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Golf or Ski Ideas - Three Day Weekend in the People's Republic of California

surfnole

surfnole

Seminole Insider
Mar 29, 2002
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Headed to California for a few days to visit. Meeting a friend who lives near Fresno and looking for places to ski or golf. Golf from LA to Monterey Bay or maybe Palm springs. Neither of us are regular golfers and intriguing as Pebble Beach is, not worth the money since neither of us are that into golf. Any ideas for locations and lodging?

Kirkwood for skiing looks good and perhaps away from Bay Area weekend crowdes, but leaning toward golf. Thx in advance.
 
Kirkwood is my favorite ski resort in North America!
On the north side of the lake, Sugar Bowl is quite awesome as well.

I suck at golf so skiing gets my biased vote.
 
Kirkwood is nice because it’s more off the beaten path and doesn’t get the same crowds that most the other resorts are subjected to. The other plus is that it’s higher than the others so it gets less rain in storms like the one coming in this week. On the other hand many of the storm tracks seem to miss it.
 
Pacific Grove Golf Links.
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I prefer skiing over golf, and west coast skiing is always better than east coast.

OTOH, I'd go to the best locations with the most pleasant weather, with an activity that you like. :D
 
surfnole said:
Headed to California for a few days to visit. Meeting a friend who lives near Fresno and looking for places to ski or golf. Golf from LA to Monterey Bay or maybe Palm springs. Neither of us are regular golfers and intriguing as Pebble Beach is, not worth the money since neither of us are that into golf. Any ideas for locations and lodging?

Kirkwood for skiing looks good and perhaps away from Bay Area weekend crowdes, but leaning toward golf. Thx in advance.
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If Kirkwood has powder, then the road from San Fran is like a 50 mile traffic jam. Kirkwood is literally in the middle of nowhere, with a two lane road heading up there. They have been getting dumped on lately. Kirkwood is known for 2-3 feet snow storms and then crazy good skiing. There is a mountain, in South Tahoe called Mt. Rose. It's much more manageable, great skiing, 8300 ft. peak and a lot less crowded. Would suggest skiing there if you choose to ski. It's really a great mountain for the price.
 
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fsufool said:
If Kirkwood has powder, then the road from San Fran is like a 50 mile traffic jam. Kirkwood is literally in the middle of nowhere, with a two lane road heading up there. They have been getting dumped on lately. Kirkwood is known for 2-3 feet snow storms and then crazy good skiing. There is a mountain, in South Tahoe called Mt. Rose. It's much more manageable, great skiing, 8300 ft. peak and a lot less crowded. Would suggest skiing there if you choose to ski. It's really a great mountain for the price.
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Not on a weekday. The drive up 80 to north lake can be just as stupid.
 
If you're in Fresno, you're kind of caught in the middle of the ares for skiing or golf. China Peak would be one of the closer resorts for skiing (1.5 hours) but check the snow base and weather before booking. You mentioned Palm Springs and it would be great for golf this time of year but it's a solid 5 hours drive from Fresno. You could find something (a little less nice and a little less warm) closer than that. Hope you have fun
 
fsufool said:
If Kirkwood has powder, then the road from San Fran is like a 50 mile traffic jam. Kirkwood is literally in the middle of nowhere, with a two lane road heading up there. They have been getting dumped on lately. Kirkwood is known for 2-3 feet snow storms and then crazy good skiing. There is a mountain, in South Tahoe called Mt. Rose. It's much more manageable, great skiing, 8300 ft. peak and a lot less crowded. Would suggest skiing there if you choose to ski. It's really a great mountain for the price.
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I didn't like Mt Rose because there was too much ice for this princess. IIRC a local told me it is in direct sun more than any other mountain around the lake? Tahoe definitely has my ❤️
 
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NoleFan2U said:
I didn't like Mt Rose because there was too much ice for this princess. IIRC a local told me it is in direct sun more than any other mountain around the lake? Tahoe definitely has my ❤️
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We skied there twice and both times right after more than a foot of powder. So, maybe we just got lucky? We are also from New Hampshire, so ice isn't a deal!! LOL The great thing about skiing Tahoe is the variety of mountains to ski depending on weather, your ability, your age and what you want as an skiing experience. Rose is just bare bones skiing without the crowds and the flash. Something I appreciate as an alternative to the crazy and high end. Would never go to Tahoe and ski there for a week straight, just too much other skiing to experience there. But, for someone coming from a warm state, it is very manageable for a weekend and close enough to a variety of other mountains to change plans due to weather.

We have skied all over the west and my son is a ski instructor (taking time out from college) at Sun Valley. So, we have a mix of experiences and insider info. that helps guide us.
 
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fsufool said:
We skied there twice and both times right after more than a foot of powder. So, maybe we just got lucky? We are also from New Hampshire, so ice isn't a deal!! LOL The great thing about skiing Tahoe is the variety of mountains to ski depending on weather, your ability, your age and what you want as an skiing experience. Rose is just bare bones skiing without the crowds and the flash. Something I appreciate as an alternative to the crazy and high end. Would never go to Tahoe and ski there for a week straight, just too much other skiing to experience there. But, for someone coming from a warm state, it is very manageable for a weekend and close enough to a variety of other mountains to change plans due to weather.

We have skied all over the west and my son is a ski instructor (taking time out from college) at Sun Valley. So, we have a mix of experiences and insider info. that helps guide us.
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This is what I hate about east coast skiing. I grew up skiing VT to WV, even went to college in the mountains of Western MD just to ski every night. I only knew how to ski on ice! But once I skied out west, there was no going back. From Florida, its a 4 hour flight to VT or a 4 hour flight to CO. Easy choice!
 
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As a former ski bum in steamboat springs in a previous life we had the term "Sierra Cement", I've never skied there however. Probably because it's just a further flight than Colorado or Utah
 
surfnole said:
As a former ski bum in steamboat springs in a previous life we had the term "Sierra Cement", I've never skied there however. Probably because it's just a further flight than Colorado or Utah
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We don’t get the same dry powder you find in Utah. Our “powder days” wouldn’t be considered powder in UT most the time. Our big storms are typically warm like this week. But they do happen. I’ve been on the mountain when people have died by falling into tree wells skiing the trees.
 
Hi! I encourage you and your friend to go to Pebble Beach. It's worth the money and you'll gain wonderful experiences. Golf is something you start to love while practicing. I wasn't into it until my friend didn't take me on a golfing tour around Europe. He found a good deal on www.golftravellux.com, so I couldn't say no. After that trip, I became a huge fan and started to practice more and more. I took lessons and in some months I become one of the best players in my neighborhood. So, never say no to new experiences. Have a nice trip in California.
 
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We have a tee time at Pacific Grove and another at Poppy hills. However Poppy hills, due to an afternoon tee time, we might not be able to finish 18 so if there's other ideas let me know on golf in that area..

As intriguing as Pebble Beach for a bucket list thing it's way too expensive. $650 for golf then I think you need to pay for a caddy. And you can only make a reservation outside of 24 hours if you're staying at their lodging which is close to $1,000 a night. I We'll just stop by and buy a hat in the clubhouse and take a picture.

I'll also have a chance to visit Naval Air Station Lemoore and watch the the f-18 super hornets in action.
 
surfnole said:
We have a tee time at Pacific Grove and another at Poppy hills. However Poppy hills, due to an afternoon tee time, we might not be able to finish 18 so if there's other ideas let me know on golf in that area..

As intriguing as Pebble Beach for a bucket list thing it's way too expensive. $650 for golf then I think you need to pay for a caddy. And you can only make a reservation outside of 24 hours if you're staying at their lodging which is close to $1,000 a night. I We'll just stop by and buy a hat in the clubhouse and take a picture.

I'll also have a chance to visit Naval Air Station Lemoore and watch the the f-18 super hornets in action.
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We ended up just visiting the Lodge at PB and then we went across the road and mailed postcards to family of the place saying “Having a wonderful time and wish you were here etc”
I will say that I think it and 17 Mile Drive are worthy of being on anyone’s bucket list. Amazingly beautiful.
 
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surfnole said:
As a former ski bum in steamboat springs in a previous life we had the term "Sierra Cement", I've never skied there however. Probably because it's just a further flight than Colorado or Utah
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My daughter is the only one in our family to have skied in Cali (Mammoth), Utah (Park City) and New Mexico (Santa Fe)
She liked the Utah snow and loved the ski tan from New Mexico and said Mammoth was the most fun “off slope”. Not a super endorsement for Mammoth.
I’ve only been ski time to the Poconos - 😞 - ugh - and New Mexico, which I really enjoyed.
 
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goldmom said:
My daughter is the only one in our family to have skied in Cali (Mammoth), Utah (Park City) and New Mexico (Santa Fe)
She liked the Utah snow and loved the ski tan from New Mexico and said Mammoth was the most fun “off slope”. Not a super endorsement for Mammoth.
I’ve only been ski time to the Poconos - 😞 - ugh - and New Mexico, which I really enjoyed.
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Sounds quite intriguing.
Jean Claude
 
goldmom said:
We ended up just visiting the Lodge at PB and then we went across the road and mailed postcards to family of the place saying “Having a wonderful time and wish you were here etc”
I will say that I think it and 17 Mile Drive are worthy of being on anyone’s bucket list. Amazingly beautiful.
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I love amazingly beautiful road trips.... Just got back from one. I've been on the 17 mile drive. And like NBA action, Its Fantastic! :cool:
 
surfnole said:
As intriguing as Pebble Beach for a bucket list thing it's way too expensive. $650 for golf then I think you need to pay for a caddy. And you can only make a reservation outside of 24 hours if you're staying at their lodging which is close to $1,000 a night. I We'll just stop by and buy a hat in the clubhouse and take a picture.
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o_O I thought skiing was expensive..............
 
My sister and her family are in town to ski. Pretty sure resorts will be closed most of today and likely tomorrow too due to storms. High winds and feet of snow make for long morning prep at the resorts. Lots of avalanche mitigation happening.

Oh, and Mammoth is just that. You can ski an entire day and only see half the mountain.
 
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