bucket list golf trip will be measured. The nice thing about Bandon is that it just fits the bill. Everything, every detail is thought through with a lens of making it the most enjoyable buddies golf trip experience that can be. With this Big Ball First guide on to how to best plan your trip, we hope it will be just that much better.

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Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
August 31, 2020 Off By BBF

Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Five Buckets

All of the courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort are truly bucket list golf courses, and they all have their own unique personality. A few weeks back I likened Pacific Dunes to the “Star Quarterback”, handsome and the most popular kid in High School. While that is true, Pacific Dunes must have also been voted “Most likely to punch you in the face” during senior year. You see, this golf course is just a little bit louder than the others. The greens are harder, the bunkers are gnarlier, the wind feels windier and the gorse seems gorse(ier). This golf course goes to 11, for sure. Don’t get us wrong, the other courses all have elements that are this hard, this fantastic, and this majestic. It’s just the way Pacific Dunes is assembled from start to finish that can be the most completely enjoyable wire-brushing you’ve ever experienced.

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Bandon Preserve Golf Course: Bandon Dunes
August 17, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Preserve Golf Course: Bandon Dunes

Three Buckets

Bandon Preserve Golf Course at Bandon Dunes is a unique 13 hole all par 3 layout that is nestled with ocean views between Bandon Trails Golf Course and Bandon Dunes Golf Course. You might think The Preserve would be a waste of your time while at the world’s pre-eminent golf course resort and wonder, “why do I want to blow time on this little par 3 course”? But Bandon Preserve is more than meets the eye on paper.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Course
August 3, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Dunes Golf Course

Five Buckets

In our review a few weeks ago of Old Mac, we referred to Bandon Dunes as a “Stiff upper lipped dad” kind of golf course, when comparing it to its other family members. It’s clear we wrote that review the morning before before we played Bandon Dunes for what would be the fourth time, and honestly we don’t think we could have been more wrong. This is the golf course that started it all, if you think about the accomplishments at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (4, soon to be 5 public golf courses in the top 20 public golf courses according to Golf Digest, then Bandon Dunes deserves some serious street cred, if for no other reason, it’s O.G. full on original gangster.

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Bandon Trails Golf Course, Bandon Dunes
July 27, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Trails Golf Course, Bandon Dunes

Four Buckets

I don’t think anyone would begrudge Bandon Trails if it were having a hardcore inferiority complex, or suffered from Impostor Syndrome. The third of the golf courses built at the resort after Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes is likely the least played of the bunch at Bandon. Yet it is still one of the most loved courses by die hards and caddies alike. It’s hard to talk about a genuinely world class Coore and Crenshaw designed golf course in this regard. Anywhere else in the country and this golf course would definitely be a bucket list destination golf course in its own right, in fact it even regularly breaks the top 15 public golf courses in the country.

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Bandon Dunes Sheep Ranch Golf Course
July 20, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Dunes Sheep Ranch Golf Course

Five Buckets

This being the newest course of the bunch at Bandon Dunes Sheep Ranch feels like it has something to prove. Opened in June 2020, it comes out of the cuts trying to set itself apart and feel different. And that it does. Although it’s set at a higher elevation the overall angle of the golf course creates a very different feel from the other courses on the complex- as though you can just reach out and touch the water- from everywhere on the course.

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Bandon Dunes: Old Macdonald Golf Course
July 13, 2020 Off By BBF

Bandon Dunes: Old Macdonald Golf Course

Do not use this category Four Buckets

The best analogy to explain the courses in the Bandon Dunes complex is that they are essentially an extended family. Pacific Dunes is the older brother star quarterback handsome who always gets the hot girls. Bandon Dunes is likely the stalwart dad who started the whole movement in the first place, stiff upper lip kind of guy. Sheep Ranch is the upstart kid who’s currently too big for its britches. Bandon Trails would be the middle kid who genuinely would be a super star if he could just pick up and go somewhere else and not be in the shadow of his dad and older brother (but for the record, it’s a golf course and they can’t really do that). And in that context, Old Macdonald is the crazy uncle who’s half off the ranch and generally drunk all the time. Old Macdonald is the Rudy Giuliani of golf.

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Half Moon Bay Golf Links Buddies Golf Trip
July 6, 2020 Off By BBF

Half Moon Bay Golf Links Buddies Golf Trip

Buddies Golf Trips California Do not use this category Three Buckets United States: California

Half Moon Bay Golf Links is the golf complex at the Ritz Carlton in the sleepy seaside village of Half Moon Bay about 45 minutes south of San Francisco. It would be hard to call Half Moon Bay Golf Links “must do” destination golf. Although it has broken the top 20 Golf Resorts in the United States and the Ocean Course is ranked 70th on the list of top 100 golf courses as ranked by top100golfcourses.com (whoever they are).

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Half Moon Bay Golf Links: The Ocean Course
June 29, 2020 Off By BBF

Half Moon Bay Golf Links: The Ocean Course

Three Buckets

Outside of Bandon Dunes, Half Moon Bay Golf Links – Ocean Course may be the most authentic public golf attempt to replicate Scottish or Irish links golf courses on the west coast. Designed by Arthur Hills, the course opened in 1997 and features wide open fairways that play fast and firm right next to the coast of the Pacific ocean.

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Half Moon Bay Golf Links: The Old Course
June 22, 2020 Off By BBF

Half Moon Bay Golf Links: The Old Course

Three Buckets

Like it’s younger sibling Half Moon Bay Golf Links — Ocean Course, The Old Course lies on the property surrounding the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay. It might be tempting to skip this golf course for the newer Ocean Course and the vistas that accompany it. However, that would be a mistake. The Old Course is, by most measures, the better golf course.

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Illinois: Cog Hill Golf and Country Club
June 16, 2020 Off By BBF

Illinois: Cog Hill Golf and Country Club

1 Bucket Illinois

Cog Hill is a golf complex outside of Chicago about a 45 minute drive south in the town of Lemont, IL. It has had some notoriety in the past, even hosting final rounds of the BMW Championship for the PGA tour. This combined with the fact they have a number of golf courses there (one of which is consistently rated in the top 10 of IL) might lead you to thinking about doing a buddies golf trip there, but I would caution don’t. It does not qualify as a destination golf campus

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Kohler Golf Trip- Kohler Wisconsin
June 8, 2020 Off By BBF

Kohler Golf Trip- Kohler Wisconsin

Four Buckets Wisconsin

Kohler is a “must do” that should be added to your bucket list destination golf. It’s not perfectly set up for golf, but it comes close and the golf experiences are second to none.

Getting there…
You have a couple options for getting to Kohler. You can fly to Chicago and rent a car and drive up. This takes about 2.5 hours, and you can likely get a direct flight into Chicago.

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Buddies Bucket list Golf Trip- Kohler, WI: Whistling Straits: The Straits Course
June 1, 2020 Off By BBF

Buddies Bucket list Golf Trip- Kohler, WI: Whistling Straits: The Straits Course

Five Buckets United States: Wisconsin

This course came to life in 1998 rising from the ashes of a former Army base that was along the shores of Lake Michigan east of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This is a truly epic golf experience. A links style golf course along the shores of Lake Michigan, Pete Dye did his best to capture the feel of golfing in the UK, and he did a fantastic job. In the process he has created a world class golf course that is beautiful and absolutely brutal if you get out of position.

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Golf in a Post Corona World: Metropolitan Golf Links
May 25, 2020 Off By BBF

Golf in a Post Corona World: Metropolitan Golf Links

1 Bucket Golf in a Post Corona World United States: California

We interrupt our mission of being the eminent Buddies Bucketlist Golf Trip Blog with another in our series about Golf in a Post Corona world. We thought we had written everything we needed to about this subject, but before we put it to bed for good, we stumbled across another Bay Area course that is keeping both staff and players safe in innovative and thoughtful ways. Up until now the gold standard in this arena has been Spring Valley Golf Course. However, Metro has added a couple of measures we think would be good for golf courses to adopt if possible.

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Aberdeen: Trump International Golf Links Scotland
March 7, 2020 Off By BBF

Aberdeen: Trump International Golf Links Scotland

Europe: Scotland Two Buckets

Trump Aberdeen is a golf resort located about 30 minutes north of the town of Aberdeen Scotland, situated so that pretty much every hole has a view of the nearby North Sea. Unlike most of the golf courses you will regularly be playing in Scotland, this course is very much a modern golf course layout built with bulldozers. Raised tee boxes with forced carries to the sculpted fairways accompany with the view of the North Sea come together for a truly majestic feeling golf course. The greens are very large, and seemingly have all sorts of big game buried under them to make no Green in Regulation a guaranteed three putt. And as seems to be a theme with Trump golf courses the fescue is death, and the bunkers are no joke.

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La Quinta: PGA West: The Stadium Course
January 27, 2020 Off By BBF

La Quinta: PGA West: The Stadium Course

Three Buckets United States: California

The Stadium Course at La Quinta is the most memorable course of the public courses in PGA West designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1986. This golf course is classic Pete Dye, if not somewhat punitive, even for him. Golf shots are required on this golf course, and Pete does all of his regular tricks from copious use of railroad ties to tee boxes that aim you the wrong way to very scary visuals with water.

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La Quinta: PGA West: Norman Golf Course
January 21, 2020 Off By BBF

La Quinta: PGA West: Norman Golf Course

Three Buckets United States: California

“I want to develop a golf course with generous fairways and non-punitive rough” said Greg Norman (never!). If you are not familiar with Greg Norman, this golf course is as good as any he has designed to teach you what the big Aussie feels about golf, and shot making. This joins other Norman courses such as Wente and Mayakoba Chameleon that showcase his talent for making skinny fairways look positively wide and inviting, lulling you into making very poor choices.

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