Passing up a Dream...For Now

There are three golf courses I have vowed to play before I die, unless I die young: Pebble Beach, The Old Course at St. Andrews, and the TPC at Sawgrass.

When my wife informed me of the possibility of playing one of them, the one (Pebble Beach), I was naturally excited.

Here's how it happened: She called me up at work asking me what I would do if I found myself with an unexpected couple grand (yes, dollars). Because she knows one of my lifetime dreams is to play Pebble Beach, she thought I would answer with a round at Pebble Beach.

I didn't really come up with anything clever. Had I been completely honest, I would have said I'd put it to the mortgage.

I would soon learn it wasn't just a hypothetical question. She had learned that her former job, at the company where we met and at which I still work, she was going to get back pay for overtime hours worked on her job that was designated a salaried position, but should have been hourly.

So we talked, and I did some research, and we decided to take that trip to Pebble Beach. We have since changed our minds, or at least put it on hold, but not because of the cost. Our best bet cost-wise is to go this winter. But because the average high in Pebble Beach is 59 this time of year, and my wife is a fair weather golfer, we are shooting for May.

To reserve a tee time at Pebble more than 24 hours in advance, you have to stay at least two nights at one of the Pebble Beach resort lodges. The cheapest one this time of year would be $325/night, thanks to a winter promotion. That would bring the round of golf to $1640 for the two of us. If we wait until, say, May, it will be over $2000, because of higher in-season resort rates. Airfare of course would be extra, and people who know insist a caddie is a must for the complete Pebble experience, at $75/bag plus tip.

Another alternative, which I wanted to do, is to take our chances and get a timeshare in the area by trading a week we have at Lake Carlos Villas through RCI. I have read that, because of the economy, not all tee times are being booked at Pebble, and thus a non-resort guest has a good chance of picking up a tee time within 24-hours of intended play. To fly out and take that chance is a gamble, but right now seems to be a good one, because of the non-prime season and economy. In May, it may not be so easy.

Harvey Mackay once wrote that a dream is a bargain at any price. I tend to agree, if you can afford that price. But I can see my wife's point of view. Even though I don't mind playing golf in the fifties, if you're going to dish out that kind of dough for a once-in-a-lifetime round of golf, you may as well pay a little extra and fully enjoy it.

Here's hoping for economic recovery, but slowly enough so that I can take my chances and get a last-minute tee time at Pebble Beach in May.