Carmel’s Quail Lodge & Golf Club: California’s Golfing Destination

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive "Play-Write" series with one of the Monterey Peninsula's hidden gems- Quail Lodge Golf Club. I am not a hunter though Quail Lodge was the perfect setting to bring a pigeon friend of mine to play golf and dislodge a few bucks from his tight wallet. After spending some time in the Monterrey Peninsula area what could be more relaxing or fun? Taking a short drive down Carmel Valley Road to Quail Lodge. The spectacular scenery will take you another notch down on the relaxation scale and put you in "the zone" before you put the peg in the ground on the first tee. Don't forget to bring along your own pigeon. After a relatively easy 540-yard par-5 opening hole the 203-yard par-3 second brings one back to reality that the challenge of this golf course is endless. One of the most beautiful holes on the golf course is the natural uphill 403-yard par- 4 fourth hole. After letting a negative thought enter my head as I took my driver back I topped my drive and lost the hole to fall behind in the match by one hole. My pigeon was youthful and overconfident, right where I wanted him. The character of Quail Lodge continues to develop with the downhill 198-yard par-3 fifth hole with the green protected with bunker left and water right. After a nice up-and-down for par our match was all square. My birdie at the dog-leg-right 367-yard par-4 seventh hole from the right fairway bunker was my third winning hole in a row and put me 2-up in the match. This score would stand through the front nine. Quail Lodge Golf Club is the type of golf course which gradually embraces you and before you know it you are completely in love with the place whether you have a bad hole or not. Once you come to the 10^th tee you realize the back nine is going to be a different experience than the front nine. While still along the Carmel River one now finds themselves looking down a canyon on the tenth tee. It is a beautiful canyon and frames the drive on the relatively short 345-yard par- 4 tenth hole. The tenth green is well bunkered and my approach shot finds the bunker short right of the green. The resultant bogey diminishes my lead over the young video producer to one hole. The young pigeon finds great difficulty on the 221-yard par-3 12^th hole and allows me to win it with a bogey. Perhaps the dramatic vistas amongst the canyons and streams of Quail Lodge have distracted my opponent? Another birdie 4 at the short 502-yard 14^th from the front bunker in two strokes increases my margin to the largest in the match- 3 holes with only four holes remaining. It is there approaching the 14^th green one can see the tranquil Quail Lodge. Though the 94-room hotel closed in November 2009 Edgar's restaurant remains open and there is hope that the lodge will reopen soon. On the golf course side of the Lodge is a putting course that nears the grandeur of the Himalayas at the Old Course in St. Andrews or the one at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida adjacent to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Oh what fun it would be to stay at the Lodge, have putting games there in the morning and evening and play the Quail Lodge Golf Course. As the golf course traverses back towards the clubhouse one finds the lakes amidst the golf holes. There is water left and right off the tee on No. 15, water right on No. 16 and water left on No.17. This must be where the quail came to find the water. Another appropriate name for the club would certainly be Quail Lakes. My opponent could only match my pars on Nos. 15 and 16 and therefore went down in defeat with a final loss rendering of 3&2. Though with some life in him he did manage a deuce on the 146-yard par-3 17^th hole. Good strategy, give them hope for the next match. Quail Lodge Golf Club- a truly relaxing and enjoyable round of golf. Bring your own pigeon to make it an even more memorable and fun experience. CLICK here to go to the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, CA.