I am typing this post from the cozy confines of a couch in an oceanfront cabin just outside of Newport, OR. A full week off of work has afforded me a rare opportunity to go on a real golf vacation. Yesterday, I played an old 9-hole course called Agate Beach Golf Course, which was built in the early 1930s. The course was about what I expected (which wasn't much), though I was disappointed to discover that you can't see the ocean from anywhere on the course. The course is mostly flat with fairly straight-forward holes until the last 3 holes, where it gets a little more interesting. While the gentleman staffing the proshop was extremely friendly and welcoming, I don't know that I'll go back. Ultimately, the course wasn't good enough to warrant the $18 greens fee for 9 holes.
I decided to treat Agate Beach as a warm-up round, especially since I haven't been playing much at all recently. While I had a romantic notion of playing little "mom 'n pop" 9-hole courses around the Newport area, my rather disappointing experience at Agate inspired me to make some new plans. I decided to make the hour-long drive south to Sandpines Golf Course in Florence, OR this morning. I had played the course once before on a cold and sunny afternoon last December. Several things stood out in my memory of Sandpines: 1) the back 9 is really fun to play, 2) the front 9 was soggy and not very fun to play, and 3) I was violently limping through most of the round the first time around due to a really bad case of runner's knee. I decided to go back today to see what the front 9 would be like after a rare spell of dry days, and to see how what kind of score I could post with both of my knees functioning properly.
I got there nice and early so I could hit some balls on the range before teeing off. I almost never do this, but an internet special brought my greens fees for 18 holes all the way down to $25 so I felt like I could afford the luxury of spending another $5 on a bucket balls. Furthermore, I didn't hit it all that great at Agate, so I wanted to see a couple of good shots before teeing off. The course was surprisingly busy for a Monday morning. I was grouped with a couple of very pleasant bogey-golfers: the type who could make conversation and were out there to have fun (and not getting competitive with me or each other). A frost delay had us teeing off on the back 9 first, which was a relief. The front 9 is much tighter than the back, so it's nice to get a full 9 in before being forced to play more precise golf.
The back 9 at Sandpines is one of my favorite 9s that I've played in Oregon because it's so fun. The fairways are wide. The greens are fairly large with subtle breaks. The ground is firm and undulating. The wind blows through this exposed section of the course and really forces you to think. You don't have to be terribly precise, but there are definitely places where you can't hit it. Water comes into play on the last 2 holes, the last of which is a classic water-all-the-way- up-the-left-side par 5 (which plays more like a long par 4). The par 4s and 5s invite you to swing away at your driver while mounding and fairway traps outline the wide, firm, and hump-filled fairways.
While I wasn't hitting the ball all that great today, I still had a blast playing that 9. The persistent breeze, seeing the ball curve in the air and bounce when it hits the ground- this brand on links golf brings me right back to my roots and the tradewind-swept municipal courses of Hawaii. I absolutely love it.
The front 9 at Sandpines was so utterly disappointing when I played it the first time, but I tried to go into it with an open mind. Mostly, I was hoping that they had fixed the major drainage issues they were having the last time around. The front side wasn't underwater today, but it was still a bit soggy. Part of what I don't enjoy about the front 9 is that it takes driver out of play even for a medium to short hitter like me (I fly the ball about 230 in the air with a lower ball flight, which puts an average drive for me between 250 and 270). In fact, I can't even hit 3-woods on several tee shots. I just don't enjoy that type of target, conservative golf. There are also long walks between greens and tee boxes on this 9, which is a real pain. To cap it all off, the worst hole on the entire course is the utterly boring 9th hole. A 400-yard straight-away par 4 lines with trees and very artificial mounding up the left side. It's bland and ugly and makes for a terrible finishing hole.
My knee didn't flare up at all today, but I was worn out after about the 13th or 14th hole. I realized that I hadn't walked 18 holes in quite some time, and the layout on the front 9 makes for a very long walk at Sandpines. That being said, I kept it together and finished up with a pair of 38s for a nice little 76. Not a bad round considering I only made one birdie (I knocked it to a foot on one of the par 3s). Of course, it could have been a lot better had I rolled in some putts. I made absolutely nothing today, but making putts was a tall order as the greens were still healing from aeration (which is a nice way of saying they were very, very bumpy).
There's not much as far as quality golf courses go around the Central Coast area. Sandpines is the exception, as it provides some fun golf and better than average conditions at very reasonable prices.
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