Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/125316
(l-r) Ninth hole at the Grand Del Mar; the deluxe yet affordable Rancho Bernardo Inn and its old-school golf course. admits). Egnatz laments to me, "Golfers lose a lot of feel and grace with contemporary clubs," and after borrowing an old set and playing a couple of holes with him, I have to agree. I also agree that there's nothing quite like the sight of a classic course filled with players dressed in knickerbockers, as is the case at Rancho Bernardo Inn during weekly hickory evenings. But then, that's California. America's most populous state is surely its most interesting. That holds true for most everything (as we find out during an overnight stay in L.A.'s buzzing West Hollywood entertainment quarter), but doubly so for golf. Near Los Angeles there's a course called Rustic Canyon that marries the spirit of a Scottish links to that of the American West, with a minimalist, sheepdid-most-of-the-work design and sagebrush instead of gorse for those who hit it crooked. This gem goes for around $40 a round, which led Golf magazine to name it the best golf value in the U.S. a few years ago. At the other end of the spectrum, for more than 12 times the cost of Rustic Canyon, there is Monterey Peninsula's Pebble Beach Golf Links, the seaside classic that has been the scene of so many PGA Tour memorable moments. I'm burning to play it, of course – and I will, right after the tragic passing of my rich but childless uncle, the one who isn't currently known to exist. Yes, as a well-known resident of the state once said, I'll be back. y GOING PL ACES p46-53_Cali Golf.indd 51 >> s u m m e r 2 0 1 3 51 13-04-12 1:14 PM