Pebble Beach Mixed Pairs

Tucked between Pacific Grove and Carmel on the Monterey Peninsula lies the coastal community of Pebble Beach. From the Monterey pine–studded Del Monte Forest to the glassy waters of Stillwater Cove, the region is packed with so much natural beauty that there’s an iconic view nearly everywhere you look. Set amongst this stunning setting lies the Inn at Spanish Bay. This would be our home for the week, on arguably our most anticipated holiday to date.

Round 1 – The Links

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr & Tom Watson, The Links at Spanish Bay unveils some of the most spectacular seaside views at Pebble Beach. The rolling fairways flow through and around the gorgeous dunescape, briefly weaving between towering Monterey Pines, before returning to the white sand of Spanish Bay Beach for a thrilling finish along the wind-swept coast.

After all meeting at registration the night before, the group made the journey of a few short steps from the hotel to the first tee eagerly anticipating the week ahead. They were greeted with cool, cloudy conditions with enough breeze to make scoring tricky.

Following their success of the previous week, Matt & Angie Harrison continued their fine form carding a solid 37pts. John & Gina Christie, based at the Laranjal club in Portugal, jumped out of the pack when they returned to sign for a brilliant 41pts. However, the day belonged to the Woburn pair of David & Diane Taylor. By his own admission, having one of his best rounds for a long time, they had tamed The Links and by the end of the day were leaders with a superb 42pts.

To cap the day off Fairways recorded yet another “Hole in One” at an event. Felicity Coates with a 7-iron aced the 16th and with her husband Steve very kindly bought champagne for the entire group in the evening to toast the wonderful achievement.

Round 2 – Poppy Hills

Co-host of the First Tee Open on the PGA Champions Tour since 2014, Poppy Hills is the only completely tree-lined course on the Monterey Peninsula. Each hole is chiseled through the towering Monterey Pines of the Del Monte Forest and the course is consistently ranked inside the Top 100 in the country. Generous from the tee, the difficulty in the course lies in the extremely large, fast undulating greens.

Vince Hooker & Angela Mander walked off the 18th green having vastly improving on their score from the day before by a remarkable 18 shots as they signed for an impressive 40pts. The ever consistent Gerrard Cross duo of David Beaney & Alison White continued their fine form, carding a superb 42pts.

But every now and then a score is posted that stands out from the crowd. The winning team from Palm Springs the week before had once again clicked into gear but this time taken it to another level. Matt & Angie Harrison playing on a championship layout, had scored a remarkable 47pts. Winning the day by 5 shots they would take a slim lead into round 3.

Round 3 – Pebble Beach

You could feel the sense of anticipation as the group arrived and took the short walk under the archway and the 1st tee of Pebble Beach Golf Links appeared. We had all seen it on the TV, but at last we were here. Ranked the No.1 course open to the public in the USA, Pebble Beach has hosted six U.S. Opens, more than any other course over the last 50 years. The U.S. Women’s Open will be played for the first time ever here at the beginning of July.

Like a well-oiled machine the staff and organisation is first-class. Each group is introduced to the starter who politely points out a few rules, but leaves you with the line “You came here with a smile, don’t care what happens in the middle, but we leave with a smile and memories to last a lifetime” It sends goosebumps down your spine!

Having waited by many 18th greens to greet our groups home, we have never witnessed such joy by so many after finishing a round of golf. Yes, the weather could have warmer, but that did not seem to detract at all from the sheer excitement of completing one of the greatest courses in the world.

When the cards had been checked several couples had managed not to be distracted too much from the stunning scenery and compile some great scores. Both Peter & Josie Sheridan and David Beaney & Alison White shot solid rounds of 39pts. Continuing their great play of the day before, Vince Hooker & Angela Mander from King’s Lynn, shot a brilliant 41pts which included a amazing 25pts on the back nine.

But the “Kings” of Pebble were Essex duo Garry Taylor & Sue Bartram. They had steadily put together a round to remember shooting a “best of the day” 43pts. It certainly was a popular victory with the pair receiving one of the loudest rounds of applause at the group dinner that evening. What a day to remember!

Round 4 – Spyglass Hill

After a well deserved day off, the group arrived at the famous Spyglass Hill course for our final round. This championship layout has been validated by  the game’s very best. If Pebble Beach is the Greatest Meeting of Land and Sea, then perhaps Spyglass Hill should be dubbed the Greatest Meeting of Sand and Trees. The first five holes have been described as the greatest start to any golf course in the world!

With only 2 shots separating first and second place, the title was still very much up for grabs. The Goodwood team of John & Alison Moss would set the pace, when returning to the clubhouse and signing for a solid 36pts. “Spy” was proving to be the toughest test all week as many scores were being posted in the low-mid 30’s with no pair breaking through.

Finally Jim Jacobs and “birthday girl” Angela Allington broke the mould and finished their campaign with a leading score of 37pts. But how had our leaders faired? David & Alison, lying second overnight, had continued their steady form of all week signing off with 35pts.

It seemed only fitting, that our leaders should finish with the round of the day and with it the title of Pebble Beach Mixed Pairs Champions. Matt & Angie had scored 39pts to win by 6 shots. A remarkable achievement as only the week before they had taken the title in Palm Springs. Our first ever back-to-back winners of events abroad and no one could deny them they were “The Kings of California”.

So many people to thank for making two years of planning come to fruition. The incredible staff at The Inn at Spanish Bay. Amazing hospitality and three group dinners that will be hard to beat. All four golf courses for their welcome and for treating us so special. To Supertravel Golf, for making our little dream of taking people to play Pebble Beach come true. But most of all, to the 28 couples who joined us with smiles on their faces all week, thank you for one of the best times of our lives.