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Playing with the big boys -- sort of
Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 06:54 PM
PEBBLE BEACH -- Unlike the '99 PGA or this year's Masters, I'm not writing the lead in Sports Illustrated this week, a.k.a. the game story, which, in layman's terms, is the article about the tournament that runs in the national book. Instead, I was going to write a piece about "the scene." That is, with the Open in such a glamorous spot, and with the starpower of the Pebble Beach Co.'s ownership, you'd figure there would be fabulous parties, dizzying amounts of schmoozing, and any number of power foursomes patrolling the local links. I spent the first half of the week snooping around and chasing down leads, and was deeply disappointed by how tame the goings-on have actually been. Since there isn't enough there to support a story, I am now going to write off the weekend action, which is fine by me. I must say, however, that it was fun reporting the other piece, especially this Wednesday afternoon, when I was compelled to tee it up at the Preserve Golf Club, a brand new Tom Fazio track deep within the Carmel Valley. Virtually all the top courses around the Monterey Peninsula are doing double shotguns to accommodate the incredible demand of the army of golf-mad fans who have come marauding into town for the Open. Most of these slots were snapped up months ago by big corporations. If you are a well-connected VIP type there are really only three places to play this week -- the Cypress Point Club, Tehama (a new course in the hills above Carmel Valley, owned by Clint Eastwood with a membership full of his local cronies), and the Preserve. Of the three, the Preserve has been generating the most buzz.
The Preserve lies nine miles inland from Carmel Valley Road and can be accessed only by a stomach-churning single lane road that is curvier than a Hollywood starlet. The drive winds through stands of redwood trees, expansive fields of native grasses and wildflowers and terrain so wild and remote that wild boar sightings are common (I personally spied only a family of spry foxes). There are sweeping vistas of Carmel Valley at every turn. As preambles go, Magnolia Lane's got nothing on this drive. The Preserve has been open only for about three months and presently has a membership of around 100, heavy on Silicon Valley powerbrokers, such as Jeff Yang, co-founder of Yahoo, NASDAQ kind Jeff Siebel and most of the top lieutenants of Sun Microsystems. To become a member you have to buy a lot on the property, with prices running to the $4-million range. Needless to say, it is rarified air. I was able to sneak on only because most of the Preserve's golf division are transplants from Pebble Beach, whose tenures there overlapped with mine. It's good to have friends in high places. I went out with one of the boys from the Preserve pro shop, a buddy of mine ever since we worked together as cart boys at Pebble. We had to share the golf course with exactly two other players -- Tatum and his guest, my enterprising Sports Illustrated colleague, Michael Bamberger. The course, as you would expect, is mind-blowing. It is an incredible use of the land, sprawling over 365 acres and defined by breathtaking elevation changes, artful bunkering, powerfully contoured fairways and devilish greens. Framed by towering oak trees and endless meadows, it is as picturesque an inland course as I've ever laid eyes on. As good as the golf was, the best part of the day was escaping the U.S. Open moshpit. Up at the Preserve it was so peaceful and quiet you could practically hear the shuffle of angel's feet. Now as the national championship has begun anew, all my fooling around has ended. I've never felt so conflicted. Sports Illustrated golf writer Alan Shipnuck takes you On Tour throughout the
U.S. Open at golfplus.cnnsi.com. Click here to send Alan a question or a nice,
friendly
comment.
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