Having driven around 17 Mile Drive many times, I have often looked longingly across the rolling fairways of MPCC. In spring 2021, I was lucky enough to actually get the opportunity to go one step further and play the Shore course and I am pleased to report that it exceeded expectations.

The layout, as the name would suggest, resides in the main, in full view of the Pacific Ocean, with only holes 1-4 and 17-18 acting as connectors to get the players back to the clubhouse away from the shore. That being said, those holes lack nothing in quality, in fact holes 2 and 17 were two of my favourite holes on the course.

As you leave the 4th green, the sense of anticipation grows as you see the coastline unrestricted for the first time. What follows is quite honestly the most wonderful stretch of golf holes I have played in the United States. Characterful, testing without feeling overly onerous and all while finding your eyes wandering towards the ocean at every other glance.

The course was originally laid out in 1962, but it is Mike Strantz’s work in the early 2000’s that is credited with really bringing this course to life. Strantz apparently took time to survey the land from one of the highest points on the course, the rocky outcrop beside the 16th tee with the intention of best understanding and using the land and its natural undulations. Having sadly died in 2005, a year after the completion of his works, it seems fitting to think of the awe inspiring legacy he has left here on one his last pieces of work.

Having only played the course once, I’d have to say the finished article is a true seaside masterpiece. A note on the course conditions; they were in short, truly immaculate. There is no other way of describing them, particularly the greens. Being from the U.K. but having played a fair number of quality courses in the USA and South America, these are some of the fastest aggressively sloping greens I have ever battled with. To put this into perspective, I played Pebble Beach over the same weekend and these greens were superior in just about every area (understanding Pebble has to protect their greens to a degree due to the amount of traffic they receive).

As usual, it is so hard to pick favourite holes, but the run 6 thru 9 has a bit of everything. A wonderful risk reward par 5, two taxing par 3’s and the stroke index 1 8th hole which is a real pearler of a dog leg out to the far reaches of the course. Looking across to the Dunes course from the 8th green elicits feelings of great admiration for this expanse of land, both at MPCC and the wider Monterey Peninsula. There really can be no finer golfing stretch anywhere in the world than this ocean lined corner of California.