The Valley Club of Montecito - Sunday 30 March

The tour kicked off today in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, at the Valley Club of Montecito.

We were hosted and joined by some members of the club.  The club is one of the most exclusive in the USA, but the members really made us welcome.

We were here on the day of the final of the men's singles knockout event, which meant that the members all wanted to play early and get back to watch the match. We were told it was one of the busiest days of the year.  There were about 40 players!

 Valley club was designed by Alister MacKenzie at the height of his powers, around the time he designed Cypress Point.

The course sits between the Pacific Ocean, and the hills behind Montecito.  These hills create a brilliant backdrop on many holes.  Patrick Carlisle is preparing to fire his approach shot on the 9th hole.
 

 The view above is from the tee on the Par 3 11th hole.  One of the competitors in the match holed out on this hole today.  It is a stunning hole.

 You can certainly feel the MacKenzie influence here.  The bunkering, in particular the shaping, is very reminiscent of what we have at home.

 This is the majestic view from the tee of the Par 3 14th hole.  You can see the almost medieval looking clubhouse looking down over the course.  You can also see the multitudes of carts heading back after the end of the match.  All the spectators followed the action in carts.

This is the view looking up the 18th fairway to the majestic clubhouse.

The men's locker room has a bar at the end of it, and dining tables and chairs.  It is a very popular place to grab some lunch, as hard as that is to imagine.  I guess with very minimal numbers playing each day, there is not much chance of viewing something you don't want to whilst having something to eat.

 As the sun set on the day, the views from the terrace just kept getting better.  This is looking over the 15th green and down the 16th fairway.

Our girls were really well looked after by the women from the Valley Club, and some new friendships were formed.  It took quite a bit of work to drag everyone away from that terrace, and into the coach for the drive back to Santa Monica.
Suzanne Jackson was the top scorer of the day with a brilliant 41 points.  Well done Suzanne.