I’ve heard a lot about the golf course at Pechanga and I’m glad I was finally able to make the short trip down to Temecula, California to check it out. The course is called Journey, or sometimes referred to as Journey at Pechanga.
Location Location Location
Journey at Pechanga is located on the property of the fabulous Pechanga Indian Reservation resort/casino in Temecula, California. Temecula is in a perfect location roughly midway between San Diego and Los Angeles. When booking my flights it was nice to be able to choose between the LA airports or San Diego. I ended up choosing San Diego this time around because the cost was a little lower.
Pechanga Hotel Left – Golf Clubhouse Right
Journey’s routing brings it in the hills behind the resort, and gives the course some great elevation changes and views.
Overview
Pechanga is a very challenging golf course featuring five sets of tees. With five sets of tees players can choose how much of the challenge, or journey, they wish to bite off. From the tips, the Copper tees, the course plays to a par-72 with a course rating of 74.8 and a slope of 142. In plain English that’s one tough journey.
The course architect for Journey is Arthur Hills. I’ve played many of Mr. Hills’s courses and while he has some architectural signatures, his design at Pechanga is quite unique and original on a few levels. Part of the uniqueness of the course design is the challenges Hills had in preserving sacred areas and sacred items on the property. Players who are unaware of these sacred items might complain or wonder why there’s a large tree in the of the fairway. After solid drives I found myself directly behind a couple of those large trees with no shot at the green. I was irritated for only as long as it took me to remember these are sacred trees. Then I took my bogey and moved on.
There are several spots on the course where huts can be found, and some very old historic structures.
Modern huts, homes, are not on the course and never will be. I love courses like this which aren’t developed for the strict reason of selling lots. Major points scored on this for Pechanga.
Tee
Tee shots at Pechanga are probably the strength of the course design. Hitting the tee shot accurately is perhaps the most important shot on just about every hole. Many tee shots present forced carries and very large elevation changes, requiring precision and good math skills at figuring out the yardage to elevation change difference. Coming from a mountainous area, the elevation changes were right at home for me.
Tee shots sometimes present the player with risk/reward options, like the par-4 5th hole. At around 300 yards a bomber could play aggressive and try to drive the green. There’s not much room for error though with a stream dissecting the landing area and a lake the player must carry. On my first time around the course I chose a conservative route on that tee shot, hitting hybrid to the left fairway. From there it was a sand wedge to five feet and my first birdie of the day. The second time I played it I played more aggressive and ended up making bogey.
The next hole (#6) is a par-4 that provides the most dramatic elevation drop of about 300 feet. Drives seem to stay in the air for an hour or two from that tee box. In the photo below I’m about to launch one on #6.
Par-4 6th Hole Tee
Another great tee is on the par-3 17th (pictured below), with a large drop and a view of the resort and parts of Temecula in the background.
Pechanga Golf Course 17th Green
I almost aced 17 on my first go-round. Unfortunately my playing partners just missed out on some free beer.
Fairway
The fairways at Pechanga are generally fairly wide and not terribly difficult. If you’ve managed to find the fairway, you won’t be faced with a tricky or unfair stance, but you might have issues due to the aforementioned sacred trees. It happened to me twice, once on the first hole and once on the par-5 9th.
First fairway before the early morning marine layer has burned off. Note the trademark tree in fairway…
A few fairways are split, giving the player two routing options. One option is often for the more aggressive player and one for the conservative.
Green
During my round at Pechanga I found the greens to roll smoothly. They were receptive to good shots, even spinning a few back. Some greens like the 18th featured large undulations and tiers while others like the 2nd and 3rd were more flat and subtle.
15th Green at Pechanga
Many greens are guarded by some stern bunkering. Greens located on the hillside often had a favorable uphill side to help deflect errant shots above the green onto the green. But that same slope would severely penalize errant shots which hit the downhill side. I know this first hand.
Flow
The gap between the 5th and 6th holes is literally about a five minute drive in a golf cart, including a massive elevation change. That may be the “Journey” right there! There’s another big gap between 16 green and 17 tee. Because of some of these long gaps between holes and the steepness of the hills I really don’t see walking the course as an option. The walk from 5-6 could take a fit individual 15-20 minutes. Those gaps make some of the routing/flow a bit on the funky side.
Practice Areas
Pechanga has a great driving range with high quality range balls. There are actual greens and bunkers in the range providing players the opportunity to play real golf shots at targets with forced carries. This is a great alternative to the ranges on some courses where the target is “north.”
The short game area is perhaps the best of the practice facilities at Pechanga though. There are several short game greens with side-hills, chipping pitching slopes, and bunkers to practice from. That’s where I should have spent most of my time, and where most players would benefit as opposed to pounding drivers all day on the range.
Short game practice area
Finally the practice green (below) provides an accurate representation of the speed and feel of the greens on the course. More importantly though, there’s a bar/cafe about 20 feet away.
Pechanga Practice Green
Amenities
The clubhouse is quite an architectural piece. Inside are the pro shop, locker rooms, and a great restaurant called Journey’s End.
Journey at Pechanga Clubhouse
The pro shop is full of a massive apparel and equipment selection. If you forgot something or need some new gear, they have it.
I had breakfast at Journey’s End a couple of times and the huevos rancheros was fantastic, along with the pancakes.
Conclusion
The Journey produces some very fun resort golf between all the great amenities the hotel and clubhouse have to offer and the Arthur Hills designed golf course itself. The course can play as relaxing or as challenging as a player may want with it’s diverse set of tees. Bring some extra balls and bring a camera.
Related Links
Journey at Pechanga photo gallery.
Pechanga Resort/Casino photo gallery.
I believe in doing proper golf equipment reviews by putting the gear to use in the actual situations it will be used in. That’s why it took a little while for me to get this review done. I’ve been using the bag as a standard bag for a few rounds, but just needed to get the thing on an airplane, thrown around by baggage handlers, and put through the paces. I needed to test out the Caddy Daddy Co-Pilot Pro golf travel bag while traveling via air. This past weekend at Pechanga in Temecula, California was a good test.
Hybrid Golf Travel Bag – What Is It?
Why the word “hybrid” in the description? This bag is a hybrid, or combination, of two different bags. It combines a regular golf bag with a golf travel bag. Typically golf travel bags are outer covers which enclose and protect a regular golf bag inside. Travel bags may or may not be hard and often times have wheels.
The Co-Pilot has a hard top which protects the heads of the clubs, and has wheels at the bottom of the bag for rolling through airports. Those along with a rigid shell make for the travel component of the bag. Multiple pockets on the outside and sectioned club slots make up the regular golf bag component.
It’s a travel bag and regular playable golf ball all in one.
Models
There are three versions or models of this bag. The unit I’m reviewing is the Co-Pilot Pro. That’s the middle-of-the-line model which retails for $159.99 but I found on Amazon for $128. The lower model is the Co-Pilot Standard edition, while the largest model is the CaddyDaddy Co-Pilot XL golf travel bag.
Colors
These bags are fairly frill free. Not much of a color selection other than choosing a blue or gray trim against a black bag.
On The Course – In Airports – In Action
The overall footprint of this bag is much smaller than the golf bag/travel bag setup. So small in fact, the bag fit in the trunk of my cheap rental car, a Nissan Versa. The bag fit with the hard lid in place and not removed. The Versa is not a large car.
Putting the lid on with all the clubs isn’t too hard. Several velcro straps secure the lid, and there are some round metal loops on the bag I used to put carabiners to act as a safety for the lid. The straps are a bit of a pain as they go through loops which are a little tight, but keep the straps from coming off during travel.
Carting the bag in the long term parking to the shuttle stop and then from the shuttle to the baggage drop-off is aided by a well placed lid handle on top and the wheels on the bottom. Because of the narrowness of the bag though, it is easy for the bag to tip sideways when rolling. Not a major issue.
As I was waiting to get off the plane yesterday I watched my bag as it went down the belt from the plane into the grizzly baggage handler’s hands. I could tell he tossed heavy bags around for sport, probably as training for his run in the UFC heavyweight division. He grabbed my bag and threw it from the belt into the bag container, at least 6-7 feet in the air. The bag did it’s job and my clubs were unscathed. The bag was unscathed as well.
Mission accomplished.
Critiques
As mentioned before my first critique of the bag is the strap system which secures the hard top. The setup is a bit of a pain to use. I think it could be better designed.
My second critique is the weak zipper handles. I put my golf shoes in one pocket, which made it a little tough to zip. I bent the zipper trying to close the bag, then broke it off trying to unbend it.
On the name I often have a semantic reaction when I see the word “caddy.” A “caddie” is a person who carries golf clubs. A caddy is a small storage container, often used for tea.
Final Thoughts
The CaddyDaddy Co-Pilot hybrid golf travel bag is two bags in one, saving space and cost. Most importantly it saves your golf clubs from damage during travel. At under $130, it’s a good investment to protect the contents inside, which are likely worth many times more than the cost of the bag.
I’ve had a poll up and running for quite some time on the front page here which asked the question “What is the best airline for golf travel?” I’ve finally decided to end that poll and post the astounding results, which I completely agree with. Here they are below.
- US Airways (4%)
- United Airlines (5%)
- Southwest Airlines (60%)
- Jetblue Airlines (10%)
- Delta Airlines (8%)
- Continental Airlines (1%)
- British Airways (3%)
- American Airlines (10%)
Southwest Airlines resoundingly won with 60% of the voters picking them. The closest competitor was Jetblue airlines at only 10%.
I agree with this vote based on the two following primary reasons:
- Cost: Southwest is very competitive price-wise. Golf is expensive and we can travel more if the airfare is more affordable.
- Free baggage: To bring my golf clubs on Delta or another airline that charges for bags can run an extra $50-$150!!! That’s highway (airway) robbery.
Who is the WORST airline for golf travel? The previous HOG poll’s results can be found by clicking the link in the previous sentence.
Since it is winter here, I’m going through the HOG World Tour archives and weeding out any reviews and photos which have gotten lost in the queue. One such review is of the most hopping, happening, coolest, wildest, craziest bar and restaurant in Bogota, Colombia: Andrés Carne de Res. This is like an indoor version New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, every night of the week!
One of many floors, packed with guests who are having a great time at Andres
Andrés Carne de Res is five stories of restaurant and bar, packed with hundreds of people at all times. The food is great, with separate mini kitchens on each floor. Each floor also can be home of one or several bars. Below is but ONE bar of many in the building. Looks like the wine selection will work for me…
Do you have Coors? I didn’t think so…
Part of the craziness that is Andres is the actors, ventriloquists (photo below), and musicians who float around and perform at each table.
Performers come to each table to entertain the guests at Andres…
Hello ladies! Why are you cupping your breasts?
Andrés Carne de Res was truly an experience of a lifetime. If you are ever in Bogota, Colombia, you MUST get to Andrés Carne de Res. I just realized I got this far and haven’t even mentioned the awesome Colombian food, drinks, and appetizers!
Fantastic and unique appetizers and food, Colombian style
Web.com Tour
The Web.com Tour stops in Bogota in the first couple of weeks of each season. Those of you who are golfers, golf media, players, or caddies on the Web.com Tour should be sure to stop in and have fun and food at Andrés Carne de Res when you are in town for the Web.com Tour’s Colombia Championship.
Related Links
Andrés Carne de Res photo gallery
La Cima Club de Golf – Golf at 10,000 Feet in the Colombian Andes Mountains
Gold Museum – Bogota, Colombia
Country Club de Bogota Golf Course Review
Ardgowan Hotel St Andrews
In the previous post I announced the gallery of images of the biggest hotel in St Andrews, the Fairmont. The Fairmont is a short drive from downtown St Andrews and from the Old Course. It is a very posh place with large rooms/suites.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Ardgowan Hotel, built in 1847.
Location Location Location
The key feature to the Ardgowan is its location along with a more affordable price as compared to the Fairmont or other more fancy places in the “Auld Grey Toon.” The Ardgowan is located about a 30 second walk from the 18th green and 1st tee of the Old Course, and a 20 second walk from the most famous pub in town, the Dunvegan. I’ve made that 20 second walk home from the Dunvegan at 2 a.m. on many a night. I’m guessing it was a little longer than 20 seconds, but then again I don’t really remember.
Rooms
The Ardgowan’s 29 rooms are quite small but clean. They’re so small and the stairway to get to them so tight that most golfers store their clubs in the locker behind the hotel’s front desk.
There are a few different room options which feature single or double beds.
Features
The Ardgowan features the minimum I need as a traveling golfer and nothing more: a place to store my clubs, a bed, a bathroom, a desk with wireless internet connection (for emailing pictures of the Old Course back home to my jealous friends), and a pub/restaurant in the basement (see first image).
Top Floor?
I have to share a slightly embarrassing and funny story. One of my stays at the Ardgowan was in the top floor in a single-bed room. The architecture of the building is that of a Georgian townhouse, and most buildings on North Street share the same slanted roof style. The top floor room is basically in the attic, so part of the room “features” a slanted ceiling (see image below).
Ardgowan Hotel Room – St Andrews, Scotland
In the wee hours of the morning and after a few too many wee pints at the Dunvegan, I had the sudden need to get to the bathroom and quick. An urgent need, if you catch my drift. One or two too many wee pints I suppose. When I very quickly got up from bed in the dark I didn’t realize the ceiling was slanted. I hit my head so hard getting up fast that I nearly knocked myself out.
That morning I had to cancel my tee time at the New Course and sleep off the wee pints and the cranial impact. I did however enjoy the rest of the morning exploring the St Andrews castle while my pals were off golfing.
Conclusion
The Ardgowan serves purpose and does it well. It provides a perfect lodging location within walking distance of the Old Course, New Course, Jubilee Course. Strathtyrum Course, and Eden Course. No car required and that’s a good thing. Parking in the Auld Grey Toon can be tough.
This is not the Ritz Carlton. If that’s your fancy, perhaps consider the Old Course Hotel or the Fairmont. If location is important, the Ardgowan is one of the best lodging options in St Andrews.
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