Bayonet ranked 11th, Black Horse 14th in golf-rich California
(SEASIDE, Calif.) – Bayonet Black Horse, the 36-hole, full-bentgrass facility on the Monterey Peninsula, makes its debut in Golfweek’s “Best You Can Play” state by state rankings, with Bayonet at No. 11 and Black Horse at No. 14.
The survey, which included hundreds of California courses, examined overall strength of routing, feature shaping, natural setting, greens, variety and memorability of holes, conditioning and maintenance, landscape management and other criteria. The full list of courses is available in the March 12 issue of Golfweek.
“The Golfweek ratings are further validation the $13 million renovation of both courses by Gene Bates has brought them to an elite conditioning and design level,” says Dick Fitzgerald, project director for owner/operator Seaside Resort Development.
Bayonet was recently awarded Second Stage Q-School by the PGA TOUR, and tapped by the United States Golf Association (“USGA”) and the Northern California Golf Association (“NCGA”) to host a U.S. Open qualifier on May 10. The 2010 U.S. Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, June 14-20. Pebble Beach – hosting the prestigious national championship for the fifth time — is just 15 minutes from Bayonet Black Horse.
As part of the renovation, both courses underwent dramatic view-shed alterations and hole re-routings to reveal new, breathtaking ocean vistas and improved playing options (including new bentgrass greens). They were included in Golf Digest’s “Best New Courses” issue for 2009 in the ultra-competitive “Renovation” category.
For more information, rates and tee times, visit www.bayonetblackhorse.com.
About Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Club
Bayonet, with its narrow playing corridors and steep, penal bunkering, has long been considered the most difficult test of golf on the Monterey Peninsula. The par-72, 7,104-yard course has retained its famous bite after the recent renovation by award-winning architect Gene Bates, but playability and strategic options have been greatly improved. The uphill, dogleg right, 476-yard, par-4 ninth hole exemplifies the course’s significant challenge. Black Horse, a 7,024-yard, par-72 layout, features sweeping vistas of the Pacific and is highlighted by fescue-framed fairways, bunkers with distinctive, serrated edges and slickly-contoured greens. The par-3 15th, created during the renovation, faces the bay and is sure to emerge as one of the great holes on the Peninsula.
Getting There: The Monterey Peninsula Airport offers commercial and charter air service, including direct flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas. San Jose International Airport and San Francisco International Airport serve the area and are one and two hours north of Bayonet Black Horse, respectively.
Contact:
Shane Sharp
Buffalo Communications
704.519.8381
ssharp@billycaspergolf.com
